It’s Monday night. Where’s the cheap beer?

Bardog was out of PBR again when I stopped by last night, so it’s temporarily off the cheap beer list until they get a delivery.  So, where can you get cheap beer tonight?

  • Flying Saucer has Pint Nite, with almost all their draft pints for $2.75.
  • Big Foot Lodge has $2 Super Cold 34 oz. Coors Light during the Monday Night Football game.
  • Calhoun’s has pints of PBR for $1.50.

I’ll be at the Saucer… it has the most TVs for football viewing of any of the three bars mentioned above (seven, with the big screens pulled down).  It also has a much larger capacity, friendly bartenders, pool and darts, what I call the circulation/”you never know who you’ll run into” factor, and most importantly, the waitresses wear really short skirts.

If you’re hungry, I recommend going to Big Foot – they have the best food of the three – and sitting at a table.  You won’t have a good view of the TVs though.  In addition to the $2 beer, they have $3 blue kamikazes, $4 100 proof tequila, and 24 wings for $9.99 during the game.

If you live in South Main and like PBR, Calhoun’s Sports Bar is a short walk to a friendly neighborhood bar.  The regulars are very very very enthusiastic about the place.

Be careful tonight if you’re driving.  It looks like the rain will move out of here before it drops below freezing, but you never know with the Memphis weather.  Walking and the trolley are better options if you’re within short range.

South Main Association to organize cheering section for marathon

The St. Jude full marathon and half marathon take place this Saturday, December 6.  The South Main Association, noting that New York and Boston have thousands of people lining the street for their marathons, would like Downtowners to come out and show their support to runners in the Memphis event.

They’re going to organize a cheering section in front of the Arcade restaurant, which will have coffee, juices, and nibbles available.  This is the first mile of both the full and the half marathons, which start at 8 AM, so runners will start passing the Arcade about 8:05.  The organizers suggest meeting there about 7:30.

Runners say it means a lot to have people cheering them along the route, so if you can get up at that early hour, come on out and support the marathon’s participants.

New Facebook group: “Downtown Memphis Core”

I created a new Facebook group called “Downtown Memphis Core” Saturday.  If you’re on Facebook, and you live, work, or play in the core (which is approximately bounded by the river on the west, Danny Thomas on the east, I-40 on the north, and Linden on the south), please feel free to join.

For almost 7 years I’ve said that the most urban part of Memphis, Downtown, is the friendliest part of the city.  However, Downtown has grown so much that individual neighborhoods now have their own identities.  Mud Island now has its own sense of community with a grocery store, coffee shop, movie and pizza place, boutique hotel, and a neighborhood hangout in Tug’s.  Uptown has a vibrant neighborhood association that plans a lot of parties and family-friendly events, and TJ Mulligan’s and Westy’s draw good crowds.  South Main has perhaps developed the strongest sense of community, with the monthly Trolley Tours, and beloved spots such as Calhoun’s, Bluff City Coffee, and the Blue Monkey.

The Downtown core, however, hasn’t developed such a strong identity yet.  So I figured starting a Downtown Memphis Core Facebook group might help with that.  What will happen on the group?  Whatever the members want.  Here are a few ideas to get us started:

  • I notice we already have a group member who rides a scooter, and he’s certainly welcome to tell people about the Memphis scooter club that meets in the core.  Same for other clubs/groups that meet in the area.
  • I notice we have a member of FreeWorld who has already joined.  His band plays Sunday nights at Blues City, and that’s long been known as a place where Downtowners can listen to good music and finish off the weekend.  He’s welcome to post about that if he wants, and other bands that play Downtown are welcome as well.
  • Down in South Main, residents organize a lot of informal events where neighbors can get to know each other.  For example, they recently had a Thanksgiving potluck at Calhoun’s, and in October they had a Downtown Olympics.  Maybe we can organize cool, fun events like those to allow neighbors in the core to interact.
  • Here’s a good question to discuss on the group:  What are options for New Year’s Eve?  I’m constantly on the lookout for something laid-back and easy to do on NYE, away from the noise and crowds and expense of the big parties like the Peabody, Beale Street, Saucer, Rooster, etc.
  • Maybe the group will be a place where people can post requests like, “I have to change a light bulb in a 12-foot ceiling and need a ladder to reach it.  Does anyone have one I can borrow?”
  • I recently talked several times to people who run one of the largest apartment buildings in the Core.  They think their building has turned into one of the nicest places to live.  They’re welcome to tell the group why.  Everyone’s invited to discuss the places they live.
  • A place where people can ask for restaurant suggestions.  Where should I take my co-workers to lunch?  Where’s a good place for a romantic dinner date?  Who has the best burger, wings, etc.?
  • A place where people can discuss their favorite places to hang out.  For the past several years you’ve been treated to a heaping helping of my favorites (currently Saucer and Bardog) on this blog, and why I like them.  Now let’s hear yours!  There are bar crowds at Circa and Huey’s; the Tap Room is popular among some Downtowners, as is the Black Diamond.  Then there’s 88 Sports Bar.  Where do you like to go, and why?
  • A place where people can exchange tickets to Redbirds, Grizzlies, Tigers, concerts, Orpheum shows, etc.
  • A place where organizations looking for volunteers (Downtown holiday lights, Center for Southern Folklore, Orpheum, etc.) can find them.
  • … And whatever else you want it to be.  This is OUR group, not my group.  It is the first time I’ve created a Facebook group, so I’d welcome advice from more experienced users on anything I can do to make the group better.

Again, you don’t have to live in the Downtown core to join… you just have to love the Downtown core.  Let’s have some fun and see where this group takes us!

BFF of the Month: Stephanie

It’s a few minutes shy of December 1, but I’m going to go ahead and announce the December BFF of the Month:  Stephanie.  Yes, she has finally won.

Furthermore, it’s not due to a lack of competition.  She deserved to win.  Big time.  When I got laid off all of the sudden one warm October afternoon, she was one of the first people there with words of encouragement.  And more importantly, she was there with a 24 oz. can of PBR.  More recently, she has played a big part in the Downtown holiday festivities, which as I’ve mentioned previously, have kicked ass.  The VIP party for the holiday parade was a massive success (did I mention they had Gus’s chicken? and beer?)  As was the parade itself.  As was the entire holiday lighting project.

She has told me that as BFF, she will send me lots of pictures of her cat Junebug.  I will, in return, send her lots of pictures of prominent Downtown panhandler “June Bug” who is currently in jail for beating up his pregnant girlfriend.

Fashion article offers excellent advice about tube tops

Today I happened upon an article on a website called the Jamaica Gleaner News which offers some outstanding advice about tube tops.  The best part of the article is this:

The days of hiding your tubes under jackets and dresses are over. Over! You’re a beaut, so stop cramping your style. The tube top is an excellent piece to debut on its own. The perspective of longer arms and exposed shoulders is what the tube top is all about today. They are also extremely fun to accessorise.

Well said!  Let’s see those tube tops!  You can read the entire article here.

Saturday recap: A comfortable, relaxing day at three of my favorite places

Yesterday I went to the Red Rooster to watch the flip cup tournament, and more importantly, to drink beer.  First time I’d been there during daytime in about a month, and I quickly remembered how nice the Rooster staff is – they have football on all their TVs (I counted 11 of them), and if you come in to watch, they’ll tell you, “If there’s a particular game you want to watch, just tell us what TV you’d like it on.”  They have big $5 pitchers and half off Maxalicious pizzas during games as well.  If you have a big group that wants to go somewhere and drink beer and watch football, the Rooster would be a good place to do it.

They told me they’re also going to be open for all the Tiger games (including away games on TV), and they will run beer specials.  They’re especially looking forward to February’s Memphis Tigers vs. UT Vols game, which is an away game this year.  They want to have a big watch party for that game.  They also told me that their 12-foot tall rooster that guards the front door will be dressed up as Santa by the end of this week, and that they’re planning a week-long celebration to celebrate their 1-year anniversary in early 2009.

As for the flip cup tournament… eh, it was what it was, an excuse for people to get together and play drinking games.  I didn’t play on a team, just watched.  Sam made me a press pass consisting of a napkin with my name and “PRESS PASS” scribbled on it, which he then proceeded to staple to my shirt.  I have pics in my camera, which I’ll post later.

By 5:30 I was DONE and decided to call it a day and started the walk home… but what’s on the way home from the Red Rooster?  The Saucer.  Of course I had to stop in, especially since one of my favorite beers (Blue Moon) was the Fire Sale.  Ended up hanging out at the bar with my friends Lee and Bicycle Bobby.  Wow there really weren’t a lot of people out.  Guess yesterday was travel day for a lot of people.  We had a good time though.  The manager came over and thanked us for our loyalty.

Around 8 Lee made a great suggestion:  “Hey, you want to go to Bardog?”  Well, let’s see… PBR on tap?  Of course I want to go to Bardog!  So we made the three-block walk up to Monroe.  Found out that the owner’s mom reads my blog.

A female friend at the bar suggested to me, “You know, Paul, there are sweater tube tops.  You ought to do a December version of Tube Top Month to promote those.”  That makes three times this week I’ve had someone suggest that I bring back Tube Top Month six months early in honor of winter/Christmas tube tops.  I’m not up for an entire month of them right now, but if anyone wants to model winter tube tops and send me photos, I’ll be happy to post ’em.

I made the mistake of getting a seat near the kitchen, which meant I had to sit there and watch them cook sliders for three hours.  Finally I couldn’t take it any more and put in a to-go order for sliders.  The place got super duper packed right as I was leaving – the Thanksgiving holiday may be hurting business at most places Downtown, but it sure didn’t seem to affect Bardog.

Went home, ate my sliders, went to bed.  After the hustle and bustle of the Downtown parade on Friday, Saturday turned out to be a peaceful, relaxing day with good people in good places.  And because I went to bed relatively early last night, I actually am up in time to go to Sunday brunch, for the first time in weeks.  I’ve gotten so out of the loop that I don’t even know if it’s a Majestic week or Blue Monkey week… if anyone knows, shoot me an e-mail.  Otherwise I’ll start texting people about 10:30.

Thursday and Friday recap

Recap of this weekend so far, going back to Thursday:

I was extremely late getting to the Saucer Thursday afternoon.  It opened at 5, and due to the fact that I had to stop by the Peabody to get money from the ATM, I didn’t get there until 5:08.  Everyone was in a laid-back, festive mood.  I ended up hanging out there talking to people until almost 11:30.  It was odd how it worked… several times I was about to tab out and leave, when new people came in that I wanted to talk to.  If you caught my last post (“why Downtowners hang out the places we do”), you noticed I mentioned circulation, or the “you never know who you might run into” effect, and the Saucer definitely had it Thursday night.

Quote of the night from Thursday: bartender Brittney proudly patted herself on the ass and said, “I’ve got plenty of turkey right here.”  Then she said, “Why don’t you blog that, Paul.”  I swear I’m not kidding.  She actually said that and furthermore suggested I blog it.  We certainly do think a lot of ourself, don’t we?

The guy next to me at the bar followed up with a comment:  “Turkey?  Looks like a couple of hams to me.”  Then he added, “Not exactly honey glazed.”  Makes me wonder why I pay 70 bucks a month for a cable package including the Comedy Channel, when I can get great comedy like this for the price of a beer.

So I hung out with my friends Wayne and Judy, then Bicycle Bobby, then people from the Rooster, then some more Downtowners who came in… by 11:30 I realized, “Okay, I’ve got to get out of here and head to Earnestine & Hazel’s for their party,” realizing I’d probably already missed the Jello shots.  So I made the walk south… the E&H party was as fun as I remembered from last year.  It was packed with people dancing, drinking, having a good time.  If you’ve already bought your 2009 calendar, write “E&H party” on Thanksgiving.  It’s a can’t-miss if you stay in town for the holiday, and it benefits charity, too.

Friday I headed to the Memphis Holiday Parade’s VIP party at one of the galleries on South Main.  Possible future BFF Stephanie had given me passes to the event.  There was a sumptuous spread of food – Central BBQ, a salmon platter, Gus’s chicken, many different kinds of cheeses, vegetable platters with hummus and ranch dip, chips, chocolate, and a lot more items I can’t remember.  I wish I had taken a picture of the buffet to send to the Nuh-Uh Girl, who would’ve been devastated that she missed all that free food.  They had Boscos beer (golden ale and brown ale) and wine as well.

The parade was fantastic.  It was one of the longest parades I’ve ever seen, over an hour from start to finish.  The CCC really hit the ball out of the park this year.  Getting everyone down to South Main was a great idea.  It exposes thousands of people to the shops and art galleries in the neighborhood, and as several people mentioned, South Main is a lot more family-friendly than Beale Street.  I can’t say enough good things about the job they’ve done with not only the parade, but the entire holiday season.  Ten thousand percent improvement over last year.

Once again, a large portion of the day was spent bouncing from one conversation to the next.  Saw a lot of people I hadn’t seen in a while, including my friend Nicole – check out her site if you’re into photography.

I stayed at the parade VIP party until almost 9, then wandered down the street to Calhoun’s.  I ended up staying for 6 PBRs and didn’t get out of there until 1:30.  See, I really do like the place; I just get tired of people who are more rah-rah about Calhoun’s than I am constantly trying to herd me there.  About 1:30 I hopped in a car with a couple of friends and headed to Raiford’s, where I stayed until 3 or so.

Another great weekend in Downtown Memphis… and it’s still only half over.  Flip cup tourney at the Red Rooster at 1 today.  No idea what I’ll get into after that.  Have a good Saturday everyone…

Why Downtowners hang out where we do (short version)

Last night I got in an interesting conversation with Mikey at the bar, and wanted to post thoughts… he told me that people from other parts of town ask him, “Why do you always hang out the places you do?  You’re always at Calhoun’s, Bardog, the Saucer… it seems like you’re in a rut.  Why don’t you ever hang out at Hooters?  At Alfred’s?  At Silky’s?”  It’s a valid question – with so many choices down here, why do we go to the same bars day after day after day?

I thought about it, and while I can’t (and don’t claim to) speak for all Downtowners, there are 4 main reasons this Downtowner goes the places he does:

1) My friends hang out there.  I like places where I can walk in and just about be guaranteed to find someone I know.

2) At least one value drinking option.  Examples: PBR at Calhoun’s and Bardog; the Fire Sale at the Saucer; pretty much everything at Big Foot.

3) Circulation.  A feeling of “you never know who you may see there.”  Not the same people day in and day out, every day.

4) The sense that the people who work there are like us.  Meaning, if they weren’t on the other side of the bar serving us, they’re the kind of people we’d like to have on our side of the bar having a beer with us.

I’m going to come back and go into detail on each of these points (with examples) sometime next week.  For now, though, here’s my latest version of my “favorite places to hang out” list.  Where you see a series of dots below, think of them as an asteroid belt indicating major separation.

1. (Tie) Bardog Tavern

1. (Tie) Flying Saucer

………………………………

3. Calhoun’s

………………………………

4. Big Foot Lodge

5. Red Rooster

6. Earnestine & Hazel’s

7. Automatic Slim’s

8. Jillian’s

Notes on this list:  This is “places I hang out,” not “places I go to eat.”  I don’t really hang out at the Majestic (other than Sunday brunch) or Circa much these days, but if I were going somewhere for a good meal, they’d be at the very top of the list.  Also, Raiford’s is such an unusual place that I find it impossible to rank against my other hangouts.  It’s a permanent honorary #1 in my book.

Quick recap of Thursday and Friday to come, then I gotta head to the flip cup tournament at the Rooster.

Sad news: Guitarist Corey Osborn dies in car wreck

Thanks to fellow Downtown blogger Sig for passing on this piece of sad information:  Corey Osborn, who played regularly in B.B. King’s and other Downtown clubs, was killed in a one-person wreck on Highway 385.  He was only 23 years old… I remember not long after I moved Downtown, he was being billed as the 18-year-old prodigy who was a good enough guitar player to play in B.B.’s club.

Downtown is poorer because of his loss.  Thoughts and prayers to Corey’s family.