The biggest news of the day is that the Memphis Flyer’s annual Best of Memphis issue has hit the stands. For those who are new to Memphis, this poll is as close to a definitive guide to the true best of Memphis as you can get. It is tons more credible than the Commercial Appeal’s Memphis Most poll, which is a shameless rip-off.
However, if you’re new to Memphis, I would recommend using the Flyer poll as a starting point from which you can continue to explore. For example, Huey’s has won Best Burger for years. I disagree. I think Huey’s has a very good burger with the best marketing. If you’re new to Memphis and want a good burger, you can’t go wrong with Huey’s. But I would encourage you to read the Best Memphis Burger blog to find other burgers you might like even better.
By the way, the winners are being tweeted on the @MemphisFlyer Twitter account today.
I’ll say it once again: If you’re not following @midtownkrogers on Twitter, you are missing out. This is a tweet from yesterday:
Fires are dangerous if youar in a fire in a krogers always keep #safe and go the closed hidrant and spray the fire down. #krogerfires
And here’s one from Saturday:
We have hot food here and you can cash a check here if you work here but no pharmacy. Other krogers have pharmacys but not us. #nophramacy
Information just doesn’t get much better than that.
Speaking of Midtown groceries, Cash Saver is hosting a Brooklyn Brewery sampling and growler fill event tonight from 5 to 7. The Fuzzy Brew blog has details.
Tomorrow is the second in the fall series of Peabody rooftop parties, and one of my favorite bands will be performing: Aquanet. This band does covers from 1980s hair bands in full costume. If you like Poison, Ratt, Winger, Bon Jovi, Warrant, Cinderella, and Motley Crue, this act is a must-see. Admission is $10 and includes your first drink and a buffet of fried green tomatoes and po’boy sandwiches. Drink special is Cruzan rum with choice of mixer for $4. Those in VIP will have a second buffet of chicken Bourbon en croute, muffalettas, and red beans & rice with andouille sausage. Doors open at 6. Ladies free until 7. There will be two more parties in the fall series, on October 17 and 31.
I’ll be at Blind Bear trivia tonight at 8. Charles is out of town, so a member of my former 2005-11 trivia team is stepping in to call trivia. I don’t know if I will play, but I will be there for moral support and to put anything unintentionally funny he says on Twitter. I was there last night for poker and was doing well for a while until Hurricane Bean blew through and changed the required skill level to play from poker to bingo.
Outta here for now. Happy Wednesday and don’t forget to pick up a copy of the Flyer.
I wanted most of my lunchtime post to be about my experience at Mad Earl poker, so I held some stuff back. Let’s get the rest of the news out in this second Tuesday post.
One of my readers emailed in response to my negative experience with Yellow Cab Sunday. You can call them in advance and schedule a pickup time. So I could have called at 8 AM when I got up to request a 10:30 pickup. Did not know that. She says they’re usually on time if not 5 minutes early. Maybe I’ll give that a try, but the cab company is definitely at two strikes with me.
AutoZone Park will screen Hocus Pocus on its big screen Saturday, October 26 at 6:00. The 1993 movie is about three modern-day witches in Salem, Mass. and is rated PG but is said to be family-friendly. Kids can dress in Halloween costumes, and there will be trick-or-treating and a limited number of hayrides along the ballpark’s warning track. Tickets are $6 in advance or $20 for a Family Four Pack in advance; $10 individual tickets at the gate. Go to www.memphisredbirds.com to get tickets.
MATA has received a $2.2 million grant to improve the Main Street trolley line, as reported by the MBJ.
A few things I learned about the block of Madison between Second and Third while playing poker at the Mad Earl last night:
1) A new wing place is close to opening in the old Thai Bistro space. Wing joints traditionally haven’t done well on that block, but now it’s reaching critical mass where there are enough active businesses for them all to do well.
2) Havana’s Pilon will soon expand into the building next door, eliminating the issue of limited seating.
3) Something is about to happen with the old Burger King restaurant at Second and Maggie H. Isabel. I’m not 100% sure I am cleared to blog what will be going in there, but it will be the first time that location has had much going on since 1993.
And that’s the rest of the news. On my way out to the Saucer for happy hour, then over to the Blind Bear for poker.
Last night I played poker at the Mad Earl for the first time. I’ll share my thoughts on the game at the end of this post, but first of all I want to mention a charity poker tournament I was told about while playing. It will be this Saturday, September 28, at the Hard Rock Cafe to benefit Mid-South Pride. The grand prize will be $500 in Amazon gift cards, with 2nd through 8th place also receiving prizes. Pre-registration and mixer at 4 PM, and play begins at 6. $35 pre-registration, $45 at the door if space available (limited to 50 players), $20 add-ons and re-entry. Go to midsouthpride.org for more details.
The first annual Memphis Tattoo Arts Convention happens Friday-Sunday, October 18-20 at the Cook Convention Center. There will be tattoo contests, seminars, live music, vendors, and of course tattoo artists. Featured artists include Amy Nicoletto from LA Ink, Alli Baker from Best Ink, and James Vaughn from Ink Master. Reverend Horton Heat will play Friday the 18th at 9 PM.
The remainder of this post will be a review of my experience playing poker at the Mad Earl. They have games at 6:30 and 8:30 on Monday, run by the River Rat Rounders. I have played at the other Downtown locations that run live poker nights (Silly Goose, Blind Bear, Double J, Jerry Lee Lewis). My assessment of Mad Earl poker is that it’s not better or worse, but different, and everyone who enjoys the aforementioned games should try Mad Earl at least once to see if they like it.
The first-place prize in the games is an Amazon gift card. That’s a good prize because people from out of town who stop in and play will have a much easier time redeeming their prize than if they win bar bucks. Starting stack is 1500 – only 30 big blinds at the first level of 25/50 – but there are a ton of ways to earn extra chips. These include using your card guard, bringing a new player, wearing River Rat apparel, putting a sticker on your car, arriving early to help set up, answering trivia questions, buying the featured shot, buying food, putting money in the jukebox, checking in on Facebook, and bringing cash game or tournament slips from Harrah’s. By the time I got all the “extras” I’d qualified for, I had a starting stack of 4000, or 80 big blinds. Matt who runs the game told me that the Nuh-Uh Girl is usually there on Mondays, although this week she’s in California. Since you get extra chips for buying food, I would imagine she’s the chip leader at the tables most weeks.
When you get to the final table at a weekly game, you earn points toward the 12-week league final table that encompasses all the games the River Rat Rounders run. Grand prize at the final table is an entry to the Harrah’s $15,000 Guarantee Tournament in Tunica.
As for the playing experience, I really enjoyed it. Everyone was super-nice, from Matt who was running the game to Clay who runs the Mad Earl (and who played at my table) to the people behind the bar. The players were a mixture of good and inexperienced, typical of what you see in bar games. It seems like there is less random, kamikaze play from people who should know better compared to the other bar poker games Downtown (this is why I’ve quit coming to a few of them). The game was over in just over 2 hours.
The Mad Earl handles latecomers differently than the other Downtown games. They placed stacks at the empty seats, and dealt them in and blinded them off. So, if you want to show up 30 minutes late, you can do that, but you might be starting with a stack of 1250 rather than 1500. I LIKE THAT. LIKE IT A LOT.
They also have two decks running simultaneously so less time is wasted on shuffling. As the dealer dealt, the small blind would be shuffling the other deck, to have it ready for when he/she became the dealer next hand. Of course, as the shots started flowing, people would forget to shuffle, but for a while it worked. As soon as the first person got eliminated from the final table, Matt sat down and dealt for us.
All in all, I enjoyed the game at the Mad Earl. I won’t be there all the time since I have a standing non-poker engagement on Mondays (Pint Nite at the Saucer) but now and then I’ll be back. (Disclosure: When I went to pay my tab after the game, they told me I didn’t have one.)
Oh, one other very important piece of information I forgot to mention: They have PBR on draft.
Downtown poker players: I’ll be playing at the Blind Bear game tonight at 8. I’ll get there a few minutes early, so if you have any questions about the Mad Earl game you can ask me then.
Last night I posted Burger Fest photos. Now, let me tell you about my ride down there. I don’t believe in driving drunk, so I called a cab. Yellow/Checker Cab (the one with the 577-7777 number) is the largest cab company in Memphis. They had some trouble with addresses after installing a new tablet-based GPS system, but I figured that after a year, they must have worked it out. So I called at 10:20 AM and requested a cab to pick me up at 2 South Main, at the intersection of Madison.
There I stood until 10:45. No cab. I called and requested an ETA. All I got was “we’ll get one your way as quick as we can.” At 10:55 I called and told them to just cancel the cab, because I didn’t want to wait any longer. Then I walked down to the Peabody. There were three Yellow/Checker cabs sitting around waiting for passengers. One of those couldn’t have been dispatched to my location a few blocks away? By the time I got to Minglewood Hall it was 11:10, 50 minutes after I called for a cab. I could have walked to Minglewood in 50 minutes.
Several of the people on the Squeal Street team had cab trouble too. I continue to hear that the Taxi Magic app is the way to go, and I will use that next time.
Dining recommendation for today: Chili’s. No I’m not kidding. 100% of today’s net profits (dine-in and carry-out) will be donated to St.Jude.
Yesterday I inquired about dog-friendly patios Downtown. Deni from the Majestic emailed to let me know that their patio has always been dog-friendly. In fact, one time they even had a birthday party for a dog on their patio.
That’s it for now. I’ll be at the Flying Saucer for Pint Nite around 5:30. Contemplating whether to give the Mad Earl’s poker night a try – there are 6:30 and 8:30 games, but if I will play it will be the 8:30 one. Amazon gift card is awarded to the winner.
Catrina, Jessica, me and Bee. I promised this would be the title photo for this post even though it has nothing to do with burgers.
For one day only, I joined Squeal Street BBQ as they competed in Best Memphis Burger Festival at Minglewood Hall in Midtown. I have always admired the way these guys operated and wanted to be a part of them, if only for a day. Today I got my wish. Here are some photos.
Squeal Street promised they’d take good care of me, and they did.
One of many good Talley pics I would take today.
Our next door neighbors’ Extreme Burger entry
With the Nuh-Uh Girl in San Francisco, Rockey Redbird filled in as the official food panhandler of Burger Fest.
Championship entries, under construction
Bob “Miracle Whip” running an entry to the judges’ tent
Burger sample
Group photo at Minglewood Hall
Bee promised me a tube top and she delivered. THIS IS HOW IT’S DONE, PEOPLE. TUBE TOP.
I didn’t realize Flying Saucer’s managers had volunteered to help with the chalk art.
No idea what was happening here.
Or here.
Danko wearing his Canadian pants
No occifer none of us were drinking at brugger fest today.
Cat lady in training Stephanie Bennett, executive director of Mid-South Spay & Neuter. It’s not often you find a cat lady still in her 20s. Follow her on Twitter at @StephMEM.
Our ride back Downtown
Stevie G raising the roof
Post-festival: Ciara at Double J
The Wagon Wheel at the Double J, probably the best appetizer sampler in Memphis.
Full album (171 photos) here. This is the first time I’ve ever posted an album to a group, so if it’s not publicly visible let me know and I will correct this week. Thanks Squeal Street for an awesome time today.
Before I start this post, I have a question for my readers. Which patios in the Downtown core are dog-friendly? New Downtown core residents Monkey Head Maddy and Maya want to be able to day-drink with their parents Robo and Shobo. Send me an email at paul@paulryburn.com if you know of a dog-friendly patio, or hit me up on whichever social network you prefer.
The Best Memphis Burger Festival is the place to be today. It will be in the parking lot next to Minglewood Hall on Madison Avenue in Midtown. There will be judging of burgers in four categories: Veggie, Anything But Cow, Extreme, and Best Memphis Burger. There will also be live bands, a pickle-eating competition for kids, a Kooky Canuck Team Kookamonga eating team challenge, and more. You can’t buy the teams’ burgers, but many of the teams will give out samples in exchange for a donation to Mid-South Spay & Neuter Services. Gates open at 10:30 AM and the festival goes all day until 6. $5 donation to Mid-South Spay & Neuter to get in. Downtowners, this is worth a cab ride, especially on a beautiful day like today.
It’s an exciting day for me because I get to do something I’ve wanted to do for years: Hang out with the Squeal Street BBQ team as they prepare their competition entry. In the past I’ve never been able to do it because I’m on a different BBQ team, the Moody Ques. However, my team isn’t entered in Burger Fest, freeing me up to join Squeal Street for a day. They’re going to give me a T-shirt and everything and I’m going to make a detailed photo album, the way I do for my own team during BBQ Fest.
Random pro wrestling video of the day: Triple H’s debut in WCW as Terror Risin’ (later Terra Ryzing). Thanks to Chef Brian Michael Patrick of Rizzo’s Diner for finding this and posting to Facebook. This would have been 1993ish I believe, and his opponent may possibly win the award for worst hairdo ever. Trips will be in Memphis less than a month from now when Monday Night Raw comes to the FedExForum.
In the news: Coke cancels a bottle cap campaign after people found it offensive. It was a Canadian campaign for Vitaminwater. People were supposed to find random words on the bottle caps’ undersides and string them together to make funny sentences. Since the campaign was happening in bi-lingual Canada, two words appeared on each bottle cap: one in English and one in French. Unfortunately the people organizing the campaign didn’t stop to think that relatively innocuous French words have different meanings in English, leading to one person finding “You Retard” on their Vitaminwater cap. “Douche” was also on some caps.
Friday night I was walking down the Main Street Mall, home from work and on my way to the Flying Saucer. I saw a southbound trolley blatantly run a red light at Main and Gayoso. It was traveling at what looked to be close to top speed for a trolley (20-25 MPH maybe?) and it sailed through the light a good 2 seconds after it turned red. Luckily there were no cars heading eastbound on Gayoso. If there had been, there’s a good chance there would have been a wreck. Given that it was raining outside, that trolley was running way too fast for conditions.
I upgraded my iPhone to iOS7 yesterday, after doing the iPad Thursday. Some people don’t like iOS7 but I love it. So clean and fresh. I was worried I’d experience battery problems after upgrading. I did, but not because of the OS; rather, because I couldn’t stop playing with my phone! Thank goodness I have an external charger. If you have the same model I do (16GB iPhone 4s) I see no reason to be afraid of upgrading, although you should allow a couple of hours to get it done. After you upgrade the OS, you’ll want to upgrade your apps because many will have new versions designed for iOS7.
If you have an 8GB iPhone, though, you’re going to have problems. One of the bartenders at the Saucer was asking me why she kept getting “not enough memory” messages during the upgrade, and it’s because the new OS will take nearly half the available space on an 8GB model. It can be done, but if you use your phone as a camera or iPod to much of an extent at all, you’re going to run out of memory. Therefore, if you have an 8GB model I recommend you just go ahead and buy a new phone.
One way you can free up space on your phone is to sync your photos with a Dropbox account. They will automatically be pushed to Dropbox’s Camera Uploads folder when you have the app open and Wi-Fi is present. You will then be free to delete photos from your phone because they’re backed up. Sign up for Dropbox using this link and you get 500 MB extra space and so do I.
I’ve already had one person tell me she is wearing a tube top to Burger Fest today. Hopefully others will too. I will have the camera, and although I’ll be hanging out with Squeal Street I won’t be exclusively in their booth all day. So if you have a tube top on, come find me and take a pic for the blog. Hope to see you down there at what is quickly becoming one of Memphis’ best festivals.
If you’re looking for a place to get some good, reasonably-priced seafood in the Downtown Memphis core, you can’t go wrong with the Flying Fish. The Fish is on Second Street, across from the Peabody Hotel. Not only is the Fish a great place to get seafood, it’s also a great place to get a PBR.
At the Fish, you order and pay at the cash register as you walk in. You are then given a “pager” that lets you know when your food is ready at the counter. As you stand in line to order, you pass a refrigerated cooler full of beer. You can pick out a beer to pair with your food, and you can even pop it open and drink it as you wait in line. For several years after the Fish opened, you could choose not only a PBR from the cooler, but the rarely-seen PBR Light which comes in a blue and green can, as opposed to the blue and red associated with regular PBR.
Nowadays, however, there are no PBR cans to be found at the Fish. That’s not a bad thing, for they have installed PBR on draft. You can get a PBR in a large heavy goblet for under $3. They pour your draft when you place your order at the cash register.
SIDE NOTE: Before I continue with the review, I should mention that the Fish is the “sister” restaurant of the Flying Saucer down the street. The Flying Saucer has over 70 beers on draft and another 130 in bottles. Unfortunately, none of those beers are PBR. I wish they’d carry it but “it is what it is” I suppose.
SIDE NOTE: I could take a note here to mention which of the girls at the Saucer are my “favorites” and how they are beautiful and their smile lights up my day, you know, the way some bloggers do. I could, but I won’t, because that would be unrelated to my review of the Flying Fish. Also, it would be rather creepy.
As you walk in the Fish, you will notice a large number of plastic fish mounted on the left wall. These are the singing, battery-powered Billy Bass (and his friend, Travis Trout and similar) that were once popular items for Christmas gifts. If you bring them a Billy Bass, they will put it on the wall with your name under it and give you a free fried catfish basket.
SIDE NOTE: The photo above is of my Billy Bass, one of the first to be brought and in the bottom row. It reads “Prof. Paul Ryburn” because manager John May called me “Professor Paul” when he called Flying Saucer trivia. That’s a carryover from the days when I taught at the University of Memphis. Technically, though, I was a full-time instructor rather than a professor.
SIDE NOTE: That’s also from where my “PROFPR” handle at Buzztime trivia at Max’s Sports Bar derives.
SIDE NOTE: Max’s, by the way, serves PBR.
Grilled salmon with sides at the Fish
Not surprisingly, the Fish is best known for, well, its fish. Some of my favorite dishes there are the grilled fish dishes, paired with rice and beans and grilled squash and zucchini. The tilapia and the salmon are perhaps my two favorites. One really cool thing they do is they give you a little cup of pico de gallo with your grilled fish. I like to shovel some fish, rice and beans, and pico into my mouth and then wash it down a sip of PBR, which I derive great pleasure from it.
In addition to grilled plates, they also have fried baskets available, with choices ranging from catfish to chicken to fried oysters. They even have frog legs, a Southern delicacy. For those who like to dip their fried foods, they have a condiment bar with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and ketchup.
The fries that come with the fried-food baskets are decent, meaning that they are average in taste compared to other restaurants that also serve fries. At your table you will find five different hot sauces you can sprinkle on your fries, if you prefer something with a little more “kick” than ketchup. They range from a mild green sauce to a super-hot habanero sauce. Just be sure you have a full PBR before you try the habanero sauce, for you will need it.
Whole red snapper Vera Cruz
One day, exhibiting my adventurous side, I decided to go for something a little more exotic than the Fish’s grilled filets. I ordered the whole red snapper Vera Cruz, which is a whole fish covered in a delicious tomato sauce with peppers. As you can see in the photo, the fish’s eye is covered with a slice of lemon which tastes delicious when squeezed on the entree. Just be careful not to wash down this dish with your PBR too quickly, because you could very well be swallowing bones!
SIDE NOTE: I remember when I was a little kid and we got take-out from Long John Silver’s. I was told to chew each bite of my fish 32 times, to be sure that I wasn’t about to swallow the bones.
SIDE NOTE: That reminds me of KFC’s recent “I ate the bones! Oh my God, I ate the bones! I ATE THE BONES!” ad series to promote its new boneless Original Recipe chicken. Original Recipe, by the way, tastes great with an ice cold PBR, although you can’t get it at the fast-food chain. You’ll have to go next door to the gas station and buy one out of the cooler.
Hula poppers
Don’t be afraid to experiment and try more than just the fish items at the Flying Fish, for there are many tasty choices that await you. One such choice is an appetizer, the Hula Poppers. This is jalapeno peppers stuffed with cheese and shrimp, and wrapped in bacon. The poppers come with two dipping sauces to complement your food. Of course, it goes without saying that PBR complements the poppers well. Anything wrapped in bacon is a perfect match with PBR.
There are also other non-fish foods that pair well with PBR. The ceviche and the Mexican cocktail will make you feel like you are on a cruise to Cabo San Lucas. A healthy choice is the grilled shrimp salad. By the way, when you order any of the grilled items (whether as an entree or as a topping on a salad), you can request that the cooks “make it snappy.” If you do, your fish will come out covered in a spicy rub, somewhat similar to getting it “blackened” at Cajun restaurants although the taste is not quite the same. The grilled tilapia is one of my favorite dishes to order “snappy.”
Fried jalapeno chips
For an inexpensive treat, look to the fried jalapeno chips which are also on the appetizer menu. These are jalapeno slices which are battered and then deep-fried, and then served in a basket with a cup of ranch for dipping. You will need the ranch to balance the “heat” of the jalapeno chips; PBR also works well for this purpose.
There are two dining areas at the Fish, an inner room and an outer room. If you sit inside, the booths against the left wall are a good place to sit. There you will find “fishing tales” of Memphis dignitaries. It can be fun to read them while sipping a PBR. In the outer room, there are garage windows similar to those at the Flying Saucer down the street. When the weather permits, they raise the windows and you can sip your PBR in the fresh air and watch the tourists mill around outside on Second Street. No matter where you sit, the dining is casual, with paper towels provided instead of more formal napkins.
Be sure to look at the board for the daily specials. They will discount dishes like the red snapper Vera Cruz, a pound of boiled shrimp, and all-you-can-eat catfish various nights of the week. When in season (about mid-February to early June) they have fresh boiled crawfish with corn and taters. The crawfish taste great when washed down with a PBR.
SIDE NOTE: You know, another place I had crawfish was at the Overton Square crawfish fest back in April. The crawfish there were good, but they kind of gave me indigestion. Oh well, at least it gave me a story to tell anyone who would listen for the next week.
Perhaps the Fish’s best special of all occurs on Sunday, when they have the “Preacher’s Special,” fresh raw oysters on the half shell for only 50 cents each. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that raw oysters and PBR are a match made in heaven. You can get a dozen oysters and a PBR for under $10, although there’s no reason you should feel required to stop at just one PBR on Sunday Fun Day.
Gizmodo had a recent article on why, how, and where you should start eating bugs. They are a source of protein for people in 80 percent of the world’s countries. If you decide you’re ready to start eating bugs, you can do it at the Fish. They’ve been selling little packets of BBQ crickets by the cash register lately.
SIDE NOTE: However, the Fish does not sell worms. This proves the old marketing saying that you fish with worms because the fish like worms, not because you like worms.
SIDE NOTE: When I was a kid, we took the cat to the vet and she had worms and we had to pay for her treatment. It’s damned expensive to own a cat.
I hope this post has convinced you that the Flying Fish is one of the best places in Memphis to get a PBR. Whether you enjoy it by itself or pair it with items from the Fish’s menu, the PBR at the Fish is a sure winner.
All right, let’s bang out a quick news update this Saturday morning. I have to be at Panda’s bar at Bardog at 11 and I want to try and get a Paul’s PBR Review online in addition to this post.
More details have been added about Memphis Oktoberfest, to be held next Saturday from 5 to 10 on Peabody Place, which will be blocked off at Second. Radio host Gary Parrish will be on hand to tap the celebratory keg. Krombacher Brewery will host a beer hoisting competition. The Flying Fish, Crazy Good specialty foods, and Grawemeyer’s will provide the festival food. Tickets are $15 and you can get ’em here.
By the way, here’s a fact that I learned as I drove home Thursday afternoon: Gary Parrish enjoys peeing in his yard.
Miss Cordelia’s, the grocery store on Mud Island, has announced an Open House on Thursday, November 7 from 6 to 8 PM. At least 8 vendors (and they’re adding more) will be on hand to give away samples and to discuss their products with customers. Some of the vendors already signed up include Tom’s Tiny Kitchen, Eggcellence deviled eggs, Guilt Free Pastries, and Pistache. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.
Last night I had a beer with Chef David Scott Walker at the Saucer. DSW, of course, is my BBQ team’s pitmaster and the new executive chef at the Blind Bear. He wanted to show me the new menu but he couldn’t get it to pull up on his phone. “They have a copy behind the bar,” he told me, and with the Eric Hughes Trio playing at 10 it was a foregone conclusion that the Bear was in my plans. When I got there, Jeannette showed me the menu. I won’t spill the beans just yet but I will mention one thing. For years I have been saying kim chee is an underappreciated food in Memphis. It’s spicy cabbage that Koreans make, burying it in pots in the ground. I first learned about it on M*A*S*H when the kim chee pots would sometimes be confused with land mines. Finally, someone has had the vision to make kim chee a topping on a sandwich, and you’ll be able to get it at the Bear. Overall, the menu is a significant upgrade, taking the Bear from basic bar food to upscale cuisine on the level of what you would find down the street at Local or Bardog. The menu will begin late next week or early the week after.
Don’t forget that today is Downtown Museum Day, with museums offering free, half-off, or 2-for-1 admissions. I’ll be visiting the PBR Museum known as Bardog in a couple of hours to celebrate. Time to upgrade iTunes, figure out if I’m ready to go to iOS7 on my phone, and get this PBR Review done.
We now have an opening date for Dejavu’s Main Street location, and it’s soon. The Creole restaurant will open its doors Tuesday, September 24.
There’s a new timeline for Bass Pro’s construction on the Pyramid. Construction will be done by August 31, 2014, and the new Bass Pro location will open to the public in December 2014. There will be more than just retail space inside. There will also be an aquarium, bowling alley, hotel, restaurant, shooting range, and outdoor sky ride.
Comedian and CollegeHumor writer Steve Hofstetter will do standup at the Hard Rock Cafe on Thursday, October 3. Tickets are $21.50 but there’s a Groupon going on right now where you can get tickets for $10. Limit 8 per person, and there are 9:00 and 11:00 shows.
There are Disney on Ice shows at FedExForum all weekend. The shows feature moments from BRAVE, The Little Mermaid, Tangled, and Beauty and the Beast. Even though I won’t be attending, I am very happy to see there are two shows on Sunday, at 1 and 5 PM.
Where I will be on Sunday is Best Memphis Burger Fest, and I have a pro tip for you if you plan to attend: Start stockpiling one-dollar bills. The contestants can’t sell their burgers, but they can give out samples and encourage you to put money in their donation boxes. All donations go to Mid-South Spay & Neuter. So start gathering ones like you’re planning a visit to the strip club. Except, not a strip club, but a burger festival.
Gotta run for now… I need to go to Target and buy a “thank you for all you do” greeting card to send to the Pabst brewery in Milwaukee. I’ll be out at the usual spots around 5:30.
I’ve been mentioned in Bruce V’s weekly column in the Memphis Flyer. He discusses targeted incentives to get guns off the streets. This is what he had to say about Downtown.
Downtown residents would get to choose from a free cornhole game set, a week’s worth of “no questions asked” pooping privileges for your dog, being the Peabody Duckmaster for a day, 14 Arcade breakfasts, or an “I drank every beer” wall plate at Flying Saucer and five mentions in Paul Ryburn’s blog.
Sounds about right! His column discusses targeted incentives for Midtown and Germantown as well.
The The Mid-South Pyrate Faire, which had been scheduled for this weekend, has been canceled due to a lack of funds. Today, by the way, is “smack people upside the head who talk like a pirate” day.
Tamp & Tap has announced that they will begin serving Saturday and Sunday brunch this weekend.
Chef Felicia of Felicia Suzanne’s was back on Live at 9 this week with another recipe. This week, she taught how to make butternut squash and chorizo sausage.
Stock Up for Winter is the theme at this Saturday’s Memphis Farmers Market, at the Central Station Pavilion (Front at G.E. Patterson) from 7 AM to 1 PM. The market shuts down for the winter at the end of October, so now is the time to get extra local produce to freeze or can. Live music by Andrew Cabigiao 8-9:30; Misti Rae 9:30-11; Midtown Violets 11-12:30.
There will be a Farm to Fork dinner benefitting the Memphis Farmers Market next Friday, September 27 at Bleu. It will be a 3-course dinner with two choices for each course. Seatings will be available from 4 to 9 PM. Cost is $45. Call 901-334-5950 to make reservations.
Plans for tonight are yet to be determined. I could go play poker at Max’s Sports Bar. I could go get some of that $1 PBR Bardog is having all day today. I could just go with one of my regular stops of Saucer or Goose or Blind Bear. I guess it’s better that I don’t know what my plan is, because if I posted where I’ll be my “shadow” would show up just to prove that he’s going to be around wherever I am whether I like it or not. Ugh. Anyway, I’ll be out somewhere around 5:30.
