Paul Ryburn’s Journal

BBQ Fest has wrapped up and the winners have been posted. Here’s a list. My team the Moody Ques didn’t get any top-three finishes other than first in Best Booth. Chef David Scott Walker said that after the judging, one of the judges came by and offered very helpful constructive feedback. The meat was championship quality, he said, but the way we did the presentation needs some work. Chef commented on Sunday that BBQ Fest is addicting and added, “Can we start talking about next year?” When people are asking that question the day after, rather than saying “I don’t want to think about BBQ until at least September,” it’s a very promising sign.

There’s an article about BBQ Fest on SeriousEats.com today, with coverage of the Moody Ques booth. Thanks to Ben for coming by and talking to the team.

A bar named Prohibition may be coming to the Front Street space that was formerly Rehab Disco. The MBJ reported today that the owners have applied to the DMC asking for permission to put up the sign.

Six new companies have graduated from SeedHatchery startup bootcamp. The bootcamp is an intense 90-day process to guide entrepreneurs through the very early stages of their new businesses. Congratulations to all six.

I am WORN OUT. BBQ Fest has left me physically sick, and I know I’m not the only one on the team in that condition. Made it to work though. I’ll be out for a little while after work, but it will be a pre-10:00 night for bed though. Will probably lead off at Silly Goose because I haven’t spent much time there the past week and want to catch up on a few things.

If you’re looking for BBQ Fest pics, scroll down to the next post. I got them up earlier this morning. Time to bang out a news post while I wait for the bars to open.

BBQ Fest will be over Saturday and there will still be a day left in the weekend. Looking for something to do on Sunday? South of Beale is having a “Bones and Brews” party from 1-4 Sunday. It will be a benefit for Mid-South Spay & Neuter Services. Pay-what-you-can donation gets you complimentary appetizers, $3 mimosas, $3 Bloody Marys, and $3 pints. The parking lot will be blocked off and dogs on leashes will be welcome.

Real 2 Reel Photography is a great place to buy art to decorate your walls, and now is a good time to do it. They have a buy 2, get 1 free special that will continue through this weekend. Real 2 Reel is at 523 South Main, just north of G.E. Patterson Avenue.

Sad news: Two BBQ icons have passed away. Don Pelts, founder of Corky’s, and John Willingham, founder of Willingham BBQ, have died. These two men were cornerstones of the city’s rich BBQ tradition.

If you know someone with Alzheimer’s, then August 1 would be a good night for you to come to AutoZone Park. The first annual Alzheimer’s Association Night with the Redbirds will happen that evening, first pitch at 7:05. Tickets can be purchased for $15, $5 of which goes to the association. Fans are encouraged to wear purple to show their support for the fight against the disease.

The San Antonio Spurs play the Golden State Warriors tonight at 9:30 on ESPN. If the Spurs win, they play the Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals. If the Warriors win, they force a Game 7 with San Antonio. The Grizzlies will have home court advantage if Golden State advances to the WC Finals.

Party Planet plays the Peabody rooftop tonight with special guest Brit Nicole. If you’re not going to BBQ Fest, you can get some BBQ on the rooftop. The buffet will have BBQ pork sliders, slaw, and baked beans. The VIP buffet will have BBQ ribs, slaw, pulled pork potato skins, and biscuits. Doors open at 6, ladies free until 7, $10 cover includes first drink.

Two events in Court Square today: Memphis Music Foundation Showcase featuring Chris Johnson & Lights as Lenses at 11:45, and Zumba at 5 PM.

That’ll wrap up the news. Time to put on sun block and head to the park.

Tonight is “Friends & Family Night” at BBQ Fest. It’s like a practice day before the park opens to the public, a soft opening of sorts. You can’t buy tickets at the gate, and even a 3-day park-hours-only wrist tik won’t get you in. You have to have a separate ticket for Friends & Family Night, or a 24-hour-park-access wristband, in either case purchased by your team about a month in advance. There’s a limit to how many of each you can buy. I think the limits are 50 for the tickets and 15 for the wristbands. Counting team members, sponsors, and cook team, we have about 60 people on our team. So Wednesday tends to be more “Just Us Night” than Friends & Family Night.

Hours are 5:30 to 10:30 PM. Closing time is earlier than the midnight closing time Thursday and Friday. But that shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Well, tonight it’s a big problem.

You see, our booth is all the way to the south of the park. When the park closes, it’s about a 25-minute walk to the bars in the Downtown core. Most likely I’ll be hanging out at our sponsor the Blind Bear, although Silly Goose and Flying Saucer are also options.

So, what’s the problem?

The problem is that the average NBA game is 2 hours and 20 minutes long, counting timeouts, commercial breaks and halftime. The Grizzlies-Thunder game, a very important game because a win sends us to the Western Conference Finals, starts at 8:30. Now, I don’t feel like I have to see ALL of the game. But I’d like to see the last few minutes.

But the last few minutes of tonight’s game, I’ll be walking. That’s a problem. What to do? Leave early? Go to the much-closer Max’s Sports Bar on the south end rather than one of my usual bars in the core? Between now and tonight I’ll have to figure it out.

Congrats to the Grizzlies on making the cover of Sports Illustrated. The title is “True Grit” and there’s Mike Conley driving to the basket.

There’s an after hours at Mud Island River Park from 6 to 8 tonight. Wine tasting, river views.

There’s also a wine tasting at Spindini tonight. Northern Italian food paired with “vine to table” wine. $45 per person, reservations highly recommended.

The Memphis Flyer had a recent article about two gluten-free options available in Downtown Memphis and elsewhere. At the Memphis Farmers Market, you can purchase gluten-free boxes of Chocolate Ginger Macadamia Muffin Mix, Cinnamon Raisin Pecan Muffin Mix, and Richard’s Favorite Waffles and Pancake Mix produced locally. Also, Huey’s has rolled out a gluten-free menu.

Just saw a tweet that the Church Health Center offers free cooking classes, and you don’t even have to be a member of the Church Health Center Wellness program to attend. I wonder if there are tastings at the end of the cooking classes, and if so, I wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Envision Memphis, the health club on the top floor of the Cadre Building (Second at Monroe), will have a dodgeball bootcamp on Wednesday, May 30.

That’ll wrap it up for now. Today I’ve got to do the errands I didn’t get done Monday (too hung over) or Tuesday (went to the park because the team was desperately short-handed). About 3 I’ll pre-game at the Saucer, and then I’ll head to the park at 5:30. Mostly I’ll hang out in my own team’s booth (Moody Ques S-215), although I do plan on going over to Squeal Street for a minute, where Bob, Mike, and Bones will have an ABBA dance-off in honor of MiM host country Sweden. No Number 2 in their port-a-john please!

Yesterday was scheduled to be the main load-in day for the BBQ team. Now, as I’m sure you all know, there is nothing I love more than getting covered in mud and sweat building our team booth. However, yesterday I was not allowed to. “Paul, you know that it is absolutely vital that we leave one team member behind at the Flying Saucer to hold down the fort and handle anything that comes up there,” the team captains told me. “You’re the mayor of the Saucer on Foursquare and you have experience in this role. Please please PLEASE put the team ahead of yourself and do this for us.”

As much as I wanted to be at the park, I knew they were right. I stayed behind and entered into negotiations with beverage consultant Sara. “Dos Equis Lager is on the menu for $4.75,” I told her. “Is there ANY way we can knock the price down a little?” Sara thought about it and gave it to me for only $3. Based on her tone, I got the feeling that if I’d waited even one more day to take care of this, I would not have been able to make this deal. About an hour after I got there, three teammates arrived to help me hold down the fort and they got the deal too. In fact, everyone in the bar seemed to be getting the deal. Glad I could lay the groundwork.

Later in the day, I showed support for the Memphis Grizzlies on behalf of the BBQ team by watching the Saucer girls hang blue and yellow balloons that read, “Believe Memphis” and “Grit-n-Grind.” Of course, the Grizzlies went on to win last night in overtime, and if I contributed to that victory in some small way through the support I showed, I am happy to have done so.

Manager Ollie, who was back at the Saucer after having been gone a couple of years, didn’t seem to understand my role. “Holding down the fort?” he asked. “What does that involve? It sounds like you’re just standing around here drinking all day and avoiding work.” People who aren’t on BBQ teams simply have no idea what all is involved to make things happen. Different team members contribute in different ways.

Unfortunately I didn’t get all my work done yesterday. I finished the day at our sponsor, the Blind Bear, where I sampled the PBR to make sure it is fit for consumption in the team booth. After seven 16-ounce samples I still had not made up my mind. I will have to go back there and put some more time in today.

A team email went out last night that we got the hard part of the booth’s facade done yesterday, but there are a lot of tent items to be delivered and they really need everybody in the park between 10 and noon. They didn’t even mention me holding down the fort again today, but I guess they assume that I will handle it. They’re starting to take me for granted.

Okay, let’s get on to the news. There’s a new food truck in Memphis called Hunger Monkey. The owner plans to provide healthy alternatives for vegetarians, vegans, and those following the paleo diet. Hmmm it doesn’t sound like I’ll be spending much money at this truck. Food truck diversity is a good thing though, so I’m glad it’s up and running.

Soccer fans: The Brass Door will show the Arsenal vs. Wigan Athletic game today at 1:45.

Game 5 of Grizzlies-Thunder will be on TNT at 8:30 Central time Wednesday. Since that’s Friends & Family Night at BBQ Fest, I won’t be able to watch it at the Blind Bear as usual.

The state of Tennessee is zeroing in on office space Downtown to replace the space they are vacating. They are leaving the Hill Building in Civic Center Plaza.

Historian Jimmy Ogle is conducting one of his famous manhole cover tours today at 11:45. That sounds weird but I hear those tours are very interesting and you learn a ton about the history of the city in a most unique way. Free. Tour starts at the Cotton Museum.

Taking a quick look at Foursquare. Our team vice-president checked in a few minutes ago and commented “going to be another long-ass day.” I “Liked” his comment to show my support for all the hard work he will do at Tom Lee Park today. By the way, the booth was wrongly marked as “The Moody Ques S-214″ on Foursquare. That’s last year’s number. I used my superuser powers to change it to “The Moody Ques S-215.” Just another thing I do to add value to the BBQ team. If it were left as S-214 people might not be able to find the correct location of the booth.

All right. Time to go accomplish stuff. If there’s more news I’ll make a second post.