Author: paulryburn

The Tigers-Southern Miss game starts in a few minutes, at 3:30.  For those of you still at work, you can get audio, video, and GameTracker feeds for the game at gotigersgo.com.

I know of three places Downtown that will be open early for the 10:35 C-USA championship tipoff:

Calhoun’s will be open, as they always are for early Tiger games.

The Red Rooster will open at 10 Saturday morning for game watching.  (expect 10 or 15 text messages about this)

And McGuinness opens for breakfast at 9 anyway, so they’re an option.

If you know of other places, let me know and I’ll add them to the list.

Most days at lunch I walk past the Saucer to see what the Fire Sale is, then text or e-mail people who want to know.  I may have to stop doing it.  Today I peered in the window, saw the Fire Sale (Leinenkugel Red), then continued on.  As I got just past the entrance, I heard a door open and “Paul’s gay!”  It was my BFF.  She and another waitress came outside to talk, and my BFF actually started being nice to me.  I was starting to wonder what was up with that, because she’s NEVER nice.  Then, with one sentence, it all made sense.  “Paul, we’re hungry, go get us lunch.”  They pestered me for a good 10 minutes until I agreed.  I made my BFF give me money though, because there’s no such thing as a free lunch, at least not for someone who’s as mean to me as she is.  So I went down to Second Street Shoppers and got them tuna sandwiches from their deli.  Man they LOADED those things up with tuna salad.  They looked delicious.  Definitely better than what you’d get at Subway.  Their buffalo wings looked really good too.

Unfortunately I couldn’t get anything for myself, because I had just eaten a big breakfast.  I went to Elliott’s again and got the Emergency Eggsit burrito, with egg, sausage, potato, jalapeno cheese, onion, and bell pepper, and salsa to dip it in.  SO good.  If you’ve only been doing Elliott’s for lunch, you’re missing out on some of the best stuff on their menu.

Couple of items in today’s CA:  First of all, the Mollie Fontaine Lounge was reviewed in today’s Commercial Appeal.  That’s Karen Carrier’s new restaurant in the former Cielo on Adams.  They have a new tapas menu which everyone tells me is awesome.  I need to go there and try it.  I just never seem to get there because it’s one of the few places Downtown I can’t walk.

Also, be aware that Front Street will be closed between Adams and Poplar Sunday day.  So, if you’re driving from the Island to the Downtown core, better take Second heading south and Third heading north instead of Front.

If you know of bars Downtown that are doing special St.Pat’s stuff, e-mail me and I’ll compile a list and post it this weekend.

Everyone loved my new Pete the Trivia Guy T-shirt that I wore for the first time this past Tuesday.  On Sunday Fun Day I will unveil the second of my new T-shirts.  This one’s borderline inappropriate attire for the Majestic, but then I wear my “why don’t you stick that cigarette up your ass, it’d be healthier for you” shirt in there, and the new shirt is certainly no worse than that.  On the other hand it’s completely appropriate for the other places on the agenda that day, the Saucer and Big Foot.

Time to go back to work.  My BFF told me I should skip work this afternoon and just hang out at the Saucer.  She and I were briefly co-workers at my current company, and she commented, “come on, Paul, everyone knows that no one does any work on Friday.”  Tell that to my lead developer and the VP of Development, both of whom I have meetings with this afternoon.  My BFF left my company in November because the Saucer pays her more to sit on her ass and do nothing than my company did.

Gotta get back.  I’m working with XML Web Services and SOAP this week.  Fun.  I’m learning a lot.

Monday night is St. Patrick’s Day. A big party day. So I looked forward to celebrating it at my favorite bar and then I saw this:

Instead of having a normal $2.75 Pint Nite with almost all draft beers on sale, the Saucer is only doing Irish beers for $2.75 that night (Guinness, Murphy’s). All other beers will be full price.  Where many bars offer special discounts to celebrate St. Pat’s, the Saucer’s idea of a “special” is to raise their prices.

You know what? I had said I’m going to get a plate in the absolute minimum number of days. But this is bullshit. They’ve had holidays on Tuesday and still had trivia night. They’ve had holidays on Wednesday and still had “keep the glass” night. I’m skipping a night this Monday. And I encourage you to do the same.

So it’s now a “plate in the minimum number of days plus one” plate. I’m taking a night off in protest.

E-mail me (paul@paulryburn.com) to find out what we’ll be doing Monday night 3/17 for St.Pat’s. You are definitely invited, as long as you are cool with taking a night off from the Saucer. Or don’t e-mail if you don’t want to, will post plans as the day draws closer.

Beer report:

Previous total: $634.00

Beers 115, 116, and 117 (but 110, 111, and 112 according to the Saucer. Don’t you know their parent company 8.0 Management is loving me to death right about now):
Moosehead $4.00
Coors $3.25
Grolsch Amber $4.25
Tip $11.25 x ~30% = $4.00
Total $15.25

Grand total: $649.25

Having lunch today at Circa, using their free Wi-Fi.  I’m having the crab cake sandwich.  It’s HUGE and comes with a pile of potato chips.  Dressed with remoulade, lettuce, a tomato (which I removed), and onions (some of which I removed).

Took the long way here and walked past the Saucer to see what the Fire Sale was… it’s Blue Moon.  FINALLY!  SOMETHING DRINKABLE!!!  If they’d put Blue Moon on Fire Sale as often as they do Killian’s Red or Abita Turbo Dog, I’d be a happy camper.

Changed my mind and put the tomato back on the sandwich.

Story from WREG News:  Our representative in Congress, Steve Cohen, received an A+ on a survey done by an organization that looks out for the rights of the middle class.  They say he voted to protect the middle class and raise its living standards on issues related to tax cuts, children’s health insurance, affordable college, and the minimum wage.

Changed my mind again.  Took the tomato off.

Blast.  Hour’s up already.  I had a couple more things to post but can’t think of them.  Back to work.  I’ll be at the Saucer at 6 to drink Blue Moon and watch the Tiger game, then on to Aquanet and $1.50 Yuengling at the Rooster.

More details on the Poker Walk I posted about last night (thanks Otto), happening this Saturday from 7-10 at Peabody Corner Bar, Big Foot Lodge, McGuinness, Flying Saucer, and Jillian’s:  You go to each bar and get a drink and a card.  After you go to all five bars, you have a poker hand.  The best poker hand at each bar (depending on where you end up) wins a prize.  Also, the first 20 to hand in a completed poker hand at each bar win tickets to the Saving Abel show at the New Daisy.

Hmmm… planning a little strategy here, if I were to play… Corner Bar and Jillian’s are the least popular of the five bars, so if I were playing I’d plan to end up at one of those two, where the odds would be better of holding the best hand.

By the way, this is the same concept as the “Poker Run” planned by East Bumblefuck Kat and her Ptolemy socialite friends every year.  I believe their Poker Run happens in April.

…the Red Rooster tonight.  Just got a MySpace bulletin from them (and I’m sure I’ll get three or four text messages from them too) saying that Yuengling Lager draft beers will be $1.50 all night long.  It’s “Rock Out With Your Cock Out” night and Aquanet and Dova Grove will be playing.  I will be in attendance for this one.  Will probably get there about 9, 9:30ish or so.

Home from McGuinness now.  First of all, here’s a pic containing info on a Poker Walk happening this Saturday from 7 to 10 at five bars in the core of Downtown:

I guess a Poker Walk is kind of like a Poker Run, except a month earlier and without all the stuffed shirts and RSVP photographers.

And now for what we’ve all been waiting for:  The BEER REPORT!!!

Previous total:  $616.75

Beers 112, 113, and 114 (but 107, 108, and 109 according to the Saucer):
Dos Equis Amber bottle $4.25
Kingfisher Lager $5.00
Sam Adams Light $4.00
Tip:  $13.25 x ~30% = $4.00
Total:  $17.25

Grand total:  $634.00

So tonight I went to the Saucer and (with Mikey the Camera Nazi) planned the presentation we’re going to give to the new Downtown security patrols next Thursday.  Got the handouts together – “common panhandling gimmicks”, “our favorite bums”, “problem panhandling locations.”  Took the laptop home, changed clothes, came back to the Saucer, hung out in the window with Harmony and a couple of other regulars who said “please don’t blog us” about 1000 times.  So I won’t.  They tell me they appreciate a good Sunday Fun Day as much as we do, so they’re cool.

After that, went to Hoop’s Bar.  The big news at Hoop’s is that they now have a record player and Hooper’s rather extensive record collection.  If there’s a record you own and want to hear I’m sure you could probably take it up there and Hoop would play it.  Unless it sucks.  I was trying to decide if I was hungry enough to eat again at Hoop’s, having not eaten since having a breakfast burrito from Elliott’s (sausage, jalapenos, onions, potatoes, egg and cheese) at 10 AM.  Probably a good thing I don’t have a girlfriend as she’d have to sleep on the couch after the contents of that burrito got processed.  Anyway, I thought about eating a second time – the Badass Burger or Anna’s Egg Wolls or the Meat Pizza (get you some) but decided not to.

And now I’m at McGuinness.  Drunk.  Having a Woodchuck Amber as my final beer.  Nothing like a nice sugary apple cider right before bedtime.

I’d do a beer report but I can’t remember two of the three beers I drank.  I wrote them down but it’s on a piece of paper I dropped off at home when I took home the laptop.  The one I remember is Dos XX Amber bottle.

Regular blog reader Mike W sent in this article about absinthe lollipops.

This post was really not worth reading.  Or typing.

(Edit 5 PM:  Oops forgot to hit Publish at lunch.  Sorry.)

I just got e-mail letting me know that the Downtown Blue Monkey has a “now hiring servers” ad in this week’s Memphis Flyer.  Usually restaurants do that when they’re 3-4 weeks away from opening.

Regular blog reader JR e-mailed to remind everyone that the Civil Rights Game, which serves as the season opener for Major League Baseball every year, will take place at Memphis’ AutoZone Park on Saturday, March 29.  The Chicago White Sox will play the New York Mets in the game.  JR tells me you can still get tickets for $39, which includes tickets to not only the Civil Rights game, but two Redbirds games during the season.

My Handling-Panhandling co-founder Mike King and I have been asked to spend an hour training the new security patrols that will walk the streets of Downtown April-June.  We will be training them March 20 (reminds me, I have to clear that with work).  They want Downtown residents who have to deal with the problem every day to offer their perspective.  Planned topics include an orientation guide to common panhandling gimmicks, a top 10 list of of the bums who cause the most trouble Downtown, and a guide the biggest problem locations Downtown.  We’re meeting at the Saucer tonight to put the presentation together.

Which reminds me, I’m skipping my usual Wednesday night at Itta Bena this week.  It’s a beautiful day with a high in the low 70s, and I want to be outside, or at least in the Saucer’s outside room with the big garage windows.

This is going to be a wandering weekend for me.  There are people from 11 schools in town for the Conference USA tournament, and I always enjoy walking around and talking to tourists.  Much more likely to hit Beale Street bars like Silky’s, Tap Room, and Pat O’s than usual.  Also, this Friday is the Raising of the Goat on Beale Street after work, and Saturday is the St. Pat’s Day parade at 4.  I tend to wander around at these events, maybe having one drink with one group of people, then tabbing out and wandering some more and finding another group at a different bar.  Much less likely than usual to spend 6 or 7 consecutive hours drinking beer at the Saucer, although I’ll have to spend enough time there to down my 3 plate beers each day.

(Edit 5 PM:  Time to hit Publish for real this time and go get a beer)