- Ask to see my troll
- Ask to see pictures of my troll
- Invite my troll to your restaurant
- Be a troll
- Troll
Let me explain…
Last Sunday was a holiday Sunday, when I knew I would be staying out late. Mid-afternoons on holiday Sundays, I often order a Lyft and take a field trip out to Midtown. So around 4 last Sunday, I put on Facebook, “Where should I go?” My friend Hannah who bartends Aldo’s Midtown replied “Come see me!” and that’s where I went.
Best bar tool ever. But anyway, on with the story.
While I was eating my pizza, Chef Steph of the RAWK’n Grub food truck private-messaged me. “When are you and the troll going to come see us at CANVAS?”
I’ve been meaning to write about CANVAS of Memphis for some time now, but I haven’t up to this point because I didn’t understand exactly what it was. I knew it was in Midtown (1737 Madison), and over the past several months I would occasionally hear about the place. I knew it must have something to do with art, but it wasn’t clear why a person like me would venture out there.
However, it came on my radar when the RAWK’n Grub food truck, which I follow on social media, started making weekly visits to CANVAS, then upped the visits to a couple of times a week. Then last month, CANVAS and RAWK’n Grub announced their “marriage”… RAWK’n Grub food would be available at CANVAS during open hours, 6 PM to 3 AM Tuesday-Saturday. (Steph if I got those hours wrong let me know and I will correct)
So I got on the CANVAS website and did a little research… what a cool concept. It’s an interactive art lounge. It’s a place to experience art in all its forms including live music, live painting demonstrations, photographers in action, and sculptors doing their thing. They have a liquor license and have Artist-inspired martinis… and now they have RAWK’n Grub food. They also have a large patio that is dog-friendly. Gotta check this place out soon. “Like” CANVAS on Facebook to keep up with events happening there.
Back to the troll for a minute… some of you have been asking where she’s been lately. Well, she got a job but it didn’t work out. She got hired as an umpire in a baseball league. Games she umpired were exciting, in that they were unusually high-scoring for baseball. However, games never seemed to progress beyond 0 outs in the top of the first inning, so eventually they had to give her a pink slip.
Sache has announced their July Sache Sunday event, on Sunday afternoon, July 16, benefiting Streetdog Foundation: Paws for the Cause. There will be live music by DJ Tree, a 20 foot water slide, raffles, and goodies from local businesses. $10 admission cash or card, but pet store gift cards, local gas cards (for rescuers who travel long distances), and doggie items from approved brands (follow the link to see the list) of equal or greater value will be accepted too. Of course, this event is dog-friendly.
The Corner Bar at the Peabody has new specials Thursday-Saturday 4-7 PM. Select red and white wine, draft beer, spirits and martinis for $5.
Memphis Made Brewing Co. is bottling its beer now. Later this month they will release a 10% ABV saison that consumers will be able to purchase in grocery stores and liquor stores. The saison will come in a 750 ml bottle, same size as a standard wine bottle. Stores that will sell it include Superlo Foods, Cash Saver, and Buster’s. Follow the link to see a slideshow.
Lively discussion at Blind Bear last night. One topic was the highly-anticipated Margarita’s on Second, in the old Kooky Canuck location and next door to the current Kooky Canuck. You know, we have Maciel’s Tortas and Tacos, which is real Mexican. We have Agave Maria, which I guess is fusion Mexican. But we haven’t had an American Mexican restaurant in the Downtown core for years. What’s an American Mexican restaurant? You’ll know it is one if you see something like this on the menu:
31. Chile relleno, taco, rice and beans
32. Poblano pepper, taco, rice and beans
33. Enchilada, taco, rice and beans
34. Chimichanga, rice and beans
35. Poblano pepper, enchilada, rice and beans
… And so on. Also, an authentic American Mexican restaurant always has the Speedy Gonzales on the lunch menu.
We talked about the last true American Mexican restaurant in the Downtown core, Rio Loco. A Blind Bear employee who was not of age when Rio Loco was open asked what it was like.
“Well, you know how sometimes I’m passed out in bed at 7:30 PM on Saturday because of this place? Before there was this place, Rio Loco is what caused me to do that.”
Later, a friend was making Saved by the Bell references that went totally over my head. “Paul, how do you now know what Saved by the Bell was?”
“I do know what Saved by the Bell was,” I replied. “It’s that show that came on right before wrestling on Saturday mornings.” I’m proud of the fact that I didn’t know who Mr. Belding was in the early ’90s, but I did know who Reggie B. Fine was.
BBQ teammates: I plan on getting an email out to you next week. There is some inaccurate information out there and I want to clear it up. If you don’t hear it from the Director of Public Relations of your own team, don’t believe it.
Time to go do the Saturday things. Back tomorrow with more news.
