Tuesday update

I know I have a lot of readers who are big fans of Nikki’s Hot Products – hot seasoning, Bloody Mary mix, kettle chips, and more. You’ll soon be able to get your Nikki’s Hot fix in another form: on wings. Yesterday the New Wing Order food truck folks announced a partnership with Nikki’s. You’ll soon be about to get their wings in hot, dry seasoned form with Nikki’s seasoning. Can’t wait to try those! May have to order an extra cup or two of blue cheese dressing to take the edge off the heat though.

Hotel Indigo, the new boutique hotel at B.B. King and Court, is now on Twitter at @MemphisIndigo.

The City Council is considering an earlier beer sale time on Sunday. If approved, beer sales on Sundays in Memphis would begin at 10 AM rather than noon.

The Grizzlies will have their annual food drive to benefit the Mid-South Food Bank this Saturday. Donate a non-perishable food item or money, and you will get a buy-one-get-one-free voucher for either the December 14 game against the Miami Heat or the December 15 game against the Houston Rockets.

Rain, a tribute to the Beatles, comes to the Orpheum Tuesday, June 25 of next year.

Paint & Get Lit returns to the Silly Goose on Thursday, December 13 at 6 PM. Artist David Yancy III will lead the activity. Only 15 seats are available, so be sure to RSVP.

Please share this link with every elderly person you love. If tech support calls about a problem with your PC, it’s probably a scam. My mom got scammed by these people a couple of times when she was alive.

That’ll do it for now. Back tomorrow with more news.

Monday update

Yesterday was bowl invitation day, and the Memphis Tigers are heading to the Birmingham Bowl where they will play the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest on Saturday, December 22 at 11 AM. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Two days after the St. Jude Marathon, the hospital has received the largest donation it is history, $50 million. The donation will fund Family Commons, a new treatment-free floor in the hospital where families can get away from everything medical and just go be families.

MemphisWeather.net has its 2019 calendar on sale. This is a way to support a great local business.

Regina’s Cajun Kitchen will have a Cajun Christmas buffet Saturday, December 15 at 7 PM. Cost is $35 for adults and includes ham, roast beef, Cornish hen, gumbo, yams, traditional New Orleans desserts and more.

The Blind Bear has its annual Repeal Day Party Wednesday, celebrating the 85th anniversary of the end of Prohibition.  Dress up in yout 1920s attire and enjoy $3 moonshine and $6 Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, American Mules, and Dark & Stormys. Trivia at 7:30, and live music by the Handy Band at 9.

Automatic Slim’s is looking for experienced bartenders, servers, and hostesses. Apply in person 2-4 Monday-Friday.

Aziz Ansari performs at the Cannon Center on April 17, but get this: You have to put yout phones and smart watches in something called a Yondr pouch which is locked for the duration of the show. In case of an emergency where you must have access to your phone, you take it to a Yondr unlocking station. Is this normal at comedy shows now? I mean, I get it that the artists don’t want their shows recorded, but this seems like a gigantic pain in the ass.

Okay. Rant time.

The Downtown inconvenience tax

This is not a monetary tax.

The first Friday of May, I have to ask if I can leave work early, because if I don’t get in my parking garage by 5:00 I worry I might not get a space. That night and the next two, I get woken up in the middle of the night by people screaming “WOOOOOOOO!” as they walk down Main Street. I wouldn’t have it any other way, though; I’d rather have those problems than not have Music Fest here.

On the weekdays, I like to get out and see my friends during happy hour, walking home about 9:30-10:30. Oftentimes I will stop at one of my favorite restaurants on the way and get a burger to take home. However, 40-something nights between October and April, I find it near impossible to get a seat at the bar of my favorite restaurants during that time frame. Inconvenient? Yes, but worth it to have the Grizzlies here. It’s so worth it that I root for the inconvenience to extend to 50-something nights and into May and even June.

Saturday there was about a 30-minute stretch when it was impossible to cross Monroe at Main Street. However, there was a good reason why: The street was jammed with St. Jude marathon and half-marathon runners. I’d rather wait to cross Monroe than not have an event here that raises $10 million to make children well.

When you move Downtown, you know these kinds of events are going to happen. You can’t always just walk out to the driveway and back your car out and be on your merry way as you could if you lived in Bartlett or Cordova or Olive Branch. However, paying the inconvenience tax is worth it to live in a neighborhood that doesn’t suck.

However…

I don’t agree with people who reply “You obviously HATE sick children!!!” if anyone complains about the inconvenience they went through. I saw quite a bit of that on Facebook this weekend.

I have a friend who left her apartment on Mud Island at 8:30, thinking that would allow plenty of time to drive to her job in the Downtown core, where she was supposed to be at 9:30. Nope. After being redirected down street after street after street, she finally found a parking place nearly a mile from her job at 10:15 and got out and walked the rest of the way. I know several other people who had similar problems getting into and out of the neighborhood. The struggle for these people was very real. As much as I admire and respect all the runners and volunteers who raised money for the kids of St. Jude this weekend, that “you obviously hate sick kids if you complain” stuff needs to stop.

All right, rant over. Back tomorrow with more news.

Sunday update

We now have a date for that gift card sale at Rizzo’s. It will be Tuesday, December 11 during lunch, from 11 AM to 3 PM. During that time they’ll have $50 gift cards for $25. Come get you the purchasing power to buy twice as many Lobster Pronto Pups.

That’s all for now… heading to Blind Bear to watch Bowl Selection Sunday  Possibly down to Pontotoc Lounge for D-RANKS with B-RAD after that. Back tomorrow with more news.

Saturday update

President George H.W. Bush has passed away at age 94. Rest in peace Mr. President.

It’s the first Saturday in December, always one of the busiest days in Downtown Memphis. Going on today we have

  • The St. Jude Marathon and all the other races. Start times were pushed back due to weather, so expect street closures to last a little bit later than originally planned.
  • Les Miserables at the Orpheum, 2:00 and 8:00 performances
  • Various college football conference championships will be on TV today (see below), as will the Mermphis-Texas Tech men’s basketball game (broadcast from Miami, 1:30 PM, ESPNU/WatchESPN). Expect the local bars to be packed all day long.
  • The annual Stumbling Santa pub crawl, with 1200 Santas starting off at Second and Peabody Place (Flying Saucer) and stumbling to various bars to participate. Begins at 7 PM. Bring an unwrapped toy if you want to participate.

As for the football games what have a possible effect on the playoffs, they are

  • Big 12 championship, Texas vs. Oklahoma, 11 AM, ABC; Oklahoma has a good chance of playoff inclusion with a win
  • AAC championship, Memphis vs. UCF, 2:30 PM, ABC; of course we want Memphis to win this. UCF has a very tiny chance of playoff inclusion with a win
  • SEC championship, Alabama vs. Georgia, 3:00 PM, CBS; Bama a lock for the playoffs with a win, Georgia most likely in with a win; Bama possibly still in with a loss
  • ACC championship, Clemson vs. Pitt, 7:00 PM, ABC; Clemson a lock with a win, possibly still in with a loss
  • Big 10 championship, Northwestern vs. Ohio State, 7:00 PM, FOX; Ohio State has a good chance of playoff inclusion with a win

A couple of logistical notes: First of all, those of you with tickets to the afternoon Les Mis performance who are driving in from other parts of town need to allow extra time to get down here and park. Most but nor all of the runners will have finished.

Also, having the Tigers basketball game, Tigers football, and the SEC championship all on simultaneously is going to create headaches for bars that only have two TVs. I’ll say this: If you don’t have Tigers football on one of the TVs, you’re doin’ it wrong.

That’s it for now. Y’all have fun today, whatever you do.

Friday update

Now and then people tell me, “You know, Paul, there’s no better place to get out and mingle, to go out and meet the opposite sex, than the Peabody rooftop parties. But they only run April through August. What are we supposed to do during the long off-season?” Never fear, I have a suggestion for you. Every Friday night starting at 6 PM, Area 51 at 8025 Highway 51 has Millington Mix & Mingle where you can get out and socialize. It’s for locals so you’ll have to lie and say you’re from Millington (unless, of course, you are from Millington), but that’s a small price to pay to see and be seen at a top Mermphis metro hotspot.

Next Friday at CBU there’s going to be a workshop on Blockchain, the technology behind digital currency. It’s $60 for one afternoon and it’s on the campus of CBU. Learn what Blockchain is what when to use it, and write a program against the second largest Blockchain currency, Ethereum.

Feel the beat of The Music of the Knights tonight at the Halloran Centre. This will be a celebration of three of Great Britain’s knighted musicians: Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sir Elton John, and Sir Paul McCartney.

The first thing I did after getting out of bed this morning was turn the air conditioner on. Because that’s what you do on November 30, right? Now I have to plan my day, where I face a dilemma. The lunch bunch wants to do 25 cent martini lunch at Felicia Suzanne’s today at 1. It probably wouldn’t be appropriate to wear shorts to Felicia’s lunch, given that tomorrow is the first day of meteorological winter. So I have to decide which I value more, wearing shorts or 25 cent martinis.

Funny thing is, two days from now the parking lot of Midtown Krogers will probably be jammed with people stocking up on milk and bread to get through the dusting of sleet that has a 20% chance to move through the city between 6:37 and 6:42 AM.

The Daily Memphian’s Jennifer Biggs visited Pontotoc Lounge this week for Bar Talk, where she chatted with owner Daniel Masters and mixologist Cady Smith. They made her a seasonal drink called the Eden.

Rizzo’s teased on Facebook yesterday that a gift card sale is coming soon. There will be a line all the way down South Main for that one.

Here’s a Peabody menu with an item you wouldn’t expect:

These days, duck is not allowed on the menu of any Peabody restaurant, because ducks are considered friends, not dinner there.

The Center for Southern Folklore is having a holiday extravaganza tomorrow with three vendors set up.

Looks like it’s a no-go on a division of FedEx moving their HQ into the former Gibson Guitar space.

My favorite stats site FiveThirtyEight has an article about what’s surprising and what’s not surprising about this NBA season so far. Not surprising: The Grizzlies re-embrace their grit ‘n grind roots and emerge once again as a playoff team.

The Trump Org considered giving Putin the penthouse had the Moscow Trump Tower actually happened.

Okay, time to go figure out this martinis vs. shorts thing. Back tomorrow with more news.

Thursday update

Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck… it’s chicken time!

I had been wanting to try a deep-fried Cornish hen from the Flying Sobies food truck for a while, and today I got my chance. I walked over to Court Square for the food truck rodeo today. I normally prefer my chicken in buffalo sauce, but I had been told, “You MUST get the Memphis Gold BBQ sauce.” It was good advice. The hens are $10 and you can get them with beans & slaw, fries, or waffles. The truck is at Court Square most every Thursday and at Ghost River for brunch every Sunday.

WHO DAT goin’ to Loflin Yard to watch dem Saints? Loflin is having a Who Dat Party for Thursday Night Football tonight starting at 5 PM. New Orleans cuisine including gumbo, po-boys, and a shrimp boil, $2 Bud Lights, drink specials including Sazeracs and Irish coffee, and DJ Tree.

Broke Tall Folk perform at the Dirty Crow Inn tonight at 8.

Belle Tavern will be open for St. Jude runners Saturday morning and will be a safe place for you to stash your stuff while you run. By the time you get back they’ll have brunch ready.

The national craft brewing community is coming together to brew Sierra Nevada Resilience beer to benefit those affected by the Camp Fire in California. Local breweries Memphis Made and Crosstown are among those participating.

Have a holly jolly cocktail! City Tasting Tours begins Holly Jolly Cocktail Tours this weekend. Tour participants will get to try three of the best cocktails in Downtown Memphis while parading around in ugly sweaters and Santa-themed attire.

Stock & Belle at 387 S. Main will host MOD: A Rowdy Mid-Century Seasonal Shindig on Thursday, December 13 from 7 to 10 PM. Enjoy some cocktails and have a look at the mid-century furnishings of Caleb Sweazy. This event is $20 at the door and benefits One Tree Planted.

For those of you who don’t mind a few hours’ drive, there will be a chocolate festival in Eureka Springs, Arkansas on February 16.

The lawsuit between MillerCoors and Pabst has been settled, as I knew would happen. Pabst Blue Ribbon is not going away.

Trump’s former lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen entered a guilty plea to lying to Congress this morning. Cohen admitted negotiations for a Trump Tower in Russia continued far later than he had previously testified, well into the 2016 presidential campaign. Just goes to show you, liars will eventually get what’s coming to them, even if it takes years. Those who know liars are lying and enable them will get what’s coming to them, too.

That’ll do it for now. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

Wednesday update

Saturday’s American Athletic Conference championship game vs. UCF won’t be a home game, but you can watch it at the home of the Tigers thanks to University of Memphis alumni and Mayor Jim Strickland. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets to the Liberty Bowl Saturday and sit on the field to watch the game. This event is free and open to the public, and although outside food and beverages won’t be allowed in, there will be food trucks and concessions. Gates at 1:30, game starts at 2:30. From 1:30 to 2:30 they’ll have Tigers men’s basketball on the video board. Note that the same clear bag policy they had at home games will be in effect at the Liberty Bowl for this event.

The Memphis Flyer has confirmed it now – Midtown bar Old Zinnie’s is closing.

There will be a vigil on Friday for a homeless man who passed away at the MATA North End Terminal:

Attn: St. Jude runners who like beer:

Memphis Made Brewing Co. is bringing back Board Game Night at their taproom tomorrow night, November 29, from 7 to 10. The game night will feature Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate and they will also have 5 Minute Dungeon, Rick and Morty Anatomy Park, Azul, King of Tokyo, Scott Pilgrim, Clank! In! Space!,Smash Up, and Lotus. Feel free to bring board games from home, and if you don’t know how to play a game, that’s fine, they will teach you.

South Main Trolley Night is back this Friday, November 30 from 4 to 9 PM. Stuff to do will include

  • Holiday market at 409 S. Main (more on this in a moment)
  • South Main Sounds Songwriter Night #103 at 550 S. Main 7-9 PM – Byron Earnhardt, Rebecca Almond, Kaatie Bug, Tim Stanek, Leo Lazarus
  • Live music by The Moon Glimmers at 409 S. Main, 7 PM
  • Live music by Grape, The Vault, 124 G.E. Patterson, 8 PM
  • Live music by the Earnestine & Hazel’s House Band, 531 S. Main, 7 PM
  • Live music at the Arcade, 540 S. Main
  • Ollie Rodriguez Black Writer opening reception, Jack Robinson Gallery, 44 Huling, 6-9 PM
  • Sue Layman Designs set up inside Obsidian Public Relations, 493 S. Main, 4-9 PM
  • SMA member area, weather permitting, next door to Primas

If you can help decorate for the Holiday Market and Trolley Night, the SMA needs you. Meet at 409 S. Main  on Thursday, November 29 4:30-6:30, to put up holiday decorations; and/or meet on Friday, November 30 2-3 PM in front of the new Slider Inn (former bocce ball court at Main and Talbot) to help with luminaries.

As for that holiday market at 409 S. Main, here is a list of vendors you will find there Friday evening.

Somi Decor
Stoerger Art
Artwork by Tonya Pearce
Artwork by Dedrick Rogers
Meet Maple Jewelry
Gifts from Nature
Retrotherapy Vintage Jewelry
Vitalant Mid-South Regional Blood Center
Memphis 901 FC
Lemon Pop Vintage Shop
Memphis Express
Pendants by Sarah Bishop
South Main Hemp
Troy Glasgow Photography
Cat’s Ballroom
MEK Designs
AT&T Mobile Retail

The Union Mission has a rare opportunity for a group to provide and serve lunch three days before Christmas:

Catching up on reading

I’m on the next-to-last chapter of The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene. Up until this point, the book has largely felt like a review of things I have already learned, observing people having been a hobby of mine for my entire life. It seemed like there were fewer ah-ha moments then I had reading Greene’s earlier books. However, in Chapter 17, which is about riding the spirit of the times like a wave, I had one.

Greene hypothesizes that although world events, fashion, music and culture are quite different each time, there tends to be a cycle that lasts four generations and then repeats itself. He said to consider the last four generations:

  • The Silent Generation (born 1925-1945) were children during the Great Depression and World War II. Times of crisis having been impressed upon them, when they came of age in the late 1940s-1950s they were drawn to stability, order, and security.
  • The Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) were children during this period of stability and order, which they found rather sterile. When they came of age in the mid 1960s-1970s, they rebelled against this order, embracing freedom and radical ideas.
  • Generation X (born 1965-1981) were children during the Vietnam War, the hippie era, and the let it be era of the 1970s. When they came of age in the 1980s and 1990s, they rebelled against their parents’ idealism and were more individualistic and materialistic, the “me generation” as opposed to the “we generation.”
  • Millennials (born 1982-about 2000) didn’t really rebel against Generation X as much as previous generations. However, they can be compared to the Greatest Generation (born 1901-1924) as coming of age in a time of great uncertainty. The Greatest Generation came of age between World War I and World War II, a time of great instability in the world. It can be argued that the cycle is repeating itself with challenges like new electronic currencies, how to deal with a quickly-changing world economy (leading to Brexit for example), climate change, and cyber-warfare.

Thinking about things this way helped me understand something about myself. A Generation Xer, I came of age in the 1980s, but I always felt a bit out of step with the times. The idealism, the music, and the culture of people who came of age about 10 years before me seemed more like who I was than the individualism and the totally-tubular culture of the 1980s. Now I get it… I was a Gen Xer who was the son of a Silent Generation mother, because of an unusually large difference in our ages. I can’t tell you how many times my mom said, “I like stability,” whereas my reaction was, “Slaving away in an office and coming home miserable every day, with only a couple of weeks to yourself a year is what you live for? Is stability really worth it?” I was reacting to a different generation than my peers were, which is why I always felt a bit out of time in high school and college.

Another takeaway I had from reading the chapter: The U.S. had presidents from the Greatest Generation for 32 years, 1961-1993 – Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush 41. The Silent Generation never put a president in the White House. Since 1993, a period of 25 years, we’ve had Baby Boomer presidents – Clinton, Bush 43, Obama, and now Trump. I wonder if my generation will get a turn at the presidency?

That’s all for now. Back tomorrow.

Tuesday update

Howdy folks! I have lots of good local news for you today, but first of all, let’s get to the news you didn’t realize you’ve been waiting your entire life to read.

Ghost River has announced the December meeting of its book club at its brewery taproom on Thursday, December 20 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. The book that will be discussed at the meeting will be The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. You can go to Novel Memphis, Ghost River’s partner in the book club, and tell them you’re purchasing the book for the club and they will give you 10% off. Also at the December meeting, there will be a holiday book swap: Bring any book, any genre, gift-wrapped that you would like to trade. So nice to see a local brewery running a successful book club!

The Memphis Express, Memphis’ new pro football team, will have open tryouts for locals at the University of Memphis, 1115 E. Getwell Loop Road, on Saturday, December 8.

In other news about open tryouts: Clayborn Temple will hold a casting call for a new musical this Friday and Saturday.

The day before the auditions start, Clayborn Temple will have a Deck-O-Rate the Sanctuary event 5-8 PM Thursday, November 29. There will be a hot chocolate bar, a cookie exchange (bring your favorite cookies to exchange), family fun and fellowship.

Loflin Yard will have a month-long holiday celebration. Events include

  • December 8 – toy drive. Free drink to those who dress in holiday attire and bring a toy.
  • December 15 – dog holiday costume party. Prizes from Hollywood Feed for best dressed and your dog can get a pic with Santa.
  • December 22 – ugly sweater contest. Drink and s’mores specials.

Caution for my readers who ride Bird scooters on the Main Street Mall: We are in the peak of the fall season, and the pedestrian mall is covered in leaves and pollen. The debris on the ground can conceal ground-based planters. I saw a man riding a Bird go flying off his scooter after he hit one yesterday. Luckily, he had on a helmet (must’ve been a Bird employee) and was able to hit the ground running as he fell off, so he wasn’t injured. Could’ve been a bad spill though.

Aldo’s Pizza Pies Downtown will host a Grizzlies watch party for the away game vs. the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, December 2 at 5:00. There will be $2.50 beer specials on Ghost River Grindhouse, Budweiser, Bud Light, and Michelob Ultra, and branded giveaways by Eagle Distributing and the Grizzlies.

Tonight the Grizzlies host Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors at FedExForum at 7.

I haven’t confirmed this but I am seeing reports on Twitter that iconic Midtown dive bar Old Zinnie’s is closing.

Some well-known car models will be disappearing thanks to the closure of five factories by General Motors. Say goodbye to the Chevy Impala, Chevy Volt, Chevy Cruze, Buick Lacrosse, and Cadillac CT6.

Okay, those of you who don’t want to read about politics here can go now. Back tomorrow with more news.

Special Counsel Mueller has filed paperwork to request that Paul Manafort’s plea deal be revoked. Mueller said Manafort continued to lie to his team after signing the plea agreement. If a judge revokes the deal, Trump’s former campaign manager most likely gets tried on a bunch of charges Mueller was willing to let slide, which could lead to Paulie spending the rest of his life in prison. Analysts pointed out three things about this breaking development:

  1. It may be significant that Mueller waited until after Trump filed his written answers to Mueller’s questions to bring this action against Manafort. If Mueller has proof that Manafort lied, and Trump’s written answers match what Manafort told Mueller’s team, then Mueller has proof Trump lied too.
  2. Mueller will have to provide proof that Manafort lied. If made public, that proof could offer the public an unprecedented look at the evidence Mueller’s team has uncovered. Also notable: Because this is an ongoing matter and not a new finding, Mueller does not have to get permission from Acting Attorney General Whitaker to make the matter public.
  3. Manafort likely knew he’d be caught lying and that the plea deal would be revoked, but spending the rest of his life in prison was preferable to truthfully telling everything he knew. This could be because the Russian mob notified Paulie Walnuts that he’d be whacked if he sang like a canary about their activities.

These are interesting times we live in…

It was good getting out and seeing everybody yesterday, but you know what? …With the high barely expected to crack 40 degrees, today seems like a good day to stay at home. I have a book I’d like to finish before the weekend and I think that will be today’s project. See you tomorrow.

 

 

Monday update

The 2018 Beale Street Holiday parade is this Saturday, December 1 from 4:00 to 5:30. You know the drill… floats, marching bands, people throwing candy to the crowds, and of course Santa. Unfortunately the parade happens right in the middle of the American Conference championship game, but there are plenty of bars on Beale with TVs.

I plan on being there… my usual first Saturday stop Bardog Tavern always gets super busy the day of the St. Jude marathon. What I’ll probably do is get warmed up at the Blind Bear when it opens at 11, then head down to the King’s Palace Tap Room to watch Memphis play UCF and to watch the parade.

Take advantage of the Cyber Monday special at the Peabody Hotel today if you’re coming to Memphis to visit anytime in December, January, or February. Get 40% off their best available rate. There are some blackout dates and the rate is subject to availability.

However, you might want to wait until tomorrow (Tuesday) to book your air travel. Lifehacker says the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is one of the best days of the year for airfare rates.

Tune into WREC 600 AM tonight at 7 for the first edition of The Penny Hardaway Show. Coach Penny will be on the radio every Monday at 7 through March 4.

Broadway musical Les Miserables returns to the Orpheum this week for performances Tuesday-Sunday.

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

Sunday update

Game time for the American Athletic Conference football championship has been set. Memphis and UCF will kick off at 2:30 PM next Saturday, December 1, on ABC.

Now, the question is, where will Memphis go bowling this year? Once again, the American does not have first-place goes here, second-place goes here kind of agreements with bowls, leaving them free to pick the matchups fans are interested in seeing. Memphis vs. Tennessee sounded like a perfect fit for the Birmingham Bowl, a money and TV ratings draw. But, the Vols being the Vols, they had to go and screw it up and lose their last 2 regular season games to Mizzou and their “little brother” Vanderbilt, rendering them bowl-ineligible. Probably for the best as no bowl host city would want Tennessee’s fans to come to town anyway. If you want a bunch of idiots running around in orange, just go unlock the door to the local prison… you’ll get finer, more upstanding folks out on the streets that way.

You know a rivalry game I would love to see? Missouri vs. Washington in The Battle of the ‘Zus. Rather than a trophy, the loser of the game cannot be referred to as Mizzou/Wazzu for the following year.

Well, butter my biscuits! Max’s Sports Bar has added a small brunch menu 11-2 on the weekends. The options are biscuits and gravy, and a biscuit sandwich with egg, one meat, and one cheese from their sandwich menu. Thanks to @Otto42 for tweeting the menu.

Max’s also has eggnog slushies in the frozen drink machine to satisfy all yout holiday alcohol needs.

Here’s a list of road closures for the St. Jude Marathon this coming Saturday. To sum it up: Don’t try to drive anywhere Downtown between 7 AM and noon that day unless it’s absolutely unavoidable.

I’m not a coffee drinker and I gave up Fireball earlier this year, but still, this brunch cocktail at Sunrise looks pretty good.

Streetdog Foundation is having a Sippin’ with Santa Paws party on December 8 at Carolina Watershed. You can get you and your dog’s picture taken with Santa Paws, Josh and Jeremy of Star & Micey will perform, and there will be a special release of Pawliday Plaid beer by Memphis Made.

Yesterday I found myself seated around the corner from the assistant director of the Munford High School marching band, and he told me they are marching in the Tournament of Roses Parade this year. Congratulations to them!

Lots of Downtown dining spots made it onto the MBJ’s list of Memphis’ priciest upscale restaurants.

The public is invited to the free 32nd annual Christmas concert at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 648 Poplar, next Sunday, December 2 from 4 to 6 PM.

Several good Black Friday/Cyber Monday specials are going on this weekend. The Redbirds are offering $1 Bluff tickets to Opening Day through the end of the day Monday.

Hulu has a deal going on this weekend where you can get a full year of Hulu for 99 cents a month.

The Grizzlies have a deal going on today for 30% off all orders with promo code SLAMDUNK.

The Daily Memphian sat down with the folks at Wiseacre to discuss their plans to add jobs and distribution with a Downtown brewery.

The Grizzlies host the New York Knicks tonight at FedExForum at 5.  Still hearing that Joakim Noah will join the Grizzlies on a veteran’s minimum deal this week.

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