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With all the BBQ Fest posts I’ve made, and two upcoming Music Fest posts that I’ve got in Drafts, I’ve been forgetting to do regular news posts the past few days. Here are a few news items.

While answering a series of interview questions recently, I needed to check a fact I gave about Downtown Memphis. As I did, Google led me to this site – Memphis History. Good place to read about the events and characters that have shaped this city over the past 200 years. Everyone from E.H. Crump to Jackie Fargo can be found on the site.

A friend who works on Beale Street told me that the Handy Bar has been turned into Ugly Juanita’s, with “cheap tacos and even cheaper blues.” Taco bar on Beale Street? Most definitely a win. I will check this out soon.

Good Downtown Groupon deal today: $10 for $20 worth of food at the Flying Fish. Good place to eat, kid-friendly. Probably my favorite dish there is the grilled tilapia, “make it snappy” (i.e. cover it in Cajun spice), with red beans and rice and grilled squash and zucchini.

Mud Island residents: Kooky Canuck owner and Mud Island resident Shawn just tweeted that the north end of Island Place has been closed to traffic due to river levels. Island Place is an interior street, different from Island Drive, the main north-south thoroughfare on the island.

Hope everyone made it home safely last night, and to work this morning. A friend of mine came in Bardog last night soaking wet. She’d been driving home, and as she got off I-40 at Riverside there were barricades and cop on a loudspeaker saying, “ABANDON YOUR VEHICLES AND TAKE COVER.” Wow. It was bad last night. Thanks to all the police officers who help keep us safe when the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Due to the storms, I didn’t make it to Ferraro’s last night for Tuesday trivia. Standing at a trolley stop is not my idea of fun when there’s lightning outside! Team members Katie Mac, Shawn, Josh and Nikki made it, and I hear reports that the format is very good. Congrats to the team on second place, and I can’t wait to try it next week!

Music Fest people-watching post is essentially done and I hope to get it online after work today. I have a second post (safety) that I’ll try to get up tomorrow.

Grizzlies game 5 vs. the Spurs tonight at 7:30. Lots of places Downtown to watch the game on TV, but you know what I’m thinking? I haven’t attended a Watch Party at FedExForum yet. Maybe it’s time to change that tonight. I’ll probably pre-game with a beer or two at the Saucer at 6, then wander down there. I’ll have my new Grizzlies-blue camera with me, and maybe I’ll take a few photos for the blog.

GO GRIZZLIES!!! Let’s end this in 5.

A Grizzlies Watch Party is scheduled for the FedExForum tomorrow night. Free to the public, free parking at the Toyota Parking Garage on Linden. Sit in the seats and watch the game on Grizz Vision, with food and drink available at concession stands and in Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Bar. Doors open at 6:30, game at 7:30. More info here.

(Edit: I typed this post this morning before work. Since then, the increasing threat of severe weather has forced me to change my tune from “will attend” to “maybe.” See the MemphisWeather.net blog for more information on the upcoming storms.)

Kevin Cerrito, host of the new Tuesday trivia night at Ferraro’s Pizzeria and Pub, has announced the weekly prizes.

1st place – $50 gift card
2nd place – $20 gift card
3rd place – $10 gift card
Best team name – pitcher of PBR

The team formerly known as the Rapscallions plans on being there. I say “formerly known” because we might as well compete for best team name. We have a team member who is very good at coming up with names. Ironically, he hates PBR. That’s OK though, I’ll drink it, and besides we have other team members who are always up for mooching a free beer.

To recap, the trivia night starts at 8 and will end around 10. Maximum 8 per team, which may force us to break into 2 teams. Ferraro’s is smoke free, but there’s a patio for those who are into inhaling cancer causing agents. Homemade New York-style pizza pies and excellent calzones.

Ferraro’s is on Jackson near the intersection of Main. Free parking.

Wonder if my team will get hit with a cell phone penalty. We don’t cheat, but some of our team members are bad about texting, tweeting, checking Facebook, playing Words with Friends, etc. during trivia.

I’m probably going to hit Bardog’s happy hour around 6, then walk or trolley to Ferraro’s a little after 7 if anyone wants to join. (Edit: If weather is bad, will just stick around Bardog, close to home.)

In 1927, the Mississippi River flooded and was 60 miles wide south of Memphis. 14% of Arkansas was under water at one point. It prompted Memphis Minnie to write the song “When the Levee Breaks,” made famous 43 years later when Led Zeppelin covered it.

If Minnie were still with us, the next couple of weeks would likely have provided her with a lot of songwriting inspiration. Riverside Drive wasn’t around in 1927, but ten years later, it was under water in the 1937 Mississippi River flood. Early next month, the river is predicted to experience the worst flood since 1937.

Music Fest will not be affected, but this is not good news for BBQ Fest and possibly Sunset Symphony.

Fast facts:

• Memphis in May’s electric bunkers are at 41.7 feet. A crest above that level could cause the electrical system to have to be pulled, leaving BBQ Fest teams to rely on generator power.
• Current forecast is for the river to crest at 44 feet on May 8, but that number is expected to be revised upward tonight. May 7 is the beginning of load-in and build for BBQ teams.
• Record river stage was 48.7 feet in 1937.
• 49 feet and Tom Lee Park would become part of the mighty Mississippi.
• The river would have to reach 56 feet to threaten homes on Mud Island.
• For those who don’t live in Memphis who are worried my neighborhood could be flooded, don’t. The Downtown Memphis core sits on a high bluff. Front Street and points east are safe.

Lots more information in these articles about the rising river:

• Memphis Daily News
• Commercial Appeal

This morning, I looked at Twitter, and one of the sports radio guys I follow made a very good point: Friday night, parking Downtown is going to be ridiculous. Tens of thousands will be going to Beale Street Music Fest; Game 6 of the Grizzlies-Spurs playoffs will surely sell out; and there’s a Redbirds home game that night. Parking garages will be jammed. I may have to leave work early just to make sure I get a space in my own parking garage.

I know the Grizzlies are preparing for the game tonight, but I’d like to ask them a favor: You guys can help alleviate the Downtown parking situation Friday night. All I need you to do is win tonight’s game, then win on the road at San Antonio Wednesday. If you do that, there won’t be a game Friday at FedExForum. That will provide considerable traffic/parking relief.

So, what do you say, can you help a brother out? After all, I did change my blog’s colors to Grizzlies colors.

Yesterday afternoon, while hanging out at Bardog Tavern, I received a beer tip from one of my blog’s regular readers. BP Riverside, located at the corner of Riverside and Carolina, has 5-liter refrigerator kegs of Newcastle and Spaten Lager for $20. You don’t need any special equipment to operate the kegs. By my calculations, you’ll get about ten and a half pints from one keg, which works out to $2 a glass of premium beer. Not a bad deal at all.

It’s lunchtime and given the weather, I have no inclination to go out. Staying in and working on a couple of things. For one, I’m answering a set of questions Kerry from the I Love Memphis Blog sent me. I’m scheduled to be one of her 365 Memphians in an upcoming post. She’s meeting me at the Saucer tonight to take my photo. As much as I hate not having Grizzlies gear on tonight, I feel the need to wear my Ques Brothers shirt and represent the BBQ team.

I’m also working on a long post about Music Fest people-watching. The good news is, none of the people-watching I will describe requires you to spend any money. If I get that done before my hour is up, I’ll publish it; if not, it’ll be up tonight.

You may have noticed that the blog has a new color scheme. It’s in honor of a group of WINNERS who work a few blocks away from me, at a place known as “The Grindhouse.”

You know, it’s weird… I’ve been Downtown for nine years now. I write a blog that a lot of people consider the go-to guide for what to do on the weekends. And yet, on Saturday nights lately, I find myself searching for things to do.

One group of people I know, who call themselves the Wolfpack, make the circuit of bars and clubs. They do Bardog then Local then Bar None then Silly Goose then Raiford’s then Club Shadows followed by a late night snack at Blues City or Cockadoos. They have fun but I couldn’t do it on a weekly basis. For one thing, they prefer to be at each bar when it’s at its most crowded. Although I’m a big fan of most of the places I just mentioned, some of them are less fun when they are super busy. People constantly crowding you, bumping into you, you know? Plus, I can’t see myself making a regularly weekly habit of partying with 22 year olds at Shadows at 4 in the morning.

Another group of my friends goes to the Blue Monkey every Saturday. Now, while I think the Monkey is a fantastic bar in general, Saturday is karaoke night. I cannot think of anything more BORING than spending the best night of my week listening to horribly crappy singing. Did my friends all turn 60 and move to a trailer park? Sometimes I wonder. Also, given the amount of rent I pay to live in the Downtown core, I want to hang out in the core most of the time, not have a regular Saturday night gig at a bar almost a mile’s walk away. Yes, I know there’s a trolley but it stops running at 1.

So, on a few Saturdays recently, I’ve ended up by myself. Which is fine – I’m an only child and have been comfortable doing my own thing my entire life. I feel the need to vary things up though. Hanging out at the Saucer all the time gets old after a while.

Yesterday, after spending a few hours at Max’s, I hopped on the trolley to ride north. I decided to get off at Beale Street and visit an old friend – my mug at the Tap Room.

Beale Street is full of bars that attract mainly tourists (Hard Rock, BB King’s) and dance clubs that mainly kids go to (Alfred’s, 152/Shadows). But the Tap Room… now that’s my kind of bar. Dark, wooden interior, memorabilia including beer steins and unusual beer cans. Nice, long bar with 20 beers on draft, full liquor selection. Bands play on the weekends, but not so loud that you can’t talk to the person next to you. Games on TVs at each end of the bar. Really good food, because they share a menu with King’s Palace next door. The Tap Room used to be my nightly home, from about ’03 to ’05 before I got on a roll with the Saucer. It had a really good mix of people, balanced perfectly between locals and out-of-towners.

As for my mug, they have a “Mug Club.” When I joined, I paid $20 (it’s probably a little more now) and was given markers to decorate the bottom of my mug, including its number (52). Mug Club members get a discount on beers in their mug, and they get extra value on every beer they drink. I believe the mugs are 23 ounces, compared to the usual 16-ounce pints. One of my friends actually bought mug #1 from its original owner, so he could say he’s #1. Nowadays there are so many Mug Club members that they don’t even bother numbering them.

I ordered dinner, going with the seafood pasta: Shrimp, crab and scallops in a cream sauce. Absolutely delicious. I highly recommend it. The Chicken Pontabla (chicken and cheese over potatoes with Cajun spice) is another can’t-miss dish.

Although it had been close to a year since my last visit, the Tap Room still felt like home. I need to get a regular Saturday rotation of bars going – something less ambitious than what the Wolfpack does – and the Tap Room deserves to be on the list. Saucer, Tap Room, maybe Bar None. As much as I love Bardog and Silly Goose, they get so crowded on Saturdays that I don’t go much, unless I know friends are going too. Maybe Rehab Disco or Raiford’s if I want to end the night at a dance club – both of those clubs appeal to kids and grownups alike. I need to spend more time at Rockbottom, the locals’ bar on the ground floor of Rehab, in particular.

In any event, my Saturday schedule will be thrown all out of whack next week, thanks to Music Fest. Reminds me, I need to do a post about Music Fest people watching. Maybe I’ll work on that this afternoon since the Saucer doesn’t open until 5.

Cleaning old pics out of the camera. Here are a couple of random ones:

Uncle Ray, who loves to have his picture taken, and Robo at Shelton Clothiers Thursday night. Shelton partnered with the Squeal Street BBQ team for a benefit for LeBonheur. Attn Robo: I’m going to try to direct a birthday party happening Downtown tonight toward your favorite Saturday night place. Birthday girl is someone whose photographs have frequently appeared on this blog (recently, the same photo over and over).

I’ve been playing poker with Brick a lot lately at the Silly Goose’s Monday Night Texas Hold’em game (free to play, 10 PM). Based on her strategy, I suspect that Brick has been reading poker books. Particularly, the poker book that states, “K-3 is a powerhouse hand that is easily strong enough to call an all-in move pre-flop.” I busted Brick out of the tournament Monday night.

Someone post pics to Facebook of last night’s toga party at Max’s! Didn’t make it down there, because I was dealing with a bout of severe laziness. Highlight of my evening was the Cajun chicken eggrolls I had at Majestic Grille.

I will be at Max’s this afternoon for their courtyard party. I don’t know if I will stick around to watch the Grizzlies game – would prefer to head back to the core before evening – but I want to be there around 2 PM to catch Dynaflow play. Three bands, beer specials, crawfish, two HDTVs outside. It’s definitely the Downtown event of the day, so come down!

Today’s first item isn’t Downtown news, but it’s sad news… the Daily News reports that Davis-Kidd bookstore is likely to close after its parent Joseph-Beth goes through bankruptcy. I hate to see Memphis lose another bookstore. Then again, probably the last 20 books I bought were from Amazon (and most of those Kindle books), so I guess I helped contribute to the decline.

The CA reports that a new restaurant called Sky Grille will open in the old Quetzal space on Union near Marshall. It will be a family restaurant serving Huey’s-style food from 11 AM to 10 PM, then it will turn into a club with DJs, VIP rooms and even a bikini contest on Thursday. They say they will have free valet parking and a shuttle to various points Downtown. I always hope new businesses succeed Downtown, but the concept for this really sounds all over the place. They’re going to have to do many things well from the beginning, rather than focusing on doing one thing well (like Huey’s did with its burger) and then expanding from there. Nevertheless, I wish them luck.

Big weekend at the Redbirds. Saturday is fireworks night (game starts 6:05). On Sunday, there will be an Easter egg hunt at 1:00 before the game begins at 1:35. Kids will be able to get their picture taken with the Easter Bunny, and can run the bases after the game.

What are the grown-ups going to do on Sunday? The Saucer doesn’t open until 5. Two days away and I’m at a loss for ideas.

Great editorial from former Senator Alfonse D’Amato: Make online poker legal? It already is. If poker is a game of chance, as the Justice Department seems to think, then the average Joe could enter a tournament and have the same chance of winning as Phil Ivey. If that’s the case, how come Ivey has won tens of millions of dollars and I’m sitting in a cubicle?

Congratulations to my friends on the Squeal Street BBQ team, who had a special guest yesterday for their cookout at Shelton Clothiers. Mayor Wharton stopped by for a bite. I stopped by for a bite later in the evening, and the BBQ sliders were delicious.

Plans for tonight: No idea. I guess I may stop by the toga party at Max’s Sports Bar, where they’re giving out prizes for most authentic, best accessories, most likely to be a Roman God, etc. If there’s a prize for not caring enough to find a toga to wear, I might win.

Outta here for now. Happy Good Friday!