Author: paulryburn

Well, actually, they’re not goose nachos. I mean, I’ve seen chicken nachos a lot. I think once or twice in my 11 years Downtown, I’ve seen duck nachos. I’ve never actually seen goose nachos. I’m eating beef nachos that I brought home from the Silly Goose after I got done playing poker. That’s what I mean by goose nachos.

You know what though? Some posh foo-foo restaurant Downtown should totally add goose nachos to the menu. They could probably charge $29 for it. As an appetizer. I’d pay it. Just because geese swim around our pond every year at work in the spring, and I’m curious what one tastes like.

Even in Manhattan – certainly one of the top two or three culinary capitals of the world – I think goose nachos would be a hit. You could even go as high as $79 there. I mean, if you’re paying $3500 on 81st Street for a decent apartment and parking, you can afford $79, right?

It would have to be prepared right though. If you opened the microwave door and turned the goose over after 2 minutes 42 seconds and lifted one corner of the film for venting, the goose could come out a bit gamey. Preparing goose nachos is best left to the professionals.

Anyway, I’m going to eat my beef nachos from the Goose and go to bed. As you may have guessed I’ve had a few beers tonight. Perhaps the next post will make more sense.

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day everyone. As I post this the annual NBA Civil Rights Game is being broadcast nationally from the FedExForum. Frank Murtaugh posted a great piece to the Memphis Flyer website yesterday on why the Civil Rights Game truly puts Memphis in the “big leagues.”

Bar news: The Downtown Local Gastropub location will be closed through lunch Thursday, January 24. They will re-open for happy hour on Thursday.

The Flying Saucer has announced that they will bring back “48 Hours of Pint Nite” Sunday-Monday, February 3-4. Monday, of course, is always Pint Nite. They’re adding Sunday so you can enjoy almost any draft on the tap wall for $3 as you watch the Super Bowl.

Today’s Groupon is not for a Downtown business, but it’s for pole dancing exercise classes so I’ll mention it anyway. Good chance to practice your moves to get ready for the pole at Raiford’s, or for a “fireman’s pole” at BBQ Fest (stripper poles aren’t allowed).

Yesterday was one of those Sunday Fun Days when all sorts of good random stuff happened. Mid-afternoon I got hungry. It was a very pleasant day, sunny and almost 60 degrees, and I decided to make the trek south to Central BBQ. Once again I decided to think outside the box and order something other than pulled pork, ribs, or BBQ nachos – all of which are excellent, by the way, but I wanted to work my way through more of Central’s menu. After soliciting suggestions on Facebook, I decided to order the BBQ beef brisket plate.

You get 7 ounces of Central’s beef brisket, along with two sides. I choose greens and BBQ beans as my sides. They have a sauce station where you can get whichever of their BBQ sauces you prefer to complement your meal. I decided to get a small cup of all four sauces. My preferences, in order, were:

1. Mustard sauce
2. Hot BBQ sauce
3. Vinegar BBQ sauce
4. Mild BBQ sauce

I was surprised that I preferred the vinegar sauce over the mild tomato-based BBQ sauce, Central’s most popular. However, it’s just that I thought it paired better with the brisket. With pork I would probably lean more in the direction of the tomato sauce.

Overall, the brisket was very, very good, but I still prefer the turkey plate I had last time I went in. The turkey is injected with Cajun spice and is one of the best meals I have ever had Downtown.

After finishing at Central, I walked back north to the Flying Saucer. I ordered a beer and as I walked to the UFO Club computer, I heard, “Hey! Paul!” and I turned around and saw Willie, who was the head cook for my old BBQ team The Ques Brothers from 2007-11. His son Willie Jr. was with him. I remember when Willie Jr. was a kid and climbed around our scaffolding as if it were monkey bars. He’s 16 now.

The Willies were in town for a seminar on how to cook championship BBQ, presented by a member of Sweet Swine O’ Mine, a team which has won multiple first-place trophies at BBQ Fest. There was a spouse discount for tickets and Willie asked if he could bring his son rather than his wife. 37 people in all attended. “They covered every part of the pig,” said Willie. He told me a few things he learned, and while I won’t blog all the secrets he shared I will say that some of it is amazingly simple. Even if the Willies don’t participate on a BBQ Fest team in 2013, they learned tons of things they can use at their restaurant, Honky Tonk BBQ. The restaurant is in the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago, and was named one of the top 100 restaurants in Chicago and one of the top five to hear live music.

Willie told me that another member of our Ques Brothers cook team, Efrain, had received a 3-month consulting gig to help open a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles. When the three months were up, the owner told Efrain, “Look, you’re indispensable to this place, how much will I have to pay to keep you on permanently?” So Efrain is an Angeleno now.

You may remember that a couple of years ago, I acted as a photographer for Clandestino Dining, a Chicago-based underground supper club that threw a dinner in Memphis. Efrain was one of the main chefs. With him now out on the West Coast, there’s an opportunity for Willie Jr. to step up and do the upcoming Valentine’s Day dinner. Not bad to get to do that at age 16!

Around 7 Willie and Willie Jr. got in a cab and headed to Midtown to catch a movie. You know, people complain about the Saucer letting kids in, but I wouldn’t have got to see Willie and Willie Jr. otherwise. At least for one night I’m glad the rule was the way it is.

I went back to my usual spot at the bar, and a few minutes later a Facebook message popped up from my old friend DJ David the Worm. “Hey Paul, if you get out to the Saucer tonight, we’re at the bar.” He had no idea I was standing at the opposite end. I walked down and took a seat with him and his girlfriend Heather.

I just started work on my 8th plate at the Saucer. You get a plate on the wall when you drink 200 different beers there, and with only 4 beers done at the time toward my 8th plate, pretty much the entire menu was open season. Knowing that David is something of a beer aficionado, I asked him to pick my next beer.

He picked Fuller’s London Pride. I knew I’d likely be getting a British beer, because David is an Anglophile. Sure enough I did, and it was pretty good. He recommended the Fuller’s ESB as well, and I’ll try that tonight – no, wait, I’ll try it Tuesday, because it’s a bottled beer and tonight is Pint Nite.

I stayed at the Saucer past 10 PM – a long, fun, drama-free night. After quick stops at the Goose and Bear, I was home to bed.

Tonight is Pint Nite, so I’ll be at the Saucer around 6 to get a few more beers done toward plate 8. After that it’s over to the Goose for Muruako’s Monday night poker game. Start time is 8:30, although I’ll likely show up a bit late. Again, happy MLK Day, and congratulations to President Obama on his second inauguration.

RIP Stan Musial, greatest Cardinal of all time.

I’ve had people ask me if the Blind Bear was going to open at noon today. I know they were considering going back to the 3:00 opening time on Sunday once NFL season was over. Co-owner Jeannette posted the following to Facebook yesterday:

SOFIA SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS!!$15 Yellow Tail Bubbly & $30 Sofia Blanc de Blancs! @3pm till 6pm, $3 mimosas, moonshine, fireball & Bloody’s, tomorrow at NOON

So yep, they’ll be open at noon today. Not sure what their opening time will be for the Nobody Gives a Shit Bowl AKA the Pro Bowl next Sunday.

Bring canned goods and receive $1 off admission to the National Civil Rights Museum. Canned good donations will go to the Food Bank.

Good news for Victorian Village: A $133,000 loan has been approved to renovate the James Lee House, the mansion at 690 Adams, into a bed-and-breakfast.

Tube top dress news: Yesterday I posted a link to a YouTube video of the TNA Wrestling wedding of Brooke Hogan and Bully Ray. A brawl happened, breaking up the wedding. What I didn’t know when I posted the video was that Brooke Hogan had a wardrobe malfunction in her tube top wedding dress. Unfortunately TNA edited Brooke out of the video before posting to YouTube.

Poker news: I’ve heard from several people that the cash games at Southland Greyhound Park are full of really bad players. “If you’re patient and play properly, you’re likely to win some money,” one friend told me. “There are a lot of people who clearly don’t know what they’re doing at all.” The Friday and Saturday night tables are hosted by our old friend Poker Jon. There’s also a 3:00 Saturday $35 buy-in Hold’em tournament that is popular among Downtown poker players. It wraps up by 6 and the first-place prize, which depends on the number of players who enter, is usually in the $350 range.

Time to start Sunday Fun Day. Brunch at the Majestic at 11, then I’ll defend my three mayorships, with Bear, Saucer, Goose being the likely order.

Fun night last night. I started at the Silly Goose for the first full day of the Mayor Paul era. Drank PBR, watched video of my friends trying to sled down the top level of the frozen Peabody Place parking garage on Monday, first using Woody A. Long as a sled and then a large baking sheet. It seems that my friends don’t always have the best ideas when they’ve been shooting Fireball.

Over to the Saucer at 7, where they were tapping a cask of Lazy Magnolia Indian Summer.

It was flavored with amaretto, cinnamon, and holiday spice. If they have any left today it’s worth a try if you’re into winter warmer-style beers (no idea why they’d name a winter beer Indian Summer). Pretty tasty. One of my former co-workers apparently didn’t think much of it and tried to get me to admit it’s the worst beer at the Saucer. Even if I didn’t like it, it would be hard to make that judgment as long as Turbo Dog is on tap. Different strokes for different folks, dude.

As I blogged yesterday, my friend Karen was having her birthday party at 8 at Double J. I wasn’t particularly excited about the half-mile walk south, or standing in the cold waiting on a trolley. Turns out I didn’t have to. My friend Mikey drives the Double J limo that shuttles people to Grizzlies/Tigers games and back. He’d dropped off his last load of passengers at 7:30 and picked me up at the Saucer.

It’s hard to take a decent photo of black leather limo interior. The image above really doesn’t do it justice. I’ll say this, it’s as nice as Raiford’s limo and everyone should have the experience of riding it to the FedExForum and back at least once. Get there early and grab you a meal at the Double J, maybe one of their specials:

You never know what the J will be cooking up for their specials. Last night they had gator tail in a Cajun Creole sauce for $15. I almost ordered it just out of curiosity, but I decided I wasn’t hungry enough to tackle the gator.

The great thing about the start of a new year Downtown is that you never know what new friends you’re going to make in the next 12 months. In early 2012, I met Karen’s husband Dennis at the poker table at the Blind Bear. A few weeks later I met Karen, the birthday girl, pictured above.

Christine and Tom Shelton were among the party guests. Fun party. I hung around for a while and listened to Southern Edition on the Front Porch Stage. You know, although I’m not normally the biggest fan of country music, I can appreciate most any genre if it’s music done well. The bands at the Double J do music well.

After that it was back to the core, one beer at the Saucer, then City Market for Indian food to take home.

Random quote of the day: Yesterday driving home from work, I turned on the radio. The Gary Parrish Show was on 92.9 and Gary said something that I totally agree with. “Stupid people who realize they’re stupid, and just roll with it and have fun with it, are a blast to hang out with. Stupid people who don’t accept that they’re stupid and try to act smart are annoying.” INDEED!

Random video of the day: Thursday night it was time for another pro wrestling wedding. Bully Ray, known as Bubba Ray Dudley when he was in the WWE, was in the ring to wed Brooke Hogan, Hulk’s daughter. Hulk, although he hasn’t always seen eye to eye with Bully, was there to give his daughter away. Bully had his “extreme groomsmen,” three alumni from the old ECW promotion: Taz, now an announcer for TNA; Brother Runt, also known as Spike Dudley; and Tommy Dreamer, for years the face of ECW. Pro wrestling weddings almost never go off without a hitch, and this one was no exception. However, this one went a different direction than everyone thought it would. Very well written, and worth a watch if you were an ECW fan in the ’90s.

All right. Time to hit Publish, put laundry in the dryer, and head to Bardog at 11 to hang out at Panda’s bar. Panda posted a pic of herself in a tube top about 2 in the morning, and let me just say it will be just fine with me if she doesn’t change clothes before coming to work.

First of all, a very happy birthday to my friend Karen. Karen is a South Mainer who is always so sweet and supportive of all her Downtown friends. I’ll see her tonight at the Double J where she’ll be celebrating.

The FedExForum has announced that Elton John will appear in concert on Saturday, March 16. This will be his first appearance in Memphis in seven years. Tickets will go on sale a week from today and will range in price from $29 to $139.

There’s an International Auto Show going on at the Cook Convention Center today through Sunday. New cars, trucks, crossovers and hybrids will be on display. $8 adults; $6 for seniors, students, and military; $5 children.

There will be an “Art Under the Gazebo” event tomorrow in Court Square from 6 to 10 PM. There will be local music, art, and vendors. High will be in the upper 50s tomorrow, so you’ll be able to enjoy the art without shivering in the frigid temps we’ve had for most of the week.

The Grizzlies have a home game against the Sacramento Kings tonight at 7. Don’t forget that if you want to pre-game at the Double J on G.E. Patterson Avenue, they have a limo that will take you to the FedExForum and back. Good way to avoid Forum traffic and parking hassles. I read that Z-Bo will be out with an injury. Wonder who will start at power forward, Darrell Arthur or Marreese Speights? We are definitely stacked at that position.

Ever had Greek beer? I don’t think I have, odd considering I have seven plates on the wall at the Flying Saucer. The Rendezvous has a Greek beer special going on right now: Mythos Greek Beer for $2.50 a bottle.

Last night I started off at the Silly Goose for Jessica’s Thursday happy hour shift. She actually had the night off because her brother was in town, and Chris was covering for her. I checked in on Foursquare and this happened:

So that makes me triple mayor of Flying Saucer, Silly Goose, and Blind Bear. It’s going to take a lot of work to hold on to all three! I’ll buy former mayor Clay a Fireball shot next time I see him.

After leaving the Goose, I caught up with some friends at the Flying Saucer, then headed to Dancin’ Jimmy’s for the Thursday night poker game. This week they moved the game upstairs, to what is now being called Bar 12. Y’all, that upstairs lounge area is swanky. Even if you’re not a big poker fan, you should come play one week (it’s free to play) just to get a look at that lounge. Plus, the folks who work at Dancin’ Jimmy’s are SO nice. Any little thing they could do to make the experience better for the poker players, they did. First class all the way.

I had an unusual situation where I won a multi-way all-in in the middle of the first blind level, 25/50. That left me with 13,000 in chips, or the equivalent of 260 big blinds! You don’t see that often in bar games. I made the final table but didn’t win. I didn’t eat either but poker host Muruako had some BBQ nachos that looked and smelled delicious.

Plans for tonight: I’ll defend my mayorship at the Goose around 6, then hit the Saucer at 7 for the tapping of the yummy Lazy Magnolia Indian Summer cask beer. After that I’ll head south to say happy birthday to Karen. Maybe the Blind Bear on the way back. A fine Friday night Downtown indeed!

Newsy, newsy day. Easily enough to warrant a second post before I go out.

In my lunchtime post, I posted about the city’s ruling against the operators of Club Crave. However, this Daily News story reports that there’s still a dispute to be settled between the city and the owner of the 380 Beale building that has housed other nightclubs in the past, including the notorious Plush Club… and the owner isn’t who we thought it was. In previous news stories, the owner has been listed as a man named George Miller. However, the Daily News did some research and found that the building is actually owned by the Beale Street Development Corporation, with notices going to Miller.

There was one good piece of news revealed in the story. The operators of Crave cannot move their headline weekly event, “Sexy Saturday,” to any other venue in Shelby County. They had been on Twitter saying Sexy Saturday had moved out east after Crave was shut down. I guess Saturday will be a lot less sexy now.

Bacon news: The Brass Door has an entree special tonight, bacon-wrapped meatloaf with a side of mashed potatoes for $12.

If you’re on popular photo-sharing service Instagram, you could win dinner for two from the Green Beetle. Follow the restaurant at @greenbeetlememphis. Post photos of your favorite menu item, or of you and your crew hanging out at the Beetle. Include the hashtags #greenbeetle and #instagramcontest to your post. They’ll choose a winner every week based on likes and creativity.

From tomorrow through the 27th, play your Coach Hollins’ Whistle ringtone at South of Beale and get 20% off. Not sure what the big deal is about the whistle ringtone? Find out here.

Memphis Habitat for Humanity is holding a fundraiser on February 3. You can sign up to host a Super Bowl party and collect donations for Memphis Habitat at halftime. You’ll also be able to spread awareness of the organization via email and social media. All party guests and hosts will be eligible to win two tickets to the NFL game of their choice, two nights stay at a Hilton, and vouchers for two round-trip tickets on Delta. This contest is unique to the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, so your chances of winning are good. Visit the Memphis Habitat website for more details.

Southern Living has named Earnestine & Hazel’s the best dive bar in the South. They make note of the fact that it used to be a brothel.

All right, outta here, time for beer. Goose is first stop since Jessica is working. Will decide between Saucer and Dancin’ Jimmy’s after that.

Today I start off my post with GREAT NEWS for Downtown and for Beale Street in particular. Yesterday a judge ruled on the situation at Club Crave, where there have been a number of shootings and violent incidents over the years, both under the Crave name and previous names including Plush Club. The ruling was that the operators of Club Crave 1) cannot operate any business at 380 Beale ever again; 2) cannot operate any business under the name “Crave” ever again; 3) cannot operate any event if the event had previously been held at Club Crave. Huge win for the city, and I hope the next win involves the demolition of 380 Beale.

The Flyer has a must-read article if you’re in the future of Downtown. 2013 is likely to be a turning point for Bass Pro Pyramid, the Beale Street Entertainment District, Heritage Trail, and the fairgrounds. The article lays out the reasons why, and explains why Robert Lipscomb is the key man in all of it. Lipscomb, by the way, will speak on the Heritage Trail project involving the redevelopment of the Foote and Clayborn Homes housing projects at next week’s Downtown Memphis Association meeting. The meeting will be Tuesday, January 22, at the Calliope Room, 456 Tennessee Street. 6:00 social, 6:30 meeting.

The Brass Door will have live music tonight. Tim Free, “Bigeasy Freezy” the Piano Man, will perform. The living Louisiana piano legend will bring the sounds of New Orleans blues, jazz, and Mardi Gras to the Brass Door.

Food truck fan? A new truck is about to hit the streets of Memphis and Southaven. Follow the truck at @PopsSmokehouse on Twitter to learn where it will be from day to day.

There will be a segment about Memphis in May BBQ Fest on the Travel Channel next weekend. It will air as part of Exposed: Cooking Competitions to air Sunday, January 27 at 4 PM. Thanks to local BBQ team Too Sauced to Pork for posting the information to their Facebook page.

The Orpheum is conducting a Million Dollar Quartet Giveaway on Facebook. Enter here. Prize package is pretty significant and includes

• 2 Roundtrip Flights to Memphis, TN
• 3 Nights hotel at the Westin Memphis
• 2 tickets for Million Dollar Quartet at The Orpheum Theatre on March 30, 2013 at 8:00 PM
• 2 tickets for the Sun Studios Tour
• 2 Tickets for the Graceland Platinum Tour
• 2 tickets for the Rock’n’Soul Museum
• $50 Gift Card for Hard Rock Café on Beale Street

Cardinals reliever Jason Motte has been added to the lineup appearing at Cardinals Caravan Sunday, January 20 at AutoZone Park. Gates open at 5:30, free admission, first come first served, program starts at 6:30.

Muddy’s Bake Shop will celebrate National Pie Day next Wednesday by giving away pie in the afternoon. Kerry has the details in her blog. Not a Downtown event, but hey, free pie is worth a mention. Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up?

Plans for tonight: About 50-50 on whether I’ll play poker at Dancin’ Jimmy’s tonight (8 PM game time). I’ll be out about 6:45, giving me a little over an hour to decide while sipping ice cold beer.

A tidbit for my friends who are regulars at the Flying Saucer, or who have been regulars at the Saucer in the past 3 years or so: Longtime server Jessica starts down the street at the Silly Goose today. She’ll be bartending the happy hour shift every Wednesday and Thursday, from 4 to 7:30 PM. I know she’d love it if you went by and saw her.

In other Flying Saucer news, they are tapping a “one of a kind” Firkin from Lazy Magnolia this Friday night at 7 PM. It’s a cask of Indian Summer Ale infused with peaches, amaretto, and cinnamon. That sounds delicious! I’ll stop by for a pint for sure!

Are you a fan of Brazilian music and culture? Come to the Silly Goose Thursday, January 24 at 9 PM for their first annual Brazilian Carnival Fever Party. From the event the Goose posted to Facebook: “Being Held at the Silly Goose for the first time! Come Experience the Warmth of Brazilian music and culture. Lets bring up the heat on the dance floor at 9PM, the only rule is to have fun… Come ready to play with samba no pe!!”

On Foursquare? Like getting new badges? Here is a list of places near Downtown where you can earn a special badge for participating in events related to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service this weekend.

Plans for tonight: Getting a haircut after work, then I’ll hit the Silly Goose about 6:30 to see Jessica. Come see her!

Back again. I have completed my stays at the Monroe Avenue Branch Office (Bardog) and Second Street Branch Office (Flying Saucer) and have moved on to the Peabody Place Branch Office (Silly Goose). Still have the netbook out with me. This is probably the first time I’ve brought a computer in the Goose in two years. I used to bring computers up here all the time and play on PokerStars, before the government took away U.S. citizens’ right to do that.

I wanted to post a second time today and let you know about a couple of different things Downtown bars are doing tonight due to the weather. First of all, Blind Bear will open at their regular time of 5 PM. They will have $3 shots of whisky, Fireball, and moonshine tonight. They will have $5 caramel macchiatos (needless to say, there’s liquor involved) and hot toddys. $5 chili cheese Bear dawgs. They will also have Texas Hold’em at 8 as usual. Kitchen open until 2, bar open until 3.

Down south at the Double J, only the downstairs bar will be open. They’re closing the loft bar tonight because they don’t want employees who don’t live Downtown to face a late-night drive home on icy streets. They’re also postponing trivia until tomorrow night. If you get to the J tonight though, there’s $2 Fireball and $2.50 domestics.

As for regular Tuesday happenings, Kevin Cerrito will still host trivia at Ferraro’s at 8 with $1 PBR. Bardog will still have Pint Night, with all drafts $3 beginning at 7. Brass Door will have curry night with rogan josh over rice $8 after 5. They’ll also have 2 for 1 fish and chips.

All right, that’ll probably do it for today. Netbook battery is down to 40%, so unless something important comes up I’ll see you tomorrow.

After reading that there’s an ice storm warning (0.25 to 0.40 inch ice now predicted). I had a decision to make. I could A) Drive to work and spend all day getting not much done, as I worried endlessly about the drive home; or B) take a vacation day and go to Bardog.

I went with plan B and am here with the little blue netbook. Aldo has just called and confirmed that it’s a snow day. That means $2 Fireball shots  and $3 New Belgium Snow Day.

If you don’t already have it pulled up, open the MemphisWeather.net radar in a new tab and click the Winterize check box. It’s moving in.

Another good site to have open is the TDOT Smartmap. Zoom in on Memphis and click the Traffic Congestion checkbox. Green means no congestion; yellow means moderate congestion; red means heavy congestion; red and black means stop and go traffic. I like to turn on the Cameras too. Hopefully this will help you plan your escape route from work. I check it every day before I leave Horn Lake.

Let’s get on to today’s news. Ghost River Brewery tweeted yesterday that they are brewing a batch of their Black Magic beer. It will be available for sale at their dock at Main and Crump around the first of February. It will be at bars and restaurants about a week after that.

The Wonder Bread bakery on Monroe may be back in operation soon. It’s part of the sale of the Wonder name and assets out of bankruptcy.

LifeHacker posted a No-nonsense, Non-Alarmist, Essential Guide to the Flu today. If you get sick, this guide will help you determine whether you have the flu or something else, and what to do if you do have the flu.

As of 11:30, it’s being reported that bridges in Mississippi are iced over from Tate county to the Tennessee state line. VERY happy with my decision to call into work today. The frozen precip will be in the Memphis metro within 30 minutes and will ice the bridges here. Leave work now if you can. I’ll have the netbook out with me for a while, may do a second post. Check back.