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Memphis in May’s celebration of our city, 901 Fest, happens today in Tom Lee Park from 3 to 10 PM. While Music Fest brought in nationally and internationally known artists, 901 Fest showcases the talent of one of the premier music cities of the world, Memphis, Tennessee. Acts on four stages include The Band CAMINO, DJ Paul of Three 6 Mafia, Star & Micey, John Paul Keith, Opera Memphis, and many, many more.

The festival will also feature the best of local food, including Sushi Jimmi, Gus’s, Central BBQ, Muddy’s Bake Shop, Say Cheese, MEMpops, Reverb Coffee, and many more. (Yes there are Pronto Pups. They’re the one non-local thing about this festival, but Memphis in May knows what people want.) Local merchandise vendors will be at the fest selling their goods as well.

Pro tip: If you plan to go to 901 Fest, get there by 6 PM. There will be an airshow over the Mississippi.

If you go down there today, get a weather app on your phone with a radar loop of Downtown Memphis. The worst should hit tomorrow but this is Memphis in May we’re talking about; weather surprises are always a threat. I like the MemphisWeather.net app and it’s worth the small purchase price, but if you don’t want to pay, WeatherBug is good too.

Belle Tavern now has garage-door style, open-window seating just in time for the summer.

Speaking of bars with garage-door open-window seating, the Memphis Flyer has a good article on the Ghost Gauntlet at the Flying Saucer. Four unnamed local beers are temporarily on the menu. The idea is that within a couple of weeks, you go in and try all four. You can then vote on your favorite. The beer that gets the most votes will be added to the Saucer’s regular menu of 75 drafts and about 150 bottled and canned beers. While you’re there, grab one of the Saucer’s new gourmet burgers.

Here’s another insider tip: If you work Downtown, go there with a co-worker at lunch on Mondays. From 11 to 2 that day the burgers are 2 for 1.

The MBJ has an interactive map of hotels Downtown: current, under construction, and planned.

Parking meter rates Downtown will increase soon. The new price will be $1.50 an hour, up a quarter from the old rates. The hours of enforcement will be extended to 8 AM through 10 PM Monday through Saturday. Maximum time will be two hours on weekdays and four hours on Saturdays. Man that kinda sucks for those who come Downtown for Music Fest or some other all-day event… you’re basically forced to park on a private lot or in a garage now. I wonder how bad this will hurt Downtown businesses. Some people may decide they don’t want to deal with the additional cost and hassle of parking. I understand the city’s need to raise revenue but I do not see this as a positive for our neighborhood.

Sign the Change.org petition to remove Confederate statues from public parks in Memphis.

Here’s another good article about Trump’s Russian Mob ties. By the way, @TrueFactsStated is an excellent account to follow on Twitter if you want to learn more.

Time go get out there and get this 3-day weekend started. I have not decided whether to check out 901 Fest but that Sushi Jimmi food truck does seem to be calling my name.

 

 

Old Dominick Distillery on South Front Street will have an open house this evening from 5 to 8 PM as part of South Main Trolley Night. There will be a live performance by Chris Johnson and a $5 specialty cocktail.

Also for South Main Trolley Night, Songwriter Night #55 happens at South Main Sounds. Justin Paul Bloss plays his farewell gig at the venue before he departs to Oklahoma. Sandie Lollis from L.A., local teen sensation Rose Ragsdale, and the debuting Richard Wilson will perform as well. 7-9 PM tonight.

Down the street from South Main Sounds at South Main Book Juggler, Aisha Zorelle Raison signs her book Fear of Enlightened Black Women.

My readers ask from time to time what my sources are for information for this blog, and there are many. One of the best, though, is the flyers left on the courtesy guard’s desk in my building. That’s how I learned that we have full-service ballroom dancing Downtown. Cat’s Ballroom offers lessons (including private and group lessons), parties, and special events. It has something for everyone, from people who trip over their own feet to highly competitive dancers. Dances include Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Quickstep, Rumba, Mambo, Cha Cha, Jive, Swing, Salsa, and Bachata. They’ve even been known to throw in a little hip-hop and country.

Another thing I didn’t know… Miss Cordelia’s offers pottery classes. The next one will be June 6th where the class will make candle holders.

The 2017 Memphis Zombie Walk happens tonight at Handy Park at 7:30.

Legendary Beale Street musician Dr. Herman Green turns 87 this week and he will perform with FreeWorld at his birthday parties this weekend. Catch him at Rum Boogie Cafe Saturday night or Blues City Cafe Band Box Sunday night.

Grace Askew and Tonya Dyson perform at Fourth Bluff Fridays tonight at Memphis Park, 51 N. Front. Food trucks, T-shirt truck, 10 beers on tap.

Downtown Yoga will host a workshop on running in the summer heat Sunday, June 11 from 1 to 3 PM. There will be a yoga class designed to build strength and stamina for summer running. You’ll also get hydration tips, tips on pace adjustments, advice on racing in the heat, and recovery strategy.

Downtown restaurant Catherine & Mary’s is hiring.

For Memphis wrestling fans: There is a new book out about Chrstine “Teeny” Jarrett, who worked in the Memphis wrestling promotion for 52 years. She was the mother of promoter Jerry Jarrett, who with Jerry “The King” Lawler co-founded the Memphis promotion that got so big in the 1980s. She was the grandmother of Jeff Jarrett. Another of her grandchildren, Jeff’s cousin, is the book’s author.

Okay, if you don’t want to read about politics you can stop here.

Several years ago, I read Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires. From that book, I learned that if you engaged in a construction project worth than $2 million in Manhattan in the early-mid 1980s, you were paying off the Mob. Most likely, you were paying off a member of the Gambino family, headed by “Big Paul” Castellano, a cousin of the late Carlo Gambino by marriage; or the Lucchese family, headed by Anthony “Tony Ducks” Corallo, protege of the late Tommy Lucchese. When Donald Trump announced his candidacy, therefore, I thought, there is no way he has not been in contact with the Mob, given the structures he built on Manhattan in the ’80s.

This article suggests that he indeed was… but the Russian mob. Remember how he filed for bankruptcy, and then only a few years later, he was suddenly a wealthy tycoon again? He had some “help” with that.

Gonna be an interesting year.

That’s it for now. We get out of work at 3, so I should be at Silly Goose happy hour by 4. Undecided whether to hit Fourth Bluff, South Main Trolley Night, or something else later in the evening. Back tomorrow with more news.

A Place at the Table has an excellent reminder to be good to those serving you. I hate it when I see people come in to my favorite hangouts and be rude to the bartenders and servers. The attitude of “I AM THE CUSTOMER, you should cater to my every whim and I have the right to abuse you since I am giving you my money” is not appropriate nor appreciated.

Luke Wade is the featured entertainer at tonight’s Peabody rooftop party. $10 to get in (or $150 season-long VIP pass) gets you access to the party as well as a buffet of mini Italian meatballs and fried ravioli. If you’re in VIP you’ll have a second buffet of gnocchi with shrimp and pesto cream, rosemary pork loin, and hot Caprese dip with Italian bread. Drink specials this week will be peach margaritas and Firefly apple ginger moonshine. Doors open at 6, with ladies and hotel guests free until 7.

Pack a Patriotic Picnic is the theme of this Saturday’s Memphis Farmers Market. The Market has meat for grilling, veggies to go on the grill as well, salad makings, and desserts. From 9 to 11 kids can create a Healthy Eating Wheel encouraging them to make healthy food choices. The Master Gardeners will be back to answer your questions. Live music by Buck Hutcheson 8:30-10 and Adam Levin 11-12:30. The Market runs every Saturday 7 AM to 1 PM under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson.

Market vendor So Fresh Juice shares their recipe for their blueberry matcha smoothie.

There’s an open house at FedExForum tomorrow from 1 to 4. You can check out seat options for season tickets, and shoot a half-court shot for the opportunity to win an autographed jersey.

The Memphis Flyer has a list of BBQ Fest winners. Where are the Best Booth winners?

Tigers football fans: If you bring any stuff with you to the stadium for home games, you will want to know that the Liberty Bowl has implemented a clear-bag only policy for 2017.

The Hard Rock Cafe will hold a fundraiser on May 27 to fund a chapter of Musicians on Call. This organization makes hospital stays more enjoyable for patients. With St. Jude and LeBonheur here, Memphis is a perfect fit for Musicians on Call.

There’s a career counselor position open at my alma mater Rhodes College.

The “Invest in Good Times” T-shirt from the Tennessee Brewery Revival days is back at Sache for the summer.

That’s all for now. I’ll be happy-houring at the Silly Goose after work. Back tomorrow with more news.

Great news for The Edge: City & State, a coffee and retail shop located at 2625 Broad, is opening a second location at 421 Monroe. It will have coffee, a full bar, a small kitchen and retail. The owners are said to be expanding their concept of City & State to fit in with The Edge District and the Memphis Medical District.

Speaking of the district, the Memphis Medical District Collaborative had its annual meeting last night at Premiere Palace. The MBJ has a report.

The City Council has voted to lower the cost of Beale Street Bucks from $10 to $5. The program charges a cover to people who enter the Beale Street entertainment district after 10 PM on Saturday nights. Both Mayor Strickland and MPD Director Rallings believe the cover is necessary to reduce crime on Beale on Saturdays.

A project to repair the cobblestones along the river is back on track after a two-year delay.

City Tasting Tours has a new Brunch So Hard Tour (details on this page; you’ll need to scroll down a bit to see them) with stops at Cafe Pontotoc, Rizzo’s Diner, and Scoops Parlor. The tour starts at Cafe Pontotoc at 12 noon on Sunday. You get brunch dishes, two brunch cocktails, and your choice of a complimentary bottle of champagne or a dozen cupcakes. You also get an engaging guide with a love for brunch and things that happen after a mimosa or two.

Bluefin has added a new Korean menu.

Songwriter Phillip Jackson from Jonesboro, Arkansas will provide the live entertainment at Tacos & Tunes on Felicia Suzanne’s patio tomorrow evening beginning at 7 PM.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words:

pic.twitter.com/VXIicRjyt1

— JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) May 24, 2017

That’s it for now. I’ll be out at Silly Goose happy hour after work. Back tomorrow with more news.

Golf and dogs at the Yard… Loflin Yard is hosting a mini-golf tournament on Sunday, June 11 to benefit the Memphis Humane Society. It’s sponsored by Yazoo. $80 per foursome includes entry fee, team shirts, and 2 drink tickets. Come on out, play some golf, drink some beer, and pet some dogs.

Ghost River is celebrating its first canned beer release Thursday with a Grindhouse Can Release Party. “Grab your 6-pack for the long weekend,” they tweeted. I have a feeling there are quite a few Downtowners who need more than one 6-pack for a long weekend.

If you don’t have plans for Memorial Day weekend yet, might want to put some baseball on the calendar. The Redbirds are planning three big nights. Things kick off Saturday (first pitch 6:35) with Star Wars Night. They will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the movie release with specialty jerseys, which will be auctioned to benefit Pitch In For Baseball. There will be characters from the movie, including Darth Vader. There will be fireworks following the game.

There will also be fireworks following Sunday’s game (first pitch 6:35). The ZOOperstars!, a show featuring inflatable characters with hilarious names, will perform. The performance has synchronized dance, acrobatics, tricks, and comedy. There will be a special ticket that includes a 90-minute Stadium Menu buffet, with burgers, dogs, chips, cookies, Coke products, and bottled water. The specialty ticket is $20 for a Field Box seat and $23 for a Dugout seat.

The ZOOperstars! return for Monday’s game (first pitch 12:05). The Stadium Menu buffet will again be available. The Redbirds will show names of those who died protecting our freedom on the video board. Submit the name of a friend or family member here.

There’s a Manager, Marketing Engagement position open with the Grizzlies.

Discussions are under way about bringing back the Memphis Tigers-Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball games for a home-and-home or possibly a home-and-Little Rock. I would love to see this happen. The 1990s-2000s series produced some great basketball before being discontinued by John Calipari in 2003.

By the way, I rooted for Arkansas in the 1990s games. I would be rooting for Memphis today. This is my home.

The Belz Museum will have a free showing of Slumdog Millionaire at 12:30 and 2:45 this Saturday, May 27. Note to parents: This movie is rated R.

That’s it. Off to work. Possibly back at lunchtime with more news.

Apologies for the break from the blog. There was so much going on at BBQ Fest that I just didn’t have time to post, and let’s just say yesterday turned out to be a crazy day. But today I’m back!

I thought The Moody Ques had a stellar year at BBQ Fest. We got third place in Best Booth, which we really were not expecting. We had a simple wrap designed by our artist Sarah Dalesandro, rather than an elaborate structure. However, I guess the images of Colombia we had on our wrap resonated with the judges.

The ancillary competitions were a problem for everyone. Due to weather (at least that’s what Memphis in May is saying), the park was closed from 1:30 to 4:30 Friday afternoon. That caused turn-in times to be pushed back. Some teams had to throw their food out and did not bring enough to make a second round of their ancillaries at the later turn-in time.

As for the main event for our team, competition shoulder, we did not get in the top 10 for a trophy, but the results were encouraging. All three judges came back after judging to talk to us about the shoulder and the presentation. We were complimented on the texture and flavor and got at least one perfect 10 from a judge. We also received some useful advice on how to improve.

Most of you have probably seen this by now: Last Thursday a man passed out on a car at a lot at Riverside and Carolina. The lot was poorly lit and the couple who owned the car drove over 10 miles, all the way to 240 and Lamar, with the man asleep on the trunk. It’s amazing that he didn’t fall off into traffic. A police officer pulled the car over and informed the driver that the man was back there.

Here’s another “this is SO Memphis” story: Three people shot at vigil to remember man killed by stray bullet last year

Bleu will have their monthly wine tasting dinner Thursday night from 6 to 9. It will be hosted by Bobby Maupin of West Tennessee Crown Distributors. $60 plus tax and gratuity, and 3 hours of free valet parking will be provided. Here’s the menu.

The MBJ has a photo gallery of new candy store Beale Sweets Sugar Shack at 156 Beale.

MATA is hiring:

pic.twitter.com/Bc4hH7qMd9

— Memphis Area Transit (@RideMATA) May 17, 2017

Cafe Pontotoc is hiring servers.

If you do the Grizzlies room at the new Memphis Escape Rooms at Main and G.E. Patterson, be sure to take a picture and tweet it to be eligible to win some prizes including premium seats or autographed swag.

Pool season is here! The Shelby County health department has some important advice:

It’s Healthy and Safe Swimming Week! It probably goes without saying but just a reminder: Stay out of the water if you have diarrhea. pic.twitter.com/RnfPKNbMcy

— Shelby County Health (@ShelbyTNHealth) May 23, 2017

That’s it for now. Back at work and I will be out at one of my favorite spots afterward.

Pranom Pop-Up, a nationally known vendor of Thai street food, will be at Belle Tavern 4 PM til sold out today, Sunday, May 21. Read about Pranom here. They were at the Tennessee Brewery a couple of years ago. Seriously good.

Sorry for no posts lately, been BBQ Festing. Everything is OK and it was a good year for the team.

No, not my booth.

This past weekend Oshi re-opened on a pop-up basis, for the weekend only, at their location at Main and Barboro Alley. No longer a burger bar, they served Asian fusion cuisine including pho and ramen. Their plan, as I understand it, is to do another pop-up weekend in July, and then if they feel that the concept could be a success in Downtown Memphis, to tweak the menu and open on a permanent basis in August.

I must admit, I didn’t make it to the pop-up restaurant last weekend. BBQ Fest load-in weekend is always a weird one, and also when our friend Tony organized a group dinner my contact info apparently disappeared on his phone. But I want you to know, if we had a restaurant Downtown serving pho and ramen, I would easily eat there at least a couple of times a week.

I love pho but there isn’t a convenient way for me to get it without a car being involved. In all my years Downtown there has never been a place that has served it. The only place kinda sorta near where I work that served pho is no longer there. As for ramen, I had my 2015 birthday party at Robata. That’s another place I would eat a couple of times a week, if I could just walk there.

So, I’d like to make a plea to the people behind Oshi: Please, please, please make this concept happen. It is badly needed and will fill a void in Downtown dining options.

It’s Monday and I’m not in a cubicle! I went home early with Aldo’s Pizza last night, ate and then got in bed. I woke up at 1:52. The good thing about waking up at 1:52 Downtown is that there are 68 drinking minutes left at the bar down the street! I put my T-shirt and shorts back on and made the trek to the Blind Bear. My favorite pair of librarian glasses posed for a photo with Perjorie, my troll:

Earlier in the weekend we had a Panda and Perjorie moment at Bardog.

Anyway, in those 68 minutes (minus probably 5 to get dressed and walk to the bar) I managed to put away 2 PBRs and 3 Fireballs. Not bad for such a late hour!

There will be more troll photos coming this week. I have big plans.

Insider tip for you: There’s an opportunity to steal a cornhole tournament at Memphis Made this Saturday from 2 to 4. Bad Shane and Fireball Joe, normally the odds-on favorites to win any cornhole tournament held in Memphis, will be busy at Tom Lee Park. Someone’s got a chance to swoop in and grab that $50 first-place gift certificate. There are second and third place prizes as well.

Come early to the Redbirds game tonight to see the Shelby County Sheriff’s office play the Memphis Police Department in a softball game. The game will be played in memory of fallen officers, and the first pitch will be dropped from a helicopter and retrieved by a K-9 officer. Following that game the Redbirds play Albuquerque at 6:35.

One more reminder to keep an eye on the news this week. A little over 25 years ago, a racketeering/organized crime statute called RICO sent mob bosses John Gotti, Vincent “Chin” Gigante, and Tony “Ducks” Corallo to prison. We’re going to hear more about RICO in the days and weeks to come.

I’ll tell ya another thing that’s great about Downtown: I live around the corner from a bar that opens at 8 AM on weekdays, with my neighbor bartending on Mondays! On my way to Bardog to drink a little PBR and play the jukebox. Team, if I need to head down to the park, text me. Back tomorrow with more news.

Check out the new statue of legendary Memphis musician Bobby “Blue” Bland. It’s at the northeast corner of South Main and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue.

Got a neat job opportunity to tell you about this morning. Green Girl Produce, a vertical hydroponic farm at 516 Tennessee Street, is looking to hire two part-time (20 hour/week) positions that have the potential to grow into something more. If you have a passion for farming, environmental sustainability, health and nutrition, and eating local, they would like to talk to you. They are hiring a Grow Master and a Farm Liaison. More details and how to apply here.

Here’s the Downtown Flying Saucer’s new burger-centric menu. I talked to Owen, one of the managers there, the other day, and he says that on weekdays the kitchen stays open until midnight. I will definitely be stopping by and getting a burger to go in the weeks to come. The Terlingua sounds like it will be my go-to burger. I love a good burger with chili on top. The Sputnik Monroe sounds like one I will try as well, and the Gobble Me when I am in the mood for a turkey burger.

After spreading a little sunshine at the Farmers Market and Earnestine & Hazel’s yesterday morning, I wandered north to my usual Saturday spot Bardog Tavern. They have locally-distilled Old Dominick at the bar now.

There will be a giant beer pong tournament Thursday, May 25 at Loflin Yard. $20 to enter a two-person team with the money raised benefiting St. Jude. Pint glasses and prizes will be provided, and there will be a Ballast Point Brewing tap takeover.

 

The Memphis Medical Center District will have its annual meetup at Premiere Palace. 629 Monroe, Tuesday, May 23 6:00-7:30 PM. Hear about accomplishments of the past year and plans for the year ahead. There will be wine, beer by High Cotton, and food by Evelyn and Olive.

Each member of the 2016 Life Champions the Tennessee Vols men’s powder puff football team is receiving two “championship” rings for its miracle 9-4 season. One is for the “Battle of Bristol” win over Virginia Tech, and the other is for their Music City Bowl victory. This is so UT and so perfectly illustrates why Butch Jones is the perfect coach for that band of clowns. I bet UT fans are looking at pictures of those two rings and choking their chicken right about now. (I’m using “choking their chicken” as a metaphor for masturbation, but given UT’s hillbilly fan base, they may literally be choking their chicken as well.)

Bet someone at the Knox County branch of Josten’s is receiving a phat bonus check this week…

I do have to give a tip of the hat to UT fans’ generosity, though. On Sunday, October 30 of last year, they made a donation of hundreds of WE BEAT SOUTH CAROLINA shirts to the local homeless shelter.

Recently re-opened Senses Nightclub may be in trouble for a zoning violation. That area is not currently zoned for a nightclub and since they were closed for more than 365 days, they cannot be considered grandfathered in.

Random Facebook fun from yesterday: One person is really looking forward to her high school reunion!

That’s the news for today. If any of my Moody Ques teammates feel like meeting up, I will be at D-RANKS with B-RAD at Blind Bear at 11 this morning, then mid-afternoon I will walk over to Tom Lee Park to see what needs to be done in the booth. With Monday off tomorrow, I plan on going a little bit late into the night. Back tomorrow with more news.