Author: paulryburn

Finally, there’s a restaurant Downtown that serves bi bim bop, the Korean dish in a bowl that is topped with a fried egg. I was walking through the lobby of my building and I noticed a menu for a new restaurant called Nacho’s, at 150 Jefferson. I believe that would be the old China Restaurant location, about a quarter block east of Second.

In addition to bi bim bop, Nacho’s serves (not surprisingly) several forms of nachos, as well as sandwiches, wraps, dips, salads, and a quesadilla. For breakfast they have build-your-own sandwiches as well as several plates including a Korean omelet plate. The hours were not listed on the menu, but from looking at it, the restaurant appears to be open for breakfast and lunch only. With little residential within a block walk, and off the beaten path for tourists, opening for dinner would be a stretch.

Brewery Untapped has re-opened for the weekend at the Tennessee Brewery. There’s free parking in the grassy lot across the street, while it lasts. Live music this weekend includes Den of Strings Friday at 5 PM and Jeff Hulett and Brad Davis at 6 PM. Performances will be on the courtyard stage, moved into the bar room if it rains. The Bikesmith Truck will offer bike repair and bike valet service Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7. As always, there will be food trucks, local and regional beer, and a game room.

Want to be a model for the Memphis Flyer’s annual fashion issue? There will be a casting call for the issue at tonight’s Peabody rooftop party. The Super 5 will provide the live music. $10 admission, with ladies and hotel guests free until 7 PM. Admission includes a buffet of grilled cheese, potato chips and dill pickle. Those in VIP will have a second buffet of turkey panini sandwiches, Rotel dip, mozzarella bocconcini, and grape tomato skewers.

Also tonight, don’t forget that there’s poker at Cafe Keough tonight at 8. Free to play. Great sandwiches.

Belly Dancers will perform at the Rumba Room tomorrow, May 10, which is World Belly Dance Day, from 7 to 9 PM. This is a ticketed performance to raise money for the Family Safety Center. Tickets are $18 at the door or $12 if purchased in advance at memphisbellydance.com.

There’s exciting news about our BBQ team sponsor Start Co. Mara Lewis, who started her first business while in college, and who has launched three successful startups in San Francisco, has been named managing director of Start Co. She started out there as entrepreneur-in-residence, and then became director of Upstart, an accelerator for woman-owned businesses. She’s said to be excited about all the innovation going on in the city, particularly with regard to women and minorities. Mara, I hope to meet you in the Moody Ques team booth next week!

Speaking of the BBQ team: We are set for load-in at 7:30 AM Saturday at Tom Lee Park, although that time may vary a little due to weather and scaffolding. All team members who have not been given an alternate assignment on Saturday are asked to be there, to help with things like furniture, carpet, and decor. Food and drinks will be provided. As usual, I have been assigned to hold down the fort at the Flying Saucer and handle anything that comes up there while the team is in the park constructing the booth.

More BBQ team news: We have a team of very accomplished artists who will be painting the facade of the team booth this year. You’ll have to wait until BBQ Fest to see it, but like last year, it’s a concept that representatives from the host country will immediately recognize.

Also, representatives from Fireball will be in our booth handing out samples of the product. They’ll be handing out samples throughout the park, but have asked to use our booth as a home base of sorts. OK with us!

Over in Arkansas, traffic was stopped on I-30 by a massive pig. I wonder if the pig was trying to hitch a ride to BBQ Fest.

Only an afternoon and a day stand between me and my BBQ Fest vacation. Can’t wait. Time to knock out some work and then enjoy some $1.50 happy hour PBRs at the Silly Goose. Back tomorrow with more news.

A new program will celebrate the launch of mobile retail business in Memphis tomorrow. It will be called MemMobile and it will happen on the Civic Center plaza. Among the mobile businesses will be Sache T-Shirt Truck, Henny Penny, Thigh High Jeans, BIKE Truck, and K’Presha: A Haul of Fashion. Food trucks A Square Meal on Wheels and Mark’s Grill will be on hand too.

1960s British Invasion cover band Jeffrey and the Pacemakers will play Court Square Friday, May 9 from 11:30 AM to 1 PM. These guys are very accomplished musicians and their performances are filled with not only music but stories about the era. Worth checking out if you work Downtown.

There will be a Robert Graham trunk show Saturday from 11 to 5 at Lansky at the Peabody. You’ll be able to shop the Spring 2014 line and preview the Fall 2014 line. Spend $250 in-store and you’ll get a free pair of Robert Graham jeans, while supplies last. You’ll also be entered to win an autographed shirt from designer Robert Stock.

WREG has an article, Beale Street Landing: Where the Money Went. The landing has taken 10 years to build and still isn’t done. It has cost $43 million, way over the original budget. When I read “where the money went” I hear a flushing sound.

In case you missed it: A MATA security guard was arrested for aggravated assault after allegedly pushing a 68-year-old man. Fabulous publicity for one of the worst large-city public transportation systems in the United States.

WREG has pics of a Yuengling truck that hit the bridge at Front and Nettleton. Trucks that are too tall hit this bridge all the time, despite its height being posted.

We had a great time handing out BBQ team bags on the patio of our sponsor the Blind Bear yesterday evening. About 12 of us showed up and enjoyed drinks on the patio and caught up on prep for BBQ Fest next week. Things are starting to get very exciting.

That’ll do it for now. Will be back tomorrow (or possibly this evening) with more news.

The last remaining element of our BBQ team packets came in yesterday. I ran into the team president on the Main Street Mall and she handed me a rubber team wristband, used to show the doorman that you are indeed a team member:

The team bags are now ready for members to pick them up. They will be at our sponsor the Blind Bear beginning at 5 PM today. The Bear is open 5 PM-3 AM Monday-Friday, 12 noon-3 AM Friday and Saturday.

There are pics of the Tennessee Brewery and Schweinehaus on the Memphis Que blog. Schweinehaus is being opened on Overton Square by Chef David Scott Walker, pitmaster of our BBQ team, and his family.

There will be a pop-up vacation in Court Square tomorrow from 11 AM to 2:30 PM. You’ll be able to experience a mini-vacation during your lunch break, with a putting green, a Metal Museum forge, mascots from local sports teams, an Elvis tribute artist, and more. The Peabody will fill the square’s fountain with hundreds of rubber ducks. The event is designed to show the importance of travel and tourism on jobs in Memphis.

This isn’t a Downtown event, but a lot of Downtowners like to visit the Greek festival that happens in Memphis this weekend. There’s a Groupon for discounted tickets going on right now.

The Grizzlies have saved basketball in Des Moines by signing an affiliation with the Iowa Energy of the NBA D-League. Four teams were interested in an affiliation with the Energy, but only the Grizzlies wanted to keep the team in Iowa.

I’m going to change things up and lead off at Blind Bear tonight and hang out with whichever BBQ teammates show up. There’s poker there at 8 but I am going to take a hiatus playing until after BBQ Fest. Three more work days until vacation time!

Before I head out to Cinco de Mayo, I wanted to do a quick post about a couple of events that are happening this coming Saturday, May 10.

There will be a firefighter appreciation cookout to celebrate our local firefighters that day from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. It will be at the South Main fire station, at the corner of Butler. It will be a family-friendly event. Of course, you could always come to South Main a little early and hit the Memphis Farmers Market first.

Later that day, there will be a Tunes for Tupelo tornado relief concert at the Green Beetle. Live music acts will include Bryan Hayes and the Retrievers, Rice Drewry, Chelsea Chandler, The Sojourners, and Shelley Brown. A $10 donation is suggested, with $7 of that going to CREATE, Northeast Mississippi’s community foundation, to help victims of last week’s tornadoes in Tupelo, Mississippi.

From Inside Edition: Fake Price Harry dupes and entire city

All right, on my way out for Cinco de Mayo. I haven’t been paying real close attention but I have heard about two Downtown specials: Silly Goose will have $3 margaritas, $5 tacos, and $7 Mexican flatbread pizza. Local will have $2 margaritas and $2 tacos. As for me, I’m going to lead off at Bardog for Monday with Melissa, Possibly a margarita at the Goose later.

(8 AM Sunday: Oops forgot to hit Publish before going out)

I got an unexpected treat yesterday. I left my apartment about 5:00, walking down the Main Street Mall, the Flying Saucer my destination. Right before I got to Union I ran into two of my BBQ teammates. “We’re about to go up to Start Co.,” they told me. “Why don’t you join us?” Start Co. is our new BBQ team sponsor, and I had not yet seen the new office on the second floor of 88 Union, so that sounded like a plan.

What a beautiful space. The main room is a huge open space with about 15 tables where entrepreneurs can connect to the Wi-Fi and get work done, using Start Co as their office. Start Co. advises and provides resources to entrepreneurs who are in the infancy phase of their business. If I were an entrepreneur, sitting there working and looking out over Main and Union, one of the premier corners in Memphis, I’d feel like I’d already made it. (I’d also feel hungry because the space looks out toward Huey’s as well.) There are several side rooms for meetings, a full kitchen, and a living room-type space with TV and stereo. In the kitchen is a kegerator with Ghost River beer for when it’s time for beer:30. Everything about the space is first-class.

You know, total immersion is expected from the entrepreneurs who go through Start Co.’s accelerator programs, but the company understands that all that hard work has to be fun. That’s why they have perks like a dinner at Flight that happened last week, the kegerator, the Moody Ques booth for their clients to hang out at BBQ Fest. If you have an idea for a small business that you think would work, but you don’t know where to start, talk to Eric and Andre and the fine folks at Start Co.

Team news: We almost have the member packets ready. We’re waiting on one remaining item, the rubber wristbands that team members wear. All the other stuff, including the T-shirts, is ready. We didn’t print any team tube tops this year (this was not my decision) but if you want one, buy a tube top and take it to Josh at Winfield’s at 2 S. Main. For a fee he can print the logo on the tube top.

I love every Saturday but I’m really looking forward to next Saturday. Next Saturday is load-in day. That means I will be at the Flying Saucer, loading extra limes into my Dos Equis Lager while my BBQ teammates get the team booth materials delivered to our spot in Tom Lee Park. It’s super important for the BBQ team to keep one team member behind at the Saucer to handle anything that comes up. It’s my responsibility this year to hold down the fort.

South Main news: The neighborhood is getting banners, a visitor’s guide, and a walking tour.

There’s a Groupon for Sesame Street Live at the FedExForum on June 28. The show is titled “Can’t Stop Singing.”

In case you’ve been living in a cave for the past day, Zach Randolph has been suspended for tonight’s Game 7 at Oklahoma City for throwing a punch in Game 6. With Z-bo out, Conley’s playing ability hampered by a bad hamstring, and the fact that the game is in OKC, the Grizzlies’ chances of moving on to the conference semis are dim indeed. Game is at 7 on TNT.

Forecast for the weekend is highs in the 80s, lows around 60 with no chance of rain. It is going to be tube top heaven Downtown this weekend! I’m going to lead off at Bardog as usual, then decide between heading south to Brewery Untapped or staying in the core and checking out the freak show that is Beale Street during Music Fest weekend. Time to pop open a PBR and get things started!

Big news: Chef Kelly English of Restaurant Iris and The Second Line is in negotiations to buy Earnestine & Hazel’s. Details here on the MBJ website. The article says he wants to maintain the character of the place. I heard about this last Friday and heard a little more about the ideas he has, but since the chef declined to share those ideas with the MBJ, I will hold off for now too. It is good news though.

The Pink Pig is back. The popular clothing line formerly on sale at Shelton Clothiers will be sold this weekend at a pop-up shop across the street from the Tennessee Brewery, near the Butler Park entrance. Shirts for men and women, performance T’s, new vintage T’s and caps are now for sale. Done in partnership with Outdoors Inc. Buy the shirts 5-9 Friday, 1-9 Saturday and Sunday.

The Orpheum has announced the lineup for its 2014 summer classic movie series. Choose901 has the lineup here.

There’s a Groupon for 50 Shades, the Musical at the Orpheum on May 14. Tickets that are $53.60 face value can be had for $37.

Starting last night, Wednesday trivia at Tamp & Tap features a new tiebreaker round. If two teams tie at the end of the match, a round of Mario Kart 64 will be used to determine the winner.

An article in the UK Daily Mail discusses this weekend’s rumored royal visit to Memphis. It talks about places to go, including Downtown spots Lansky’s, Kooky Canuck, Flying Saucer, Silly Goose, and Paula & Raiford’s are among those listed.

I hope this post makes sense. Meant to be a 5:40 post before I went out but turned into a 10:40 post. Back tomorrow I hope.

One of the best acts to play the Peabody rooftop, Aquanet, takes the stage tomorrow night at the Thursday rooftop party. This band does ’80s hair band cover songs and dresses in authentic costumes. Come hear Poison, Ratt, Bon Jovi, Warrant, Winger, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, and more performed as only Aquanet can. Special guest My Crazy Girlfriend will perform as well. Doors open at 6, ladies and hotel guests free until 7, $10 admission otherwise. Admission includes a make-your-own nacho bar. If you’re in VIP you also get a buffet of tamales, a fish taco station, and quesadillas. The drink special will be Malibu Sparklers for $6. Here’s a video of Aquanet rocking it out on WREG Live at 9.

I am sad to report that there are no known dead drops in Memphis. Our city is missing out on the latest and greatest innovation in file sharing.

Game 6 growl towel will have “All Heart, Grit, Grind” on it. Now that’s a collector’s item. Game will tip off at 7 PM vs. the OKC Thunder tomorrow night at FedExForum.

Court House Deli has begun accepting credit and debit cards. This is one of my favorite lunch spots. Great Cajun chili, red beans and rice, crawfish etoufee, mushroom swiss burgers, deli sandwiches and salads, and Voodoo wings. Check it out if you haven’t already. It’s on Main between Madison and Monroe, and is open for lunch only. It’s inexpensive and they know how to keep the line moving so you can eat and get back to work.

The Daily News has another good article about Brewery Untapped.

Wrestling fans: You can now buy The Sheik, the movie about retired wrestler The Iron Sheik. He the real and the legend and if you not buy his movie you jabroni like the B. Brian Blair and the Virgil and you have the sex with dead dog. Buy it at sheikmovie.com.

That’s the end of the day news. Time for a PBR at the Goose. Coming soon: A Music Fest weekend guide for people who don’t do Music Fest.

My friend Deni who owns the Majestic Grille made me aware of a piece of legislation that could badly hurt local family-owned restaurants. A bill about wineries was making its way through the Tennessee House of Representatives when Rep. Curry Todd stuck on a last-minute amendment that had nothing to do with the rest of the bill. The amendment would force restaurants to pay for liquor cash-on-delivery, rather than have the 10-day window to pay that they have now. For a lot of locally-owned restaurants, that 10 days is vital and is the difference between being able to keep the doors open and not. The amendment was added to the bill last-minute, and it was not put to committee or discussed. The entire thing was done in a very underhanded manner, and because of this the bill passed the House and it is now on its way to Gov. Haslam to sign. We have 10 days to convince Gov. Haslam to veto the bill.

So here’s what you need to do. Email bill.haslam@tn.gov the following:

Gov. Haslam: I support the Memphis and TN Restaurant & Hospitality Community and the $16 billion impact they have on the state. Please VETO HB2027 / SB2415.

There are still rumors of a royal visit to Memphis this weekend. A friend of Princes William and Harry is getting married here this weekend, and it’s said that they will be in town and possibly Kate Middleton too. Mayor Wharton is preparing for their visit even though it hasn’t been made official yet. Part of the weekend’s itinerary includes dinner on Beale Street. Um, you realize Music Fest is happening this weekend? Good luck with that!

MATA will run the trolleys for extended hours for Music Fest weekend. Trolleys will run until 1 AM Friday and Saturday and until 10 PM Sunday.

Eric Clapton plays Mud Island tonight. Buy tickets here. Tickets are $75-145.

There’s a Groupon for a Memphis Grizzlies basketball camp going on right now. The camp is for ages 6-17 and is run by the National Basketball Academy. Admission to the camp is a $199 value but you can get it for $115 with the Groupon.

The Grizzlies return home with a 3-2 lead over Oklahoma City, after winning 100-99 in the fourth straight game that went to overtime last night. Game 6 will be at 7:00 Thursday on TNT.

Up early this morning, so I figured I’d go ahead and get the news update done. There may be another post around lunchtime, so check back.

The Moody Ques team T-shirts are here. They will be distributed in team member bags, but the team leaders gave me mine in advance for publicity purposes. Here’s a look. The shirts are beautiful royal blue – my favorite color and Memphis Tigers color as well. They fit well and aren’t super-tight like last year’s shirts were.

This is the small image on the left front of the shirt.

This is the image on the back of the shirt.

These were done by my friend Josh Cottrell who works out of Winfield’s at 2 South Main. If you need a bulk T-shirt order done, keep Josh in mind. I’m going to ruffle some feathers here, and I speak only for myself and not the team, but I think Josh did a much better job than the company that printed our shirts last year, both in terms of quality of material and getting the shirts to us on time.

There was an emergency situation at the Sterick Building this morning. The CA reports that window washers were left dangling 20 stories above Third Street when a motor broke on their rig. The two men managed to break a window and get inside, as firefighters were on their way up the stairs to reach them.

The city is implementing new regulations for parking tickets. Violations carry fines that average about $21. However, beginning May 1, if these tickets are not paid in a timely fashion (within 15 days), fines and other costs could make the cost of the violation to $246 total. Cars can also be immobilized or impounded if there are unpaid fines. There are parking kiosks on some streets that cover multiple spaces. These use a “pay and display” technology where you print out a receipt and display it on your dashboard as proof of payment. Receipts can also be used to dispute parking tickets.

The Memphis Flyer reports that the first weekend of Brewery Untapped at the Tennessee Brewery was a huge success with even larger crowds than expected. Untapped re-opens for its second weekend Thursday at 11 AM.

There’s a nice article on Grantland about four days in Memphis for the NBA playoffs.

Google is the most popular search engine, but Bing will pay you to use it. Users can expect to earn in the ballpark of 500 credits per month, equivalent to $5 that you can cash in for rewards.

On Pinterest: The Memphis Farmers Market has posted recipes you can make with ingredients from the market.

Grizzlies play Game 5 tonight in Oklahoma City at 8 PM. Series is tied at 2-2. I’m going to watch the game at the Blind Bear, but am going to take the evening off from poker so I can focus my attention on the game. Go Grizzlies! Let’s steal another one on the road and get home-court advantage back.

This morning I woke up to the patter of large hail against my window, the BANG of thunder produced by lightning strikes very close by, and then tornado sirens. I took the day off and was very happy to not have to drive to work in the storms that passed through. Friends of mine in the Claridge had a window blown out. I hope everyone is safe. Downtown is on a double power circuit and it must have switched over to the backup leg of that circuit about 9:30, when the power flickered for a moment in my apartment. I hope everyone out there is safe and sound.

This is the second day of storms. Yesterday’s storms were predicted to be out of here by noon, but they stuck around way longer than that. Getting cabin fever about 11:30, I made the run from my apartment to Bardog and figured I’d wait it out there, then have a short walk to Rajun Cajun. That short walk never happened. I was there for two hours, and it showed no sign of stopping. Friends of mine had gone to the Blind Bear, so I decided to tab out and make a run down there. I walked/jogged down the west side of the Main Street Mall, and right as I was crossing Gayoso about 20 feet from the Bear’s entrance…

BANG!!!!!!!

Lightning struck on the opposite side of Main Street. That’s about as close as I’ve ever come to getting hit. That’s it, I decided, I’m not going to Rajun Cajun until the rain has entirely moved out. Which it didn’t. No crawfish for me this year, and no photo album of Rajun Cajun which I expected to be posting today.

Back to this morning… I looked out the window after the rain cleared and saw a beautiful sight.

What’s so beautiful about this? Well, if you look carefully you’ll see a bunch of rubble and two yellow bulldozers to the left of the Doubletree Hotel. That’s where the Greyhound bus station used to be. So happy to have the bus station removed from Downtown Memphis.

A plane en route to Memphis departing from Newark Friday night had a close call with another plane that was landing. The landing plane was told to circle the airport but it did not and instead came on in. There was a space of about a half a mile between the two planes, when two miles between the planes was the standard. A friend of mine who was on the plane said that it took a dip and then they saw another plane flying over them. Glad he and his family are safe. The FAA and NTSB are investigating.

Keep an eye on this NBA investigation of racist comments made by L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling, because it could have implications for Memphis. If the Grizzlies win their series vs. the OKC Thunder and the Clippers win out against Golden State, the Grizzlies and Clippers would meet next in the conference semifinals.

You may have seen smoke coming from the southeast if you were Downtown Saturday. An abandoned warehouse near Crump caught fire and four firefighters were injured, including one with a broken back. My thoughts and prayers and wishes for a speedy recovery go out to the firefighters.

In case you haven’t heard, two new ride-sharing services, Lyft and Uber, are coming to Memphis. The cab companies are likely not too happy about it, but I have heard good things about both and look forward to giving one a try the next time I’m in the mood for a field trip to Midtown.

My trip to Rajun Cajun didn’t happen, but my post-Rajun Cajun vacation day is happening today. Time to get a few errands done then hit Bardog and the Saucer and enjoy my day off.