Daily thoughts of a Downtown Memphis resident
MFM@Ten, a celebration of ten years of the Memphis Farmers Market, is tonight from 5 to 8 at the Tennessee Brewery. Live music by Star & Micey; beer; wine; food by MFM vendors, as well as local restaurants including Amerigo, McEwen’s, Belle Diner, The Farmer, Felicia Suzanne’s, and Rizzo’s; and as you can see in the photos above THE MOODY QUES are cooking!!!!! Tickets are $50 at the door and it is a fundraiser for the Famrers Market. Come support your local food system!
If you’re heading out to Cooper-Young Fest, MemphisWeather.net has said that one of the forecast models indicates showers passing through between 1-3 PM. However, it is not thought to be enough of a threat to change your plans.
Best Memphis Burger Fest is two weeks from today, on Saturday, October 3. Worried about having to choose between the festival and college game day? You don’t need to be. Seth Instagrammed this pic of HDTV antennas and ensured potential attendees that they will have your game watching needs covered. Teams including Weekend at Porky’s, Squeal Street, and the 2015 BBQ Fest trophy-winning Moody Ques will compete. As a former judge, I know that part of the burger’s score is based on appearance. No team knows more about decorating than the Moody Ques, so that’s a bonus. The cooks met earlier this week, and I have a $5000 electronic whiteboard being delivered Monday with six different colored electronic markers. I plan to use it to map out load-in for the MQs for Burger Fest.
The “Guardians of the Ribbon – Pink Heals Tour” comes to Beale Street tomorrow from noon to 5. Firemen in pink suits driving pink fire trucks will be on the street to raise awareness and money to fight women’s cancer.
There’s a Game Day Operator position open and ANC Sports. The operator would work Grizzlies games, ensuring that scoreboards and other equipment are all functioning properly for a smooth game day experience. The job description looks like an IT background would be handy.
I probably am going to remain Downtown today and not deal with the madness in Cooper-Young. Not totally opposed to going if the right offer comes along, but most likely the plan will be Panda Time at Bardog, D-RANKS with B-RAD at Blind Bear, and then back to the Bear for a birthday party tonight. It’s a black & white party which means all the girls will be dolled up to the nines and I will have a black T-shirt and white shorts on. Now that I think about it, my flip-flops are black too, so I will be totally staying within the theme. One of the flip-flops has a hole in it. I guess I should buy a new pair soon. Anyway, for now I am outta here, back tomorrow or Monday with more news.
I made a last-minute decision to play poker last night at Blind Bear, and ended up coming in fifth. I don’t play regularly anymore, but when I do play I have to say, what a great group of people with whom to sit down at a poker table. I enjoy playing with all of you.
High Cotton’s taproom is adding a trivia night on Fridays, starting tonight. 7 to 9 PM, prizes to top three teams. Tonight the Fish From Heaven food truck will be parked outside.
Early voting begins today. Action News 5 has links to a sample ballot and voting sites. The CA has a report on last night’s mayoral debate.
Chicken fried steak alert: Friends of mine ate at Tin Roof last night and they said that chicken fried steak is the special every Thursday. They said that the white gravy looks amazing. I will have to check this out soon.
From the Flyer: Chef Ana Gonzalez of Bleu takes the Farmers Market Challenge at Memphis Farmers Market.
FedExForum has released additional tickets for the October 7 Foo Fighters concert. Get them here.
No plans at all for this evening, but I will be out somewhere. I’m open to leading off at any of my “Big Five,” so I will look at Swarm and Facebook after work and see where folks are out. Ready to enjoy a beautiful late summer weekend.
As I’m sure you heard by now, Facebook is rolling out a Dislike button. I have to admit, I didn’t understand the point of such a button. Then Daniel from the Silly Goose reported that Sam’s Club is playing Christmas music on September 17. Now I get it.
It’s Apple-Pickin’ Time at the Memphis Farmers Market this Saturday. The Market has apples by the bushels, and they are a low-calorie snack (only 80 of them) with no fat, cholesterol, or sodium. Live music by Paul Waits 8:30-10 and Adam Levin 11-12:30. 7 AM to 1 PM Saturday at the pavilion at the corner of Front and G.E. Patterson.
Are you the kind of person who doesn’t typically carry cash on you, instead paying for everything with a credit or debit card? No problem, you can still get everything you want at the Memphis Farmers Market. Bring the card to the information booth, and you can get tokens to spend at vendor booths. SNAP cards are accepted too.
In other Farmers Market news, don’t forget that this Sunday (5-8 PM) is MFM@TEN, a celebration of ten years of the Market. It will be held at the Tennessee Brewery, with live music by Star & Micey. There will be food by local vendors, as well as restaurants including Amerigo, McEwen’s, Belle Diner, The Farmer, Felicia Suzanne’s, Rizzo’s Diner, and more. Beer, wine, auction items. $40 advance tickets, $50 at the door, $20 for non-alcohol tickets.
The CA has a review of Five Spot, the restaurant behind Earnestine & Hazel’s with a new menu designed by Chef Kelly English.
Big score for the zoo: It has landed a James Beard Foundation dinner. The dinner will be hosted in the Teton Trek Lounge on October 8, and two of the participating chefs are from Memphis.
The Grizzlies have announced an open practice Tuesday, October 13 from 1 to 2 PM at FedExForum. It will ne preceded by a plaza party.
There’s a job opening for a front desk agent at the Downtown Quality Inn.
Another job opening: Bridge Builders seeks a Participant Tracking Coordinator.
Well, this is cool… the Volkswagen Bus is coming back, but as an electric model.
Home from work, time for beer. Happy hour at the Silly Goose is my first stop, then I will figure the rest out.
Between 2003 and 2010 I attended many performances of rockabilly band The Dempseys and got to be friends with them. About eight years ago Dempseys singer/guitarist Brad Birkedahl invited me to his house for a July 4 cookout and I discovered that he has a second passion in addition to music: vintage 1950s cars. Well, now Brad and his fellow entrepreneur, Brandon Cunning, are combining those two passions into Rockabilly Rides, a new tour company in town. They are both Elvis lovers in particular, and they recall that Elvis used to love to drive his friends around Memphis. You can’t ride with Elvis, but Brad and Brandon can give you a ride in the next best thing: A 1995 Chevy Bel Air or a 1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner Galaxie in which you can see the town as Elvis saw it. Check Rockabilly Rides out if you’re a fan of The King or classic cars.
On Friday, September 25 at Marshall Arts in The Edge, a new concept to present public art and secure funding for projects will be presented. It will be called “The Collaboratory: The Edge Survey,” led by artist Catherine Pena and showcasing public art concepts for The Edge by eight artists selected by the DMC. Since spring the artists have brainstormed and blogged about their concepts for The Edge. In early October, the concepts will be presented to the DMC for funding consideration. You can meet the artists on the 25th from 6 to 9 at Marshall Arts.
The Commercial Appeal has rolled out its new website. There is no hard paywall anymore: Non-subscribers can read up to a dozen articles a month. Take a look.
The paywall coming down means that Chris Herrington’s guide to the 2015-16 Grizzlies schedule is now available to non-subscribers.
Newman Farms ground pork tacos are the featured $2 tacos at tonight’s Tacos and Tunes on the patio of Felicia Suzanne’s, 7-10 PM. $2 tacos, $5 cocktails, live music.
There’s another singer-songwriter night tomorrow from 7 to 9 PM at 550 South Main. The lineup is ‘out-of-towners’ Amanda Ashley and Angie Keilhauer, first-timers Christopher Jones and Amber Rae Dunn, plus Zeke Johnson, and 4-timer Andrew Cabigao.
South Main Book Juggler’s events go beyond mere book signings. Tomorrow night there will be a BBQ sauce signing there! The creators of Uncle Murle’s Tennessee Crafted BBQ Sauce will be on hand. You can taste-test the sauce, buy a jar, and get it signed. 6-9 PM tomorrow.
The Brass Door will be open early this weekend for the Rugby World Cup. Lineup of games can be found here.
One of Memphis’ largest outdoor street festivals, the Cooper-Young Festival is this Saturday from 9 AM to 7 PM. If you’re a new Memphian and don’t know what top expect, Holly has an excellent guide. Tip #7 (embrace the insanity) is especially worth reading.
I will probably be back with a second news post around 5:30 this afternoon. I have Memphis Farmers Market news and we will see what else I can find to talk about.
Breaking foodie news: Brookhaven Circle’s chefs Andrew and Michael are opening a restaurant in the Chisca. It will be named Catherine and Mary’s for the chefs’ grandmothers, and will have an ambiance that matches the historic nature of the building. Pastas and open-fire cooking will be featured.
Rizzo’s Diner Chef Michael Patrick is locked up for MDA today and won’t be released until he raises $800. You can help break him out of jail here.
I can always count on MemphisWeather.net (@memphisweather1) to tweet out lots of useful information. Today MemphisWeather.net linked to another weather site’s article, Which college football teams are the most likely to have their games delayed by lightning? Number 5 on the list is Arkansas (tied for 5th), the highest-ranked school not in Florida. Arkansas State was 20. Memphis was not in the top 20, with an 0.64% chance of having a lightning-induced game delay.
If you’re going to Cooper-Young Fest Saturday, be sure to stop by City Market’s grand opening at 836 South Cooper. City Market has been a great resource for Downtowners and I am sure that Cooper-Young residents are going to love it. Great salads, great breakfast sandwiches, great deli, great smoothies. I took home food from the grab & go last night.
The CA’s Chris Herrington has a really well-written article: On the scene at Monday Night Raw at FedExForum Monday night.
Didn’t know this: The CA has an “Outside the Loop” blog for people who live in suburbia.
iOS 9 is out. Here’s how to download it.
That’s it for now. I will be out at the usual places after work, leading off at Silly Goose probably. Might play trivia at Blind Bear later in the evening. Back after work or tomorrow with more news.
Pints & Putts is a new disc golf event happening on the patio of the Downtown Central BBQ every Wednesday from 5 to 8 PM. You get $3 local Memphis Made drafts when you present your putter disc, and it is $3 a round to play. Proceeds support Memphis Athletic Ministries. They have some cool-looking Central BBQ discs you can purchase.
Tickets are now on sale for Howl at the Moon, the annual fundraiser for Streetdog Foundation, a wonderful organization that fosters and adopts dogs that otherwise wouldn’t have a chance to find a good home. The event is Saturday, November 7, at The Warehouse on the northeast corner of Front and G.E. Patterson. There will be food, live music, live and silent auctions, and a photo booth. 100% of the money raised goes to the dogs.
It’s been going around social media the past day or two, but in case you haven’t seen it, Thrillist has a list of 50 iconic Memphis foods you must try before you die. There are three on here that I most definitely agree with:
Not a Downtown event, but worth mentioning: a festival celebrating breakfast is taking place on Broad Avenue September 26. Wait a minute… this thing has cooking competitions? *Withdraws $4 from Moody Ques bank account, heads to Kroger to pick up some frozen Eggo waffles* Hey guys, I’m not thinking about putting the waffles in the mircowave either… I’m leaning toward a cooking method that will get them… extra well done, shall we say.
(I alluded to the BBQ device I’m not allowed to mention on here anymore 
)
Great article on the Halloran Center for Performing Arts and Education in the Daily News this week.
From Gizmodo: How to use your iPhone’s LED flash for notifications. This is very handy and something I have used for several years.
Read this story if you have kids. More and more kids are swallowing hand sanitizer because it’s sweet and it tastes good. Trouble is, hand sanitizer is almost all alcohol and it is making kids very sick.
The Downtown portion of Third Street becomes B.B. King Blvd. tomorrow.
That’ll do it for now. Possibly another post 5:30-6:00ish today.
Yesterday at Bardog Tavern, a guy around the corner of the bar from me ordered the Rambo, Bardog’s steak sandwich with white American cheese, onions, peppers, and horseradish cream. That order in itself is a good decision. However, I have to tell you what he ordered as his side. Normally the sandwich comes with your choice of fries or potato salad. For extra you can sub a side salad or a cup of soup. This customer, however, had a different idea – he got a side of two of Aldo’s grandmother’s meatballs. I’m sure he paid extra extra extra for that but what a fabulous choice. Dude, if you are reading this, you are my hero and tomorrow I am going to petition Paul Morris who runs DMC to build a statue of you in Court Square.
Drinking beer for a good cause at a Downtown location is something I can always get behind. Friday, November 7 at 7:30 PM, Brew for a Cure, a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, will be held at the Cadre Building at Second and Monroe. Last year the event hosted four local breweries, food, a silent auction, and a great band. This year the Super 5 will provide the live music. You can buy tickets here and check out last year’s photos on the event’s Facebook page.
Spindini is hosting a beer dinner with beers by Broad Avenue brewery Wiseacre Wednesday, September 30 at 7 PM. Reservations are required (901-578-2767) and the cost is $50 per person. The menu:
Not a Downtown event but worth a mention anyway: Drag queen bingo. I wanted to share this event because this was a thing in San Diego when I lived there for 6 months and people found it to be a lot of fun. It’s October 15 at Celtic Crossing. It benefits a dog rescue and is dog-friendly.
If you’re a fan of Heart or Genesis, the School of Rock is holding a tribute to those bands at the Hard Rock this afternoon at 3. $10 cover.
I mentioned this earlier in the week, but this is a reminder that the Green Beetle is having a benefit for ovarian cancer tonight at 6.
All I can say about my Hogs yesterday is “WTF.” I didn’t watch it on TV but it sounds like they took Toledo for granted and treated it as a pre-season game leading up to conference games. You can’t do that. In better news, the Memphis Tigers laid the expected beatdown on Kansas, and Tennessee lost which I am always happy to see.
From Thrillist: The glory of day drinking. I must agree. I so much prefer Sunday Fun Day to Friday and Saturday night. On that note, it’s time for D-RANKS with B-RAD at the Blind Bear. Should be a beautiful day, and I may have to hit a patio at some point in the afternoon.
Last night my happy hour buddy Rodger and I decided to hop in a Lyft and ride to Cooper-Young and visit our favorite pair of librarian glasses at the Memphis Made taproom.
Memphis Made is a craft brewery operated by Andy Ashby and Drew Barton at the corner of South Cooper and York in the Cooper-Young neighborhood. They have been open about two years, and a year ago they opened a taproom so that people could have a chance to socialize while enjoying their beer. Last night was my first visit.
The taproom’s hours. Taproom manager Katie told me that starting in October, they will be open Sunday 1 to 6 as well.
By the way, Katie was kind enough to give Rodger and me a tour of the brewery. We got to see the equipment where the beer is made. Interesting fact: It takes a lot longer to make lager than it does ale, which is why Memphis Made, a small business still very much in the startup phase, is making all ales for now. The menu changes but let’s have a look at last night’s choices:
Lucid Kolsch is the constant and the other beers are seasonal. I am a big fan of Kolsch so I ordered the constant. Memphis Made also makes specialty beers in limited supply for events they support around town.
Let’s have a look at the place, shall we? Rodger and I got there about 7:30 and the place was so busy that they needed three bartenders. Some of the photos I took were taken a little after 9 as they were closing down, so if the place looks empty, please don’t get the impression that people don’t go there. Believe me, there were a LOT of people!
Actually none of the people in this photo are Memphis made. Little Rock, Georgia, and Texas made I believe. One of the people in this photo hasn’t had a haircut since February 26 and really needs to do something about that soon.
The taproom entrance is a ramp directly across from the I Love Memphis sign on South Cooper Street.
The taproom has a variety of Memphis Made merchandise for sale…
… no matter what your age. The taproom is family friendly.
Memphis Made itself doesn’t serve food, but food trucks park outside.
Last night Sushi Jimmi was the food truck. This is the Los Angeles roll.
You can rent the taproom out for the night. Folks, this would be a GREAT place to throw a holiday party. The season will be here soon. Email taproom@memphismadebrewing.com to inquire about booking.
Next Saturday is Cooper-Young Fest, a gigantic block party in the neighborhood that stretches more than half a mile. If you’re looking for something more intimate, the brewery is throwing a party of its own, Cooper-YORK Fest, with live music, food trucks, and of course, BEER. Insider tip: My favorite pair of librarian glasses has strongly recommended the Hot Mess Burritos food truck to me several times.
This was a fun Friday night and it was worth the Lyft ride and the experience getting out of the comfort zone of my “Big Five” bars in the Downtown core and South Main. I will be back soon. Downtowners, if you want to plan any future Friday night field trips to Memphis Made taproom, hit me up; I’m likely in.
Follow the brewery on Twitter: @3810POUR (How was I not following them already?)
Before I get to the news, it’s rant time: Last night I was at the Silly Goose for happy hour. Two women came up to the bar and ordered drinks which were $10 apiece for a total of $20. One of the women handed the bartender a 20, tipping her nothing, and they walked off with their drinks. A half hour later they came up and ordered another round of drinks. This time they paid with a credit card and tipped 50 cents. Bartenders generally make $2.13 an hour and rely on tips for the majority of their income. IF YOU REFUSE TO AT LEAST TIP SOMETHING AT LEAST IN THE RANGE OF 15-20% YOU NEED TO GO TO A LIQUOR STORE AND MIX YOUR OWN DRINKS AT HOME. Absolutely ridiculous. That 50 cent tip won’t even cover the taxes the bartender will have to pay for those two orders. She LOST money by waiting on those women. As I have said on here before, bartending is not volunteer work.
The Memphis Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony is going to be a bigger deal this year than most, because Justin Timberlake will be inducted and there is a lot of buzz around him. The induction is Saturday, October 17 at 7 PM at the Cannon Center for Performing Arts. Other inductees include Alberta Hunter, Al Jackson, Jr., Memphis Slim, Scotty Moore, Charlie Rich, and Sam & Dave. Tickets are $50 and $100 and are available by calling 1-800-745-3000 or going to Ticketmaster.com. Attire is dressy, business, business casual, or Memphis Music glam. There will be an after-party at Hard Rock Cafe.
“Oh, my Squash!” is the theme of the Memphis Farmers Market tomorrow from 7 AM to 1 PM at the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson. It’s the time of the year when summer squashes – yellow-neck, zucchini, and patty-pan – are on their way out, and winter squashes – acorn, butternut, and delicata – are on their way in. UT Extension Agent Sheryl Miller will give cooking demos of Sheryl’s Summer Squash with Pasta at 9:30, 10:30, and 11:30. Master gardeners will be on hand from 9 to noon, answering questions on how to protect your garden from the upcoming winter. Live music by JoJo Jeffries 8:30-10 and The Zoo Girls 11-12:30.
From the Flyer: Downtown is getting 62 new wayfinding signs that will help tourists find key attractions in the area.
The Memphis Tigers have an away game at Kansas Saturday, and things are looking good for the Tigers: A Bleacher Report writer is speculating that Kansas is making its case for being the worst major-conference team in college football history. Last week the Jayhawks were getting ready to kick a game-tying field goal in the closing seconds of the game… except they didn’t get to because the quarterback screwed up spiking the ball to stop the clock.
“At least we have basketball to look forward to,” Kansas fans must be saying. Hey, weren’t WE saying that not many years ago?
Tigers fans traveling to Kansas for the game, here’s an article listing some places to go while you are there.
As for the controversy over whether the U of M should honor John Calipari for his induction into the college basketball hall of fame, here’s my opinion: I couldn’t care less whether they do or don’t. Let’s stop talking about John Calipari and start talking about Justin Fuente.
Gizmodo has a good article on the rise of fake holidays like National Tequila Day and International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
There will be an event called Local-Palooza tomorrow at Makeda’s Cookies at 488 S. Second. It will be an opportunity to shop local vendors. According to Makeda’s this is what you will find: “JeMora Jewels… Sacriledge Tees… Peculiar Creative Arts by WOODSTAR…Hearts and Hearts Vintage…Funky Knits and Naturals… Basha Shine Inc… Meekies Munchies…Calmese Quiches will be giving out samples and more”
I’ll close with a solemn remembrance of those who lost their lives 14 years ago today. We will never forget you.
Back tomorrow with more news.