Paul Ryburn’s Journal

One of the best festivals of the spring season happens this Sunday in the Downtown core. Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest benefiting Porter-Leath happens this Sunday, April 15, from 11 AM to 7 PM on Wagner Street and Riverside Drive between Union and Beale. There is no charge to enter the festival. Big buckets of crawfish are sold to the public, and for those who are not into crawfish there are always some good food trucks and carnival food vendors.

There will be live music by Marcella and Her Lovers, FreeWorld, ShotGunBillys, Black Oak Arkansas, and The Bar-Kays. There will be a crawfish eating contest, bobbing for live (!!!) crawfish, and crawfish races. There will also be a gumbo cooking contest going on. Although admission is free, there are tickets available to the VIP Swamp tent. The VIP experience is $125 individual/$225 couple and includes a shaded area, an unlimited buffet of crawfish and other Cajun foods, beer, beverages, and dessert.

By the way, a big F.U. to whomever ordered this January weather in April. I checked WeatherBug’s 10-day forecast and it shows high 48, low 34 for Sunday. Plus it’s going to rain Saturday so I won’t be able to walk down to the farmers market for some yoga pants watching.

Something Rotten! plays the Orpheum tomorrow through Sunday. Set in the 1590s, it’s the story of Nick and Nigel Bottom who are desperate to get out of the shadow of that “rock star” Shakespeare and have their own hit play. After a local soothsayer sees the future of plays, the Bottoms set out to write the very first musical.

The South Main Association holds its monthly meeting at the Tennessee Brewery tomorrow night, Tuesday, April 10. Social at 6, presentation at 6:30 as usual, but you’ll want to get there even earlier for a 5:30 tour of the building. Also, you’ll want to be at social hour right at 6 for a sampling of Goldcrest 51 beer, once brewed at the Tennessee Brewery. Billy Orgel will talk about the brewery. Also, Phil Woodard and Terry Lynch, two of the earliest believers and investors in South Main, will talk about the future of the neighborhood. Free for SMA members, $10 for non-members.

The Center for Southern Folklore will host a paint class led by Sumo the Artist this Friday.

I really enjoyed WrestleMania last night. I won’t include any spoilers for those who have yet to watch the show, but let’s just say the event was anything but predictable. Well done.

Excited about Monday Night Raw tonight. Back tomorrow with more news.

I started off yesterday as I usually do my Saturdays, at Bardog. They were having problems with the PBR keg and my beer mug got all foamed up. “Take you a big ol’ swaller and I’ll fill you up,” said bartender Bloom, reminding me of a conversation my friends Tony and Rahul have had many times.

Meanwhile, my troll played the jukebox.

Didn’t realize she was an Eagles fan.

Later in the day, we went over to the Blind Bear, where my troll made a new friend.

Later in the day my troll stopped by the Majestic Grille for a heart-healthy dinner.

Pro tip about the calamari: The red peppers are not just there for decoration. Eat them. They’re the best part.

Random thing I learned yesterday: “I need more color” is how you tell the bartender you need more orange juice in your mimosa.

Two weeks from this day marks the 10th anniversary of the Sunday jazz jam at Earnestine & Hazel’s.

New: You no longer have to sign your credit card receipts. The card companies have decided the protection against fraud your signature provides is almost nil.

The finals of the riverfront soccer tournament are this afternoon, Tom Lee Park, 1:00.

Max’s Sports Bar won’t have crawfish today, but they will open at 2:00 for The Masters.

Hoping to resolve the conflict over immigration, Mexico has agreed to pay for Donald Trump’s mental health care.

Happy Rusev Day everyone! After the BBQ Fest cooks’ meeting, I will be watching WrestleMania on the WWE Network. I’m not going to predict every match, but I will predict one. After Asuka defeats Charlotte Flair for the Smackdown women’s championship, Carmella cashes in her Money in the Bank briefcase and hands Asuka her first WWE loss with the help of Big Cass. Also, I don’t have a prediction for the winner but Miz vs. Balor vs. Rollins will be the match of the night.

That’s it for now. Almost time for the cooks’ meeting. Back tomorrow with more news.

This week a Downtown nightclub posted to Facebook that it will no longer be playing hard rap music. The club’s post said the music attracted a certain “urban” crowd and talked about “black on black crime” outside the venue. The post was later deleted. Okay. Let’s see what we have here. 1) Kudos for wanting to run a club where everyone feels safe, but 2) posting that during MLK50 week (or really, any week) is a textbook example of how not to do public relations for your business.

Advice for any club in Memphis that wants to clean up its overall feeling of safety: Here’s what you need to do. Have a drug-sniffing dog at the door. The dog sniffs everyone, and I do mean everyone, who walks in.

Patron fails the dog test: They’re refused admission.

Employee fails the dog test: Fired on the spot and banned for life.

Manager fails the dog test: Fired, banned, and detained until MPD can get there.

If you want to make your venue crime-free, making people who prefer a certain style of music feel unwelcome is not the way to do it. Nor is making people of a certain skin color feel unwelcome. Make criminals feel unwelcome. It’s as simple as that.

Weekend! The thing I’m looking forward to the most is the BBQ Fest cooks’ meeting tomorrow. You may have an image of a bunch of grillmasters standing around hearing the rules from Memphis in May representatives. That’s what I thought for a long time too, but that’s not what actually happens. It’s “give us all yo moneyz” day as we write checks for park entry wristbands for team members, 24-hour wristbands for cooks and those who stay late to clean up, electrical equipment and various other things. If you’re contracting with a Memphis in May-approved scaffolding vendor, you write a check for that. Even the folks who will bring IVs to your booth to cure hangovers are there accepting money.

The meeting is at Old Dominick Distillery, which I still have not yet been to. Looking forward to venturing outside my PBR box for an Old Dominick cocktail. Just one, though, because later in the day tomorrow I have WrestleMania to watch.

Tickets for the Memphis Flyer’s Bacon & Bourbon Fest are now on sale. The event will be under the Memphis Farmers Market pavilion Saturday, April 21 from 6 to 9 PM. Your ticket includes tastings of 15 bourbons, as well as sampling of pork dishes from some of our best local restaurants. General admission tickets are $41.61 including convenience fees. Proceeds benefit the Memphis Farmers Market.

The Memphis Redbirds have a new Redbirds Rundown podcast you can listen to in order to keep up with the latest team news and happenings.

ALSAC/St. Jude is asking the city to sell one of Downtown’s oldest fire stations. For seamless expansion of its campus, ALSAC is looking to purchase Fire Station No. 1 at 211 Jackson for $975,000.

Check out the Redbirds’ group outing packages. The ‘birds have multiple options for groups of 20 of more, each of which includes a new Redbirds hat and a voucher for a Coke and a King Cotton hot dog for each guest. Packages must be purchased from a group sales representative.

For my East Memphis/Germantown lunch yesterday I returned to Cafe Med on Kirby Parkway for their Spartan gyro, a gyro topped with sauteed mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and hot giardiniera mix. It was very good and I was in and out of there in under 25 minutes.

All right. Time for a meeting with my Deputy Director of Public Relations to plan for this cooks’ meeting tomorrow. Your work is never done when you’re on a BBQ team. Back tomorrow with more news.

OH DEAR GOD. King Willie is running for mayor in 2019. He says he’s doing it to continue the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He made the announcement at an MLK50 event at LeMoyne-Owen College. Way to take an event remembering one of the greatest men in American history and make it all about you, Willie. Congratulations.

When he stepped down in 2009, how I hoped that I would never have to type the name Willie Herenton in this blog again. Uggghhh….

The Memphis Farmers Market returns tomorrow from 8 AM to 1 PM under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson. Live music by Natalie Mae, The Trueharts, Alex Bosworth, and Sasha Aaron. Kids can make a barn image out of popsicle sticks, complete with animals at the Market. If you’ve never been, this market offers far more than produce. There are food trucks on site. Non-produce vendors offer meat, seafood, eggs, cheeses, breads, dog treats, arts and crafts, and much more. The Market will run at this location Saturdays through the end of October.

The annual GrizzFit 5K is tomorrow morning. Packages start at $45 and get you a race entry fee, race bib, a ticket to tonight’s or Sunday’s game, and a post-race beer tasting.

The Memphis Grizzlies and Marc Gasol are offering a free kids’ game ticket to the Sunday, April 8 game vs. the Detroit Pistons with the purchase of an adult ticket. Arrive early to the game to enjoy Grizzlies inflatables, face painters, and more. All fans (adults and kids) will receive a free Grizzlies poster. The kids’ deal is available only at FedExForum’s box office. The deal applies to all sections and tickets start at $15. As Jason Wexler (@MainStMemphis) tweeted, the 2:30 start time and the BOGO deal makes this an ideal game to introduce kids to the Grizzlies.

In other Grizzlies news, the team has signed MarShon Brooks to a multi-year contract. Brooks, previously on a 10-day contract, was the first Grizzly in history to score 20 or more points in each of his first three games.

The Grizzlies play Sacramento tonight with the first 10,000 fans in FedExForum receiving a Grizzlies rally flag. Conley, Evans, Gasol, Green, Harrison, Martin, Parsons and Selden are all out tonight.

There will be a crawfish boil at Loflin Yard tomorrow at 11:30 AM. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. This event will raise money for the restoration of Clayborn Temple and for the installation of clean water systems in Honduras.

AutoZone Park has announced the dates and menus for All-You-Can-Eat Thursdays with the Redbirds. This special ticket gets you access to an all-you-can-eat buffet from 6:00 to 8:00, the theme changing from one game to the next. The first of the series will be next Thursday, April 12, featuring wings. You’ll have three choices of sauce and there will be celery and carrots too. Whether you purchase the buffet ticket or not, Thursdays are Thirsty Thursdays at AutoZone Park, with select domestic drafts $2 throughout.

Union, a new musical that explores the sanitation workers’ strike of 1968 and the continued push for social justice, has performances at Clayborn Temple tonight and tomorrow at 7 PM and Sunday at 3 PM.

Wisdom from former Memphis Tiger D.J. Stephens. He probably wasn’t referring to the service industry, but nevertheless, good restaurant/bar owners/managers get this and bad ones don’t:

Worst thing you can ever do is think somebody is expendable when they’re really an asset…

— Dj Stephens (@DdotJAY30) April 5, 2018

Tonight’s Games on Front in the Cossitt Library courtyard will be postponed due to rain. It will be back next week.

After Tuesday’s expensive experience at Babalu East, I found a great lunch value yesterday: the Exlines’ Pizza on Kirby just north of Quince. Technically this was not my first visit to Exlines’ – there was one in Court Square that closed about a year after I moved into my current apartment. Their pizza was outstanding as I recall, but not something that can be easily ordered in an hour lunch break. So, I looked at their non-pizza menu items. Hungry for Italian, I ordered the spaghetti with Aunt Vi’s secret recipe meat sauce. It came with a side salad:

The salad came with a generous cup of Thousand Island, one of seven dressing choices they offer. When I was a kid, I remember a Schoolhouse Rock ditty advising you not to drown your food (in dressing). I guess I didn’t pay attention though; I drown my food, and Exlines’ gave me enough dressing to do just that.

Generous portions of spaghetti and a garlic loaf, and that meat sauce was delicious. I got a large (I’d guesstimate 32 oz.) Mountain Dew for $2.19, compared to the pint glass of Coke that cost me $2.95 at Babalu Tuesday. Salad, spaghetti, garlic loaf and Coke all combined gave me a total tab of $10.93, $13.93 after I tipped. It may not be as hip to go to Exlines’ as it is to go to Babalu, but it was a much better value. I’m promoting Exlines’ into my top tier of restaurants out East along with Mayuri, Cafe Med and PizzaRev. Exlines’ has a diverse menu and I want to go back for the Ultimate Tamales, Uncle Walt’s chicken wings, the cheeseburger, and the lasagna.

The only drawback was that the register and phone got real busy with to-go orders as the noon hour hit, and there were only 2 people working front of house. I finally had to go get in line at the register to be able to pay out and get back to work. Still, Exlines’ is a place I will happily return.

Winding down the work week. I’ll be out at Blind Bear 5:45ish tonight for happy hour. Back tomorrow with more news.

Due to weather concerns the Truth Booth’s appearance at Memphis Park has been changed to today 1-5 PM. This is a portable sound bubble in which you can record your truth, whatever it is. It’s a project that records the truth of the world’s diverse people. Memphis Park is located at Front and Jefferson.

Cafe Keough will present Louder Than Bombs: A Smiths/Morrissey Tribute On Saturday, April 21 from 10 PM to 1 AM. Whoa… wonder if we’ll get a late night John D appearance Downtown that night.

Widespread Panic is coming to the Mud Island Amphitheater Friday, June 29 and Saturday, June 30. Tickets will go on sale this Friday at 10 at Ticketmaster. Tickets will be $55 general admission and $65 reserved.

From the Memphis Business Journal: An investor plans to revitalize a 7-story building at 300 Court Avenue, recently vacated by First Horizon, into apartments. That is great news and will expand Downtown’s residential community eastward toward Danny Thomas Blvd. The building, 46 years old, could have easily gone into decay had this investor not come forward.

Radio host Gary Parrish tweeted this morning that it’s all but a done deal that former Grizzly Mike Miller will be hired as an assistant coach on Penny Hardaway’s staff. Parrish and his radio guests have said this is something Miller has been planning for a while and he would have had offers from other schools if Memphis had not pulled the trigger on his hire. Parrish has also said Penny wants Larry Brown, a former head coach with an NCAA championship, to round out his assistant coaching staff. However, athletic director Tom Bowen is not too excited about having someone on staff who has been in so much trouble with the NCAA in the past.

Tonight is the first night of monthly (first Thursday of every month) Downtown Yoga at South Main Market at 409 S. Main. An instructor from Downtown Yoga will lead an all-levels class at the Market at 6:30. The cost is $10 and includes a token to spend at the market after class. Bring a mat. YOGA!

My friend Michael Butler has a review of the Quasi Halal Asian Street Food truck on the I Love Memphis Blog. The truck makes appearances at Ghost River now and then. What could be better than craft beer and food trucks?

Tonight at Clayborn Temple, PRIZM Entertainment presents MLK50: A Concert for the Next 50 Years to honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The PRIZM Chamber Orchestra and Celebration Choir will perform along with guest soloists 7-9 PM. Tickets are $25. A $50 VIP ticket gets you into the concert as well as a 5:30-6:30 reception with light refreshments and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the concert.

Yesterday I decided to go to Babalu for lunch after hearing good things about their lamb sliders from several people, including a former employee of the East Memphis restaurant. The sliders are 3 for $9.99 and come with Rosen Farms ground lamb, goat cheese, pickled red onions, arugula and chipotle aioli on brioche buns. I added on fries for $2 more.

The sliders were good, although the goat cheese made them so rich that I only got two and a couple of bites of the third down before giving up. The fries were outstanding. Crispy, thin, just the right amount of salt, made in house. I sat by myself at the bar and the bartender was very attentive, making sure I knew about the lunch specials and their social hour 3-6. He even gave me a card. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bartender give me a card before, but it makes sense, I will remember his name the next time I go back in there. They have a big bar with many local craft beers on tap.

Then came the part of the meal I didn’t like as much… the part where I had to pay. With the sliders, fries, Coke and tax, my bill was a little over $16, leaving me with a $20 lunch expense after I tipped. Yikes! The Coke was $2.95. When I eat, I prefer something sweet to drink to offset the taste of the food. I may have to learn to start liking water though!

The verdict: I liked Babalu and will visit again, but it hasn’t made it to my top tier of my East Memphis/Germantown lunch hour restaurants. So far the top tier is the lunch buffet at Mayuri, the gyros at Cafe Med, and the build-your-own pizza at PizzaRev. On my radar to try: either the lasagna or spaghetti with meat sauce at Exlines’, the sandwich plate at Germantown Commissary, and the smoked wings or smoked Kielbasa dinner at One and Only BBQ.

Happy birthday to my friend Stacey. May it be filled with naps, bath bombs but not the ones that make you smell like a stripper, and booze.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with more.

MLK50 day has arrived and the eyes of the world are on Memphis. Here’s hoping we present ourselves as a city of peace, progress and dignity, and not one of violence and divisiveness.

Allow extra time and plan alternate routes if you go Downtown today. The area around Main, Talbot, Second and GE Patterson is closed to traffic. Also, according to TDOT Smartway, Danny Thomas is closed from Madison to Crump, and portions of Madison, Beale, Pontotoc, Vance, Mississippi and Crump near Danny Thomas are also closed. The streets southwest of Crump and Danny Thomas are closed as well, in the area of Mason Temple where Dr. King gave his final speech.

There will be a nationwide bell toll for Dr. King this evening at 6:01.

Bass Pro at the Pyramid will have a job fair/hiring event for its two restaurants 10 AM to 7 PM this Thursday and 8 AM to noon this Friday. Interviews will be done on site for server, cook, host, busser and steward positions.

Dweezil Zappa plays the New Daisy tomorrow night, Thursday, April 5 at 8 PM. It’s a stop on the “Choice Cuts” world tour. This is an all ages show and tickets are $25-90.

Details of Penny Hardaway’s contract have been reported by the CA. The new Memphis Tigers men’s basketball coach will get $1.3 million his first year, $1.6 million his second, and $1.9 million his third, with an option for contract negotiation after year two. He will receive a $300,000 bonus in any year where average turnstile count at FedExForum exceeds $12,000. He will also receive a $50,000 bonus any year season ticket sales exceed $5 million.

Jerry Lawler’s Bar and Grill on Beale Street will host a watch party for the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame inductions this Friday at 7.

If you drink Stella Artois bottles, switch to something else for a while. They have been recalled due to contamination by glass particles.

From Rolling Stone: Hear Elvis perform a rare, stripped-back take of “Suspicious Minds”

Maya Angelou would have turned 90 today. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time” is my favorite quote of hers. I definitely kept that in mind when I responded to a Facebook friend request a few months ago.

Michael Vick is hosting a football camp in Memphis this weekend. If I wrote that this is a sign our city is going to the dogs, would that be inappropriate?

It’s time for “what I had for lunch in my Germantown work neighborhood.” Yesterday I had to make a Target run to get diapers for Panda’s diaper party, and I learned something valuable: How to get to the Target at Poplar and 240 without ever setting tires on Poplar. North on Kirby to Quail Hollow to Briarcrest to Ridgeway Loop Road. Got there in only 3 minutes. After getting the diapers, I ate at (appropriately, considering who I was shopping for) Panda Express in the same center.

I had the Beijing Bowl, with crispy beef, bell peppers and onions in a sweet-tangy sauce over a choice of side (I chose fried rice). It was my first time ever at a Panda Express and I liked a couple of things about it. First of all, the food is already prepared. If there’s no line, you’re sitting down with your food in about 2 minutes. The other thing I like is that I can see the kitchen and see that it is clean. In some Chinese restaurants I wonder about that. And, of course, any time I can get lunch in East Memphis/Germantown that’s not at a crappy fast food place for under $10, that is good.

That’s it for this post. Back tomorrow.

Downtown is getting a new park. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Reflection Park at MLK Avenue and Second Street will be a place people can go to get a better understanding on why Dr. King came to Memphis in 1968 and the impact his presence had on this city. It will be a place for meditation and reflection on the life and service of Dr. King.

Big River Crossing will put on 15-minute light shows tonight and tomorrow after sunset in observance of MLK50.

ServiceMaster honored Dr. King with a day of cleaning yesterday. The employees spent the day beautifying the route Dr. King took as he marched from MLK Avenue (then Linden) to City Hall in 1968.

I have a suggestion: Find a lifelong Memphian who was old enough at the time Dr. King was here to understand what was going on. So, someone who was at least 12 or 13 at the time. Ask him or her what Memphis was like in those days, how Dr. King changed things. In another 30 years we won’t have people who had first-hand memories of Dr. King in Memphis. We need to learn all we can from our elders while they are still here with us.

Strong storms are expected to cross the Mississippi River into Tennessee around 6 tonight. Stay alert if you have to be outdoors for MLK50 events or other events. Tonight was supposed to be the first week of free Our Yoga Downtown in Memphis Park, but I bet it gets canceled.

When I went to the New Wing Order tasting last Thursday, I got a copy of their menu for the new food truck they will roll out in September. One item I didn’t get to try, but which drew interest from people I showed the menu, was the hot wing nachos. They tweeted a preview this week:

What happens when you combine two of the best dishes in the world? You get hot wing nachos! We load tortilla chips with boneless wing strips, queso blanco, pico, Buffalo sauce, jalapeño ranch, queso fresco, & cilantro! Get yours from the New Wing Order food truck this September! pic.twitter.com/OyjBEYER2c

— New Wing Order (@newwingorder) April 2, 2018

The Memphis Tigers baseball team hosts Ole Miss tomorrow night at AutoZone Park. Throwing out the first pitch will be none other than the Tigers’ men’s basketball head coach, Penny Hardaway.

The Redbirds are upgrading their Papa John’s Rockey’s Kids Club for kids age 12 and under and their families. Kids can join Rockey’s club for $35 and get a bluff ticket to every Sunday home game, including the May 27 Redbirds game. They also get invitations to special events, catch on the field, a special gift, and Fast Lane access to “Kids Run the Bases.” Also, members of the club will be selected randomly to participate in exclusive experiences prior to each Sunday home game. Families can purchase packages for $80 to joint their child/children on the Bluff. Family package also includes a photo on the field.

Jennifer Biggs of the CA reports that Paulette’s will celebrate its 44th anniversary with a three-course meal for $19.74, featuring a throwback menu.

Biggs also reports that we now have an opening date for 117 Prime. It will open on April 23 for dinner, with lunch service to follow soon after.

The Grizzlies have signed Marquis Teague, who was the Memphis Hustle’s standout star this year, for the rest of the season.

Plans for tonight: I’m going to a diaper party, but the guest of honor won’t be there! Panda had the baby three weeks early. Still gonna drop off some Huggies at Bardog and hang out there for a little while. Back tomorrow with more news.

There’s a diaper party tomorrow, Tuesday, April 3 for bartender Amanda “Panda” at Bardog Tavern tomorrow during her 3 to 7 shift. Bring a pack of diapers so she will be well supplied as she prepares to have her baby later this month.

That’s not the only Panda news I have today, though… remember a few weeks back, I mentioned that a top name on the Downtown bartending scene had expressed interest in working the Moody Ques’ bar at BBQ Fest? Yep it’s Panda! And this weekend we finalized a deal with her. She will be behind the bar from 7 PM to midnight Thursday and Friday of BBQ Fest.

Joe Biden is coming to the Orpheum June 15! It’s part of his American Promise Tour. The ex-vice president will discuss the biggest moments of his political career, life choices he has made, and how he perseveres through times of trouble. I don’t go to a whole lot of events at the Orpheum, but this is one I would be interested to attend.

Texas de Brazil has extended its VIP gift card sale through April 15. You can purchase the cards online or in-store.

Historian Jimmy Ogle’s walking tours of Downtown will return this month. Here’s a schedule.

In observance of MLK50, Makeda’s Cookies at 488 S, Second will have Dr. King’s favorite dessert, pecan pie, all month long.

Also, Makeda’s offers 10% off to all city, state and federal employees every Tuesday. However the discount applies every day to teachers, MPD, MFD, veterans, and senior citizens.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with more news.

Yesterday I led off at Blind Bear for Hung Over Like a Bear brunch, then about 2 I wandered down Main to Pontotoc Lounge for D-RANKS with B-RAD. After he got off, Brad told me, “A bunch of us are going to Loflin Yard. Do you want to come?”

“I’ll come if Tony promises to keep at least 5 feet away at all times,” I replied. Our friend Tony has a habit of getting a bit too handsy when he’s had a few drinks and his favorite mens are around. Tony agreed and I rode with Brad in his truck.

Got an unexpected surprise when we got to Loflin Yard: Cerrito Bingo was happening!

Kevin Cerrito hosts bingo various days and nights around town, and Sunday is Loflin’s day. I got a card and started playing.

The front yard. Such a nice place to hang out when the weather gets warm.

 

My bingo card. Kevin plays several variations: standard rules, can’t use the free space in the middle, standard + four corners counts, and cover the card. There were 10 rounds and most of the prizes were items from Loflin’s menu: free order of wings, free brunch, stuff like that. The last two rounds, though, were for Loflin gift cards. Fun way to spend a Sunday. The great thing about bingo is, it doesn’t require a whole lot of mental effort. If you can count to 75, you can play.

The drink menu. One of the reasons I haven’t been to Loflin Yard a lot lately is because in my first two visits, they didn’t have PBR. Now they do. They have some great local and regional beers on draft too.

Giant Connect Four game in the front yard.

Even Dutch likes Loflin Yard.

Dutch liked the back yard too.

The menu

I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Several employees came up to me and said, “We’re so glad you’re here and we hope you will start coming more often.” It’s nice to be appreciated. I will try to get down that way more.

Here’s the complete Cerrito Trivia/Bingo schedule.  Play at Loflin Yard 5-7 every Sunday.

I have Monday news to report, but… I’m out of lunch hour! I’ll get a post up around 5:45 PM after I get home, so check back.

 

Last Sunday I led off at Pontotoc Lounge for brunch. Pontotoc, re-opened last November by Daniel Masters (Silly Goose/Civil Pour), is known for soft jazz playing in the background. For their newly-started brunch they have items like a chorizo scramble, banana nut French toast, a grit BLT and bagels & lox. They have a big breakfast as well, and for those not hungry for breakfast food their famous Mississippi pot roast is on the brunch menu.

And they also have this bitch.

Yep. D-RANKS with B-RAD will happen every Sunday at Pontotoc Lounge brunch from 11 to 3. I went down there last Sunday and got there right at 11. It started off slow but by 12:30 most of the tables and the bar area were full, with a mix of Brad’s regulars, South Main people, and people pre-gaming for Wicked at the Orpheum.

Couple of things that are different: First of all, it is all ages and there were a few kids in there last Sunday. That means I am going to have to be a little bit better behaved. Got to think twice about dropping the F bomb or speculating out loud on the things Brad’s regulars Rahul and Tony do when they’re all alone behind closed doors. Secondly, because all ages are allowed, you can’t smoke at the bar. You have to go outside.

It will be good to have a South Main spot to visit for brunch. I know my Squeal Street friends used to come there now and then when it was Cafe Pontotoc. Hope to see you there some Sunday in the near future! It’d be good to catch up. Brad has some good stories about me. He might have some good stories about other people you know, too!

Just to make it clear… I am in no way abandoning the Blind Bear as my Sunday brunch spot. With Pontotoc brunching until 3 and Blind Bear until 6, I have plenty of time to do both! My tentative plan is to lead off at Bear on the days I would suspect kids would be at Pontotoc – Orpheum show days, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Easter, which is today. The other weeks I will reverse the order.

Happy Easter! However, I have some advice for you… if you walk the streets of Downtown today, pretend to be Jewish. I just went to get breakfast (pint of Oreo ice cream and a 1-liter Mountain Dew) from City Market and the bums at the Madison Avenue trolley stop wished me happy Easter. If you say “happy Easter” back, though, they’ll go into their standard spiel of “Hey big time, let me aks you a question…” and of course the question will be can they have a dolla.

Check back tomorrow for more news, including BIG news about who will be pouring drinks at the BBQ team booth.