Author: paulryburn

Important Moody Ques BBQ team information: We have to submit our application to Memphis in May on February 20 and write them a fairly sizable check. Since we lost the sponsor we had last year, we have less money in our account than we normally do this time of year. We have some good leads on new sponsors but we probably won’t get money from them by the 20th. Therefore, we need 8 members to pay their dues by February 20 or it may not be feasible for the Moody Ques to exist as a team this year, which would be a shame after winning Best Booth in 2014. You can pay via PayPal here or get a check to one of the team leaders (since I’m out and about a lot, you can give checks to me and I will make sure they get passed along).

If you were on the team any time in the past three years, you should have received an email from the team. If you did not, shoot me an email at paul@paulryburn.com and I will forward it to you. You can also email me if you have never been a member of the Moody Ques but are interested in joining. We still have spots open for sponsorship too.

The Downtown Kooky Canuck location will be the location for filming of a currently-airing Food Network show next Sunday, February 15 from 11 AM to 8 PM. They are looking for 15 people to be part of the episode. If you want to be one of those 15, post a 30-second video to Kooky Canuck’s Facebook wall explaining why you love the restaurant. You are encouraged to be wild, crazy, and of course, kooky in the video.

Even if you’re not selected as one of the featured guests, there will be an opportunity to be in the background. They will be filming all day.

One more Kooky fact: Co-owner Lana posted that their kitchen is open until 2:30 AM every night. Good to know. I did not realize they served food that late.

Job hunter alert: Inferno is hiring an account executive with 3-5 years experience.

Grizzlies majority owner Robert Pera is on the roster for the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game, which will happen next Friday, February 13 at 6 PM. Game to be televised on ESPN. Here’s the entire roster.

From High Ground News: Driving transit reform: New leadership at MATA may be just the ticket. I too have hope for the future of our city’s public transportation after reading this articles and others. It’s just that the new leadership has a giant mess to clean up that was left by the old, incompetent leadership. It will take years to get everything the way it needs to be.

The private Ride the Roo shuttle that connects Overton Square and Cooper-Young is pet-friendly. You can use it to travel between places on the route that have dog-friendly patios, such as Chiwawa and Slider Inn.

That’s all for now. BBQ teammates, PAY YOUR DUES! I’ll be at the Silly Goose from 5:45ish to 8:00ish if anyone wants to drop off a check.

Plans for One Beale are back on the table. Carlisle Corp. tried to start on this massive project eight years ago, but had to abandon it when the recession hit. Now they are ready to take another shot. One Beale is proposed to consist of two towers, one 30 stories tall, that would include 300 hotel rooms and 280 apartments, as well as office space and space for meetings and retail. It will be located at the corner of Riverside and Beale.

I don’t normally post a lot of Valentine’s Day-related events on account of the fact that Valentine’s Day sucks, but for beer dinners I will make an exception. The downtown Central BBQ and Wiseacre Brewing Co. are hosting “LoveMeatBeer: An Almost Valentine’s Day Dinner” on Thursday, February 12 at 6:30 PM. Seating is limited; call 901-672-7760 or email JC@cbqmemphis.com to reserve your seat.

Live music recommendation: The Eric Hughes Trio plays the Blind Bear Saturday night at 10. Great band, great venue. Note to self: My “halftime” nap on Saturday cannot last until 8 AM Sunday morning as has happened the last two Saturdays.

Bluff City Coffee is going to start doing “Bake Sale Fridays” starting not this Friday but next, February 13. The sale will start at 6:30 AM and last until they sell out.

Also on February 13, the Say Cheese gourmet grilled cheese food truck will make its debut, parked outside the High Cotton tap room from 4 to 9 PM. More info here.

If you go to South of Beale and like the art you see on the wall, their artist is giving away a painting. Go here for details on what you need to do to enter to win.

From Thrillist: Bad decision bars in Memphis. This is awesome even though a couple of my favorite Downtown joints made the list. I’d suggest that the author go to Silly Goose about 12:30 AM on a weekend night; she might have a 15th item on her list if she did. By the way, to clarify, going to these bars are not bad decisions in and of themselves; it’s that you tend to make a lot of bad decisions once you are inside.

Google is close to launching a ride-hailing app that would compete with Uber and Lyft.

Be careful if you’re out driving late tonight, because rain will fall early evening and it could turn into snow. No late-night driving for me, just some PBR. I’ll kick the evening off at the Silly Goose (where I hopefully won’t make any bad decisions) about 5:30 this afternoon.

On Monday, February 23, there will be a fundraiser for Cozy Corner. The popular BBQ restaurant on North Parkway caught on fire early last month. It will have to be rebuilt to meet current codes, and not all of the costs are covered by insurance. So, some of the city’s best chefs are stepping in to lend a hand, preparing delicious food to help Cozy Corner get its doors back open.

The Lion King begins its 4-week run at the Orpheum tonight.

Another day, another call for artists: The DMC is looking for artists to design new banners that hang from lamp posts on the Main Street Mall. Deadline to submit application and proposed sketches is March 3.

Chez Philippe will host a 5-course wine dinner on Wednesday, February 23 featuring food by Chef Andreas Kisler paired with wines from Silverado Vineyards in Napa Valley. Here’s the menu.

A judge in San Francisco has ruled that Lyft and Uber drivers should be treated as employees, not independent contractors, in what could be a setback for ride-sharing services.

Congratulations to Bleu on winning the Best Dessert award at Soup Sunday.

Libertyland’s Grand Carousel will reappear in 2017, at the Children’s Museum of Memphis.

Here’s a “You’re so Memphis if you…” story from the Memphis Flyer website: A new business called Chicken and Checks will offer payday loans and, presumably, sell chicken.

You just can’t make this shit up (pardon the pun): Mashable has an article about how to know if you’d be a good poop donor. No kidding, this is a thing. Donors are paid up to $13,000 a year.

That’ll do it for now. There may be enough news for an after-work second post today. We shall see. On the fence about whether I’ll play Blind Bear poker tonight at 8. Not really in a poker mood, but then, what else is there to do on Tuesday. Once again, we shall see.

This is awesome: Jimmy the groundhog bites the mayor of Sun Prarie, Wisconsin. Stupid mayor. Enjoy those rabies shots you’ve got coming!

From the Onion: Depressed groundhog sees the shadow of the rodent he once was

Capriccio Grille in the Peabody is doing a “Lion King” pre-theatre dinner tomorrow through March 1 from 5 PM to 7 PM. The menu features upscale cuisine from the African continent, served prior to the beginning of the shows at the Orpheum. You can view the menu here. $40 per person.

Several hundred people showed up for the first day of Bass Pro’s three-day job fair.

There’s a Groupon going on for Memphis Magazine subscriptions. You can get 50% off for one, two, or three years.

This month’s South Main Association meeting will be next Tuesday, February 10 at 6 PM, It will be at the new Rizzo’s Diner at the corner of South Main and Butler. Historian Jimmy Ogle will be the speaker, talking about the history behind the walls of South Main buildings. Rizzo’s will provide appetizers and there will he happy hour drink prices. Free for SMA members, $10 for non-members.

Artists are wanted to paint the kiosks on Main Street. Details here. You have until Tuesday, February 17 to apply.

FiveThirtyEight has a Super Bowl version of Significant Digits that is pretty interesting.

If you missed the Grizzlies Live pre-game show on Saturday night, you missed a special guest: THE NAIT’CHA BOY was stylin’ and profilin’. However, the show is on YouTube if you want to catch Ric Flair’s appearance.

Sorry there was no post on my lunchtime break. We had construction people in the office re-configuring cubicles and there was so much banging around and noise that I couldn’t hear myself think. Better late than never I guess. Back tomorrow with more news.

I had a nice long post ready to go yesterday at lunchtime, but I never moved my hosting off GoDaddy and the server was being a little bitch so I couldn’t post. Is it time to make the move? GoDaddy is bad. They’re not Comcast/Xfinity bad, they’re not Delta Airlines bad, they’re not MATA bad, but they’re not good. Plus a lot of my friends who are dog owners are pissed off about their Super Bowl commercial. I don’t have any pets so I have no dog in this hunt (probably a poor choice of words there) but it’s not good that so many of my friends are upset with my hosting provider.

By the way, if you want a permanent canine companion or even a temporary one, talk to the folks at Streetdog Foundation. They do good work.

Here’s yesterday post as is. It should have had a 1 PM 1/30/15 timestamp, so “today” means yesterday and “tomorrow” means today.

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The Grizzlies game tomorrow night will have more than just wrestling belts for the first 3000 fans in the door (doors open 5 PM, no early entry for MVPs this time so everyone has an equal chance to get a belt). There will be wrestling luminaries in attendance. Dave Brown tweeted that the longtime hosts of Memphis wrestling, himself and Lance Russell, will be in attendance. Also there, Dave said, will be Jerry “The King” Lawler and 16-time NWA, WCW, and WWE champion “Nature Boy” Ric Flair.

Wait, what?

The kiss-stealin’, wheelin’-dealin’, Lear jet-flying, limousine-ridin’ son of a gun is going to be there?

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There’s a “Baby Hold on to Me” musical tonight at the Cannon Center at 8 tonight, celebrating the life of soul singer, songwriter and producer Gerald Levert.

Garden Path at 597 Madison will host a workshop on mosaics tomorrow from 1 to 4. Learn about cutting tile and glass, as well as about adhesives, grouting, and substrates. You’ll be given everything you need to create a small project, and you can buy enough to make a larger project if you wish. $50 fee for the class.

If you want to be a mentor, here’s a link where you can sign up for the Grizzlies’ TEAM UP program.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a civilian deckhand position open.

The Church Health Center is hiring an audit and control specialist.

The Brass Door is going to have a $15 tailgate buffet and $12 buckets of Bud and Bud Light Sunday for the Super Bowl.

Ghost River Brewing’s dock at Main and Crump is open until 6 today and 3 tomorrow for your Super Bowl needs.

From Choose901: Plans have been revealed for renovating the historic Toof Building at 195 Madison.

This 5-day work week feels like it has lasted about 9 days. Ready for the weekend. No significant plans but I’ll be out somewhere after work.

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Saturday 8:44 AM: Okay, that’s the “Friday update” post. I just woke up and went to City Market for a sausage biscuit and liter Mountain Dew. Let me look around and see if there’s enough news to warrant a Saturday post.

Happy birthday to Grizzlies All-Star Marc Gasol, who turns 30 today.

For Memphians who have moved away, you have a rare opportunity to see your Grizzlies on TV tonight. The Grizzlies’ home game vs. the Denver Nuggets will be broadcast on TNT tonight at 7. You’ll want to tune in for the pre-game, though, because the All-Star reserve players will be announced. Both Zach Randolph and Mike Conley have a chance at making the team, with Conley being more of a longshot not because of a lack of talent, but because there are a lot of good point guards in the Western Conference right now.

If you didn’t make it to Soup Sunday four days ago, you can still taste one of the winners. Chicken Velvet Soup is Bardog Tavern’s Soup of the Day today.

Central BBQ is selling 6- and 12-packs of ‘que for Super Bowl watch parties. $22.99 for the 6, or $38.99 for the 12.

John Mellencamp’s Plain Spoken tour will make a stop at the Orpheum Tuesday, June 23.

Voting was delayed on the issue of whether to take away the Pinch District’s National Historic Register status. Losing the status could make development easier in the neighborhood, which will boom once Bass Pro opens in May.

More bad publicity for everyone’s least favorite cable company: Comcast apologizes for changing customer’s first name to “Asshole”

I’m not a gamer, but nevertheless, I have a game recommendation: Resident Evil 3. In this game, a character named Jill who has a tube top on gets chased by zombies. If I ever become a zombie, I hope I get to chase some hot women in tube tops.

Note for my fellow pro wrestling fans: Starting Sunday, February 1, if you sign up for the WWE Network they’ll give you February for free, including the Fast Lane pay-per-view to be held here in Memphis and the next of the awesome NXT Takeover specials.

I hadn’t played the Wednesday night poker game at Bardog in two years, but for some reason yesterday seemed like the right day to check it out. It’s a good game and Joe has come up with two innovations that really help: First of all, the blind clock is on the big-screen TV, where everyone can see it, and it shows not only the current blind level but the next. That’s really helpful in figuring out how aggressive you need to be. Also, Joe has two decks at every table, so the person in the small blind can shuffle and have the cards ready to cut and deal by the time the button moves and they become the dealer. That allows more hands to be played per blind level, which makes the game more likely to be decided by skill rather than luck.

I won’t become an every-week regular at Bardog poker, because I have a bartender at Silly Goose who would not be happy if I left her bar early every week. However, I will go back from time to time. It was an enjoyable Wednesday night. As a bonus, last night they had their Rancher’s Pie on special – beef brisket covered in chipotle mashed potatoes, carrots, onion, and cheese.

The same bartender works at the Goose tonight, so I will lead off there after work. Plans for the rest of the evening TBD.

Friday night is a chance for you to relive your childhood in Downtown Memphis. Remember when you were little, and you played “let’s pretend”? Well, Friday night you can pretend there’s a trolley for South Main Trolley Night. Many shops and galleries in the area will stay open until 9 or later, with some having special discounts and some putting out appetizers, beer, or wine for their guests. As I mentioned earlier this week, there will be a singer/songwriter night at 550 S. Main, and there will also be live music at the Green Beetle, Double J, Grawemeyer’s, and Cafe Pontotoc.

Update on the Grizzlies wrestling championship belt giveaway happening at Saturday night’s game: The FedExForum will open at 5 PM, TWO hours early as opposed to the usual one hour. There are only 3000 belts, so if you want a belt plan your schedule accordingly.

Thrillist, the useful and informative list site that covers many large cities, has come to Memphis. The first list is a list of the 14 most essential restaurants in Memphis. Downtown restaurants mentioned include Central BBQ, Chez Philippe, Gus’s, the Rendezvous, and Alcenia’s.

There’s a fundraiser for ArtsMemphis called “A Dollar Goes a Long Way” at the James Lee House this evening. However, if you want to attend the event, you will have to part with 225 of those dollars. More info here.

The Memphis Tigers host the ECU Pirates tonight at the FedExForum at 8.

ApplePay is coming to thousands of vending machines. If you have an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, it will be easier than ever to get that bag of Cheetos.

Seen in my Facebook news feed: Crocheted man shorts are sure to be all the rage this summer. If you ever see me in a pair of these, you totally have permission to punch me in the face.

Poker news: The World Series of Poker is changing its Main Event payout structure this year. In recent years, the $10,000 buy-in event had a guaranteed first-place payout of $10,000,000. This year first place will pay less but 1000 players will be guaranteed to finish in the money. If the number of entries remains consistent with last year about 15% of the field will be paid.

Speaking of poker, I came in third in Blind Bear poker last night, earning a $10 gift card and an extra point in the race to the final table in April. Fact I learned last night that I’ll share with poker hosts/tournament directors who read this blog: Cougars don’t like to be seated next to me at poker tables.

After work, I’ll lead off at the Silly Goose as usual on Wednesday, but to borrow a phrase from my friend Neal “you neva, eva know” where else I might pop up later in the evening. Weather will be warm enough for me to wear my favorite winter outfit of PBR hoodie, shorts, and sandals. Fun afternoon ahead at work (I get to configure a WordPress installation!) then out about 5:30 for dranks.

An expensive Maserati crashed into a pole this morning at the intersection of Union and Riverside. There was heavy front-end damage to the car.

The monthly Downtown Neighborhood Association is tonight at the Downtown Central BBQ, at 147 E. Butler cat-a-corner to the National Civil Rights Museum. Tonight’s meeting is FREE for non-members as well, so if you’ve wondered what the DNA is all about, this is a good time to come learn about the organization. Refreshments will be served, with social time at 6 and the program beginning at 6:40. Reid Dulberger will speak. He is president and CEO of EDGE (Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis & Shelby County), the group that recently approved tax incentives for IKEA and which is an advocate for development in the core community. The DNA will also talk about upcoming events and opportunities to get involved.

From Memphis Magazine: eighty3 rolls out the best Elvis dessert you’ve ever tasted, a Memphis take on Bananas Foster.

Northeastern US blizzard update: Milk and bread are not the only staples people need to survive a heavy snowstorm. Alcohol delivery app Drizly reports that orders were up 477 percent above normal for New York City and Boston yesterday.

If you haven’t tried Belle Southern Bistro yet, today might be a good day: On Tuesdays all entrees are $5 off, as are bottles of wine.

Last night I went to happy hour at Bardog and got an unexpected treat: My friends Dennis and Karen, two of my favorite Downtowners, were there for dinner. Later in the evening I joined them for British Bingo at the Blind Bear. Karen gave me a tip, one which I was already well aware of but which I will pass on to my readers anyway: Karen thinks Lisa, bartender at the Majestic Grille, makes the best martinis Downtown. “She asks exactly the right questions,” Karen told me. She makes sure she understands exactly what you want, and then pours it for you.

I have my sights set on Blind Bear poker tonight, 8 PM, free to play, Jamie dealing and my favorite pair of librarian glasses serving. I’m in a poker kind of mood this week and am looking forward to a good night. Life’s been good to me so far…

If you are going to the Memphis Grizzlies’ Saturday home game against the OKC Thunder, you will want to get there early, early, early. The first 3000 fans will get a Grizzlies championship belt, similar to the belts champions in UFC and WWE wear. Here’s a photo of one of the belts.

Speaking of WWE… if you’re a wrestling fan, tonight’s Monday Night RAW should be interesting. The event was scheduled for Hartford, Connecticut tonight, but due to the blizzard the fed cancelled the show for the safety of its fans. However, WWE headquarters is in nearby Stamford, and they plan on producing a live three-hour show from there. Wonder what they will do with the three hours since there will be no in-ring action. It might be a good thing for the federation though, as the live crowd shit all over Roman Reigns last night after he won the Royal Rumble, even booing The Rock who was in the ring to celebrate with Reigns. May be good that there will be no live crowd tonight to bury him even further with their reaction. Poor Roman… all he did was what his bosses asked, and now he’s Batista Part Two. Sufferin’ succotash!

My friend Katie Mac will be excited about this: Choose901 reports that there is a new food truck named Say Cheese that makes different types of grilled cheese sandwiches.

The Super Bowl trophy made it safely to Phoenix thanks to FedEx Express.

Former Memphis Tiger Kuran Iverson, who was kicked off the basketball team a couple of weeks ago after a Twitter controversy, is reported to have landed at the University of Rhode Island.

Paul Morris who runs DMC learned this afternoon that Kate Spade has a line of handbags called “Beale Street.” Here’s a look at one of the bags. “Where’s our royalty Kate?” Paul asked.

Twilight Sky Terrace, the lounge atop the Madison Hotel, reminded its fans that it is open year-round, and that from now until April, they spin their own tunes and there is no cover charge.

Home from work and on my way out to Melissa Monday at Bardog. Back tomorrow with more news.

Sunday is the Super Bowl and many Downtown bars will be running Super Bowl specials (or as the bars have to call it, “The Big Game Specials” or “Super Sunday Specials”). I will try to post of many of these as I can throughout the week. If you know of a special, shoot me an email at paul@paulryburn.com.

The Flying Saucer will have a complimentary food buffet featuring many game day favorites starting at 5 PM. They will also have their Bloody Mary bar that is normally out noon to 3 on Sundays, where you can build your own Bloody Mary for $4.50. In past years that have made Super Bowl Sunday a Pint Nite, but I did not see anything about it on this year’s flyer. (Edit: According to Holly, who is putting together a city-wide Super Bowl guide, the Saucer will have $3 pints starting at 4 PM.)

If you’re hosting a Super Bowl party at home, and don’t feel like cooking, Bardog will do it for you. You can order a package of 25 sliders, 25 wings, chorizo cheese dip, and spinach artichoke dip, to be picked up the day of the game. Orders must be placed by noon Saturday.

With Mardi Gras only a few weeks away, Qahwa: Coffee Bar at Main and Adams has added a limited-time King Cake Latte to the menu. It’s a mix of brown sugar cinnamon, caramel, espresso, milk, and whipped cream, topped with cinnamon sugar. That sounds good, even to someone like me who isn’t a coffee drinker.

The History in Pictures Twitter account posted a link to a 1970s band from Davenport, Iowa called the Turds of Misery.

A car was found in the Mississippi River off Mud Island this morning. It was across from the entrance to the Riverset Apartments.

In case you haven’t been following the news today, a major snowstorm will hit the northeast tonight. New York City’s mayor says it could be the worst in the history of the city. The Memphis airport has reported that all flights to and from LaGuardia and Newark have been cancelled.

There will be the first in a new series of singer/songwriter nights this Friday at 550 South Main (Friday is also the monthly South Main Trolley Night). Tentative acts include Rice Drewery, Faith Ruch, Savannah Long, Bobby O’Neal, Steve Schad, Ben Rocky Tallent, and more.

Tamp & Tap is having another Kill the Keg party this Friday starting at 4 PM and lasting until the beer is gone, with beer by local breweries Ghost River, Wiseacre, Memphis Made, and High Cotton.

Last night was the Royal Rumble, the second-biggest WWE pay-per-view of the year. As a WWE Network subscriber, I wanted to be sure to watch it. So I posted to Facebook “Downtown bartenders: I’m not doing any shots today” so I would be sure I would be awake to watch it. So, what happened? Thanks to D-RANKS with B-RAD at the Blind Bear, instead of doing zero shots, I did six. I don’t regret it though. There are always interesting people to talk to at Brad’s bar. The only Rumble match I got to see, the triple threat WWE title match, was reportedly the only good match on the show.

Time to get back to an exciting day of GitHub merge conflicts. For those who don’t speak tech, let me translate: It’s a Monday for sure. At least that means I have Melissa Monday at Bardog to look forward to after work, with either Pint Nite at the Saucer or British Bingo at Blind Bear to follow.