Had the fish tacos at Rio Loco for the first time - they’re the Saturday lunch special.  Wanted to compare them to the Flying Fish’s fish tacos, but they’re very different.  Rio Loco serves them grilled inside a soft taco shell, and provides a plate of fixin’s (lettuce, sour cream, pico de gallo, dressing) so you can build your own tacos.  Pretty tasty.  As usual, I went there to get some food in me to keep from getting wasted early in the day… and then I went and got a jumbo margarita with my food.  That margarita nearly put me down for the count.  I managed to stay awake during my second shift at the Saucer by dancing around and signing “ABC” by the Jackson 5.  I bet I sang it about 14 times.

Later in the day I went to Big Foot with some of my BBQ team members and we split an order of garlic bread, topped with cheese and bacon.  It was goooood.  Otto: “Pretty much everything’s better with bacon.”  Indeed.  The bartender told us that my former BFF would be arriving shortly, so we finished up and high-tailed it out of there, as no one was in the mood to deal with her stupid-ass self.  We headed back to the Saucer, where I turned in my usual sucky performance at darts.  I do all right at pool but I will never be a good dart player.

About 10 I left the dart tournament and wandered over to Itta Bena.  They have a piano player and singer Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but previously I had never been there late enough to catch the show.  Here’s a pic:

The piano makes for a mellow, laid-back setting that is a huge contrast to the partying going on outside on Beale Street.  I’ve been told that the piano draws a sizable regular crowd on Friday nights, and it’s starting to catch on Thursdays and Saturdays as well.

From there it was on to Raiford’s, where my friends Tom and Meredith were having an after-party, having gotten married earlier in the day:

And here’s a pic of the bride with two of the bridesmaids:

About 1:30 Raiford’s started to get super packed, and I was tired out from 12 hours of being out, so I called it a night.

Oh, by the way, they have a banner out front saying that Raiford’s is now open for ’80s Ladies Night on Thursday nights.  Hmmmmm.  There’s a good chance I’ll pay the place a visit Thursday night and check it out.

Busy day today as well.  My BBQ team is loading in and building today, but I struck a “no physical labor” agreement with the team when I joined last year.  Besides, I’m a lot more useful to the team when I’m out networking, securing donations and inviting girls to the booth.  Places I plan to hit today:  Big Foot, Majestic, McGuinness, the Saucer, Itta Bena for Sundays with Sam, and Calhoun’s.  I also have to call my mother at some point for Mother’s Day at some point.  For those who check my blog to figure out where we’re doing brunch, it’s Majestic week 1 on the schedule.

I’m finally going to try the Happy Mexican.  I’m meeting my health guru AL there tomorrow.

All right… time to post and get another long day started.

Trying to decide if I’m going to dress up… I don’t have a pajama top, just bottoms, so if I dress the part I’ll wear my bathrobe and whatever old T-shirt I can find along with the pajama bottoms.  The problem with dressing up is, I can’t exactly leave the Saucer and go to other bars in that outfit.  I sure as hell wouldn’t go to the Rooster or Raiford’s with a bathrobe on.  Maybe McGuinness.  Or Black Diamond.

Ah, heck, I’ll probably do it.  I’m not one to pass up chances to dress up and make a fool of myself.

I had the crawfish and cheese enchiladas, and they did not disappoint.  Three enchiladas loaded with crawfish and smothered in lots of cheese, with rice, a small salad and a cold corn/black bean salad.

I’ll definitely be back… looking forward to working my way through the rest of the lunch menu.

Definitely a site for people who take their drinking games seriously.  I wonder if Hoop and Tony at Hoop’s Bar have seen this site… might come in handy for Pub Olympics next month.

Had a 4-hour BBQ team planning meeting last night at the Saucer.  Earlier in the week I asked to be more involved, and boy did I get my wish and then some.  It’s all coming together though.  Can’t wait for the end of next week!

I guess I need to get back on good terms with my former BFF, so I can invite her and her roommates and her mini-me and her Club Atlas party buddy to our BBQ booth.  Although, the way she drinks, that could add a couple extra hundred dollars to our liquor budget (not to mention a huge bottle of Gatorade for her to chug after she’s all drunk and dehydrated).  She was in the Saucer last night and I thought about going over and talking to her, but she was with someone who doesn’t seem to be able to observe the Mikeyism “this is an A and B conversation, so I’d better C my way out.”  I hate to say it but I actually miss her a little.  Hopefully I’ll get to talk to her and extend the booth invite sometime in the next few days.

The South Main Association has its next meeting next Tuesday, May 13 at 6 PM, and they’re doing it in a great venue… the Red Rooster!  Free appetizers, cash bar, presentation by Reggie Williams, VP of Community Relations for the Memphis Redbirds.  Free for SMA members, $5 for non-members.  More details at southmainmemphis.org.

LaunchMemphis’s kickoff party, the Tech Fuel Networking Event, is tonight from 5 to 7 at the Fox & Hound Sanderlin.  This is a place for technologists, entrepreneurs, and business professionals to share ideas.  Open to the public, free appetizers, discounted drink specials.  More events coming this month too… check them out at launchmemphis.com.

Still thinking Itta Bena after work (gotta hand out BBQ invitations there too), then Saucer, then Rooster.

• Triggerproof plays the Peabody rooftop tonight from 6 to 10; $5 cover, ladies free before 8.
• Symbiosis plays the Madison rooftop 5:30 to 10:30
• Q107.5 patio party with Garry Goin & G3 at EP Delta Kitchen, 8:30-til
• Afterglow at the Flying Saucer, 9:30, $3 cover
• Tom, Dick & Harry at the Red Rooster
• Amateur Night at Club Lame… er, um, I mean Girls’ Night Out at Club Atlas
• Trivia night at TJ Mulligan’s in the Pinch, 8 PM
• Ladies’ Night at Tug’s at the River Inn of Harbor Town, half-off drinks

Tonight I’ll probably start off at Itta Bena since I didn’t make it there last night, then I’ll hang out at the Saucer until 11:30ish, then the Rooster.  Plans subject to change.

A couple of days ago I wrote that there was a veggie burger on Big Foot’s menu (which I didn’t order).  My health guru AL e-mailed to ask if it was any good, and if it was from a box or made from scratch.  I didn’t know, so I asked my readers.

One reader responded that it was from a box, but “it’s totally yummy” and like everything else, they make it Big Foot style, meaning HUGE, with two patties.

Another reader concurred that Big Foot’s burger was good, but said that the veggie burger at Tug’s at the River Inn at Harbor Town is the best she has had.

A third reader recommended the veggie burger from Huey’s, noting that you can get it in place of beef on any of Huey’s specialty burgers.  She recommended the veggie Smokey Melt in particular.

So there ya go… my blog is veggie-friendly now.  Check back today… I’m typing up several posts this morning and setting them to publish at various times during the day.  On tap:  A chance for those who love Calhoun’s Sports Bar & Grill to show their appreciation, what’s happening tonight for Thursday party night, and who knows what else is in store.

p. 4: Court Square Center is holding an reopening party for the Lincoln-American Tower from 10 AM to 2 PM Saturday, May 10. For $20 you can sip champagne atop the tower, tour its luxury apartments and enjoy the views of Downtown. $20 donation benefits Memphis Heritage.

p. 24: The big events in Memphis in May are Music Fest, BBQ Fest, and Sunset Symphony. “And then there’s that off week, the second week in May,” people will tell you, “when they do events to honor the country that no one goes to.” One such event will happen Thursday night, May 8 at the Orpheum. There will Turkish folk music by the Anatolian Sun Quartet, as well as belly dancing, live animation, poetry, and a sampling of Turkish food. If I didn’t already have more interesting plans (going to the Saucer and drinking a lot of beer) I’d attend this for sure.

p.28: Coming soon to Hollywood Disco (or as everyone calls it, Raiford’s): Thursday ’80s Ladies Night. Oh Lord… why did they have to go and do this to me. Raiford’s open on Thursday night = a lot of very sleepy Fridays in my future.

p. 42: EP Delta Kitchen is now serving lunch on the patio Wednesdays through Saturdays.

Just got home.  Time to go get a beer and have a planning session with the BBQ team.  Itta Bena has a private event at 6:30, so no Downtown Night.  I’ll try to get by there tomorrow.

We’re also open to considering other small sponsorships, trading guest wristbands for in-kind donations - letting us borrow tables, chairs, etc., or donating beer, food, carpeting, lighting, or various other things we can use to make the booth more appealing.  We’re open to cash donations too.  If you want to put up signage or leave information/flyers about your business we can talk about that.

Booth access would also give you the chance to network with our team and its guests.  Our team is very much “the Downtown team,” and just about all the members live and/or work and party in Downtown Memphis, and spend a lot of disposable income doing so.  The team also tends to get good media coverage - we have a Commercial Appeal writer on the team who blogged extensively about our booth last year and gave our sponsor lots of exposure, and then of course there’s my blog which has been drawing in excess of 1000 hits per day recently.  Our team also has connections to the Memphis Flyer, FedEx, AutoZone, the Memphis Grizzlies, Memphis Magazine, the Memphis Business Journal, CH Robinson, UT-Memphis, the University of Memphis, and other prominent companies in town.

If you’re interested in doing something with us, shoot me an e-mail at paul@paulryburn.com.  Don’t delay - time’s running out!