Category: Uncategorized

Lunch delivery from Global Cafe

Today I sat at my computer desk thinking, “What’s for lunch?” The options were

  • Frozen dinner I bought at Walgreens
  • Canned meal I bought at Family Dollar

Neither option was terribly appealing, especially considering today would be the fifth straight day for those options. So I delayed lunch and surfed Twitter to come up with content for my second blog post of the day (scroll down for “House arrest day 20/update 2” if you haven’t seen it yet). While surfing I found this:

It reminded me that Global Cafe delivers Downtown now, and trying its cuisine has been on my to-do list since we were all put under house arrest we all agreed to socially distance and flatten the curve. Global Cafe is a really neat concept in Crosstown Concourse, offering cuisine made by Syrian, Sudanese, and Venezuelan chefs. I decided to order enough to have leftovers for tomorrow. I put my two entrees in the online cart and moved to checkout. I was able to put in my credit card information, enter a tip, and save my information for future orders.

I placed my order at 1:07 PM and the receipt I was emailed said to expect my delivery between 1:45 and 1:55. However, Global Cafe and Crosstown Concourse exceeded expectations; at 1:37 I received a text that my delivery driver was outside. I ran down to meet her, and she had on a mask covering her face and nose for safety. No need to do anything other than take the bag; no contact at all. Completely, totally safe.

The Chile Guajillo Shrimp was one of the two entrees I ordered.

This Venezuelan dish consists of seared shrimp in a mild chile Guajillo sauce with Spanish rice. This has some really good flavor but it was not overly spicy – something I was wondering about, because I’ve had Guajillo shrimp in Mexican restaurants that set off a four-alarm fire in my mouth. This dish is one you can enjoy no matter what your preferred level of spice is.

The other dish I got was Dama with Rous.

This is a Sudanese dish of beef tender in tomato sauce with rice, topped with onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Yummy! The beef was tender and juicy and the sauce – well, it’s impossible for me to describe the sauce because I’ve never had anything like that before. It was a perfect complement to the meat and the rice, though.

This dish is slightly spicy, which I thought was perfect, but if you’re a wuss when it comes to spice you might want to call the restaurant and ask if there’s anything they can do to tone it down a bit.

Apologies to my Syrian friends for not getting to sample your country’s delicious food. I want to try some chicken shawarma on my next delivery order. I also want to go back for a second helping of Venezuelan food and get a stuffed arepa next time.

Check out Global Cafe’s website to see what they’ve got. In addition to appetizers, entrees and desserts, they have supplemented their delivery menu with family dinners, wine, beer and mixed drinks. They currently have a pretty sweet deal going on with Memphis Made Fireside, Wiseacre Tiny Bomb, or Crosstown Sirene for 99 cents. I am pleased to report that they also carry the Cadillac of beers, PBR, in 16 ounce cans for $1.95.

Given them a try to expand your culinary horizons. Back later today or tomorrow with more news.

House arrest day 20 (Wed) / update 2

Those of you who park on the streets Downtown overnight may want to pay to put your car in a parking garage this evening. The storms predicted to move through between 10 PM and 1 AM have the potential to produce up to 2-inch hail. From the National Weather Service: Using everyday objects to estimate hail size

Also, you might want to get a full charge on your phone and other portable devices this evening.

Soul food news:

Mighty Lights news:

Pass this on to our friends at the CA and anyone else who affected: there’s a journalist furlough fund

River Time Market & Deli has announced that they plan on gearing back up for curbside and grab & go later this month. Follow the deli on Facebook to keep up with the latest news. They are tentatively looking at April 24.

Mongo with a very solid plan to get us through this pandemic:

Bernie is dropping out of Democratic presidential race, leaving Joe Biden as the presumptive nominee.

Nacho suggestion from Max’s Sports Bar:

You’ve had our BBQ pork nachos, but have you had them with our white queso? Come get an order togo for lunch. And maybe even a beer or 6!

Hopefully you’ll make a better beer decision than the person above did, though.

The Rendezvous was featured on Good Morning America’s Deals and Steals segment this morning.

News from the island: Tug’s Casual Grill is getting in to the Easter dinner to-go action. Order by 7 PM Saturday, April 11 at 901-260-3344 for curbside pickup between 10 AM and 3 PM Sunday. $3o for two people or $60 for 4 people. Garden salad, choice of five entrees (with sides), choice of three desserts, dinner rolls. Fifteen bucks a head is not bad at all for a prepared Easter dinner.

That’s it for now. I just ordered Global Cafe for lunch and I am pretty damn excited. Back later today or tomorrow with more news.

House arrest day 20 (Wed)

The Memphis Flyer has published a list of Memphis-themed quarantine reading, and I decided to see how many of the books are on Scribd, the all-you-can read service I’ve been trying the past couple of weeks.

  • The Gone Dead: A Novel by Chanelle Benz (audiobook)
  • The Book of Isaias: A Child of Hispanic Immigrants Seeks His Own America by Daniel Connolly
  • Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession by Alice Bolin
  • The Vanishing Island by Barry Wolverton
  • Memphis Noir by various authors
  • The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty
  • The Secret History by Donna Tartt
  • Dirty Work by Larry Brown
  • The Last Taxi Driver by Lee Durkee (audiobook)

Scribd is free for 30 days and $9.99 after that. You could sign up for the free trial and knock out several of these, then unsubscribe before the renewal date ends – or let it renew and charge your card if we’re still in house arrest after 30 days. Scribd has made the time away from life as I know it nor just bearable, but downright entertaining, and therefore I would recommend it to anyone who is a reader.

By the way, don’t take the star reviews on Scribd real seriously. Most people who read there don’t leave reviews. If reviews are important to you, look up the book’s star rating on Amazon.

Current book (not Memphis related) I’m reading on Scribd: Face the Music: A Life Exposed by Paul Stanley of KISS. I’ve read bios of major rock bands before but never this one.

Wiseacre recently Instagrammed a pic of Wiseacre 2, its second brewery soon to open at B.B. King and Butler. It’s almost ready!

Holly has info on how to get locally-brewed beer for curbside pickup and delivery on the I Love Memphis Blog.

Beale Street to-go info:

The 1960s Turkey version of Get Lifted:

Singer/songwriter John Prine succumbed to the coronavirus yesterday. The DM’s Chris Herrington has a look at Prine’s first album, recorded in Memphis.

If you have to go out tonight, be careful. Storms are expected to hit after 9 PM.

With the county clerk’s offices closed due to the coronavirus, Memphis police will stop issuing tickets for expired license plate tags for the time being. Note that this policy will not change your renewal date, however.

There’s an app, voluntary to download and use, that will allow you to self-report having COVID-19 if you come down with it. The app will use location services to inform users if they have been in contact with someone who has the coronavirus. This is one of the ways South Korea flattened the curve (except over there it was mandatory).

Cheers to Downtown Fortune 500 company AutoZone for doing the right thing: They voted to give workers emergency time off as needed for any matter related to the coronavirus, and they now offer curbside pickup of parts at their stores.

That’s the news for this morning. Back later today or tomorrow with more.

House arrest day 19 (Tue) / update 2: Lunchbox Eats Easter dinner and Lunch Lady’s Comfort Kitchen

LUNCHBOXeats is offering a to-go, a la carte Easter menu. Orders must be placed by 3 PM Wednesday, April 8 to guarantee what you want. Pick up April 11 or 12. 901-526-0820 or soulfusion@lunchboxeats.com to order. They have entrees, sides, desserts, tea, and peach lemonade. You can get curbside pickup or delivery. For delivery the minimum order is $40 and a 20% gratuity will be added.

In addition, LUNCHBOXeats will have Lunch Lady’s Comfort Kitchen Meals available for curbside pickup or delivery (same rules apply as above) Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 10-12, noon to 4 PM. It is recommended that you place your order a day in advance, because they are working with a limited staff.

Don’t forget it’s Tipsy Tuesday at Kooky Canuck, where you can get 34 oz. cocktails for $5. You can get them to go.

The CA”s Jennifer Chandler has a list of where to find Easter sweet treats. Among the suggestions are Downtown shops Dinstuhl’s and Primas Bakery + Boutique.

From the Flyer: Down at the end of Lonely Street: Beale Street in quarantine. Damn, even A. Schwab closed!

Just think how many dogs are going to need therapy once the quarantine is lifted and people start working from their offices again.

The COVID-19 pandemic may lead to more rats on the streets, even in the daytime.

Since I have a few pieces of time-sensitive information, I’m going to go ahead and publish. Back later today or tomorrow with more.

House arrest day 19 (Tue)

South Main Grocery at 383 S. Main (in Spindini) is offering to-go Easter family meals. Your choices:

  • 6 lb. roast of prime rib (serves 8-10) $79.99: includes 3 lbs. garlic mashed potatoes, 3 lbs. Italian green beans, 12 Sister Schubert rolls
  • 9 lb. smoked pit ham (12-15 servings) $59.99: includes 4lbs. garlic mashed potatoes, 4 lbs. Italian green beans, 16 Sister Schubert rolls

Call 901-578-2767 to reserve your Easter meal from South Main Grocery.

Would it be rude if I replied I plan on going to Bardog and ordering a PBR?

From Green Beetle on Facebook:

HEY EVERYBODY!! We’ve got some tasty news. For those of you going through bushwacker withdrawals, we are now taking preorders for a gallon sized wacker and a bag of chips for only $30!! That’s 8 wackers at less than half the normal price previously available only for catering clients.

DM us with your name and number to get your order in, curbside pickup will be Friday between 4-7. We are currently accepting cash app, Venmo, credit, or cash. We can’t wait to help you enjoy your weekend with the tastiest frozen beverage around. #biggestwackerever #supportthebeetle #oldesttaverninmemphis #wemissyou #southmain #survivingquarantine

(In case you’re wondering why the bag of chips: To-go mixed drinks must be sold with a food order)

Pyramid Wine & Spirits has announced new hours: Monday-Thursday 10 AM-8 PM, Friday-Saturday 10 AM-9 PM, Sunday 11 AM-6 PM. They are limiting their store to 5 people maximum inside at a time. They have curbside pick-up as well. Call 901-578-2773 to place an order.

News from the island:

For those of you who remember Tracy Smothers from when he wrestled in Memphis:

The Overton Square crawfish festival goes drive-thru this year. Friday and Saturday of this week:

MakeUseOf has some tips to lock down Zoom. Whether you use it for work meetings or virtual happy hours, might want to give these tips a read.

Mayor Strickland said that over 100 complaints were filed on businesses violating the Safer at Home order, but after inspections and reinspections almost all businesses complied. Only one was ordered to shut down, and we all wondered what business it was. Now we know. It’s a car wash on Southern not far from the U of M.

Google Maps now shows nearby take-out and delivery.

If you ride a bike, be sure you lock it up good. There was a band of teenagers in the Downtown core last night trying to steal bikes. It’s possible they were going after the Explore Bike Share smart bikes; both locations where they were reported (Court Square, Adams/B.B. King) are Explore docking locations.

Let’s hear it for the good guys: Many landlords are working with their commercial tenants who lack the revenue to pay April rent.

The DM has a story on the troubles restaurant owners are facing applying for the SBA’s Payroll Paycheck Protection Program. Patrick Reilly of the Majestic Grille found red tape holding up his loan due to stupid bureaucratic red tape. Patrick reached out to the folks at Renasant Bank, who said, “You make a good grilled cheese (this is true BTW), we’ll help you,” and the loan got approved, and his employees will get paid while the restaurant is closed. Anyone out there looking to open a new account or switch banks, keep Renasant in mind.

I made a trip to City Market, the first time since Memphis was put under house arrest. For those of you who love spicy food, I found something that is worth a try.

Artisan-style Buffalo chicken chili. No kidding, it has that Buffalo sauce taste, unlike any chicken chili. It was $3.99 for a 15 ounce can and is worth a try if you like spicy food. A big dollop of sour cream on top would hit the spot if you have it on hand.

Also, I noticed City Market has PBR $8.69 for a six-pack of 16-ounce cans. I don’t normally keep PBR at home but now that I’m getting invited to virtual happy hours on Zoom, I guess I need to have some on standby.

From the Memphis Flyer: How COVID-19 is affecting local farmers

Mahaffey Tent is donating used linens to anyone looking to make face masks. To inquire email sales@mahaffeytent.com or call 901-871-0606.

Homeowners:

Number of cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County went up fro 789 to 845 today. If we see a few more days of this less than 10% growth in new cases, that seems to be to be a sign the curve is indeed flattening earlier than expected.

One of my favorite sayings about Downtown is that it’s like watching a soap opera, except you are a character in the soap opera. Well, now I have a new analogy – we’re all characters in a TV show where the main storyline is we are all in it together waiting for an event to be over. Kind of like M*A*S*H where they all cracked jokes and entertained themselves, but first and foremost they were waiting for the Korean War to be over so they could get their lives back. Perhaps in 2040 a new sitcom will premiere about the COVID-19 pandemic.

We all have our own ways of dealing with the quarantine:

That’s it for now. Time to go grocery shopping. Back tomorrow with more news.

House arrest day 18 (Mon) / update 3

The Memphis Flyer’s Bruce V (@sylamore1) recently started a Twitter thread asking his followers to get the good word out on local restaurants offering great tasting food, great service, and great delivery during the pandemic. The thread has now crossed over to the Flyer’s Twitter feed (@memphisflyer). Take a look at the comments on both to discover some yummy ways to keep yourself well fed during our house arrest social distancing.

In a completely expected move, Mayor Strickland has extended the house arrest Safer at Home order until April 21. Stickland also announced that 41 complaints of Safer at Home violations were received yesterday, including 15 at churches.

Golf fans: The Masters has been moved to November 12-15 in Augusta.

Furloughed hospitality workers are being offered a job opportunity by Memphis Tourism, formerly the Convention & Visitors Bureau. It’s call center work that pays $12.51 an hour.

Learn to be a storm spotter!

The Memphis central library is starting a new virtual yoga series every Saturday at 2 and Wednesday at 6. These are free to attend and they will post the Zoom link at the time of the class.

More yoga:

The Kroc Center has a variety of virtual fitness and family classes.

Artists: Here’s a list of links to help get you through the coronavirus pandemic.

From stats site FiveThirtyEight: Why forecasting COVID-19 is harder than forecasting elections

From Lifehacker: Now is a good time to mix a bunch of different cocktail syrups

Why do chimpanzees throw poop?

That’s it for now. In case you missed it, I made a post about 11 AM with good news from health officials re: flattening the curve. Check back later today or tomorrow for another post.

Some good news!

Read this Daily Memphian article!

Summary: A new COVID-19 model came out today, April 6. It predicts

  • No more than 600 deaths statewide. The April 2 model predicted 3000 and numbers as scary as 20,000 had been batted around.
  • COVID-19 cases will peak April 15. Previous peak was predicted for April 19.
  • The number of cases will not overwhelm the number of hospital beds, ICU beds, and ventilators available in the state.

Things could change once again, but fingers crossed for an earlier-than-expected return to normal.

House arrest day 18 (Mon)

Here’s a very Spring 2020 activity for you. Name a movie, but add “While Socially Distanced” to the end of the title. So, Die Hard While Socially Distanced. Driving Miss Daisy While Socially Distanced. Knives Out While Socially Distanced.

Food porn:

More food porn:

Interesting article: When epidemics/pandemics hit early New York City, they’d flee the urban life to take refuge far out in the country… in Greenwich Village.

From the New York Daily News: Will there be a Major League Baseball season at all this year? There are some hefty challenges to be faced: lost revenue if games are played in empty ballparks, what to do if a player gets the coronavirus during the season, what to do with Minor League Baseball.

The DM’s Geoff Calikins spoke to Jon McCullers, pediatrician-in-chief at LeBonheur and associate dean at UT College of Medicine. McCullers thinks there won’t be a football season either. I know people who babble endlessly about the latest developments in spots and now they’re going to have nothing to talk about for up to an entire year.

And what are sports bars going to do? With 12 beers on tap, perhaps Max should grab his corporate credit card and visit the candy warehouse on Carolina. He could offer candy/beer pairings and re-brand the place as Max’s Candy Bar.

Marvel is offering access to many of its comics for free.

The coronavirus has taken being sick of your family to a whole new level, and to celebrate, River Inn at Harbor Town is offering Easter family dinner to go for next Sunday, April 12. Dinner serves 2-4 and can be picked up 11 AM-7 PM on Easter. Orders must be placed by 7 PM Saturday night the 11th. Click the link for menu and ordering info.

Who else is doing to-go Easter dinners? Let me know. I usually concentrate my blogging efforts on Downtown, but I’ll be happy to post about restaurants in other parts of the city if they deliver Downtown.

I listened to the Memphis Police scanner most of the day yesterday (except when Wrestlemania was on). They answered quite a few Safer at Home calls, including some at Overton Park.

Now that Wrestlemania is over, some thoughts:

  • Becky pinning Bayzler while in Bayzler’s submission hold was a nice finish.
  • They better do a Superstar Shake-Up immediately… otherwise, who on Smackdown is gonna credibly challenge Strowman for the Universal championship? Remember, Roman is out until the coronavirus pandemic is under control.
  • That was the best Undertaker has looked in a long time. He and A.J. should sent Matt Hardy a cut of their royalties, because the Boneyard Match was clearly inspired by some of the stuff Broken Matt did in TNA.
  • Charlotte as NXT champion could help that brand beat AEW in the Wednesday night ratings wars.
  • The Edge/Randy Orton Last Man Standing Match was every bit as good as the Boneyard March, and I’m glad they put those on opposite nights.
  • We all knew Gronk was going to win the 24/7 title.
  • Zelina Vega has a great ass.
  • So, Bianca Belair is going to move up to the main roster? Good deal. She has the most potential of anyone in NXT right now.
  • The wrestlers may have to submit to drug testing, but the Firefly Fun House “match” is proof that the writers clearly don’t.
  • Can this please be the end of part-timers holding the Universal and World titles?

If more news comes in, I’ll do a second post later today. Otherwise, back tomorrow with more news.

House arrest day 17 (Sun)

Graham Winchester performs live online in Songs from the Bathtub tonight 6 to 7:30 PM. There will be virtual tip jars for those who would like to leave donations.

From Feed the Front Lines, Memphis:

We are incredibly proud to announce that Michael Patrick of Rizzos Diner is going to be the first restaurateur to feed the front lines on behalf of the Feed the Front Lines, Memphis initiative. He will be preparing 100 meals for the night shift at Baptist East on Sunday.

As donations roll in, we will be calling on everyone who has pledged support. We have a vast and talented array of chefs and restaurateurs who will be preparing these meals.

But it takes donations to make this happen. Please share this post and help us secure these donations so we can get operating money into their hands and appreciation to our front-line medical professionals.

Donate here ➡️ https://bit.ly/340hvaa

From Grind City Media’s MikeCheck with Michael Wallace: Checking in with Grizzlies legend Zach Randolph during the NBA hiatus. Z-bo discusses his food bank donation to keep children fed while the schools are out, challenges of being an NBA player during a suspended season, and his role as a community ambassador.

I found this tool, tweeted by marketing expert Chris Brogan, to host Netflix watch parties: Kosmi

Mayor Strickland’s daily COVID-19 update for Saturday has noncompliance numbers for the Safer at Home order. So far only one business has had a placard issued ordering the business to be vacated for being out of compliance. Cheers to the mayor on making these numbers public. Previous administrations never would have thought to do that.

Anyone know who/where the one business that got shut down is?

So I’m guessing that the Beale Street St. Patrick’s Day parade, rescheduled for this coming Saturday, is probably not happening….

If I can be serious for a minute…

I agree, Lance. I agree. I did enjoy night 1 of Wrestlemania more than I thought I would. Last night’s first night of Wrestlemania was really good, far better than I expected.

Back later today if there’s more news to report.

House arrest day 16 (Sat)

After almost a year, construction barriers have been removed from 18 South Main!

The former Murray’s/Jerry’s building looks different – and better. So nice to have that sidewalk unblocked. I’m sure the fine folks at The Peanut Shoppe are happy that the barriers are no longer blocking visibility.

Today would have been opening day for the Memphis Farmers Market, but it will be postponed by at least 5 weeks. In the meantime, the Market asks you to support its vendors directly.

Small businesses in the Medical Center District, which includes Downtown neighborhoods Uptown, The Pinch, Victorian Village, and The Edge, can now apply for up to $15,000 in grant money to help get through COVID-19’s economic effects. Food and beverage businesses can apply, as well as “third place” (places people congregate regularly that are not home or work) businesses. More info/application

I’m definitely not a karaoke fan, but if you are, here you go. (This was tweeted yesterday, so by “tomorrow evening” they mean tonight)

Terri Clark, Lauren Aliana and Ashley McBride perform live tonight at the Grand Ole Opry at 7 PM. You can catch the performance on TV on Circle, on Facebook, or YouTube.

From The Onion: Southern governors argue that COVID-19 is a good Christian virus that wouldn’t dare spread during church

State parks including T.O. Fuller State Park and Meeman-Shelby Forest State Parks are closed through at least April 14.

ArtsMemphis has created a fund to help artists who had work that was scheduled or contracted, but which was lost or canceled due to the coronavirus.

Embedded at the request of Perjorie T. Roll:

Pre-order your Dr. Fauci bobblehead

For a limited time you can watch HBO shows for free. Shows include The Wire, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Silicon Valley, Veep, and Ballers. Movies include Isn’t It Romantic?, Crazy, Stupid, Love, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, and Pokemon Detective Pikachu.

The exact opposite of leadership:

From WMC Action News 5 on the Safer At Home order:

That’s the news for this morning. I may try to mess around with my schedule this week and sleep 6 times in 7 days, so the timing of my posts may be affected. Back later today or tomorrow with more news.