Paul Ryburn's Journal

Central Station Hotel opened yesterday, and with it, cocktail bar Eight & Sand. French brasserie Bishop inside the hotel will open next month. Book your stay at Central Station

The Grizzlies open the regular season on the road tonight, visiting the Miami Heat. Tip-off time is 6:30 and as always, the game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southeast (831 on Comcast).

Carrie Underwood brings her Cry Pretty Tour to FedExForum this evening.

The Flying Saucer will have an ’80s Halloween Slash Back Saturday beginning at 9 PM. Costume contest with prizes for the best, drink specials, music by DJ Superman.

Memphis Tigers center James Wiseman has been named to the AP Pre-season All-American first team.

The Brass Door will open at 7 AM Saturday for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure runners and supporters. They’ll have an Irish breakfast, and those not running are welcome to hang out and enjoy hot chocolate, coffee, and Irish coffee. You can also leave your bag at the Door if you don’t want to run with the extra weight.

The Silly Goose is having their Halloween costume party Thursday, October 31 beginning at 9 PM. Every hour on the hour from 10 until 1 there will be a costume contest with prizes.

Little River Band has announced a July 11, 2020 Orpheum date. I had no idea they were still around.

Public relations pioneer Harold Burson will be at the Halloran Centre tonight. The show is presented by Burson, Cohn and Wolfe and American Advertising Federation Memphis. Hmmm… someone from the BBQ team’s public relations department should go to this, and it’s my trivia night. Perhaps I will send the troll over there.

The Memphis Chess Festival happens on the lawn of Cossitt Library Saturday from 1 to 3. This family-friendly event is an afternoon of chess education and fun. You can be a human chess piece or help move giant chess pieces around a giant board. DJ KOJACK will be spinning the tunes. There will be face painting and free superhero costumes. They are also looking for volunteers, who would need to be there at noon.

It’s hard to believe that this coming Friday is the last Friday of the month. October flew by, didn’t it? Friday it will once again be time for South Main Trolley Night. The SMA will have a free show, SoulRight Trolley Night in Slider Inn’s back yard (Main and Talbot) with live music by Kady Roxz, Jordan Occasionally, and Tailored Makers. Over at South Main Sounds that evening at 7 there will be a Raelyn Nelson Band House Concert with $20 admission getting you a bandana, poster, and collector wristband as well as the show.

The annual State of Downtown and the Downtown Vision Awards will happen in the Central Station Hotel from 4 to 7 PM Friday. RSVP to Christine Taylor at taylor@downtownmemphis.com if you plan to attend.

Also for Trolley Night, Doc and Byron will perform at the Arcade restaurant at 7 PM, Chris Johnson will play The Vault at 8, and there will be a live DJ in front of Downtown Candle Co.

There will be a Soulful Murder Mystery dinner theater experience at the Century House, 153 Vance Saturday (show times 1 PM, 4 PM, 8 PM) and Sunday (2:30 PM, 7:30 PM). Ticket package includes not only dinner and a murder mystery, but poetry, comedy, and live music. Purchase tickets

Congratulations to Flight Restaurant and Wine Bar, recently named one of the top 25 fine dining restaurants in America by TripAdvisor for the third year in a row.

PBR is coming to FedExForum, but I don’t mean the beer. Professional Bull Riders will bring their Memphis Invitational to the Forum on Saturday, February 15.

Congratulations to my friend Michael Butler of the One901 blog. He was recently named one of the top 8 food photographers in Memphis by Peerspace.

That’s it for now, and I’m not going to forget to publish my post like I did yesterday. Back tomorrow with more.

(Wed 6:30 AM: I forgot to hit Publish before leaving the apartment Tuesday! Sorry about that.)

I got to sleep late today! Work asked me to shift my hours to 1 to 5 for one day only for a special project. It was nice to be able to stay out past midnight without worry of not getting enough sleep.

The AP preseason basketball poll is out, and Memphis came in at number 14. That’s slightly disappointing given that the Tigers have the nation’s top recruiting class, but it just means Penny and the team will have to go out and work their way into the Top 10. The blue-blood programs (Michigan State, Kentucky, Kansas, and Duke) occupy the top four spots.

Leave it to the Tennessee state legislature to screw up sports betting. Betting on sports in Tennessee will be online only. People won’t be able to experience the fun of stopping in a sports book on Beale Street to place a bet on the Grizzlies game, then walking over to FedExForum to watch they game they bet on.

I’ve heard a couple of creative uses for Skrewball, the new peanut butter-flavored liquor that is becoming a craze Downtown:

• Go to the Green Beetle and add a shot of Skrewball to the Bushwacker, the Beetle’s chocolate-flavored slushie
• Go to the Silly Goose and add a shot of Skrewball to a Joe, the Goose’s house-made coffee-flavored shot

On Thursday, November 7, the Gray Canary will host a cocktail party for Last Call by Brad Thomas Parsons. Parsons’ latest book explores the rituals of closing time.

Edible Memphis released a Classic Cocktail Guide this week. Among the Downtown cocktails: Bee’s Knees at Belle Tavern; Boulevardier at 3rd and Court; French 75 at McEwen’s; Martinez at Catherine & Mary’s.

The Peabody Hotel will host a Jack Daniel’s tasting & dinner celebrating 150 years of the hotel and the whiskey on Thursday, November 7. This will be a progressive dinner in the Peabody’s ballrooms, starting off with a cocktail reception, followed by a whiskey tasting, and then a 3-course Southern banquet served family style. Have a look at the menu. Whiskeys to be tasted include

• Jack Daniel’s No. 7
• Jack Daniel’s No. 27 Gold
• Jack Daniel’s 150th Anniversary Whiskey
• Jack Daniel’s “Peabody Select” Single Barrel

Tickets are $150 and include valet parking. Reservations

Bardog Tavern is expanding its staff and is hiring a night time chef/kitchen manager. Apply within between 2 and 4 PM.

Peppa Pig is live at the Orpheum this evening.

The downstairs lounge is now open at 3rd and Court Diner. The lounge has a retro 1970s feel. There will be live music Fridays and Saturdays and a DJ Thursdays and Sundays. There will be plenty of Memphis music and a concentration of blues, funk, and soul from the 1960s and 1970s. The 3rd and Court menu will be available downstairs during the hours the diner is open, with burgers after-hours. The diner now serves breakfast all day long.

Back soon with a Wednesday post.

Got a pro tip from one of my fellow Bardog regulars yesterday: Get the sliders and dunk them in the beer cheese soup. That is GENIUS, right there.

The University of Oklahoma’s Sooner Schooner tipped over yesterday:

Delectable Festival is coming to Beale Street Landing Sunday, December 1. Attendees will get carefully curated desserts and cocktails from some of Memphis’ best chefs, bakeries, and restaurants. A portion of the proceeds from this event will benefit Caritas Village.

Wok’n in Memphis, the Asian-American restaurant in the Puck Food Hall at 409 S. Main, is hiring a sous chef. Here’s a copy of the job description.

-Must be able to lift 50+ pounds
– Must be able to exercise good judgment and decision-making abilities
-Must have good customer service
-Able to use the Square App
-Ensure that food comes out simultaneously, in high quality and in a timely fashion
-Comply with nutrition and sanitation regulations and safety standards
-Maintain a positive and professional approach with coworkers and customers
-Must be able to go up and down multiple flights of stairs
-Ability to work on your feet for eight hours or more a day
-High level of professionalism
-Comfortable working with a team in a fast-paced kitchen environment
-Must be punctual
-Excellent verbal communication and organization skills
-Nights and weekend shifts required
-Task driven individual
-Dumpling folding/making experience is a plus, but not necessary

Open to training the right candidate. Your attitude means more than your experience. Submit resume detailing your experience.

Two days off. 40 hours a week must have Lead Line Cook or Sous chef experience

Wiseacre brewery and El Mero Taco will host Dia de los Muertos on November 1. Dressing up is encouraged and there will be face painting. Beer and taco specials. Funds raised at this event will benefit Alive Rescue Memphis.

I hear the Sprock & Roll/River City Pedalers party pedal bikes got banned from multiple bars this week after one of the people on a party bike jumped off the bike and onto a moving U-Haul. A seat on one of those things does not come with a license to be an asshole. I wish all the bars Downtown would ban those things.

Former Redbirds player and manager Stubby Clapp will interview for the manager gig at the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Saturday is the final Memphis Farmers Market day of the season. A few of my faves will be absent from Bardog Saturday, so I am considering making a Farmers Market trip that day. I haven’t been since August. People have told me I am missed down there, which makes me feel good.

Yikes – out of time! Got to get dressed and head to Silly Goose for D-RANKS and pizza with B-RAD. Back tomorrow with more news.

There’s a new Downtown writers’ group that convenes weekly, on Thursdays from 11 AM to 2 PM (although, you’re not expected to stay the whole time; just show up on your lunch hour). They will meet at Cafe Keough until the new Cossitt Library opens, and then they will move to the library.

Click the image above to view in a larger (readable) size. There’s no weekly commitment to the group, and it’s genre-neutral – whether you are a poet, a novelist, a nonfiction writer, a blogger, or whatever, you are welcome. You can also bring copies of your work to be critiqued by others. To get more info on this group, email dkbsabatini@gmail.com.

Just to be clear, I am not associated with this group in any way… yet… but since I get off work at 1 and they go until 2, I may come home Thursday, grab my MacBook, and head downstairs to Keough. Only thing is, I usually do my daily update posts in the morning before I leave for work, so I’ll probably spend my time mining news for Friday’s post rather than actually writing.

Tinder Box cigar shop on South Main hosts the 5th annual Memphis Smoke today from 1 to 6. They’ll have over 20 cigar, pipe, and tobacco vendors on hand. Live music by Charvey Mac and Vanelli’s Deli will be there with BBQ. There will be multiple door prizes that you can win. Special guests:

• Willy Herrera, master blender for Drew Estate
• Bradley Rubin, Alec Bradley Cigars
• Dan Welsh, Tatuaje Cigars
• Erik Stokkebye

There’s a VIP ticket you can purchase to Memphis Smoke that gets you in the after-party at Loflin Yard, where there will be food, an open bar, and one-on-one time with the vendors.

Pontotoc Lounge will have an 8-course dinner by 5 chefs Thursday, October 24. Here’s the menu: (click to view in a larger size)

They say you can make a reservation for the dinner on Resy but it looks like just standard lunch and dinner reservations on that site rather than for special events. I’d recommend calling them at 901-207-7576 to secure your spot.

The Cannon Center has added an evening with pop superstar Amy Grant to its calendar. She’ll be here Saturday, January 25.

I tried one of those bourbon cider slushies at Max’s Sports Bar last night.

The flavor was absolutely on point. Cider taste with a hint of nutmeg, and you can’t even tell there’s bourbon in there. I recommend getting one if you go down there to watch the games today.

Reminds me… when you’re a winner you tap all available resources to stay at the very top of your game. I bet Alabama head coach Nick Saban called Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott this week to pick his brain for pointers on how to beat Tennessee.

The Grizzlies are giving away 500 tickets to Friday’s season opener. Be at FedExForum at 9 AM Monday to pick up your pair.

Following the Tennessee Supreme Court’s refusal to hear a case, Greenspace, the nonprofit that owns the Confederate statues that used to be in two Downtown parks, is free to do what they want with the statues and wants them out of Shelby County. My suggestion is to toss them off the bridge and let Ol’ Man River decide where their new home will be. I’m sure they will be quite a hit wherever in Mississippi they wash up to shore.

The new Friday Night Smackdown comes to Memphis on January 5. Following its move to Fox TV on Friday nights, Smackdown has become WWE’s A-show, featuring the likes of World champion Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, Bayley, and The New Day. This show is only a couple of weeks before the Royal Rumble and should be a good one. Here’s a video from the October 11 Smackdown that made a lot of kids cry:

There is still time to enter a team for the Memphis Grilled Cheese Fest happening at the Hi-Tone Sunday, November 10. They’re also still accepting vendors and volunteers.

NBC has decided not to order additional episodes of Bluff City Law. The drama series will complete its initial 10-episode run, but a season 2 looks unlikely.

Beale Street Artcrawl happens today at 1 PM.

Don’t forget that the last Memphis 901 FC home match of the season is tonight and they invite you to Pink Out the Pitch.

There’s a Great Pumpkin celebration at Bass Pro at the Pyramid this weekend.

That’s it for now. Leading off at Bardog today, then heading over to Blind Bear to watch the Memphis game and then the Alabama-Tennessee game. Back tomorrow with more news.

The Grizzlies are back on TV tonight. They have a pre-season road game against the San Antonio Spurs tonight at 7:30 that will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southeast. Suggestions for bar owners/managers who have Comcast: Put a sticker on the back of your remote that says “Grizzlies are on 831” so bartenders won’t have to hunt through the channels to find it.

We’re a week away from regular season Opening Night at FedExForum. The Grizzlies will take on the Chicago Bulls on Friday, October 25 at 7 PM and all fans in attendance will receive a Grizzlies growl towel.

Bruce V of the Memphis Flyer has an excellent op-ed piece in this week’s issue: Take me to the PILOT. It seems that poor little Raymond James, which wanted to move its offices out east, couldn’t afford to do so on the measly $7.2 billion it brought in last year. So it had to panhandle the city to finance its move, getting a $3.2 million PILOT. This is not why the PILOT program was created. Shame on the EDGE board for pandering to corporate America.

While we’re on the topic of corporate America, here’s a list of the most hated terms among engineers and developers. Yes to every single one of these. “Agile” most of all. About 80% of companies that say they’re “doing Agile” aren’t actually doing Agile, although there are a few that get it right, like Lokion down the street from me at Main and Union. My one minor gripe with this list: They forgot that “action items” has a brother named “deliverables.”

Here comes Rusty aaaaannnnnddddd… they’re off. But Rusty isn’t going to come much longer and the greyhounds aren’t going to get off much longer. We’re approaching the end of an era. An agreement between Southland Casino Racing and the Arkansas Greyhound Kennel Association specifies that live dog racing at the park will be phased out entirely by 2022. The move shouldn’t hurt Southland much, since these days it is so much more casino than dog racing track. Besides, from what I’ve heard recently, it’s kicking all the Tunica casinos’ asses.

As you know, I have not been the biggest fan of Bird and similar e-scooters down here. However, this new development is one I can get behind:

We’re thrilled to partner with OjO Electric to bring a network of station-based seated scooters to Memphis, and we want you along for the ride. Volunteer to help get scooters docked at stations throughout the city next Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/pkiBHSOLb8

— Explore Bike Share (@ExploreMemphis) October 17, 2019

The scooters are seated, making them considerably safer. Also, you can’t just park them anywhere you feel like it; you have to dock them at one of Explore’s hubs. Now, this is a scooter program I would actually consider using. Kudos to Explore for an excellent addition to Memphis transportation.

Happy weekend, YOGA! Downtown Yoga has two special workshops coming up tomorrow, Saturday, October 19. At 1 PM guest instructor Ruben Del Bosque will teach a Mystic Vinyasa Flow class. The practice focuses on lessons from the Peruvian Medicine Wheel and begins and ends with the breath. Cost is $20.

Then at 4, del Bosque will lead The Liquid Spine Workshop. This practice will relieve stress and tension while enjoying an open heart and… oh, I don’t do yoga-speak very well, just click the link if you want to read the class description. Cost for that one is $35.

Phillip Ashley Chocolates has signed a contract with the new Central Station Hotel. They will provide candies for turndown service, as well as client and thank-you gifts, and at some point Phillip Ashley Chocolates will have a small presence on the restaurant menus as well.

Max’s Sports Bar has added a Bourbon Cider Slush to warm you up on these fall days while you watch football and the MLB playoffs.

The Memphis Tigers football team will once again be on national TV tomorrow night, hosting Tulane at the Liberty Bowl in a 6 PM game on ESPN2. After that game ends, switch over to ESPN to watch Alabama stomp Tennessee into the ground in a game that begins at 8 PM.

“Like” River Time Market & Deli on Facebook to find out which soups the deli on Court Square has as their daily specials. Blast! I missed white bean & ham yesterday. That is one I really want to try.

It’s Songwriter Night #128 at South Man Sounds, 550 S. Main, tonight at 7. Come hear Stephanie Addington, Aaron Lessnard, Katrina Burgoyne, and Yolanda Harper perform original music in an intimate setting.

Fans of the Cousins Maine Lobster food truck: It’ll be Downtown at Ghost River Brewing Co. tonight beginning at 5.

Roll over, Beethoven: Robert Moody and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra Unplugged present Beethoven Inside Out tonight at the Halloran Centre. Tickets are $35.

I’d like to close this post with one of the classic songs of the 20th century. Perhaps the MSO will perform this at a future concert.

Off to work. After work I’ll get out to Blind Bear and later Max’s Sports Bar on this beautiful fall day. Back tomorrow with more news.

The Memphis Union Mission posted an urgent equipment need to Facebook yesterday. I’m going to copy it below in case anyone can help.

As a lot of you know we are in the process of building a new Men’s Emergency Shelter! The current building is over 50 years old and so is most of the equipment. This past week we the large commercial washing machine went on the blitz and then 2 of the 3 backup residential washer also went out. We are running clothes, towels, sheets, etc. back and forth across Poplar Avenue to another facility, but the load is too much.

You may not know this, but we average 192 men who stay at the shelter overnight. In the winter we will be serving over four people system-wide nightly. Every man who comes in gets a hot shower (towel); a clean change of clothes, and of course dinner and breakfast.

You can see the need! We are in need of 3 new residential washers. We can pick them up! We would like to pick them up at the Home Depot located at 1627 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN 38104. Is there anyway that you could help? Please email me at rdaniels@memphisunionmission.org if you want to get one for the men!

The link to Home Depot is below:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Whirlpool-4-3-cu-ft-High-Efficiency-White-Top-Load-Washing-Machine-with-Quick-Wash-WTW5000DW/205538993

Tonight is Tropical Thursday at River Garden Park on N. Riverside Drive from 7 to 9 PM. Come dance to Latin music while enjoying river views. Don’t know how to dance in the Latin style? No worries – some of the best dance teachers in Memphis will be there.

As your #1 source of news and information about The Edge District, it’s my pleasure to tell you about a Midnight Halloween Party at Club Spectrum (600 Marshall) on Saturday, October 26. The event is BYOB and cover is $20.  There will be an extra special Halloween drag show at midnight.

Thompson Square and Teddy Robb play a free, all-ages show at Handy Park (B.B. King Blvd. at Beale Street) as part of the KIX 106 Fall on Beale concert series tonight at 7:30.

Two performances for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert have been announced at the Orpheum for Saturday, November 30. The movie will play on the big screen while the Memphis Symphony Orchestra performs the score.

Service industry jobs: The GM of the Downtown Huey’s posted that she’s looking for hostesses, expeditors, and food runners.

Three punks attempted to rob the wrong people in an alley near Front and Talbot. Two men were looking at some art in the alley when the three would-be robbers pulled guns on them. The two men were FBI special agents. They pulled their concealed weapons, sending the punks running away. While I’m glad the robbery was thwarted, this shows the need for increased police presence in South Main, as a deterrent.

There’s a butcher dinner tonight at Puck Food Hall, 409 S. Main. The event is hosted by City Block Salumeria and features courses by Dave Krog of Dory, Nick Scott of Alchemy, and Chris Thorn and Mitchell Marable of P.O. Press. The event will wrap up with dessert by Franck Oysel of Interim. Tickets are $100 with an optional $30 beverage pairing.

Your Inner Yogi will host Silent Yoga on the Square at 5:30 PM this Sunday, October 20. This event will combine yoga and silent disco, complete with headphones. Cost is $15 and advance reservations are recommended. YOGA!

Trivia at Blind Bear every Wednesday continues to be a blast. Patrick releases the categories in advance. This week one of the topics was war. So I studied the great wars of history – the Peloponnesian War, the Hundred Years’ War, the Wars of the Roses… didn’t help much. Among the questions were: How do you win the card game War? as well as Name 5 songs from the band War’s greatest hits album. Same as last week though… I don’t regret studying the wrong stuff because I learned a lot.

The Center for Southern Folklore invites you to a taping of The Hollywood Show Sunday from 1 to 4 PM. Mid-South singers, dancers, and comedians will perform.

Charcuterie has become a big thing in Memphis lately, and Food and Wine has some useful info: Cheese rinds you can and can’t eat off charcuterie boards

That’s the news for today and I’m off to work. Back tomorrow.

Yay… little barky dog didn’t get let out until 7:05 this morning, by which time I was already wide awake and about to get up anyway. I looked out my window to try and figure out what breed it is, but I couldn’t see it.

The Grizzlies hit the road to play Oklahoma City tonight at 7. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southeast.

Cordelia’s Market will host Halloween Trivia Thursday, October 24 from 6:30 to 9 PM. Some of the categories will include Halloween movies, Halloween songs, and the history of Halloween. Space is limited so sign up in advance if you want to play. Teams of 6 or less are encouraged.

The 6th annual Making Strides Charity Poker Night happens tomorrow at 6 PM at the Blind Bear. This event will benefit American Cancer Society – Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Top three finishers will win prizes. This how the game will work:

Buy-in:

• $20 donation gets you a starting stack of 2000 chips
• $30 donation gets you a starting stack of 4000 chips

One rebuy allowed:

• $10 donation = 1000 extra chips
• $20 donation = 2000 extra chips
• Rebuys may be by blind, instead of just one, based on attendance

If you want to play real poker, rather than “I’ll go all in with 9-4 offsuit and rebuy a bazillion times if I lose” like bar poker typically is, this is your chance.

Beer news: Max’s Sports Bar got a keg of Bell’s Uberon, a beer aged in Traverse City Whiskey barrels to coax out the flavors. It’s said to be a copper-colored beer, with whiskey characteristics that portray woody, vanilla, and toffee flavors. It packs a punch, weighing in at a powerful 10.30% alcohol by volume. Mike who bartends there says it’s the best beer ever. Um, Mike, it couldn’t possibly be more than the second best beer ever. You’re forgetting about PBR.

Not a Downtown thing but worth mentioning anyway: Iconic Midtown bar Zinnie’s is set to reopen November 1. This would be the corner bar at Madison and Belvedere that was Old Zinnie’s, not the building next door that was Zinnie’s East.

It’s being reported that Hasheem Thabeet, the Memphis Grizzlies 2009 #2 draft pick who turned out to be an absolute bust, has signed an NBA G-League deal. He last played NBA ball in 2014. As long as the deal is not with the Memphis Hustle… geez, Chris Wallace would attend every Hustle game and chant “CALL HIM UP! CALL HIM UP!”

Meritan at 345 Adams is holding a career fair today. They are hiring for Case Manager, Family Model Caregiver (full-time), home care specialists (part-time), home care specialists (personal care attendants, part-time), and RNs (full-time).

Curious Bike Tours will host a Downtown Memphis bike tour tonight starting at 6:45. Meet at 6 W. G.E. Patterson.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow.

My job starts at 9 in the morning, so ideally I like to sleep until about 7:30. That didn’t happen this morning though, and it hasn’t happened several other mornings lately. About 6:15 someone who lives in my building or nearby takes a barky little dog out to do its business on the Main Street Mall. Since I’m still in bed at that hour, I’ve never seen the dog but it has to be a chihuahua or similar size breed. That thing barks constantly for 5 or 10 minutes. By the time its owner finally takes it back inside, I’m awake enough that rolling over and trying to get back to sleep is pointless. I wonder how many of my neighbors get woken up by that dog as well.

On a better note… as I lay in bed wide awake post-dog, I realized something… I’m actually excited that I get to go to work today! It’s not that today is a special day or anything. It’s just that I realized, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about this job that frustrates me, that makes me dread coming there. I just show up, turn on the computer, and grind away. I spend my time there indexing tens of thousands of documents so the lawyers can quickly find the ones that are important. I won’t go into details of the particular cases, of course, but it is really interesting work.

The Daily Memphian’s Jennifer Biggs came back Downtown for this week’s My Favorite Things column, with a visit to Maciel’s Tortas and Tacos. There she had the caldo tlalpeno, the chicken chipotle soup served over rice with crumbled tortilla chips and avocado slices. Yum! I have seen someone get this soup delivered to their workplace, and let me tell you, the large bowl ($7.50) is giant, easily enough for two people to share.

It’s one of the few items on the menu there I’ve never had. Hmmm…. you may see a photo of a troll standing next to caldo tlalpeno this week. That’s one thing I have that the Daily Memphian doesn’t, a troll. Maybe they should get one. Might increase their subscriber count. Everything’s better with trolls.

The Grizzlies were on TV last night, and I finally got a look at the new additions to the team. Man… Brandon Clarke made the front office look like geniuses for trading up two spots in the draft to get him. The talent he displayed was way above the #21 pick level where Memphis got him. Ja Morant dazzled at times – there was a sweet pass to Jaren Jackson Jr. for a made three – but he struggled, as would any 20-year-old with no NBA experience would when being asked to be a team’s starting point guard. The loss to Charlotte was disappointing, but this year the excitement is more about building toward the future than winning now.

Jaren Jackson fouling out is not good though. Nor was the Grizzlies falling apart in the fourth quarter, something we saw all too frequently last season.

If you’re the type of person who forgets to charge your phone, here’s a link you might want to bookmark: How to send a text from your computer to any phone. It’s done through something called an email-to-SMS gateway. Very handy when you need to text someone right away but your phone is at 0% and you don’t have time to wait for it to charge.

Loflin Yard will host a fall dog show Saturday, November 2 from noon to 6. Dog talent show, puppy games, and an obedience training demonstration (wish the owner of 6:15 AM barky dog would come to that and decide to sign up his animal for some obedience training). Mutt Mafia will be there doing adoptions. Costume contest, ugly dog contest, photo booth. Drink deals for humans and dogs.

Jello shot Jenga is now a thing. Looks like an item is going to need to be added to the agenda of our next BBQ team meeting.

Penn and Teller come to the Orpheum Friday night. Tickets are $32.50-$80.

That’ll do it for today. Time to head to work. After I get off maybe I’ll walk over to Maciel’s and get a bowl of that caldo tlalpeno.

Folks, I have big news. If you want Chester’s Fried Chicken and you live Downtown, you will no longer have to drive across the bridge to the truck stop at Exit 272 to satisfy your hunger.

Yesterday I saw this sign on the door of Bluefin’s side bar, formerly Bluefin Diner, Bluefin coffee shop, and Bluefin deli. Yep, they’re going to be slingin’ chicken out of that space now. This is probably the smartest thing the new owners have done since they took over a few years ago. Man, you know the folks over at Gus’s a few blocks away must be shakin’ in their boots at the thought of the intense competition.

The Grizzlies host the Charlotte Hornets at 7 this evening in a pre-season game. This will be our first look at the 2019-2020 Grizzlies versus an NBA opponent. The game will be on NBA TV.

Edible Memphis has a new sandwich guide, curated by a member of the Memphis Sandwich Clique.

There’s a bar in St. Louis with a new concept: They charge by the hour, not by the drink. So, for example, if you want to drink Bud Light, you pay $10 an hour and you can drink all you want during that hour.

Only in Texas: A man brought a steer to Petco to test their “all leashed pets are welcome” policy

Time to get this week started. Back tomorrow with more news.

River Time Market & Deli, the little shop on the south side of Court Square next to Blue Plate Cafe which has gained a reputation for its incredible sandwiches, is expanding its menu to include soups. They are going to start with two soups a day on the weekdays and will have four a day by the end of October. Once they get there, they plan for the soup menu to include

Monday
Broccoli & Cheese
Chicken Tortilla
Lobster Bisque (early November)
Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup

Tuesday
Vegetable Soup
Chicken & Dumpling Soup
Jambalaya
White Bean & Ham

Wednesday
Chicken Noodle
Chicken Chili
Minestrone
Vegetable Beef or Owner’s Choice

Thursday
Chicken Gumbo
Italian Raviolini
Ultimate Baked Potato Soup
White Rice Chicken

Friday
Chili
Chicken Enchilada
Clam Chowder (late October)
Corn Chowder

Road from the Biscuit Blues Festival happens today on Beale Street. Bands that performed at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, AR will perform on 13 stages in clubs on Beale.

The Boos & Brews Bar Crawl benefiting Ronald McDonald House will happen Saturday, October 26. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Tickets get you free cover at all of the venues and drink specials. The crawl will begin at 8 PM at Bar 409 inside the Puck Food Hall. After that stops will include Slider Inn Downtown, Cafe Pontotoc, Silly Goose, and Bardog Tavern. The after-party will be at Momma’s Roadhouse. Best male, female, and couple/group costume will receive a prize. You must be at the first stop, Bar 409, to enter the costume contest. This event is organized by Red Shoe Society, a group of young professionals whose goal is to build awareness of Ronald McDonald House.

Also on October 26, Tin Roof will have its Haunted Asylum Halloween party. They’ll have Andrew Caibgao at 6 PM and Alex Butler Band at 10 PM. Over in the Green Room DJ Epic will perform a scary set. Costume contest with $250 cash prize, free candy and more.

There will be a port & chocolate tasting Tuesday, October 22 at 6:30 PM at Texas de Brazil. TdB will team up with the Fladgate Partnership and local chocolatiers for this event. Participants will enjoy bites of TdB’s meats paired with port and an educational evening with tasting notes and gourmet chocolate. Note that regular dinner is not included in the ticket price, but those who want to stay and have dinner after the tasting will get 25% off the purchase price.

Shelby County’s first lactation pad has been installed at FedExForum. At Grizzlies games, mama bears will now have a quiet and sanitary room where they can go to breast feed.

Raymond James is seeking a $3.2 million handout from the city to help pay for its move from its Downtown headquarters to the Poplar/Ridgeway area. The company is claiming that 100 new jobs will be created paying an average of $63,970 annually, but that average is skewed by a handful of executive and managerial jobs. The median salary will be $50,000.

When I was a teenager in Little Rock, my mom would get in the car on Sunday mornings and drive out to Broadway, returning home from a fast-food restaurant called Bojangles with the most amazing sausage biscuits and steak biscuits. Well, yesterday I saw an ad stating that Bojangles is looking to move into available markets and a search revealed that one of those desired markets is Memphis. Somebody needs to make this happen!

As your #1 source of news and information about The Edge District, it’s my pleasure to inform you that Juke in the Box happens today at 1 and will happen every Sunday at 1 at Kickspins Memphis, one of the stores in BOXLOT next to the former Kudzu’s on Monroe. They invite you to come spin your favorite record.

It’s Bring Your Dog to Bingo Day presented by Cerrito Bingo at Loflin Yard. Those with a dog get an extra bingo card. There will be prizes and treats from Hollywood Feed and a dog costume contest as well. 10 rounds of bingo from 4 to 6 PM.

Sunset Jazz returns to Court Square today from 5 to 7 PM. Today’s music will be by Neptune’s Army featuring Ed Finney, AKA Jupiter Sky-Fish. Food trucks will be onsite and picnic baskets and blankets are welcome.

Monster Market, the pop-up at 618 S. Main, will have a Whisks of Doom Chicken Biscuit Brunch today at noon. Your alternative to that other chicken place that closes on Sundays, they will have fresh marinated fried chicken on buttery Whisks of Doom Biscuits. I don’t know if I have any vegetarians who read this blog, but in case I do, I will mention that they will have vegetarian chicken available as well. Proceeds from biscuit sales will benefit Friends for Life.

Michael W. Smith performs at the Cannon Center this evening at 7:30.

Today is National No Bra Day.

Off to Silly Goose for D-RANKS with B-RAD. That’s his new Sunday home, it seems! I plan to stick around for the pizza party.

By the way, although it says 5 on the flyer, Daniel said the party would get started more like 3.

Back tomorrow with more news.