Author: paulryburn

This morning I had a snack at my desk that I picked up last night at City Market.

Cruncha-Mame is edamame packaged for snacking. You don’t have to deal with the shells; just the peas are in the bag. The snack has more protein than an egg, and as much fiber as an apple. It’s available in multiple flavors. Beats getting a bag of Cheetos out of the vending machine! There’s always something different to eat at City Market.

John Paul Keith will play a rare solo show tonight at the Blind Bear from 10 until midnight.

Singer/songwriter India.Arie will perform at the Orpheum on Sunday, September 27 as part of her Soulbird Presents a SongVersation with India.Arie tour. Tickets go on sale at the Orpheum box office and Ticketmaster tomorrow.

Bluff City Oktoberfest is seeking artisan vendors for the new October 4-5 festival.

WEVL’s annual Blues on the Bluff festival will be this Saturday on the grounds of the Metal Museum. Enjoy music with a great view of the Mississippi, food by Central BBQ, and beer by Schlafly. More info here.

Time to get out in this hot sun and grab lunch. I’ll be out tonight after 5:30.

Buttercup, the duck with the prosthetic leg who has been in the news, made a march down the Peabody red carpet this morning. After he arrived at the fountain, he was named “Honorary Duck” by the Peabody Duckmaster. Here’s a video of Buttercup’s red carpet march.

The MBJ reports that a new burger bar is coming to the Downtown core. The restaurant will be at 94 S. Main, in the space that is currently Dream Berry. It will be opened by Jeff Johnson, owner of the Local locations in Downtown and Midtown. Always room down here for one more place that serves great burgers!

Bass Pro unveiled its revised design plans for The Pyramid yesterday. Plans include a Sky Ride in the northwest corner of the Pyramid, a paid attraction similar to the rides to the top of the St. Louis Arch.

There will be a Pints for Pups fundraiser next Sunday, July 28 on the patio of the Green Beetle. A $10 raffle ticket gets you a craft beer and a chance to win some great prizes. Pets will be welcome on the patio. Party will start at 4, drawing at 7.

That’s all for now. I will probably hit the Silly Goose after work tonight and then figure out the rest from there.

Sorry there was no post at lunchtime. I just didn’t have enough news to share to bother. I voted in the Memphis Flyer Best of Memphis contest instead. After the voting is over, I will share some of my votes. Right now, let’s get to the news.

Downtown Candle Co. is having a one-day-only sale tomorrow, Wednesday, July 17. You can get 3 candles for $25. In-store only, 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM.

The CA reports that electronic parking meters will arrive in Memphis in September. The meters will accept debit and credit cards.

The Downtown Local Gastropub is closed for lunch through Thursday while they plan some new things for the restaurant. The Overton Square location will still be open for lunch.

If you’re a fan of Yazoo beer, they’ll be doing growler fills this Thursday at the Cash Saver on Madison in Midtown. Choose from Rye Saison and Hefeweizen. $10 cost includes the growler.

Air Traffic Mike has a good blog post cars turning the wrong way up one-way Second Street. We see several of these every day. Part of the problem is that the “ONE WAY” sign is attached to the walk/don’t walk sign at the crosswalk, rather than on the pole next to the traffic signals where it probably should be.

I decided to play poker at the Silly Goose last night for the first time in a couple of months. That game had really frustrated me in the past – not because of the bar or because of the way Muruako runs the game, but because of some of the people who played there. I don’t mind new players who play badly because they don’t know better. What got irritating was experienced players who played recklessly for no other reason than to introduce chaos into the game. It got to the point where the skill level was about the same required to play bingo at the Brass Door.

I’m glad I gave it another try. The game was much better. The reckless players have either calmed down or stopped coming, and I had a lot of fun playing with my friends. I made it to heads-up and lost, and got ready to pay my tab and leave – and then I realized, wait, I’ve got a prize coming! The Goose is one of the few poker nights that pays two places. Second place pays $25, with $50 to the winner. The game is at 8:30 Monday nights. Come give it a try if you like playing cards. $2 PBR is an additional incentive!

On my way to the Saucer to get three more beers done for my 8th plate. After successive nights I’m rather pokered-out, but there isn’t much else to do so I may play the 8:00 Blind Bear game.

You may have heard of a duck named Buttercup who has been in the news recently. Buttercup was born with a deformed foot and was unable to walk properly. A copy of his sister’s foot was created using 3-D printing technology, and from that he was able to be fitted with a prosthetic foot and can now walk normally. On Wednesday morning at 10:30, Buttercup will visit the Peabody Hotel. He will be granted the highest honor to which any duck can aspire, the title of “Honorary Duck,” by Peabody Duckmaster Anthony Petrina.

Grizzlies guard Tony Allen got married over the weekend. MemphiSport has some photos of the wedding.

The Design Review Board meets today at 4 to consider the signage Bass Pro has proposed for the Pyramid. The signage has been toned down considerably from the company’s original proposal.

The Green Beetle will have its 2nd Anniversary Bash this Saturday, July 20. Happy hour from 5 to 7, and The Po Boys play at 9.

Last night at Blind Bear poker, I took advantage of an interesting little twist Jamie throws into the game – the Seven-Deuce prop bet. For several blind levels, if you win a hand with 7-2 as your hole cards, you get 5000 extra chips. Why 7-2? Because it’s the worst possible starting hand in Texas Hold’em (at a full table, that is; heads-up, 3-2 is the worst hand). I was dealt 7-2 at the 50/100 blind level and figured I might as well see a flop with it. Flop came 9-7-2 and I went all-in. My hand held up through the turn and river, and in addition to the 5000 chip bonus, I got three callers and got all their chips too. I raked in over 25,000 in chips. It’s unusual to be sitting on top of 250 big blinds in a bar game!

That’ll do it for now. I’ll hit Pint Nite after work and get three more beers done toward my next plate at the Flying Saucer for $3 each.

Recently I was invited to join Nextdoor, a social networking service for neighborhoods. Once you join your neighborhood’s Nextdoor and get verified, you can see posts from your neighbors on your news feed which is similar in look to a Facebook or Google+ feed. Looking at Downtown Nextdoor’s feed, I see posts offering bar stools for sale, asking about a wandering dog on Mud Island, and asking for recommendations for a carpet and area rug cleaner. It seems to be a very useful way to connect with other Downtowners.

The site is still a trial site because we don’t have enough verified members. We need two more verified members in the next 21 days to make the site permanent. Nextdoor wanted me to send out a blanket invite to my Facebook friends, but that seems a little spammy and besides, 70% of my Facebook friends (estimated) don’t live Downtown. However, if Nextdoor sounds like something you would be interested in, hit me up and I will invite you. You can contact me on Facebook if we’re friends there; if not email paul@paulryburn.com and I’ll get you invited. (Allow me until Monday to work on the invites. On the weekend I spend long periods of time away from the computer.)

You have to be verified as a resident of the neighborhood you live in. There are multiple ways to do this, including calling a home or mobile phone registered to an address in the neighborhood. However, current members of the community can verify you as well. If I know you personally and know for a fact you live down here, I can verify you.

In addition to the website, I found a Nextdoor app for my iPhone and downloaded it. I could not find the Nextdoor app in the store for my Kindle Fire. Not sure if that’s because the Fire doesn’t have a GPS, or if there’s not an Android version yet. At any rate, you could still view Nextdoor on those devices via web browser.

So like I say, if this is of interest to you, hit me up; if not, I won’t keep bugging you about it. If you’re here for the Saturday news update, scroll down, because I’ve already posted it.

One of the fun things about living Downtown is giving tourists the locals’ perspective. Last night I was sitting at the bar at the Flying Saucer with my friend Air Traffic Mike. A few seats down, a couple from Chicago was asking the manager-in-training where would be a good place to eat. He told them he liked Double J Smokehouse. “This new guy is going to work out,” I thought. “Too bad they’re transferring him to Cordova when he’s done training, and out there he’ll be recommending Chili’s and Applebee’s.”

Ait Traffic Mike joined the conversation. “While you’re down near Double J, check out Earnestine & Hazel’s too. It’s a dive bar that used to be a pharmacy and then a brothel. They have a good burger, the Soul Burger. But if you want a burger that’s really unique, go to Dyer’s on Beale Street. Get a Double-Double and watch them wipe it through the grease. And if you want another great meal, check out the chicken at Gus’s. If you want to hang out at a place where the locals go, walk a few blocks the other way down Main and turn left on Monroe and look for a sign that says Bardog. Also, there’s another place on Main called the Blind Bear where I just had a great dirty martini with blue cheese-stuffed olives. They have all kinds of hand-crafted drinks. Pauly, jump in here.”

“I don’t need to jump in!” I replied. “You’re telling them pretty much exactly what I would tell them.” The only comment I had was that sometimes people miss the Blind Bear because, in keeping with their speakeasy theme, the sign is not super-huge and super-noticeable.

From what I saw on social media, not many people appeared to be out, so I called it an early night. I realized I have a new definition of “early night.” If I leave the bars in time to stop at City Market and get food to go, it’s an early night. If I stay out past the time City Market closes, it’s a late night. Last night I took home a bowl of their white bean and steak soup, which was delicious.

You know, looking back, it’s hard to believe I spent my first nine of my 11 ½ years Downtown griping that we didn’t have a real grocery store. We are so lucky to have City Market right in the heart of the core now. The only thing it’s missing is a meat section, although that doesn’t bother me since I rarely cook at home. If you shop at City Market but need a place to get fresh meat, go to the Memphis Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. Vendors from local farms show up with great cuts of meat to sell. Get there early, though – every chef in town knows about this, and they sell out the meat trucks by mid-morning some weeks.

I found a really good blog post about Wednesday night’s Dishcrawl in the Downtown core. (The organizers called it the “North of Beale crawl,” and I have no problem with that. Just please please please do not call my neighborhood “The NOB,” which is one of the stupidest names ever.) The stops, not revealed to crawlers in advance, were Automatic Slim’s, Aldo’s Pizza Pies, Local, and Tamp & Tap. Keep up with future Memphis Dishcrawls here.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association is conducting a food drive for the Mid-South Food Bank this month. Kids are out of school during July, and for many Memphis-area kids the school breakfast and lunch were the only nutritious meals they could count on. Bring non-perishable goods and help these kids stay healthy. The collection points are Bluf City Coffee, 505 S. Main; The Office at Uptown, 594 N. Second; and Little Cafe Eclectic, 111 Harbor Town Square on Mud Island.

A truck was stuck underneath the bridge on South Front Street, just north of the Blue Monkey, for many hours Wednesday-Thursday disrupting traffic. If you drive a tall truck, Front is not the way to get out of town heading south! Get over on Riverside.

BR:CK, a group of young architects, has won the South Main Design Challenge. They will receive $5000 to transform the Buffalo Mural lot into their vision, which is a short-term neighborhood gathering and performance space as a venue for artists, events and community groups. Their long-term goal for the space is Roam the Market, a year-round store that would serve as an extension of the Memphis Farmers Market.  The long-term concept would also include an art and sculpture garden, patio and deli. Congrats to the BR:CK folks and thanks for making Downtown an even better place to be!

Got another post coming, one more thing that I want to stand on it

Yesterday I tried Tamp & Tap for the first time. It is the new coffee and craft beer shop on Gayoso between Main and Second, in Van Vleet Flats. The place reminds me of coffee shops I visited when I was in Cambridge, MA as a corporate trainer years ago. I bought a Stone Levitation Ale for $4.92, which seemed like a very good value. It seemed like it would be a good place to bring a laptop or iPad to work while sipping on a beer and maybe eating a sandwich (I don’t drink coffee). I probably wouldn’t hang out there for hours drinking beer like I do at the Flying Saucer, but when a coffee shop environment works better than a bar, it’s a great space.

For those of you who have never seen the famous duck march at the Peabody Hotel, here’s a video that was shot by a guest.

Cash Saver on Madison in Midtown is having a Schlafly can sampling this afternoon until 4:00. They will be serving fresh Alaskan salmon with the beer. Free salmon? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

The Orpheum is having a Sound of Music sing-along tonight as part of its summer classic movie series. Before the movie there will be a concert by a capella quartet Decades at 6:30.

There will be a Dare Threads pop-up shop at Corked Carrot tonight, 314 S. Main.

The Swamp Katz have a CD release party tonight at the Brass Door, 9 PM.

More news than I have time to post, so I may do a second after-work post. If not I’ll get the rest of the news online tomorrow.

The Cavern, the underground performance area of the Brass Door Irish Pub, now has its own Facebook page. “Like” the Cavern to hear about upcoming bands and shows.

The Orpheum will show 1961 classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s as part of its summer movie series tonight. In other Orpheum news, Ultimate Thriller: A Michael Jackson Tribute Concert, scheduled for July 27, has been cancelled. Details on how to get a refund on your tickets here.

The annual COGIC convention won’t be returning to Memphis anytime soon. The church has voted to continue holding its convention in St. Louis for three more years.

Will Graves & Soul is the headliner for tonight’s Peabody rooftop party. $10 cover includes your first drink and a buffet of Pronto Pups and popcorn. Ladies free before 7. This week’s drink special is Cruzan black cherry rum for $4. Those in VIP will have a second buffet with a nacho station, soft baked pretzels, and Cracker Jack.

Keith Anderson plays The Rebel on Beale free country music series tonight at Handy Park, Third and Beale. Showtime is 7:30.

If anyone is in Chicago this Saturday, check out the Clandestino Dining event in the Secret Garden. Food prepared by Chef Willie Wagner. I got to attend one of these dinners when they came to Memphis a few years ago. Both the food and the experience are fabulous. Don’t worry if you don’t have anyone to go with – you will make friends fast at these events.

The office is closed today while an pole that supplies power to the building is replaced, so I have a rare day off. I’m finally going to try Cuban restaurant Havana’s Pilon for lunch. They posted photos of their food and it looks yummy. I’ll try to get a photo and do a food post later. If I get a chance I want to try Tamp & Tap too.

Voting has started for the Memphis Flyer’s Best of Memphis 2013 poll. There are several best-of polls conducted by newspapers and magazines throughout the year, but none of them has the clout the Flyer’s has. Vote here.

John Branston of the Memphis Flyer has a great idea: While the city is ramping up efforts to collect on parking tickets, he thinks we should get rid of parking meters Downtown altogether. He has a point. Just to pick an example, Shelton Clothiers has better stuff than what you’d find at Oak Court Mall, but you don’t have to pay to park at Oak Court. It puts Downtown businesses at a disadvantage.

Shelton Clothiers, by the way, is having a buy one, get one free sale through Saturday.

WMC has a good story and photo gallery of Tamp and Tap, the new coffee and beer spot on Gayoso. I’m a lot more interested in the “beer” aspect of their product line than the “coffee.” They’re already selling bottled beer, and they are under construction to have taps installed. They want to increase awareness of great craft beer. With Tamp and Tap, Aldo’s Pizza Pies (which carries 60 beers), and Flying Saucer (which carries 200 beers) all within about a block walk of each other, that part of the Downtown core is becoming the beer Mecca of Memphis.

Speaking of the Flying Saucer: On Saturday, July 20, they are doing a “Can Beer & Seafood Boil” event. For $30 you get a table full of shellfish, corn and potatoes, seasoned to perfection. Remember, the people who run the Saucer also run the Flying Fish down the street, so they do know a thing or two about seafood. They’ll have $3 Abita cans, and will also have six other craft beers in cans that day. Advance reservations are required; call 901-523-8536 to make them. They’re also doing it at the Cordova Saucer for those of you who made the unfortunate choice to live in suburbia.

Some of the top iOS apps have had their price reduced to zero temporarily in the iTunes Store. These include a popular DJ app, a diary/journal, a media organizer, and a world atlas for kids, as well as several games.

Today is an effective weekend night for me. Our office will be closed tomorrow for power line repairs, so I have the day off. Plan is to stay out late tonight, then tomorrow I will enjoy a rare Downtown weekday lunch and get the first haircut I have had since January. Most likely I’ll start off at the Silly Goose tonight a little after 5:30.