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Yesterday I went to Aldo’s Pizza Pies for the unveiling of the 2019 Memphis Flyer beer bracket. 24 beers from the 6 local craft breweries will compete in a March Madness-style competition, with public voting to determine which beers move on from one round to the next. In previous years they’d matched similar style beers against one another. This year, however, they are doing it differently. They are letting the breweries choose which four beers they want to compete, with beers placed on the board randomly.

They had a very professional presentation, with the unveiling of each beer on the board being broadcast on Facebook Live. When it was all said and done, this was the final board (click the image to view it in a larger size):

Representatives from all six local breweries were in attendance for the event. In an interesting twist this year, each brewery got to swap one of their beers with another beer on the bracket, avoiding an undesirable matchup. Although the beers are not grouped by category this year, an IPA vs. IPA matchup was randomly drawn for the first round. However, that matchup will not happen; when it was one brewery rep’s turn to do a swap, she moved her IPA, avoiding a first round against Crosstown Traffic IPA.

Voting will begin tomorrow, and the rounds will progress rapidly, so it might be a good idea to follow @memphisflyer on Twitter to keep up with when a new round is started. The breweries will re-convene at Aldo’s on Thursday, February 28 for the awarding of the VanWyngarden Cup to the winning beer. Aldo’s, by the way, has all 24 competing beers, either on tap or in cans. Great place to do some research before you vote!

When people vote in the poll, they’ll have an opportunity to submit a photo of themselves with one of the competing beers for a chance to win a prize. Knowing this, Perjorie T. Roll had her photo taken with Memphis Made Junt.

Fun event for sure, and it got really busy there for a while. I got to talk to the Wiseacre sales manager for a few minutes and told him how excited that they are opening the new Downtown location.

Breaking news: The CA reports that Governor Bill Lee is in town this morning to make an economic development announcement outside the former Gibson Guitar factory on B.B. King Blvd. It is believed that FedEx Logistics will be announced as a new tenant, bringing many jobs to Downtown Memphis.

You may remember how there was a contest to find Golden Tickets in bars of Willy Wonka chocolate, with those who found them earning the right to tour the chocolate factory. Well, to celebrate its 20th year, AutoZone Park is giving away a Golden Ticket of its own, and you can enter to win it through March 1. The holder of the Golden Ticket is entitled to

• Season tickets to 2019 Memphis Redbirds games
• Season tickets to 2019 Memphis 901 FC games
• Tickets to the “Battle of the Birds” pre-season exhibition game between the Redbirds and the St. Louis Cardinals
• Tickets to the Triple-A national championship game to be held at AutoZone Park in September
• Tickets to any other event held at AutoZone Park during 2019. This could include any baseball or soccer playoff games held at the park, as well as any home soccer friendlies added to the schedule.

Just as Golden Ticket holders got to bring someone with them to the chocolate factory, the holder of AutoZone Park’s Golden Ticket will be entitled to bring a guest to all games and events.

Edible Memphis has a good article about how locally owned grocery stores are fighting the giants, building customer relationships, becoming part of the community and managing to stay afloat and prosper. Two local groceries, Cordelia’s Market and City Market, are spotlighted in the article.

Anasa Troutman, executive director of Clayborn Temple, is a contributing writer in the upcoming book, Resipiscense: A Lenten Devotional on Dismantling White Supremacy. Click the link to learn more about the book and to pre-order a copy.

The Grizzlies are back at home tonight, hosting the San Antonio Spurs at 7. This will be fans’ first chance to get an up-close and personal look at our new players.

On Friday, February 22, the Grizzlies will give away a Jaren Jackson “Shoot” dance figure to the first 5000 fans.

The Green Beetle is looking for an experienced server to join their staff. They are looking for someone who is available on weekends, and who has at least 4 years experience in bar or restaurant that serves liquor.

That’s the news for now. This is a relatively early post (it’s not even 9:30) so I’ll come back and do a second one if needed.

 

We had a Moody Ques planning meeting for 2019 yesterday that went really well. Team members will get an email in a few days, but at the end of this post I will give a quick summary of what was discussed. First, though, let’s get the news covered.

Big event coming up at FedExForum this Sunday 11 AM-2 PM: Soup Sunday to benefit Youth Villages. You’re given a container that holds four soup cups, and you get to walk around and sample soups, breads, and desserts from 50 of Memphis’ best restaurants. When you’re done eating you get to vote on what soup you liked best. It’s considered a big honor for a restaurant to win Soup Sunday.

Okay, those of you who have been reading this blog for over a year can skip the next paragraph. You know what I am about to say.

Soup Sunday is not an event where you want to show up fashionably late. The best restaurants will be running out of soup not long after 12. You want to be standing at the door at 10:55, waiting to be let in. Also, when you get to the FedExForum concourse, you don’t necessary go to the first soup table you see, because that’s what everyone does. Go farther to the back and there will be plenty of tables with no line at all. There’s a reason your container holds 4 cups of soup; fill it up with 4 before you start eating. Also, if there are particular restaurants whose soups you really want to try, find out where they are set up as early in the day as possible (I think there are maps).

Edible Memphis posted that they were invited to stop by Comeback Coffee, opening in the Pinch next month, and meet the new chef there. He turned out to be a familiar face – Cole Jeanes, who opened Kinfolk in the 409 South Main food hall and who was more recently involved in P.O. Press out in Collierville. He plans to have seasonal menus with ingredients that are as fresh as possible. There will be toasts and pastries in the morning, with breakfast tacos an idea for Saturdays. There will be plenty of sandwiches, with bread made in house, for lunch as well as salads. Gluten-free and vegan diets will be covered by the offerings at Comeback.

Your Inner Yogi at 10 N. Second will start offering Lunch Box Vinyasa Flow Wednesdays at noon beginning this week. This is a 45 minute quick yoga fix to loosen up any kinks you might have and keep you strong through the remainder of the day. $15 drop-in or class pass. YOGA!

Do I have any readers who make their own tacos? I’m pretty sure I do.Why wrap your tacos in flour tortillas when Costco sells cheese wraps? They come in Parmesan, Jarlsberg, and cheddar. In addition to adding even more cheese to your tacos, they are a low-carb alternative to tortillas as well.

On Your Feet!, the story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan, begins its week-long run at the Orpheum tomorrow.

News from the BBQ meeting

One thing about being on a Top 10 shoulder team – and we learned this in 2008 with the Ques Brothers, our old team – is that once you get up on stage and get that trophy, everyone wants to be a part of your team. I have had at least five people approach me about joining this year, and I know other members have had people inquire as well.

What we are going to do is hold off on adding new members until after March 15, to give our current members a chance to renew their spots. In the meantime, we’ll build a waiting list of who is looking to join. After March 15 we will see how many spots we have open (I expect it to be between 6 and 15) and start contacting people on the waiting list. Those who indicated they could work when they expressed interest will be given preference. There are various ways to help – load-in, build, painting, bartending, bringing side dishes, running errands (keg runs/ice runs/etc.) during the festival, cleaning up the booth to get ready for presentation on Saturday, load-out.

We continue to draw interest from sponsors; in fact, in the 48 hours before the meeting I had two companies indicate an interest in a sponsorship. One is a large company and we have to figure that one out, considering we already have two sponsors and a membership cap of 60. We might be able to take on additional small sponsorships. Two liquor companies and two local breweries have expressed interest. The breweries are all going to be at the Memphis Flyer’s Beer Bracket Match-Up Monday at Aldo’s Downtown today. I had planned to go to that anyway and now I am going to make sure to wear my Moody Ques shirt.

Very little will change as far as the booth and the competition shoulder cooking. We are entering a few ancillaries this year, including wings (which my neighbor Mac is very excited about) and a brand-new ancillary category, turkey. It was stressed that when possible, we want to cook enough of the ancillaries so that team members get to sample them.

Dues will go up by a very small amount, around 5%. This is necessary to meet rising Memphis in May and vendor costs. For new members there will be a small initiation fee.

We are entering Best Booth again, building a booth facade that spotlights the honored place of the year, which is Memphis itself. In other words, we need to build a facade that is SO Memphis. I made two suggestions: One was a convenience store with a sign reading “PREPAID CELL PHONES & HOT WINGS SOLD HERE” in the window, and the other was 201 Poplar. Both ideas were rejected. We decided to delay facade planning until we see what materials we can borrow from our booth sponsor.

It was a really good and productive meeting, and thanks to Jamie and Aaron for hosting us and providing snacks. It’s a totally different vibe when you have the first planning meeting after finishing 7th out of 57 teams rather than 53rd out of 57.

After the meeting I stopped by Max’s Sports Bar, where I had the pleasure of talking BBQ with Squeal Street pitmaster Bones for about half an hour. They expect to be moving closer to our location; they are a growing team and had to move up to the same size booth as we have. That would be fun, if we were neighbors. From what I heard from Bones, it sounds like Squeal Street may be joining us on stage for a competition cooking trophy.

All right, time to hit Publish and get this day started. The ATM ate my debit card that had a huge crack down the stripe Saturday, so I have to go to the bank and get a new one printed. Thank goodness the ATM let me withdraw cash before it chewed up the card. After that I’ll make a quick stop at Silly Goose, followed by a trip to Aldo’s for the Flyer’s beer bracket matchup. The sales manager of one of the breweries just loves Perjorie T. Roll and I know she will be so excited to get to see her this afternoon. Back tomorrow with more news.

Here’s something I was thinking about yesterday afternoon. What if you turned on the TV to watch a Grizzlies game in February, March, or April, and you couldn’t hear Rob Fischer and Pranica and Brevin because there was a nonstop chant throughout the arena, so loud that it drowned out the announcing team:

“CONVEY THAT PICK! CONVEY THAT PICK! CONVEY THAT PICK! CONVEY THAT PICK! CONVEY THAT PICK!”

I would love to get a chant like that going at games to show owner Robert Pera how disgusted Grizzlies fans are with the front office and in particular with general manager Chris Wallace. Think about it. The Grizzlies’ goal this season, as defined by Wallace, is not to win an NBA championship. It’s not to earn a playoff berth. It’s not even to be as bad as possible and throw our raffle ticket for the Zion Williamson sweepstakes into the hat.

The Grizzlies’ goal, as defined by GM Wallace, is to finish no worse than ninth, so we can convey our top-8 protected first-round draft pick to Boston. A draft pick we agreed to trade for Jeff MF’N Green, thanks to Wallace.

And how are we going to get to that ninth-place finish? By re-activating Chandler Parsons, a prima donna who feels he is too good to accept an assignment to the Memphis Hustle for evaluation purposes. Chandler Parsons, who was offered a max contract by GM Chris Wallace. A contract that left the Grizzlies so financially inflexible that we had to trade the face of our franchise to Toronto.

Sadly, Wallace’s goal of conveying the pick is the right one, given the status of things at this time. And yet it is such a completely absurd thing to be cheering for – if fans start loudly cheering for Memphis to convey the pick, maybe it will wake Robert Pera up to all the bad decisions the front office has made over the years. Two different sources (Grizzly Bear Blues, Daily Memphian) have suggested Shane Battier as a hire for head of basketball operations. That sounds ideal to me.

“CONVEY THAT PICK! CONVEY THAT PICK! CONVEY THAT PICK! CONVEY THAT PICK! CONVEY THAT PICK!”

Yesterday was a good day. I started off at Bardog, where there were fun times with friends, good basketball on TV, and several rounds of shots. By 5:00 I was starving. I decided to walk down Madison to Fam, the new sushi, rice bowl, and noodle bowl restaurant across the street from the Brass Door.

Friday I had been in the Blind Bear, where my friend Mary was bartending. She was getting Uber Eats orders ready for pickup, and she said, “I just realized, I can order from Uber Eats too!” and she ordered lunch from Fam. She got a curry soba noodle bowl with spicy corn, carrot, and onion. It looked and smelled delicious, so when I went to Fam yesterday I ordered it. You can add chicken for $3 or shrimp for $4, and I added chicken.

The curry bowl was a meal in itself, but I wanted to sample around the menu a bit, so I got a spring roll with shrimp as well.

This was fresh, delicious, and the greens in the roll were the same color as my troll’s hair, which made her happy. Fam is well worth a visit if you’re into Asian food.

If you’re interested in purchasing season tickets for Memphis 901 FC, account executives will be at AutoZone Park the next two Saturdays, February 16 and 23, from 10 AM to 2 PM. They will help you find the seats that you want to watch Memphis soccer.Call 901-721-6000 or email tickets@memphis901fc.com to schedule an appointment.

Looking for a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar? Sunrise Memphis has one:

Thank goodness for Saturdays and Bloody Mary bars! Time for brunch at Sunrise! 👏 #sunrisememphis #memphisbreakfast #seeyouatsunrise pic.twitter.com/LBkRotxu8n

— Sunrise Memphis (@sunrise_memphis) February 9, 2019

The Daily Memphian’s Wayne Risher went on a World Class Tour of Memphis International Airport recently. The tour covered FedEc Express, the airport’s biggest tenant and a huge job creator in Memphis. Also discussed was what the airport is doing to recover from Delta’s pull-out of Memphis as a hub several years ago. There was some interesting trivia, including why the airport employs wildlife biologists and why fire trucks at the airport are yellow rather than the usual red. These tours are open to the public and the next one is April 4.

Kafe Kirk returns to the Halloran Centre tonight at 6. This series, centered around jazz musician Kirk Whalum, brings groovy, jazzy musical excitement to the stage. This month’s show features Everette Harp, a saxophonist who was ahead of the game in the 1990s when smooth jazz artists began incorporating hip-hop and R&B grooves.

The Flying Saucer is spotlighting their veggie burgers this week.

Let’s get ready to BATTLE! We put a new spin on our burger battle this week with some delicious veggie options. The “Flat Earther” is a handmade black bean patty dressed with crisp marinated cucumbers, Tabasco aioli, and arugula. The “Bruce Lee” is an Asian influenced impossible patty, grilled with a ginger honey glaze and topped with hoisin aioli and wasabi cole slaw! Get in here before they’re gone!!

Bluefin is hiring… I think???

Interested applicant please come or call Bluefin Memphis Downtown.

— Bluefin Restaurant (@bluefinmemphis) February 9, 2019

Yesterday I was at Bardog talking to one of my neighbors, and she lamented that there’s no longer a bar Downtown that has NTN/Buzztime trivia. It’s addictive and customers tend to spend hours playing the games.

Rizzo’s will host a Blue Note Bourbon/Rye Dinner at its temporary location in the 409 South Main food hall on Tuesday, February 12. This will be a four course dinner paired with pairings of Blue Note Bourbon and River Set Rye. Chef says that if you love local craft bourbon, this is the event for you. He also notes that if you’re in the service industry, this would be a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day early with the one you love.

From WREG: Arkansas Delta town Elaine is learning about the massacre that happened there 100 years ago, when 200 African-Americans were slaughtered after an attempt by black sharecroppers to unionize. Reading about how horrible our ancestors were is disconcerting, but necessary if we want to make sure history does not repeat itself.

Trolley Stop Market invites you to celebrate Valentine’s Day as a family. There will be cupcake and cookie decorating, movies, face painting, door prizes, and kids can make Valentine’s Day cards for loved ones.

Big day today. The leaders of the BBQ team are getting together to begin planning for 2019. We won a 7th place trophy in Shoulder last year, and the way we see it, we’ve got nowhere to go but up. This should be a very fun meeting. My troll, who is senior deputy director of public relations for the team, is so excited that she put on her BBQ Fest pig ears.

Back tomorrow with more news, and probably an update on the Moody Ques website as well.

Just wanted to give one last reminder that the Bluff City Mafia, the supporters’ group for soccer in Memphis, is having their One Month Away party (one month away from Memphis 901 FC’s first regular season home game) today at Brass Door beginning at 4 PM. You’ll be able to talk to them about what it means to be part of Bluff City Mafia, and if it sounds good you can join for $25. Membership gets you a scarf, a sticker, preferred seating in the supporters’ section, and other perks to be revealed throughout the season.

The Handy Band will start playing a regular Monday night gig at Blind Bear at 7:30 PM. The 7-piece ensemble has been practicing at the Bear, and I have to admit that at first I wasn’t sure what style of music they were aiming for. Now, however, it all makes sense – they’re playing the early blues by somgwriters like W.C. Handy, and the music of the 1910s and Roaring Twenties. So, what they play might be the music you would have heard if you’d walked down Beale Street 100 years ago. That’s very cool!

Hatiloo Theater’s I, Too, Am America will play the Halloran Centre this morning at 10 AM. The lives of black historical figures such as Ida B. Wells and Sojourner Truth will be recounted, and scenes from the Montgomery Bus Boycott and other events of the Civil Rights Movement will be acted out.

Next door at the Orpheum, Dancing with the Stars: Live! will be on stage this evening.

The Orpheum will host two week-long theater intensive camps July 29-August 2. There will be a musical class where participants will receive instruction from Broadway professionals. There will also be a technical and design class where participants will get to learn from some of the best technical theater minds in Memphis.

New Downtown website design & digital marketing firm LAB Design Creative has a good article about color psychology in branding.

Everyone be on the lookout for Grizzy, a 7-year-old dog who escaped from Downtown doggy daycare Mutt Island. Grizzy is new to the area and may not know how to find his way back home. Despite the business’s name, Mutt Island is actually out in The Edge, at 320 Monroe, so folks in that neighborhood especially need to me on alert. Perhaps if there are any dog lovers who maintain a Facebook page about the Edge neighborhood, they could post a link to the story.

Earnestine & Hazel’s will open at 11 AM tomorrow for those who want to pre-game for the Memphis Tigers vs. UConn game at FedExForum at 1.

Memphis in May has concerns about the redesign of Tom Lee Park and whether it will reduce capacity for Music Fest and BBQ Fest. Not only would the festival lose revenue if the capacity were reduced, but Memphis could lose hotel stays and other tourism dollars. The Memphis River Parks Partnership says capacity will not be reduced for Music Fest, and BBQ Fest will accommodate the same number of team booths if not more. The festivals may have to be relocated in 2020 due to park construction and alternate locations Downtown (good, not Tiger Lane!) are being looked into.

Ghost River Brewery is having its Valentine’s Market in the taproom with several vendors selling their wares today from noon to 4.

That’s it for now. We have a BBQ planning meeting tomorrow, so I am headed to Bardog for a pre-planning session with president John D and senior deputy director of public relations Perjorie T. Roll. Perjorie and I came across an interesting opportunity last night that I want to present to the team. Back tomorrow with more news.

The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, and this year the Grizzlies made moves. The biggest move is that Marc Gasol is off to Toronto where he will chase a ring with Kawhi. Thank you Marc for all you have done for Memphis. I have never had a team in the Eastern Conference to root for. Now I do.

JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple are off to the L.A. Clippers.

Shelvin Mack is off to Atlanta.

Omri Casspi was cut to make room for the players we got back: Jonas Valanciunus, C.J. Miles, and Delon Wright from Toronto; Avery Bradley from the Clippers; and Tyler Dorsey from the Hawks. The Grizzlies also got a 2024 second-rounder from the Clippers.

Meh. I don’t have a strong opinion on whether the trades were good or bad. I think we have to wait and see what happens this summer. I am glad we kept Mike Conley, and that the team is good enough where we’re probably going to convey our first-round draft pick (top 8 protected) to Boston this year.

On to the news… the Memphis Flyer’s annual Beer Bracket Challenge is coming up, and this Monday will be Match-up Monday at the Downtown Aldo’s Pizza Pies. The brackets, featuring 24 beers from 6 local breweries, will be revealed. This is your chance to pick up some swag from the breweries and talk to their representatives about the beers. 4:30 to 6 PM is the time. I plan on being there! I look forward to talking to the brewery representatives as I decide which beers to vote for in the bracket. Note: I can be bribed.

The Memphis Tigers have released their 2019 football schedule. Notable are the season opener vs. Ole Miss, a nationally televised home game vs. Navy, and a Black Friday season finale against Cincinnati.

The MBJ reports that a new fitness service, ClassPass, is now here in Memphis. You join ClassPass for one monthly fee, and then you pick classes from a number of gyms and fitness services. Downtown gym Envision Memphis is available with the pass, as is SpinCult out in The Edge.

Saturday is once again Wrestling Night at the Grizzlies, with the first 5000 in attendance receiving a scarf that doubles as a wrestling championship belt.

Hooters is giving away free wings on Valentine’s Day. Order 10 boneless wings, tear up a picture of your ex, and receive 10 more boneless wings free.

Smurfey’s Smokehouse will be parked outside the 409 S. Main food hall this evening from 5 to 9 PM. Their stuff is seriously good and I recommend them if you’re thinking about BBQ for dinner. Here’s a photo of their pulled pork baked potato I had a couple of months ago at the Court Square food truck rodeo:

Speaking of food trucks, Holly from the I Love Memphis Blog tried a Cornish hen from the Flying Sobies truck recently. You can find the truck at the Court Square rodeo every Thursday and at Ghost River every Sunday. I agree with her, the Memphis Gold Sauce is the best.

Bluff City Coffee has released its Valentine’s Day pastry menu. Stop in and order early.

UCF faculty member Mike Redick was murdered recently and his wife is a suspect. Redick was an executive with the Grizzlies 2001-09 and had a lot to do with introducing the team to Memphis, building key partnerships, and planning FedExForum.

There’s going to be a new project for musicians at the Tin Roof on Beale Tuesday nights starting February 26, from 8 to 11 PM. There will be four acts per night, and they can be bands, songwriters, duos. It will be a mix of local and regional talent as well as bands just passing through. They want to build a fan base and a base of musical acts so that industry reps will make a point of stopping by. Email markmusic@att.net if you would be interested in participating. Include Backline Memphis in the subject field.

The 5th annual Cookies on Tap, pairing craft beer with Girl Scour cookies, will take place at Crosstown Brewing on April 4.

Bass Pro at the Pyramid has Crappie Madness going on right now. There will be speakers, fried fish samples, and kids’ activities. First 100 kids to punch their activity card each day get a free tin fishing box. Seminar attendees can enter to win one of 14 prizes, including a $15,000 fishing boat and a fishing trip for two to Grenada, Mississippi.

I made it a late night at the Blind Bear last night, but there wasn’t any TV to watch because Xfinity had the network down for planned maintenance at 12:30. Seriously? Bars close at 3 here in Memphis.

That’s it for now. The cold weather is back but I’m not going to let that stop me. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

Some of our favorite spots on the south end of Downtown are having a Mardi Gras pub crawl Saturday, March 2 from 2 to 11 PM. Ghost River will have Memphis Orleans Street Symphony in their taproom 2 to 4. Carolina Watershed will have a DJ all day long and will also have an Adult Intramural Sports Series. The Mighty Souls Brass Band will start performing at Loflin Yard at 8, and there will be a second line down Carolina Avenue to Watershed. Food and drink specials all day long.

Memphis new pro football team the Memphis Express will have something unique for their first home game at the Liberty Bowl on February 16: A silent disco in The Hub during the game. The Hub is a general admission section for the Express’ rowdiest fans. Get tickets here.

Legendary Midtown dive bar Old Zinnie’s is coming back this spring, thanks to new owners. Longtime bartender James Powell has said he will come back and has talked to others who worked there who may be interested in coming back soon. You know, it’s funny… in 2001 I lived at the corner of Eastmoreland and Avalon. I could have walked to Old Zinnie’s but I wasn’t aware it was such a cool place at the time, and I never did. If I had discovered it back then, I might never have become a Downtowner.

As your #1 source of news and information about The Edge District, it is my pleasure to tell you that there is an upcoming spades tournament at Premiere Palace ballroom  Get These Hands will happen at the ballroom at 629 Monroe on Saturday, February 23 from 7 PM to midnight. Proceeds will benefit MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. With your ticket, soul food bites and your first drink are included. Because alcohol will be served, this is a 21 and up event. If you don’t have a spades partner, one can be found for you. If spades is not your game, you’re still welcome to attend this game night; they’ll have dominoes, bid whist, Uno, and other games.

WMC Action News 5 has a good piece on how Victorian Village is coming back to life. The neighborhood around Adams and Manassas, Memphis’ first suburb, is seeing new construction for the first time in 100 years.

Arkansas beer-tracking Twitter account Woo Pig Brewey reports that Little Rock brewery Rebel Kettle is brewing a chocolate mint beer.

4:30Thursday (2/7) at @RebelKettle is It’s Chocolate. It’s Mint. It’s Delicious!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cream Stout brewed with local mint grown at @Heifer Village and Urban Farm.https://t.co/cX2I34QW9H pic.twitter.com/fuqajqH1Qi

— Woo Pig Brewey! 🐷🍺 (@WooPigBrewey) February 6, 2019

Wow! Too bad Rebel Kettle doesn’t distribute in Memphis. I could sure go for a pint or two of that!

Short post today, and that’s sort of by design. I plan on spending the hours between now and 2 PM refreshing Twitter every few minutes, hoping to hear the Grizzlies got a trade done before the deadline. Back tomorrow with more news.

What an emotional game for the Grizzlies last night. For those of you who don’t keep up with Grizzlies news, around 5 yesterday it was announced that the Grizzlies were close to getting a deal done with the Charlotte Hornets. Charlotte would get Marc Gasol, it was reported, and Memphis would get either Miles Bridges or Malik Monk or Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Bismack Biyombo, possible other filler to make the salaries match, and a first-round draft pick.. The speculation became enhanced when the coaching staff sat out Marc, after he had dressed for the game. So Mike Conley, rookie Jaren Jackson Jr., and three players who weren’t in Memphis three weeks ago started the game and got out to a big lead. No one could have blamed Marc if he didn’t feel like being there, but he came out and watched his team from the bench for most of the first half. The Grizzlies nearly blew it like they have so many times lately, but held on to win.

This morning it is being reported that trade talks with Charlotte have now cooled. We shall see what happens. If the front office fails to trade Conley or Gasol after publicly announcing their intentions, they are going to look like idiots. (Not that it would be anything new. Drafting Hasheem Thabeet… drafting Tony Wroten when Draymond Green was still on the board… sending out a first for Jeff Green… offering Chandler Parsons a max deal… failing to get back any assets for Tyreke Evans last year)

One thing’s for sure. Until 2 PM tomorrow, I’m going to have to check Twitter nearly constantly to make sure I don’t miss any breaking stories on Grizzlies trades.

Panic! at the Disco brings their Pray For The Wicked Tour to FedExForum tonight, with opening acts Two Feet and Betty Who.

It’s the Year of the Pig. Belz Museum is having a celebration of Chinese New Year this month. This Saturday will be Chinese New Year Family Day at the Museum from noon to 4, with winners of a student art contest revealed.

Hi-Que BBQ will be the food truck at Food Truck Wednesday at Cordelia’s Market tonight. It’s kid-friendly, there’s indoor and outdoor seating, and you can get a pint or growler of beer. 5-8 PM, with a 5-6 happy hour in which you get a dollar off growlers and pints.

Holly from the I Love Memphis Blog reports that there’s an opening date for Comeback Coffee in The Pinch: March 29. She has some good photos of the place. It will be at 358 North Main.

In other Pinch news, ALSAC, the fundraising arm of St. Jude, is readying a block near Second and Overton to build patient family housing.

The Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G-League affiliate down in Southaven, are looking for people to sing the National Anthem prior to the Hustle’s remaining home games at Landers Center.

Don’t want to wait until March to see Memphis’ new soccer club Memphis 901 FC in action? You don’t have to. They’ll play an exhibition against Christian Brothers on February 16. Note that this game won’t be Downtown at AutoZone Park, but rather at the field at 165 S. Finlay.

The Orpheum has announced a concert with Gladys Knight and Jeffrey Osborne for September 12. This will be part of the Southern Heritage Classic event series for that week.

The Flyer’s Hungry Memphis blog has more information on Swanky’s Taco Shop coming Downtown, moving into the former LYFE Kitchen space. They anticipate opening in April, probably keeping the kitchen open until 10 on the weekdays and 11 on the weekends, with the bar staying open until 12 or 12:30 on the weekends.

Anheuser Busch InBev has fully acquired RateBeer. Doesn’t that seem rather inappropriate, for a large beer company to own a platform on which beer drinkers are supposed to be able to leave honest and impartial reviews of the beers they drink?

If you’re looking for something different to do with your date on Valentine’s Day, Venezuelan restaurant Sabor Caribe out in The Edge (662 Madison) is offering a four course meal. Asparagus mousse will start things off, followed by shrimp with coconut sauce, then a main course of pork sirloin with beer and honey sauce, and then a dessert of creme brulee with red berry sauce. The menu is by chef Cesar Gonzalez. Reservations only. 901-425-5889.

Coming to Loflin Yard on March 21: Drunk Arm Wrestling

For my readers who are fellow pro wrestling fans, be sure to set the DVR for Monday, February 25’s show. That day is Ric Flair’s 70th birthday and there are reports that there will be a big party for him on the show.

All right. Time to hit Publish and get outside. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

Months ago, I teased that I heard a rumor about a business going into the former LYFE Kitchen space in the Chisca. I wrote that while I could not yet reveal the restaurant’s name, it wouldn’t be a place that’s posh or upscale, but it could be a word that’s similar. What’s a synonym for posh and upscale? Swanky.

The MBJ announced it this morning: Downtown is getting a Swanky’s.

Tonight Donald Trump gives the State of the Union address at 8 PM. The annual State of the Union drinking game, updated for 2019, has been posted. Best rule of the game: Rather than a number of drinks to take for “says something untrue,” it says, “nobody could survive drinks for this.”

Miraculously, the Grizzlies survived the road trip without any personnel changes. If you want to see the team with its current roster one more time, I would go tonight. The trade deadline is 2 PM Thursday and the front office would be crazy not to make any deals at all. The Grizzlies host the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at 7.

There will be a Coffee Brewing 101 class at the 409 South Main food hall Sunday, February 24 from 6 to 8 PM. All are welcome, whether you are a coffee aficionado or have no knowledge of coffee at all. In addition to coffee itself, the class covers the basics of brewing. After a brief explanation and demo, you will get to put your knowledge to work by brewing a cup yourself. The class is presented by Sustain Coffee Co. and there is a $5 cover charge.

Grizzlies PG Mike Conley may not have been selected for the All-Star Game, but he’s still headed to Charlotte to participate in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge Saturday night of All-Star Weekend. I wonder if Conley will still be wearing a Grizzlies uniform by then.

Also making the trip to Charlotte will be Jaren Jackson Jr. The Grizzlies rookie has been invited to play in the Rising Stars Game featuring players in their first two years in the NBA.

Earnestine and Hazel’s is having a Locals’ Night Out on Thursday, where you can get a Memphis Made beer and a Soul Burger for $9.01. Your Memphis Made beer choices include Fireside, Junt, and Cat Nap. Music by Tiffany Harmon starts at 8 PM.

The social event of the season happens Saturday, March 2, as the Paradise Entertainment Center at 645 E. Georgia hosts the International Players and Playerettes Ball. $500 prizes to the Player and Playerette of the Year.

I didn’t make it to Saturday’s crawfish boil at Max’s Sports Bar, but I ran into one of Max’s bartenders Sunday night and got an update. Remember how I predicted they’d run out of crawfish early? Not a problem this year, apparently. “We had 600 pounds,” Mike told me. “Probably should have had more like 400 or 500.” They still had crawfish at the official end time of the event, 5 PM, so they put an offer on Facebook: All-you-can-eat for $25 until it was gone. This year they are using Crawfish Haven out of Horn Lake, which showed up with a crawfish cooking rig every bit as impressive as the cooking rigs you see at BBQ Fest. Mike told me they’re going to try to do it every Saturday for the next couple of months, weather permitting. Usually around Thursday of each week they make the decision on whether or not to do the Saturday boil.

The Soulful Food Truck Festival comes to Clayborn Temple Sunday, March 10 from noon to 6. Black-owned food trucks from multiple states will be there, as will a game truck for the kids, live music, and shopping. This event is part of Memphis Black Restaurant Week.

I absolutely HATE it when I visit a web page of a major media outlet like CNN or ESPN, and a video starts auto-playing without me pressing the Play button. Well, there’s good news. Starting next month, Firefox will free you from autoplay hell, offering the option to disable autoplay. I bet Chrome will offer something similar in the near future as well.

The Daily Memphian’s Daily Briefs column lists the winners of this year’s International Blues Challenge.

Although he’s leaving for Knoxville to be with family, historian Jimmy Ogle will give an Elmwood Cemetery Tour on April 6.  Actually, he will give two tours that day, focusing on his favorite sites within the cemetery, and he will pick different sites for each tour. Many of Memphis’ historical figures are buried at Elmwood, so it’s a good way to learn a lot about our city.

Best Super Bowl tweet:

That was maybe the worst football game I’ve seen in my life, and I’m a Tennessee Vols fan.

— Jessica Taylor (@JessicaTaylor) February 4, 2019

Controversy reigned at the Puppy Bowl, shown on Animal Planet during Super Bowl halftime, when a puppy shit during the National Anthem.

Last night I watched a Georgia Tech-Notre Dame women’s basketball game at the Blind Bear. One of the Georgia Tech players had spiky green hair, which made my troll very excited. “Do you think I should apply for a scholarship there, Paul?” she asked. Given that Georgia Tech got blown out, they will probably take any help they can get.

That’s the news for now. 70 degree days don’t come along too often in February, so I’m going to get outside and enjoy this one. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

Over the weekend plans for the redesign of Tom Lee Park were released to the public. The plan converts the park from a big, open field along the river to a series of zones, each inviting in its own way. However, the folks who organize Memphis in May released a statement saying they fear the park’s redesign will hurt the festival’s revenue.

I want to take a minute to give my reaction to this. First of all, the renderings look beautiful, and I think the Memphis River Parks Partnership has a great vision for this woefully under-utilized asset. Also, I want to commend WREG for the coverage they did in the link above. Too often news station’s website posts tend to be in sound bites. WREG’s post was quite thorough and I appreciate it.

Will the park redesign affect park capacity, stage locations, customer experience during Music Fest? Someone other than I would be more qualified to answer. I’ve never been a Music Fest guy.

However, I’ve been on a BBQ Fest team for 13 years, and I have to tell you, I can’t see the same number of team booths fitting into that park under the new design, not even if the booths spill over onto Riverside. There’s just no way. In the current configuration, nearly every square foot of space is occupied by teams, vendors, or Memphis in May temporary headquarters. If you add trees, rolling hills, etc., you lose some of that space.

It’s very possible Memphis in May will have no choice but to reduce the number of teams allowed to compete, given the new park configuration. Some teams that previously got in might find their applications rejected. Now, the good news is, I doubt that would happen to my team. We got a top 10 finish in shoulder last year out of 59 teams, so we’ve proved our merit. Also, as frequent top 3 finishers in Best Booth, Memphis in May likes us because photos of our booths are good to use in marketing materials.

However, what would likely happen is application fees would go up, possibly way up, and we’d have to figure out how to pass along those costs. We haven’t set our dues for this year yet – we are having a meeting on Sunday to figure that out – but last year we charged $390 for an individual, or $580 for a couple (must be an established real-life couple). I’ve been told those dues are relatively inexpensive for a “big three” category (ribs, shoulder, or whole hog) team. What if we had to raise our dues to, say, $750, to be able to compete? At some point the cost increase would cause us to start losing members.

Or, we might have to make different deals with sponsors. One thing about us is that we’ve always managed to find sponsors who want to party with us, rather than order us around or take over our booth. A lot of teams have a dedicated “sponsor night,” usually in prime time, where team members and their guests are not allowed in their own booth except for members who are either cooking or serving their sponsors. I have witnessed first-hand how that kills other teams’ morale.

So yeah, as relates to my own personal BBQ experience, I am concerned about the upcoming changes to the park. However, I also recognize that I am extremely privileged to be able to pay hundreds of dollars and take a week’s vacation to participate in what is basically spring break for adults. There are hundreds of thousands of Memphians who can’t, and it’s just as much their park as it is mine. I also recognize the absurdity of having this wonderful asset, this front door to the river, and fully capitalizing on it only 8 days a year (3 days Music Fest + 4 days BBQ Fest + 1 day 901 Fest). It needs to be a resource that is used all the time, that taps into Memphis’ identity as a river city.

One thing’s for sure… change comes whether you want it to or not, and all you can do is be ready for it and embrace it.

Since I’m on here spouting off my opinion this morning, I want to talk about a couple of trade deals involving the Grizzlies that were rumored over the weekend.

It’s been said that the Utah Jazz have offered Ricky Rubio and their 2019 first-round pick to the Grizzlies in exchange for Mike Conley. The Jazz would have to throw in a couple of expiring contracts to make the salary match (Conley makes $30 million, Rubio $15 million). I don’t hate this idea but I dislike it a little more than I like it. Having Conley’s $30 million off the books would allow the Grizz to make some moves in free agency this summer, and I’ve always thought Rubio would be an interesting fit here in Memphis. However, he wouldn’t be as good a fit as Conley is. People say Conley and Gasol are past their primes, and while I would agree on Gasol (age 34) I would not on Conley (age 31). I think he has some All-Star caliber games left in him.

Also, the Utah pick is currently projected to be 19th in what is considered not a very deep draft. There’s still value to be found in that area of the draft, but Memphis’ front office is not good at seeing it. Remember 2011, when the Grizzlies had a pick in the early 20s? Draymond Green was still on the board, but Memphis selected Tony Wroten. How’d that work out? So yeah, I’d prefer to keep Mike Conley. If Utah could involve a third team to send Memphis a better draft pick (top 14), then maybe.

The other deal I hear is being floated is, Houston gets JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple, and Memphis gets Brandon Knight and a first-rounder. Getting a first, even a late first, for two role players on expiring contracts is excellent. I like JaMyke a lot but he became expendable the day Jaren Jackson Jr. got here. He deserves to be in a spot where his abilities are needed more, and where he can chase for a ring. I would do this one.

Man that Super Bowl sucked. It was like watching 60 minutes of the Grizzlies playing themselves in the third quarter. I would bet the only people who enjoyed that game were people had the numbers 0 or 3 in the squares game.

MIFA is having a Family Day of Service on Monday, February 18. Register here and get your kids the experience of helping others at an early age. Meet at 910 Vance at 9:30 AM that day and you’ll be sent out to deliver meals for the homeless. After the deliveries, volunteers will re-convene at MIFA headquarters for pizza and to share their experiences.

Want to catch some games at AutoZone Park featuring Memphis’ soccer team Memphis 901 FC, but won’t be able to make it to all the games? No problem. The team has a 7 game flex ticket pack that will accommodate your schedule. Tickets start at $16. You pick two of their top 6 matches this season, and then pick 5 other matches.

Bluff City Mafia, the group of rabid fans that will support Memphis 901 FC, has revealed its perks of membership. $25 gets you a scarf, a sticker, priority seating in the supporters’ section, discounts at the Brass Door on game days, and a few other perks. Initial members will be taken at the launch party at the Brass Door this Saturday.

Sitting here watching the Local 24 weather with meteorologist Chelsea Chandler as I type this. The forecast is for temperatures in the 60s and 70s until Thursday morning, when we might see some ice on the back end of a cold front. Yep that’s my Memphis!

An event called MagicFest comes to the Cook Convention Center February 15-17.

Teach901 is having an educator job fair tomorrow night at Crosstown Concourse from 6 to 8 PM.

Elisa Sun and Blackwater Trio will perform at the Brass Door on Valentine’s Day. $5 cover gets you into The Cavern where they will be performing. Valentine’s Day is on a Thursday this year, so it will also be Steak Night.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

Yesterday I was sitting at Bardog surfing Twitter, and I saw a retweet of an infographic @thekitchn did, listing the most popular Super Bowl food by state.

Here Are the Most Popular Super Bowl Snacks in Every State, According to Google — Food News https://t.co/UT6pTx5jDB pic.twitter.com/8syI63qGld

— The Kitchn (@thekitchn) January 30, 2019

Really, Tennessee? CAKE? We are better than this. I blame Nashville and Knoxville. Here’s a list of my ten favorite Super Bowl pot luck foods, approximately in order:

• Italian roast beef sandwiches
• Buffalo chicken dip
• Wings
• Chili cheese dogs
• Pizza, especially Mexican pizza and bacon cheeseburger pizza
• Lil’ Smokies
• Nachos *
• Tamales
• Chili **
• 7 layer dip

Nachos: There is wide variance in types of nachos, which is why I say this list is in “approximate” order. Gas station nachos with the generic tortilla chips and the runny cheese sauce wouldn’t make my top ten at all. Now, if we’re talking brisket nachos with three kinds of melted cheeses, sour cream, pico, and guacamole, well then… now we’re getting up toward the top of the list (wouldn’t surpass Italian roast beef though).

Chili: Especially exotic chili. I’m going to paste in a comment from my friend Air Traffic Mike to illustrate. “Paul, I went to an Amish butcher shop and bought a huge “rope” of Italian sweet sausage. With it will be peppers, onions, Italian rolls, provolone, and marinara for sandwiches along with the black bean/filet chili.” Yep. That is how you do it.

Okay, time for another list. Let’s say you don’t cook at all, but you still want to be the rock star of your Super Bowl potluck. Here are some suggestions. These are not in a particular order; all are equally good.

• Chicken from Gus’s, Uncle Lou’s, or Jack Pirtle’s
• Wings from Kooky Canuck or New Wing Order
• Nachos from Central BBQ or Huey’s (I’d include Maciel’s but they’re not open on Sundays and nachos don’t keep well for a day in the fridge)
• Pan pizza from Wise Guys in Horn Lake (worth the drive and the extra long wait time, trust me on this)
• Nikki’s Hot Chips with a dip that offsets the heat
• A bag of weed
• Or just pull a Trump and bring “hamberders”

And finally, here’s a list of things to bring to a Super Bowl potluck if you never want to be invited to a Super Bowl potluck again:

• Baked kale chips, or really kale anything
• Anything with tofu on or in it (I’ve heard that tofu nachos at RP Tracks are good enough that they might be given a pass)
• Granola bars
• Spam
• Pizza with pineapple on it
• I’m tempted to put Krystal burgers on here, but since I suggested “a bag of weed” above they would probably be appreciated.

Here’s a general rule of thumb: If you’re the type of person who goes, “There’s so much junk food at Super Bowl parties, I want to provide some healthy options,” you are to the Super Bowl as the person who gives socks and underwear as presents is to Christmas.

You know, it’s funny, we talk about things “going viral”… that’s how the Super Bowl got its name. When the first championship game was played in 1967, the AFL-NFL World Championship Game was what it was called. Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, started calling it the Super Bowl, and it got picked up by the media and the name went viral. By 1968 it was widely called the Super Bowl in the media although that was not the official title. The following year, the organizers of the game gave in and the game played that year became Super Bowl III, the previous two games back-named Super Bowl I and II.

If you’re not into football, Lifehacker has some great advice: Super Bowl Sunday is the best day to do anything else. Think about it: Short lines at the movies, you can get dinner at fine restaurants that normally require a reservation without one… lots of options when everyone else is busy watching the game.

I’ll throw in one additional inside tip: Because the Super Bowl doesn’t kick off until 5:30, the Downtown restaurants and bars are going to be dead as a doornail from 11 to 3 tomorrow as people conserve their energy for the game. So, if there’s someplace you’ve been meaning to try for brunch, tomorrow would be a good day to do it. I’ll even offer a suggestion: Go check out Rizzo’s pop-up restaurant in the 409 South Main food hall. They’ll be there until the 19th.

Max’s Sports Bar will be giving away a foldable tailgate grill, a tabletop football set, and many other great prizes during the Super Bowl. 1 drink = 1 entry into the drawing.

Local is having a Delta Sunshine tap takeover tomorrow with $3 drafts.

Huey’s is having 2 for 1 domestic drafts and well drinks all day tomorrow, starting at 11 AM. They will also have their regular brunch specials from 11 to 6, which are $3.50 Bloody Marys and mimosas. No live music tomorrow night, of course, since people will want to watch the game.

New Wing Order has a special Mud Island Jerk flavor as its February special:

🚨FEBRUARY SPECIAL FLAVOR ALERT: MUD ISLAND JERK🚨This wing brings Caribbean flavor with sweet and spicy notes of brown sugar, honey, cayenne, thyme, allspice, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and freshly squeezed lemon – finished with sautéed garlic and onion! 🌴 ☀️🍗 #EdibleMemphis pic.twitter.com/uTwwVmopP8

— New Wing Order (@newwingorder) February 1, 2019

They’ll have the truck on the Memphis Made parking lot from 3 to 8 today if you want to give the new wings a try. By the way, if you haven’t seen the forecast, it’s going to be patio weather this afternoon, with temperatures well into the 60s. This is the beginning of a warm spell with highs in the 60s or 70s through the middle of next week.

Chris Stapleton’s All-American Road Show with Brothers Osborne and Kendell Marvel has been announced for FedExForum on Saturday, October 5. Tickets are now on sale.

From Food & Wine: There’s a sports bar in Sacramento called Costanza’s that dedicates one TV to reruns of Seinfeld episodes. That is a great idea because there’s always one or two people in a group who want to hang out with their friends, but don’t care about sports, and this gives them something to watch. And a George-themed sports bar makes sense – after all, he worked for the New York Yankees.

Time to heat up a slice of leftover pizza, throw my PBR hoodie and shorts on, and head to Bardog. Yes it is shorts weather! My threshold for wearing shorts is “feels-like temperature not predicted to be lower than 48 all the hours I plan to be out.” That is the case today. I don’t know if I’m going to do a post tomorrow. Super Bowl Sunday is one of my lowest readership days of the year. If I get any timely news I’ll do a post, otherwise I will be back Monday.