I had so much information packed into yesterday’s post that I forgot to post pics from my birthday! I only have a couple.
My birthday cake, which my friend Theresa had ordered from the bakery at Whole Foods where she works. You may remember I had a PBR-themed cake last year too. The can was new for 2023. Apparently there’s gonna be a new addition to the basic design every year.
We gathered at Bardog, where we routinely meet at 11 on Saturdays. One of my very few gripes with our neighborhood bar over the past year has been the weekend brunch specials. The daily lunch/dinner specials at the ‘dog tend to be creative and different each day. The brunch specials, however, tend to be repetitive, almost always consisting of
- Strawberry or blueberry pancakes
- Grilled or fried pork chop
- Chicken-n-waffles
- Some variety of blackened fish
- Lobster omelette
“If they’re going to have the same stuff EVERY WEEK, why not just go ahead and put it on the regular menu?” I would say. “If it’s always available during weekend brunch, IT’S NOT A SPECIAL!!!”
This past Saturday, I held out a little hope as I made my walk to the ‘dog. “There’s a new man in the kitchen,” I thought. “Perhaps he’ll put his own creative stamp on the specials.”
For the most part, the same specials were still there – the pancakes, the omelette, chicken and waffles.
But there was something different!
CHILAQUILES!!!
Chilaquiles could be thought of as breakfast nachos of a sort. Warm soft tortilla pieces are a base, topped with cheddar, scallions, crunchy pieces of pork belly, and a LOVELY big scoop of guacamole. There’s normally an egg on there too, but I asked them to leave it off.
It was so yummy!
Bardog’s cooks are mostly Mexican and I’ve long wondered why they didn’t lean into their heritage just a little bit more. I’m not saying, go all out and compete with Maciel’s around the corner. But why not capitalize on a little of that culinary background now and then?
If Bardog would just put one “unexpected and different” item on its brunch special board each week, I could live with it being alongside four of the “same old, same old.” The 80/20 rule, applied to brunch.
And now let’s get on to the news…
As a lover of historical fiction, I can appreciate SIX, the Broadway musical playing at the Orpheum today through Sunday. The “six” refer to the 6 wives of English king Henry III (1491-1547; reigned from 1509). He was the king who had 6 wives and 5 annulments/divorces, causing him to leave the Catholic Church and form the Church of England. The show transforms the women from Tudor queens into pop queens. Tickets are $35-$150.
It’s National Stuffing Day and Pumpkin Pie Day.
Bardog is back with more news… not only will they be open at 5 on Thursday, but they’ll have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner as their special.
As for their sibling restaurant, Slider Inn Downtown, they too will open at 5 with a slider special called The Gobbler. It will have turkey, gravy, American cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a toasted bun.
I got a preview of Blind Bear’s Thanksgiving dinner, offered as a special anytime they’re open through Saturday, last night.
From lower left: Turkey, cornbread dressing with cranberry sauce, dinner roll, Tony’s greens, three-cheese mac & cheese, mashed potatoes.
Do you notice what I allowed to happen here, that I’m normally NEVER okay with?
I allowed cranberry sauce to touch my other food items. Normally that is a GIANT party foul.
Believe me, I thought about ordering the meal with no cranberries. But Tony posted a pic of the food with the cranberries on top of the dressing. And Tony has tremendous culinary credibility. He makes combinations work that I never would expect – see the coffee-encrusted ribeye from a few weeks ago.
So I ordered the dinner as-is, without mods.
The mac & cheese turned out to be the star of the show, followed closely by Tony’s greens and the turkey. But the dressing soaked in cranberry juice was not bad!
Tony is the Ric Flair of food. He could cook a broomstick and turn it into a five-star meal.
Deep Roots plays The Central BBQ Sessions at Central BBQ Downtown Saturday at 6.
The M-town Funk and Blues Fest comes to the Cannon Center Saturday, featuring Midnight Star, Original Lakeside, Larry Dodson and Band , OB Buchana, and Bobby Rush.
J Buck plays 507 Lux Lounge (150 Monroe) Saturday night.
J Buck is practically a one man show chock full of explosive energy everytime he hits the stage- think Marvin Gaye meets James Brown! Audiences can’t get enough of Buck’s massively enchanting stage presence
Momma’s may be getting a popcorn machine. I remember a bar in the Downtown core once having a popcorn machine. They had to get rid of it once Steve the Squirrel’s cousin Rick showed up.
Grizzlies Cyber Monday news:
Eggnog slushies have returned to Max’s Sports Bar.
Typing this at Bardog. Jukebox Repair Guy is installing Google speakers. Sesame salmon and a grilled buffalo chicken wrap are the specials.
Sugar Grits is hosting Brunch with Santa Saturday, December 16.
One of my favorite website developers, Flavio Copes, launched a new tutorial site The Valley of Code this week.
Anita Baker comes to FedExForum Wednesday night.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has a blog.
That’ll cover it for today. Reminder – posts will be hit or miss the next 5 days because I want to get out and enjoy the holiday weekend without hauling a computer around.