Author: paulryburn

The big event happening Downtown tonight is the Bar-Kays 50th anniversary celebration at the Cannon Center. Doors open at 6 for cocktails, with red carpet 6:30 to 7:30. Performances will include The Dazz Band, Eddie Levert, The Mary Jane Girls, George Clinton, Confunkshun, Willie Clayton, Jazze Pha, Shirley Brown, Sir Charles Jones, and D.J. Quick. Tickets are $97.11. More info here.

If you’re looking for some good college basketball to watch tonight, turn on ESPN2 at 7. #18 Arkansas takes on #20 Iowa State. Bobby Portis is Arkansas’ big star, but keep an eye on Michael Qualls too. He’s the one who made that last-second putback last year to upset Kentucky. Given the state of Memphis’ basketball program this year I’m glad I have the Hogs as a fallback team to watch.

It has now been announced that BOTH the Blind Bear Speakeasy and the Silly Goose Lounge will be doing Prohibition Repeal Day parties tomorrow night. Here are the details, pasted from Facebook.

Blind Bear

Repeal Day Anniversary Party…Celebrating the End of Prohibition!!!! Dress up in your Best Speakeasy 1933 attire and be ready to Celebrate 81 years of Non Prohibited Drinking!!! Drink Specials!! Costume Contests!! Lee Taylor Band @10pm!! Photographer ready to add to the Dining Room Wall!! $4 Moonshine Shots in the cutest Mason shot glasses ever, $5 Moonshine Shooters, $6 Moscow Mules, Manhattans, Champagne Cocktails & Whisper Sisters (all on Giggle Water Cocktail list, with Yummy Brands, no well / house)

Silly Goose

Friday – REPEAL DAY! two days away. In spirit of America’s social culture the trinity of cocktail will be on special for $5 (Manhattan, Oldfashioned, and Martini) Dress it up as we will be awarding the most dapper couple with $200 second $100 and third $50 Gift Certificate. Cody will be mashing and mixing music from the Roaring twenties in Great Gatsby fashion.

Both bars having repeal parties the same night is an excellent idea. It will allow patrons to bar-hop without looking out of place in costume. I plan on being at both events.

Rachel’s Salon, where I get my hair cut a few times a year, is having a special this weekend: Purchase $100 in Aveda holiday items or a gift certificate for $75, and receive a $20 gift card for yourself. The salon is also offering double Pure Points (don’t ask me what those are, no idea) on Aveda products and gifts.

You can get a free Grizzlies T-shirt tomorrow at C-spire locations around town. Closest location to Downtown is 1680 Union.

The Grizzlies are having a beer tasting night at next Friday, December 12’s game vs. the Charlotte Hornets featuring SweetWater beer. You can take part in the tasting with the purchase of a special $85 Club level ticket or $40 Terrace IV ticket.

Yesterday I reported that Trader Joe’s was scouting Germantown locations. That is true, but the chain has no immediate plans for Memphis.

Interesting graphic I found on FiveThirtyEight: How predictable is severe weather in your area? The West Coast (except Northern California), Alaska, Hawaii, and southern Florida are the most predictable; the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, western Kansas, and western South Dakota are the least. Memphis is slightly less predictable than average.

Interesting conversations last night at happy hour… seems like damn near every time I go out, I hear a new story about the same person throwing things, starting arguments, provoking fights, throwing punches… and yet that person manages to charm bar owners and managers to the point that they are not only allowed back in, but welcomed. I just don’t get it.

Happy birthday to my BBQ team’s vice-president today… I’m sure “Mr. Load-in” will have a beer with you sometime this weekend. Back to work for now. Leading off at the Silly Goose after work as usual for Thursday. Possibly enough news for a second after-work news update, so check back.

In case you missed it, I posted a late-night “second Tuesday update” post with a ton of news (it actually went up a few minutes after midnight, so it has today’s time stamp). Be sure to scroll down and read it after you read this one.

Got a couple of pieces of grocery store news for you today. The one that’s being widely reported, that you’ve probably already seen, is that Trader Joe’s is scouting store sites in Germantown. I wish they were scouting Downtown or Midtown, but I totally understand their desire to go where the money is. Having lived not far from a Trader Joe’s for six months in San Diego, I can tell you, it would be worth the car ride to the ‘burbs.

For those familiar with both: If Memphis could have one, which would you choose: Trader Joe’s or In-N-Out Burger?

Now for a piece of lesser-known grocery news: City Market is coming to Cooper-Young. The neighborhood grocery, which has operated a Downtown location at Union and Main for about the past three years, is going into a building at 836 S. Cooper. If memory serves correctly, I believe that would be the former convenience store at Cooper and Elzey. City Market is a great little grocery that is known especially for its deli, its selection of international and specialty foods, smoothies, produce, and cheeses among other things. Its owners are Indian so if you like Indian food you are in for a treat. The market will be a real asset for the Cooper-Young neighborhood. “Like” the market on Facebook to keep up with when it will open and what it will carry.

The NBA announced this morning that the December 16 Memphis vs. Golden State game will now be nationally televised by ESPN. Tip-off is 7 PM.

From the New York Times: Bass Pro Shops to add a Memphis Pyramid to its empire

I have qualified for the Blind Bear’s 16-week poker league final table tentatively to be held Sunday, December 14. Since I can’t be knocked out of the top 10 I am going to sit out the remaining two poker games between now and then and let the others fight it out for the points. I won a gong at the April final table this year and I won an iPad at the first-ever final table in April 2012.

That’s it for now. Barring any work-related complications I should be out tonight, leading off at the Silly Goose around 5:30.

(Editor’s note: It may be a few minutes into Wednesday morning despite the Tuesday news title. I stay up late.)

I’m Rob Lowe.

And I’m Holiday Shopper Rob Lowe. I stand at the cash register with my weekly ad circular, quibbling over the price of each of the 50 items in my cart, handing the cashier 13 different coupons (half of which are expired or for the wrong item), while my 4 kids drool all over the place, oblivious to the fact that there are 9 people behind me in line who are trying to buy a couple of necessities on their lunch break and need to get back to work soon.

Such was my life at Horn Lake Target today.

Don’t be this me.

Seriously, why do people lose all standards of decent human behavior when they’re in a big-box retailer between Thanksgiving and December 31? It’s nice to have a Target I can get to in my work lunch hour, but I’m happy there’s not one Downtown.

Earnestine & Hazel’s will introduce a sister restaurant in the back bar called Hole in the Wall. It will be headed by Kelly English and will be a separate space with different hours and offerings than E&H. Also, E&H will be acquiring a liquor license because of the sister restaurant’s opening.

The Flying Saucer is planning four beer dinners next year, in March, June, August, and November, with breweries Schlafly, TN Brew Works, Lazy Magnolia, and SP Brewery. At least five beers will be sampled at each, with food pairings to match. If you want to go to all four dinners, a $150 value, you can purchase a “season pass” for $99. Ask your Beer Goddess for details. Beer dinners are something the Saucer has always excelled at, making the pass a very good value.

In other Saucer news, the bar has offered some suggestions if you are looking for a toy to bring to the Stumbling Santa pub crawl that departs from the Saucer Saturday at 7. Wooden puzzles with the big pieces, African-American dolls, Transformers, Spiderman or Batman toys, color rings that infants stack to develop motor skills, letter number toys and blocks, toy trains, and mini footballs and basketballs. Toys will be collected and donated to the children of Porter-Leath.

Also note that there are certain toys they can’t take to Porter-Leath: toy guns or knives, games that involve play money or throwing dice, or food.

There will be another Memphis Type History book signing Downtown. It will happen Friday at the High Cotton Brewery tap room at 598 Monroe. If you buy the book, they’ll give you a free High Cotton pint. 4-8 PM.

Know someone in Memphis who is active in health and fitness issues? You can nominate them as a Memphis Grizzlies/Blue Cross Tennessee “Shape the State Hero.”

Gizmodo reports on an interesting thing some restaurants in New York are trying: Instead of taking reservations, they are selling tickets to dine. Whereas in an arena you would pick your section and seat, in a restaurant, you pick your table, date, and time. This is good for the restaurants because the ticket system eliminates no-shows and last-minute cancellations: The diners pay for their ticket up front. Also, just as some seats in an arena are better than others, some tables, dates, and times are more in demand than others, and the restaurants can upcharge for those “premium” tickets.

Aldo’s Pizza Pies will be closed this evening for the annual employee Christmas party.

The Belz Museum is offering $1 admission 7 AM to noon Saturday. You can come by during or after the St. Jude Marathon, and there will be free coffee and hot chocolate for visitors. The museum is in Pembroke Square on the Main Street Mall.

Off to bed. Back tomorrow or when more news comes in.

Last night my friend Bob and I were at the bar at Bardog for “Melissa Monday,” so named because it’s the one day a week bartender Melissa works a happy hour shift. Bardog’s owner, Aldo, was there hanging Christmas stockings on the bar. Each employee – each bartender, server, barback, kitchen employee, and manager – had their own stocking, their name written on it in glitter.

“It’s the little things like this,” Aldo told Bob and me. It’s just a stocking, he explained, but it tells the employees that they’re cared about, that they are part of the family. “Making money is nice, of course, but it’s also showing respect” to the people who work for him, Aldo said. It’s a winning strategy. Because Aldo shows his employees respect, turnover at Bardog is very, very low. And because employees at Bardog tend to stick around for years, they have time to develop relationships with customers. Which creates more and more regulars. Which is good for business.

Yeah I’d come to Bardog a lot in any case, because I like the bar. But why am I there most Mondays for happy hour? To see Melissa, who by the way has been there since the day the place opened, more than 6 years.

Why is Bardog my first stop on Saturday mornings? To see Panda, who has been there since the day the place opened.

Why is Bardog usually my first stop on Sunday mornings? To see Bloom, who has been there since the day the place opened.

It’s a strategy that makes a lot of sense. Treat your employees like they are valuable, not expendable, and your employees will build your business for you.

On to the news… AP has an article about coaches who could be moving up in the college football world soon. Memphis Tigers head coach Justin Fuente was among those mentioned. This is the first time Memphis football hasn’t sucked in many, many years. The university may need to make some moves to retain his services. If Nebraska or Florida came calling, could you blame Fuente for at least considering it?

Another local coach is in the news too… Dave Joerger has been named the October/November NBA Western Conference Coach of the Month. The CA’s Chris Herrington pointed out that the Joerger has been coach seven months that the award was handed out, and he has won it three of those seven times.

Cafe Pontotoc has announced that it will start serving brunch beginning this Saturday.

Friday is the 81st anniversary of the end of Prohibition. The Blind Bear Speakeasy will throw a Repeal Party that night to celebrate. Ever seen the black-and-white photos on the wall of the back dining room, and wanted your picture on there? Dress in your best gangster or flapper attire, because the Bear will have a professional photographer on hand. (Look for a pic of me sitting at the poker table on the wall.) There will be drink specials, costume contests, and live music by the Lee Taylor Band.

The Rendezvous is hosting an Official Grizzlies Watch Party tomorrow night at 7, with the Grizzlies’ away game at Houston on the TVs. There will be beer specials and giveaways.

There’s a Groupon for the Madison Hotel with dates into March. $129 for a queen bed room, $139 for a king bed room, or $195 for a suite with king bed and sleeper sofa. Interesting note: I took a peek at the available dates and Valentine’s Day weekend has NOT been blacked out as of yet. That could make a thoughtful getaway weekend with your sweetheart.

The Tigers men’s basketball team hosts Stephen F. Austin tonight at FedExForum at 6. First 5000 fans get a free Shaq Goodwin poster.

I want to give a shout-out to the folks at Bluefin. The past two Sundays I have eaten there late afternoon. Those are the only two times I have been in the sushi bar in the past eight months or so, and yet everyone there knew my name and treated me like a king. Much appreciated.

From the Flyer’s Hungry Memphis Blog: Arcade applies for liquor license, plans nighttime business. With Double J, Max’s Sports Bar, Earnestine & Hazel’s, and the Blue Monkey nearby there’s already plenty of foot traffic in the area at night.

That’ll do it for now. In the middle of a fun project so I’m ready to get back to work. I will probably play poker at the Blind Bear at 8, with stops at nearby bars before to pre-game.

The developers of the Chisca Hotel want to close Mulberry Street between MLK Jr. Avenue and Pontotoc Avenue to support a 144-space surface parking lot across Mulberry. The Design Review board will hear the proposal to close Mulberry at 4 PM on Wednesday. The DNA and SMA oppose the street’s closure. Read the staff report here. The meeting is open to the public and will be in the DMC’s conference room at 114 Adams Avenue.

A new food site called The Fork launches today. The Flyer has an interview with the site’s creator here.

From today through the 22nd, the Peabody will have choirs singing in the Grand Lobby from 11 AM (after the morning duck march) to noon.

From the Daily News: Chef Michael Patrick is ready to cook at the newly relocated Rizzo’s Diner at South Main and Butler. The larger kitchen will allow him to offer menu items that weren’t possible at the old location around the corner, and the new location will have a bar with a couple of TVs.

Central BBQ is running a gift card promo this week. Buy a $100 card and get a $20 card for free. Central is also collecting toys for Toys for Tots, if you want to make a child’s Christmas a happy one when you stop in to get your gift card.

Bluefin has a gift card sale as well. Buy a $50 gift card and get a $10 card for free, or buy a $100 gift card and get a $20 gift card for free.

The Rendezvous is having a Cyber Monday special until 4 PM today. Place a rib or shoulder order on the restaurant’s website and they will throw in a free pint of beans and slaw.

That’s it for now. Out at the usual spots after work.

There’s a Big Wheel Relay at 1 PM today on Beale Street to benefit the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. Teams of four will compete, with their $80 entry fee going to the Angel Tree program, with a maximum of 40 teams.

Aldo’s Pizza Pies is hosting Pizza with Santa Friday, December 12 from 4 to 8 PM. There will be fun and games and photos with Santa, prior to the annual performance of The Nutcracker down the street at the Orpheum. Bring an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots or a $5 donation to the Mid-South Food Bank.

When was the last time that there was more reason to be excited about the Memphis Tigers football team than the men’s basketball team? The 8-3 Tigers host UConn today at the Liberty Bowl at 3. Prior to the game, the True Blue Hospitality Tent opens at Tiger Lane at 1 ($10/person). There will be a pep rally at 2:15 and Senior Day recognition at 2:30.

There are Christmas trees for sale at the Memphis Farmers Market Winter Market today. It’s open until 1 at Front and G.E. Patterson.

That’ll do it for now. Leading off at Bardog as usual on Saturday, with Bloom filling in for Panda behind the bar. Rest of the day TBD.

I missed the holiday potluck at the office yesterday because I was busy deploying stuff. For those who aren’t programmers, “deploying” is the process of taking web application code that you have thoroughly tested on a server built for that purpose, and pushing it live to your production server so the public can start using it. That way the public never encounters bugs because they got stomped out in development and testing. (At least that’s the way you hope it works.)

So anyway, by the time I got home from work yesterday, I was starving. That was not a problem because Shorty has the $10 pasta bar at the Silly Goose. I walked up there and ordered a bowl of chicken, artichoke hearts, spinach, and onions and Shorty’s pesto parmesan sauce with alfredo. “Paul, let me give you one of my cards,” Shorty said. “I can come to your home and cook for you if you ever need it. Let me make a meal for you and your girlfriend. I can do that.”

I told Shorty I don’t currently have a girlfriend. “Well, if I cook for you you’ll get a girlfriend quickly, believe that. And I do catering too if you ever need it.” If anyone is interested in in-home cooking or catering, drop me a note at paul@paulryburn.com (or text me, Facebook me, ask me in person, whatever) and I’ll pass on his contact info. Trust me, he has the culinary skills to impress a potential girlfriend or business clients.

Here’s a one-minute time-lapse video of the Peabody Hotel’s Christmas tree being set up. Although condensed into one minute, the full setup required 20 people and seven hours to get done. Setup was done by the folks at Holliday Flowers, the same people who designed the award-winning booth for my team The Moody Ques at BBQ Fest this year.

Tomorrow the Peabody will have its tree lighting ceremony, beginning with the morning Duck March at 11. Marching the ducks will be the actor currently playing Randy in “A Christmas Story, the Musical” at the Orpheum. There will be performances throughout the day by local choirs, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and a band of soul musicians led by the STAX Academy music director. At 5 the evening Duck March will take place, and after that, the tree will be lit and Santa and his elves will pass out holiday candy.

There’s a Groupon going on for Havana’s Pilon, the great little Cuban restaurant on Second east of Madison. For $8 you can get two $7 vouchers, each good for one visit; or for $16 you can get two $14 vouchers, each good for one visit.

Counting down to the part of Thanksgiving I like the best… 5 PM, when the bars open. Nothing says Thanksgiving like a PBR, and I plan on saying Thanksgiving that way quite a few times tonight. Back tomorrow with more news.

The Mid-South Food Bank was still short about 1400 turkeys of the amount they need to feed hungry families this Thanksgiving as of around 9 this morning. If you want to help, go to midsouthfoodbank.org. $15 provides a turkey for a family.

Holly has updated her list of restaurants and bars that will be open tomorrow. It includes places that will be serving a special menu for Thanksgiving as well as places for which it will be business as usual.

From Serious Eats: How Cajun deep-frying turkey took over America

Actually, though, you know what’s even better than deep-frying a turkey in oil? Infrared turkey fryers. A friend of mine who lives on Mud Island has one of these and I’ve eaten turkey cooked in it the past couple of years. It takes less time than frying with oil (and a LOT less than the traditional way of preparing turkey in the oven), there’s no danger of a fire breaking out, and the turkey is just as good if not better.

Another way to cook a turkey, from Mashable: We microwaved a turkey and it was actually pretty good

From the MBJ: Several Memphis liquor stores now have beer growler-filling stations. These include Pyramid Wines on A. W. Willis, which I blogged last week has received rave reviews from some of my friends. The growler stations will help liquor stores offset losses from wine being allowed in grocery stores.

South Main Book Juggler at 548 S. Main will host a book signing for the book Memphis Type History Friday from 6 to 9. More info about the book can be found here.

Mark James, who a few years ago authored a book on Memphis wrestling history from the ’50s to the ’70s, has a new book out on the history of wrestling in Atlanta from 1960 to 1984. It covers stars like Mr. Wrestling II, the Assassins, the Fabulous Freebirds, Tommy “Wildfire” Rich, Ole Anderson, and many more.

Kevin Cerrito’s trivia at Tamp & Tap and the Green Beetle is taking this week off for Thanksgiving. Sunday I talked to the burlesque dancer who runs Burlesque Bingo Thursdays at the Mad Earl (8 PM) and she told me it is on for tomorrow.

The Grizzlies are giving away a free Grizzmas scarf when you purchase a 7 game holiday pack. If you purchase this Friday you get an 8th game, against the Miami Heat, for free.

DJ Cody Rogers is doing a rare Wednesday at the Silly Goose tonight. He will start mixing the videos around 10. Thanksgiving Eve is traditionally one of the busiest nights of the year, so expect the bars to be packed tonight.

I’m on call for work this Thanksgiving weekend, as my company hosts a major national tournament in Providence, Rhode Island starting tomorrow. Therefore, I won’t be able to get TOO crazy this weekend (in other words, my no-Fireball shot rule is in full effect). That said, I will be out, and I plan to make it a late night tonight. Time to go out and have some fun before Turkey Day gets here.

If you want to eat some good food Downtown in 2015 at a discount price, next Wednesday, December 3, is a big day for you. I had previously mentioned the 3rd would be the day of the Majestic Grille’s annual half-off gift card sale. Now Kooky Canuck has announced that they will also do a half-off gift card sale that day (both the Downtown and Cordova locations). They make great stocking stuffers, or you can use them yourself!

Here’s another gift card offer – At Felicia Suzanne’s, get a free $20 gift card for every $50 gift card you buy. Offer runs Wednesday through Sunday of this week. More details here.

The Brass Door is doing a Black Magic show Friday and Saturday at 8 PM. The show features three of Memphis’ top stand-up comedians: Mo Alexander, Spanky Brown, and Just Larry. From the event listing:

“WARNING: THIS SHOW IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!
BLACK MAGIC features Extreme Magic, Adult Beverages, Hilarious Stories, and more filthy words exclaimed than a Collierville soccer mom fighting for the last Door-Buster sale “My Little Pony” at a Target on Black Friday morning!!!”

Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door.

Bass Pro is getting things moving on its bowling alley in the Pyramid. YESSS!!! Of all of Bass Pro’s amenities, this is the one my friends and I are most likely to use. The bowling alley will be inside Uncle Buck’s Fishbowl and Grill and will have an underwater theme.

There’s a Groupon for So You Think You Can Dance Live that is currently running. The show is December 7 at the Orpheum.

Another Downtown Groupon is running, this one for Spaghetti Warehouse. You can get two $20 gift Groupons ($40 value) for $25.

I’ll mention one more Groupon as well, this one not a Downtown one but it’s one of my poker buddies’ restaurant: $19 for two-course seafood dinner at Boneheads.

Local has announced a new happy hour from 11 AM-7 PM Monday-Friday. $2 domestic bottles, $3 select draft beers, $3 well drinks, $5 wine specials. From 4 to 7 they have a happy hour food menu including thin & crispy potato chips, loaded tater tots, baked buffalo cheese dip, short rib grilled cheese, and BBQ duck nachos.

Choose901 reports that Slide the City will be coming to Memphis in summer 2015. This is a 1000-foot water slide. There will also be live music, food, and drinks.

In case you missed it: Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph passed out 450 holiday boxes filled with Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings to families in need. Z-bo’s family relied on holiday boxes when he was growing up, and now he’s in a position to give back. I am so happy the Grizzlies found a way to keep this man in Memphis through at least 2017. What a positive role model for the kids.

FreeWorld is playing this Saturday at the Flying Saucer starting at 9 PM. No cover.

Posting a bit early today because I’m about to get handed a high-priority project at work. It’s possible this may be the rare night when I don’t get out at all. That’s the news for now, see you tomorrow.

I’ll lead off this Sunday blog post with a few pics from our Friendsgiving potluck on Mud Island yesterday. There were about 30 of us there and there was turkey and ham and all the side dishes and it was a blast. No kidding, it seemed like there was more food at this dinner than we had the entire week of BBQ Fest. Everyone who wanted to go back for seconds, did, and the Nuh-Uh Girl could have gone back for sevenths, eighths, and ninths if she had been in town.

Although it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, I got an early Christmas present as the potluck got started. My Razorbacks shut out #8 Ole Miss 30-0. You think we’ll be ranked this week? My guess is not in the AP or the coaches’ poll (although we’ll come close) but we will be in the college football playoff poll. Has a 6-5 team ever been ranked before? It’s a testament to how strong the SEC West is this year. We’re bowl-eligible and it’s time to CALL THOSE HOGS!!!!!!!!

From the Bleacher Report: Arkansas sends a message to the SEC with back-to-back shutout wins

If you see these at a party, beware:

These are alcoholic gummy worms and they are far more potent than Jello shots. They got me Thursday night at BBQ Fest. They got me again last night, but it was a delayed effect. I actually managed to last from 11 AM to 1:45 AM without a “halftime” nap. We stayed on the Island until about 10 and then went out. Despite having four of these “shots” forced on me I was coherent and even managed to dance a little. About 1 I went over to the Saucer to have a beer at Jim’s bar and then called it a night. As I was walking home some of my favorites were coming out of the parking garage and said, “Paul! Come to Purple Haze with us!” but thanks to the gummy worms I had no energy left.

And now, on to the news… allow extra time if driving Downtown mid-afternoon. There’s a Break-a-Leg 5K departing from the Orpheum at 2 PM.

Memphis in May Beale Street Music Fest three-day passes go on sale for $75 Wednesday. The lineup has not been announced yet (nor has the forecast) so if you buy, you’ll be buying on blind faith at a big discount.

The Grizzlies host the L.A. Clippers at FedExForum at 5. All the Grizzlies have recovered from the stomach flu and are healthy for tonight’s game.

All right. Sunday morning. Time for church dranks. Leading off at Bloom’s bar at Bardog at 11, other stops to follow.