Tuesday update: Swanky’s, State of the Union drinking game, and more

Months ago, I teased that I heard a rumor about a business going into the former LYFE Kitchen space in the Chisca. I wrote that while I could not yet reveal the restaurant’s name, it wouldn’t be a place that’s posh or upscale, but it could be a word that’s similar. What’s a synonym for posh and upscale? Swanky.

The MBJ announced it this morning: Downtown is getting a Swanky’s.

Tonight Donald Trump gives the State of the Union address at 8 PM. The annual State of the Union drinking game, updated for 2019, has been posted. Best rule of the game: Rather than a number of drinks to take for “says something untrue,” it says, “nobody could survive drinks for this.”

Miraculously, the Grizzlies survived the road trip without any personnel changes. If you want to see the team with its current roster one more time, I would go tonight. The trade deadline is 2 PM Thursday and the front office would be crazy not to make any deals at all. The Grizzlies host the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at 7.

There will be a Coffee Brewing 101 class at the 409 South Main food hall Sunday, February 24 from 6 to 8 PM. All are welcome, whether you are a coffee aficionado or have no knowledge of coffee at all. In addition to coffee itself, the class covers the basics of brewing. After a brief explanation and demo, you will get to put your knowledge to work by brewing a cup yourself. The class is presented by Sustain Coffee Co. and there is a $5 cover charge.

Grizzlies PG Mike Conley may not have been selected for the All-Star Game, but he’s still headed to Charlotte to participate in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge Saturday night of All-Star Weekend. I wonder if Conley will still be wearing a Grizzlies uniform by then.

Also making the trip to Charlotte will be Jaren Jackson Jr. The Grizzlies rookie has been invited to play in the Rising Stars Game featuring players in their first two years in the NBA.

Earnestine and Hazel’s is having a Locals’ Night Out on Thursday, where you can get a Memphis Made beer and a Soul Burger for $9.01. Your Memphis Made beer choices include Fireside, Junt, and Cat Nap. Music by Tiffany Harmon starts at 8 PM.

The social event of the season happens Saturday, March 2, as the Paradise Entertainment Center at 645 E. Georgia hosts the International Players and Playerettes Ball. $500 prizes to the Player and Playerette of the Year.

I didn’t make it to Saturday’s crawfish boil at Max’s Sports Bar, but I ran into one of Max’s bartenders Sunday night and got an update. Remember how I predicted they’d run out of crawfish early? Not a problem this year, apparently. “We had 600 pounds,” Mike told me. “Probably should have had more like 400 or 500.” They still had crawfish at the official end time of the event, 5 PM, so they put an offer on Facebook: All-you-can-eat for $25 until it was gone. This year they are using Crawfish Haven out of Horn Lake, which showed up with a crawfish cooking rig every bit as impressive as the cooking rigs you see at BBQ Fest. Mike told me they’re going to try to do it every Saturday for the next couple of months, weather permitting. Usually around Thursday of each week they make the decision on whether or not to do the Saturday boil.

The Soulful Food Truck Festival comes to Clayborn Temple Sunday, March 10 from noon to 6. Black-owned food trucks from multiple states will be there, as will a game truck for the kids, live music, and shopping. This event is part of Memphis Black Restaurant Week.

I absolutely HATE it when I visit a web page of a major media outlet like CNN or ESPN, and a video starts auto-playing without me pressing the Play button. Well, there’s good news. Starting next month, Firefox will free you from autoplay hell, offering the option to disable autoplay. I bet Chrome will offer something similar in the near future as well.

The Daily Memphian’s Daily Briefs column lists the winners of this year’s International Blues Challenge.

Although he’s leaving for Knoxville to be with family, historian Jimmy Ogle will give an Elmwood Cemetery Tour on April 6.  Actually, he will give two tours that day, focusing on his favorite sites within the cemetery, and he will pick different sites for each tour. Many of Memphis’ historical figures are buried at Elmwood, so it’s a good way to learn a lot about our city.

Best Super Bowl tweet:

Controversy reigned at the Puppy Bowl, shown on Animal Planet during Super Bowl halftime, when a puppy shit during the National Anthem.

Last night I watched a Georgia Tech-Notre Dame women’s basketball game at the Blind Bear. One of the Georgia Tech players had spiky green hair, which made my troll very excited. “Do you think I should apply for a scholarship there, Paul?” she asked. Given that Georgia Tech got blown out, they will probably take any help they can get.

That’s the news for now. 70 degree days don’t come along too often in February, so I’m going to get outside and enjoy this one. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

Monday update

Over the weekend plans for the redesign of Tom Lee Park were released to the public. The plan converts the park from a big, open field along the river to a series of zones, each inviting in its own way. However, the folks who organize Memphis in May released a statement saying they fear the park’s redesign will hurt the festival’s revenue.

I want to take a minute to give my reaction to this. First of all, the renderings look beautiful, and I think the Memphis River Parks Partnership has a great vision for this woefully under-utilized asset. Also, I want to commend WREG for the coverage they did in the link above. Too often news station’s website posts tend to be in sound bites. WREG’s post was quite thorough and I appreciate it.

Will the park redesign affect park capacity, stage locations, customer experience during Music Fest? Someone other than I would be more qualified to answer. I’ve never been a Music Fest guy.

However, I’ve been on a BBQ Fest team for 13 years, and I have to tell you, I can’t see the same number of team booths fitting into that park under the new design, not even if the booths spill over onto Riverside. There’s just no way. In the current configuration, nearly every square foot of space is occupied by teams, vendors, or Memphis in May temporary headquarters. If you add trees, rolling hills, etc., you lose some of that space.

It’s very possible Memphis in May will have no choice but to reduce the number of teams allowed to compete, given the new park configuration. Some teams that previously got in might find their applications rejected. Now, the good news is, I doubt that would happen to my team. We got a top 10 finish in shoulder last year out of 59 teams, so we’ve proved our merit. Also, as frequent top 3 finishers in Best Booth, Memphis in May likes us because photos of our booths are good to use in marketing materials.

However, what would likely happen is application fees would go up, possibly way up, and we’d have to figure out how to pass along those costs. We haven’t set our dues for this year yet – we are having a meeting on Sunday to figure that out – but last year we charged $390 for an individual, or $580 for a couple (must be an established real-life couple). I’ve been told those dues are relatively inexpensive for a “big three” category (ribs, shoulder, or whole hog) team. What if we had to raise our dues to, say, $750, to be able to compete? At some point the cost increase would cause us to start losing members.

Or, we might have to make different deals with sponsors. One thing about us is that we’ve always managed to find sponsors who want to party with us, rather than order us around or take over our booth. A lot of teams have a dedicated “sponsor night,” usually in prime time, where team members and their guests are not allowed in their own booth except for members who are either cooking or serving their sponsors. I have witnessed first-hand how that kills other teams’ morale.

So yeah, as relates to my own personal BBQ experience, I am concerned about the upcoming changes to the park. However, I also recognize that I am extremely privileged to be able to pay hundreds of dollars and take a week’s vacation to participate in what is basically spring break for adults. There are hundreds of thousands of Memphians who can’t, and it’s just as much their park as it is mine. I also recognize the absurdity of having this wonderful asset, this front door to the river, and fully capitalizing on it only 8 days a year (3 days Music Fest + 4 days BBQ Fest + 1 day 901 Fest). It needs to be a resource that is used all the time, that taps into Memphis’ identity as a river city.

One thing’s for sure… change comes whether you want it to or not, and all you can do is be ready for it and embrace it.

Since I’m on here spouting off my opinion this morning, I want to talk about a couple of trade deals involving the Grizzlies that were rumored over the weekend.

It’s been said that the Utah Jazz have offered Ricky Rubio and their 2019 first-round pick to the Grizzlies in exchange for Mike Conley. The Jazz would have to throw in a couple of expiring contracts to make the salary match (Conley makes $30 million, Rubio $15 million). I don’t hate this idea but I dislike it a little more than I like it. Having Conley’s $30 million off the books would allow the Grizz to make some moves in free agency this summer, and I’ve always thought Rubio would be an interesting fit here in Memphis. However, he wouldn’t be as good a fit as Conley is. People say Conley and Gasol are past their primes, and while I would agree on Gasol (age 34) I would not on Conley (age 31). I think he has some All-Star caliber games left in him.

Also, the Utah pick is currently projected to be 19th in what is considered not a very deep draft. There’s still value to be found in that area of the draft, but Memphis’ front office is not good at seeing it. Remember 2011, when the Grizzlies had a pick in the early 20s? Draymond Green was still on the board, but Memphis selected Tony Wroten. How’d that work out? So yeah, I’d prefer to keep Mike Conley. If Utah could involve a third team to send Memphis a better draft pick (top 14), then maybe.

The other deal I hear is being floated is, Houston gets JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple, and Memphis gets Brandon Knight and a first-rounder. Getting a first, even a late first, for two role players on expiring contracts is excellent. I like JaMyke a lot but he became expendable the day Jaren Jackson Jr. got here. He deserves to be in a spot where his abilities are needed more, and where he can chase for a ring. I would do this one.

Man that Super Bowl sucked. It was like watching 60 minutes of the Grizzlies playing themselves in the third quarter. I would bet the only people who enjoyed that game were people had the numbers 0 or 3 in the squares game.

MIFA is having a Family Day of Service on Monday, February 18. Register here and get your kids the experience of helping others at an early age. Meet at 910 Vance at 9:30 AM that day and you’ll be sent out to deliver meals for the homeless. After the deliveries, volunteers will re-convene at MIFA headquarters for pizza and to share their experiences.

Want to catch some games at AutoZone Park featuring Memphis’ soccer team Memphis 901 FC, but won’t be able to make it to all the games? No problem. The team has a 7 game flex ticket pack that will accommodate your schedule. Tickets start at $16. You pick two of their top 6 matches this season, and then pick 5 other matches.

Bluff City Mafia, the group of rabid fans that will support Memphis 901 FC, has revealed its perks of membership. $25 gets you a scarf, a sticker, priority seating in the supporters’ section, discounts at the Brass Door on game days, and a few other perks. Initial members will be taken at the launch party at the Brass Door this Saturday.

Sitting here watching the Local 24 weather with meteorologist Chelsea Chandler as I type this. The forecast is for temperatures in the 60s and 70s until Thursday morning, when we might see some ice on the back end of a cold front. Yep that’s my Memphis!

An event called MagicFest comes to the Cook Convention Center February 15-17.

Teach901 is having an educator job fair tomorrow night at Crosstown Concourse from 6 to 8 PM.

Elisa Sun and Blackwater Trio will perform at the Brass Door on Valentine’s Day. $5 cover gets you into The Cavern where they will be performing. Valentine’s Day is on a Thursday this year, so it will also be Steak Night.

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

 

Saturday update: Let’s talk Super Bowl food

Yesterday I was sitting at Bardog surfing Twitter, and I saw a retweet of an infographic @thekitchn did, listing the most popular Super Bowl food by state.

Really, Tennessee? CAKE? We are better than this. I blame Nashville and Knoxville. Here’s a list of my ten favorite Super Bowl pot luck foods, approximately in order:

  • Italian roast beef sandwiches
  • Buffalo chicken dip
  • Wings
  • Chili cheese dogs
  • Pizza, especially Mexican pizza and bacon cheeseburger pizza
  • Lil’ Smokies
  • Nachos *
  • Tamales
  • Chili **
  • 7 layer dip

Nachos: There is wide variance in types of nachos, which is why I say this list is in “approximate” order. Gas station nachos with the generic tortilla chips and the runny cheese sauce wouldn’t make my top ten at all. Now, if we’re talking brisket nachos with three kinds of melted cheeses, sour cream, pico, and guacamole, well then… now we’re getting up toward the top of the list (wouldn’t surpass Italian roast beef though).

Chili: Especially exotic chili. I’m going to paste in a comment from my friend Air Traffic Mike to illustrate. “Paul, I went to an Amish butcher shop and bought a huge “rope” of Italian sweet sausage. With it will be peppers, onions, Italian rolls, provolone, and marinara for sandwiches along with the black bean/filet chili.” Yep. That is how you do it.

Okay, time for another list. Let’s say you don’t cook at all, but you still want to be the rock star of your Super Bowl potluck. Here are some suggestions. These are not in a particular order; all are equally good.

  • Chicken from Gus’s, Uncle Lou’s, or Jack Pirtle’s
  • Wings from Kooky Canuck or New Wing Order
  • Nachos from Central BBQ or Huey’s (I’d include Maciel’s but they’re not open on Sundays and nachos don’t keep well for a day in the fridge)
  • Pan pizza from Wise Guys in Horn Lake (worth the drive and the extra long wait time, trust me on this)
  • Nikki’s Hot Chips with a dip that offsets the heat
  • A bag of weed
  • Or just pull a Trump and bring “hamberders”

And finally, here’s a list of things to bring to a Super Bowl potluck if you never want to be invited to a Super Bowl potluck again:

  • Baked kale chips, or really kale anything
  • Anything with tofu on or in it (I’ve heard that tofu nachos at RP Tracks are good enough that they might be given a pass)
  • Granola bars
  • Spam
  • Pizza with pineapple on it
  • I’m tempted to put Krystal burgers on here, but since I suggested “a bag of weed” above they would probably be appreciated.

Here’s a general rule of thumb: If you’re the type of person who goes, “There’s so much junk food at Super Bowl parties, I want to provide some healthy options,” you are to the Super Bowl as the person who gives socks and underwear as presents is to Christmas.

You know, it’s funny, we talk about things “going viral”… that’s how the Super Bowl got its name. When the first championship game was played in 1967, the AFL-NFL World Championship Game was what it was called. Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, started calling it the Super Bowl, and it got picked up by the media and the name went viral. By 1968 it was widely called the Super Bowl in the media although that was not the official title. The following year, the organizers of the game gave in and the game played that year became Super Bowl III, the previous two games back-named Super Bowl I and II.

If you’re not into football, Lifehacker has some great advice: Super Bowl Sunday is the best day to do anything else. Think about it: Short lines at the movies, you can get dinner at fine restaurants that normally require a reservation without one… lots of options when everyone else is busy watching the game.

I’ll throw in one additional inside tip: Because the Super Bowl doesn’t kick off until 5:30, the Downtown restaurants and bars are going to be dead as a doornail from 11 to 3 tomorrow as people conserve their energy for the game. So, if there’s someplace you’ve been meaning to try for brunch, tomorrow would be a good day to do it. I’ll even offer a suggestion: Go check out Rizzo’s pop-up restaurant in the 409 South Main food hall. They’ll be there until the 19th.

Max’s Sports Bar will be giving away a foldable tailgate grill, a tabletop football set, and many other great prizes during the Super Bowl. 1 drink = 1 entry into the drawing.

Local is having a Delta Sunshine tap takeover tomorrow with $3 drafts.

Huey’s is having 2 for 1 domestic drafts and well drinks all day tomorrow, starting at 11 AM. They will also have their regular brunch specials from 11 to 6, which are $3.50 Bloody Marys and mimosas. No live music tomorrow night, of course, since people will want to watch the game.

New Wing Order has a special Mud Island Jerk flavor as its February special:

They’ll have the truck on the Memphis Made parking lot from 3 to 8 today if you want to give the new wings a try. By the way, if you haven’t seen the forecast, it’s going to be patio weather this afternoon, with temperatures well into the 60s. This is the beginning of a warm spell with highs in the 60s or 70s through the middle of next week.

Chris Stapleton’s All-American Road Show with Brothers Osborne and Kendell Marvel has been announced for FedExForum on Saturday, October 5. Tickets are now on sale.

From Food & Wine: There’s a sports bar in Sacramento called Costanza’s that dedicates one TV to reruns of Seinfeld episodes. That is a great idea because there’s always one or two people in a group who want to hang out with their friends, but don’t care about sports, and this gives them something to watch. And a George-themed sports bar makes sense – after all, he worked for the New York Yankees.

Time to heat up a slice of leftover pizza, throw my PBR hoodie and shorts on, and head to Bardog. Yes it is shorts weather! My threshold for wearing shorts is “feels-like temperature not predicted to be lower than 48 all the hours I plan to be out.” That is the case today. I don’t know if I’m going to do a post tomorrow. Super Bowl Sunday is one of my lowest readership days of the year. If I get any timely news I’ll do a post, otherwise I will be back Monday.

Friday update

There’s a Commercial Appeal opinion piece that is a must-read. My friend Deni Reilly, co-owner of the Majestic Grille with her husband Patrick, is a firm believer in the Downtown revival and she spells out the reasons why. I couldn’t agree more! Thursday of next week will be my 17th anniversary as a Downtown Memphian. Even if I won the lottery, I wouldn’t live anywhere else.

The Downtown core neighborhood doesn’t have many fast food restaurants, but among the ones it does have are two Lenny’s, one at Front and Court (Falls Building) and the other at Main and Peabody Place. Next week is Guest Appreciation Week, and from February 4-9 all 7 1/2 inch subs will be $4.99. I will definitely be making a stop or two in the Falls Building next week.

The Daily Memphian’s Daily Briefs from yesterday has a piece about Lab Creative LLC, the new web design and digital marketing firm at 119 S. Main. As I wrote yesterday, they are having a launch party at Pontotoc Lounge Wednesday at 6. I should probably go up there and network with those folks since my skill set and theirs overlap.

Memphis in May tweeted a photo of its 2019 Great American River Run medallions:

Interesting article: Are restaurants getting too loud?

Joe Austin plays the Blind Bear tonight at 10 PM.

Drink-N-Draw is back at the Ghost River taproom this evening.

Tripl Thret plays the blues at the Dirty Crow Inn tonight.

I was at Silly Goose happy hour last night when the bar’s phone rang. Jessica answered it. “Paul Ryburn? Yes, he’s here.” It reminded me of a few years ago, when a woman would call B-RAD’s bar at the Bear (she was a vegetarian, I recall?) and ask if I was there, and upon hearing that I was, she’d come up there. After Jessica hung up, she told me yesterday’s caller was none other than B-RAD himself, and he was on his way up to the Goose. The good news is, he brought his friend Mary Ann.

The bad news is, he also brought Rahul and Tony. I told Rahul and Tony about Saturday’s crawfish boil at Max’s Sports Bar, featuring taters, corn and sausage in the boil.

I guess the construction worker, the cop, the G.I., and the motorcycle/leather guy were not available for this picture. A friend of ours had posted to Facebook that Chipotle’s hot sauce had been rough on his butthole and Rahul “Liked” the post. Tony asked if anyone wanted to see a “dicture.” They both spent substantial time telling everyone how they are straight and like women a lot, because, you know, that’s what straight guys talk about all the time.

Been a productive morning… I’ve paid the rent and got shopping at Walgreens done. Think I’ll go see what the lunch specials at Bardog are. They always put that info on Twitter so I could just go look there, but walking over sounds like so much more fun. Back tomorrow with more news.

Thursday update

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible will be performed on stage at the Halloran Centre for the Performing Arts on Saturday, February 16. This story of a witch hunt, set in 1692 Salem, was inspired by the era of Joseph McCarthy. It’s a story of the bad things that can happen when truth is bent for political means. Sounds relevant for the times we live in today, no?

Cirque de Soleil is in town for 4 days starting today for performances of their show Corteo at FedExForum.

The first crawfish boil of the season is set for Saturday at Max’s Sports Bar. I’ll repeat what I said last year: When Max’s does crawfish boils, the crawfish are better than at any crawfish festival in the city. They are spiced to perfection and corn on the cob and taters are cooked in the boil as well. And yes, Rahul and Tony, sausage is cooked in the boil too. I know how you guys are all about the sausage.

The hours on the Facebook listing are noon to 5 Saturday, but don’t expect to show up at 4:30 and get crawfish. The first boil of the season at Max’s is a huge event and they will sell out early. The cost is $12 for 1 pound or $20 for 2 pounds, and if you’re hungry I recommend going ahead and getting 2 pounds right off the bat because there might not be any left if you try to go back for seconds. Max’s opens at 11 AM and the Tigers basketball game vs. South Florida will be on TV, so the place will fill up quickly. They will have a satellite bar on the patio and extra seating on the patio to accommodate demand. My advice is to be there by noon and let your bartender/server know you want crawfish as soon as they are ready.

The Memphis Flyer’s Beer Bracket competition is coming back soon, and this year they are making it more interesting. This year local breweries will be able to pick which four of their beers they want to compete. Also, if there is a particular beer a brewery does not want to compete against (such as Meddlesome’s 201 Hoplar, last year’s winner), they will be allowed to swap – but they can only swap one time. Voting starts February 13.

The Blind Bear has announced its promotions for Super Bowl Sunday. Starting at 4 PM, they will have $3 aluminum bottles (16 oz.) of Bud, Bud Light, and Mich Ultra. They will have $3 cinnamon whiskey, $4 Diamond Bear 16 oz. draft, $5 Bear Balls (mozzarella balls), $5 beef nachos, $5 beef tacos, $5/7 (cup/bowl) chili or cheeseburger soup, $5 chili cheese fries, and $5 chili cheese dogs. Their Hung Over Like a Bear brunch menu and specials will be available until 6 PM. The Sunday night Texas Hold’em game will happen as usual at 6:30.

Tug’s over on Mud Island is also having specials for the game. $2 Bud, Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors Light, Mich Ultra. Happy hour prices on drinks. $5 food specials including bacon wrapped meatballs, chili cheese nachos, jalapeno poppers, chili cheese dogs, and buffalo chicken tenders.

Local Gastropub has announced its buffet menu for Sunday’s game: hot wings, chicken tenders, nachos, pizza, buffalo dip, spinach dip, hot dogs, and cold beer from Delta Sunshine Brewing Co.

Cordelia’s Market is hosting a wine dinner on Thursday, February 21. Five courses, each paired with wine.

Former Memphis Tigers running back Darrell Henderson has been invited to the NFL scouting combine.

A team captain has been named for Memphis new pro soccer team, Memphis 901 FC: Marc Burch, a 13-year veteran of Major League Soccer.

LAB Digital Creative, a firm of designers and digital marketers founded by South Main residents Michael Newsome and Alan Hudgins, is having a launch party at Pontotoc Lounge on Wednesday, February 6 from 6 to 8 PM. First 25 people to show up get a round on LAB.

The Blind Bear will hold an ’80s party on Saturday, April 6, with DJ Brad Eiskamp spinning the tunes, a costume contest, photographer, and drink specials.

A bill has been introduced in Congress that would stop members of Congress and the president from getting paid anytime there is a government shutdown.. Betcha Mitch McConnell doesn’t even allow a vote on it.

Memphis Made Brewing Co. is having a board game night featuring Photosythesis tonight at its taproom.

Lunch time!

Today’s visit to the Court Square food truck rodeo led me to a Philly cheese steak sandwich from the Say Cheese food truck.

Cordelia’s Market has announced that they will no longer be offering plastic bags as of February 5. Stop by Monday to pick up a free re-usable bag. Read why the folks at Cordelia’s made this decision.

Outlaw Tony Maynard will provide the live music at brunch at Sunrise Memphis this Sunday. He will begin at 10 AM.

The Commercial Appeal talks to chef B.J. Chester-Tamayo of Alcenia’s in this week’s In the Kitchen.

Downtown marketing firm RedRover has a job opening for a Senior Account Manager. The successful candidate will more or less be acting as an outsourced Chief Marketing Officer for client firms.

Long, newsy post today but I’m finally to the end of it. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

Wednesday update

Every day I walk south on the Main Street Mall past an office furnishings store on the ground floor of Barboro Flats. I don’t know if anyone who works there reads this blog, but if they do, I’ve got to ask: How do you work there without going insane?

I mean, the three-and-a-half foot cubicle walls are bad enough. Everybody can see everybody, all day long. Everybody can hear their cubicle neighbors’ conversations whether they want to or not. There is not a smidgen of privacy at any time. But to make it even worse, they have all of Downtown looking into their workspaces all day long. I would feel like an animal on display in a zoo if I worked there!

Call me old-school, but I sure do miss the days when corporate work environments had walls and doors.

I had a really good lunch yesterday. I walked over to Sam’s restaurant at 7 N. Main, next door to Well Worx. Now, Sam’s is mainly known for their burgers and hot dogs, but as I walked up to the door I noticed several pictures of Mediterranean items in the window. They had a  falafel plate! I am a big fan of falafel, so I got the plate to go and brought it back to eat at my computer desk at home.

This was as delicious as it looks! There was a side salad too, but I didn’t have room for it in the photo. They have a gyro plate as well and I want to get back in there and try that soon. They have a pretty large menu so you won’t get bored if you eat there regularly. Their pizzas are another item I want to explore.

Memphis is losing someone who has made our city a more interesting place for many years. The CA reports that historian Jimmy Ogle is moving to Knoxville to be closer to his family. Ogle is known for his tours of Downtown, including his famous manhole cover tour. Family comes first and that’s understandable, but he will be missed. Just don’t start rooting for the Vols when they play Memphis, Jimmy.

Memphis in May is only a few days more than 3 months away. Have you ever thought about volunteering for the month-long festival? Here’s your chance:

Friends of mine who have volunteered there have told me it’s a lot of fun, and they have come away from the experience with memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Indie rock band Bon Iver has announced an Orpheum date of Monday, April 1.

The Blind Bear’s Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre party returns Friday, February 15. In 1929 Al Capone’s gangsters gunned down rival Bugs Moran’s gang on the north side of Chicago. Come re-live the era of gangsters and flappers at this party. There will be food and drink specials, as well as costume contests. There will be a photographer there and they will be replacing many of the photos on the dining room wall. Starting at 10 PM there will be live music by A.M. Whiskey. The password to get in that night without paying a cover charge will be, “Capone sent me.”

Downtown’s Calvary Episcopal Church has announced its Lenten Preaching Series speakers for 2019. They always have some great names who speak as the church serves plate lunches during Lent. The speaker series begins March 7.

Statistics site FiveThirtyEight has updated its predictions for the Super Bowl. They have the Patriots as a 53%/1 point favorite over the Rams. I know it’s unpopular to root for the Patriots but I’m probably going to anyway. At least they won their conference championship game fair and square.

Lifehacker has information on how to name a cockroach after your ex for Valentine’s Day.

The Daily Memphian reports that good things are happening in Victorian Village on the eastern end of Downtown. Wright Cafe will open at 657 Adams. The cafe will have high-end coffees and teas and eventually desserts, and two bed-and-breakfast suites will be located above it. Also, Mollie Fontaine’s is expanding its patio to activate the space closer to the street.

The new Downtown Baron’s Man Cave will host a grand opening fundraiser on Thursday, February 7 from 6 to 9 PM. The fundraiser will benefit St. Jude and will feature a raffle with prizes from the man cave’s neighbors including The Orpheum, Catherine & Mary’s, and Pontotoc Lounge. You’ll get a chance to check out the new space and 10% of all sales that night will go to St. Jude. Complimentary beverages and bites will be provided.

For those of you whose interest has been piqued by my recent recommendation of the book The Gaslighting Effect by Reva Steenbergen, check out my Twitter account at @paulryburn. I follow the author on Twitter and I retweet memes and quotes from the book that she tweets which I feel are especially relevant. If you’re one of the people who has gone to my friends John D or Misty or Katie Mac or Clay and asked them, “What’s going on with Paul? Why has he seemed like a different person the past few years?”, this book is your answer. It’s an easy read at just over 100 pages, and is very thoroughly researched.

That’s it for now. Trivia night at the Blind Bear is my plan for this evening. Back tomorrow with more news.

Tuesday update

For my readers who have iPhones, there is a very scary bug that has been discovered in iOS 12.1. If someone places a FaceTime call to you, they can eavesdrop on you before you answer the call. Worse, if you hit the phone’s power button or either volume button, they’ll pick up access to video from your phone’s camera as well. I strongly recommend you disable FaceTime until a patch is released fixing this bug. To do that, open the Settings app, and on the main settings page scroll down until you see FaceTime, and click it. That will bring up a menu of FaceTime settings. At the top will be a toggle switch to turn FaceTime on or off. Make sure it is turned to the “off” position.

The Daily Memphian had a really good profile of a startup business called Mac Daddy mac & cheese. They have six different varieties of mac & cheese, including a bacon version, a Memphis pulled pork version, and a spicy version. Yum! You order online and pick the order up from Kingsway Christian Church kitchen in Germantown, but the owner is hoping to soon expand his business into a food truck. Make it happen, Captain! When the food truck hits the road, I sure would like to see it at the Thursday food truck rodeos in Court Square.

The Little Tea Shop invites its customers to come dine there for lunch on Friday, February 1. An independent documentary film team will be there shooting scenes for an upcoming short film about The Little Tea Shop. By being there, you agree for your likeness to be used in the film.

If you missed Mayor Strickland’s State of the City speech last night, here’s the full text.

An I Love the ’90s Pub Crawl is coming to Downtown Memphis Saturday, April 13. Your ticket gets you a color changing stadium cup, a ’90s slap bracelet, admission into participating venues without paying cover, and ’90s music at participating venues. The party will kick off at Tin Roof with registration 3 to 5 PM that day. Other stops on the crawl will include Alfred’s, Coyote Ugly, Wet Willie’s, and Silly Goose, with possibly other bars to be added.

Wicked Weed Brewing from Asheville, North Carolina will have a tap takeover this Friday at the Flying Saucer at 7 PM.

Good news for Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers: There’s a new ranking system called NET that will be used by the NCAA tournament selection committee this year, seeing it as a more accurate measure of a basketball team’s ability than RPI. With the Tigers’ win over UCF on Sunday, they rose to 54 in the NET rankings. Hmmm…. there are 68 teams in the tournament, with 16 of the slots going to winners of minor conferences, most of whom’s NET rankings would be sub-68. 68 minus 16 is 52. If the Tigers could get that NET ranking just a little bit higher, seems like they’d be knocking on the door of the tournament bubble.

You’ll be able to learn more about the $70 million Memphis River Parks project at the February South Main Association meeting, to be held Tuesday, February 12 at Beale Street Landing. Two people from Memphis Parks Partnership, George Abbott, Director of External Affairs, and Eric Bourgeois, Ambassador, will speak about the parks project. Bites will be provided by Pontotoc Lounge. Free for members, $10 for non-members. There will be a social at 6 PM with the presentation starting at 6:30.

Edible Memphis is having a launch party at Trolley Stop Market Friday night. The magazine is celebrating the first issue (technically the 42nd issue, but the first done by this new group) from 6 to 9 PM. There will be complimentary pizza, beer specials, and of course, copies of the new issue.

Hmmm… I wonder if they’ll serve “edibles” at the launch party?

Crosstown Brewing Co. is having its first birthday party on Saturday, February 16 from noon to 10 PM. They will have three new beers on tap that day along with plenty of 1 year swag to give out. Evan Ferris will provide live music noon to 2, Alex Greene and the Rolling Heads 3 to 5, with a special musical guest there 6 to 9. The New Wing Order food truck will be onsite 2:30 to 9.

There’s a dog body language class at the main library on Poplar tonight.

That’s it for now. Think I’ll walk over to Sam’s Restaurant and see what I can find for lunch. I think I saw a sign that they have falafel, which I love. Back tomorrow with more news.

Monday update

Yesterday I brunched at Pontotoc Lounge, and they have expanded their brunch menu. Of particular note is a pastrami hash, featuring house-made pastrami, in an iron skillet with two eggs. I did not try it but I was told it was out of this world. Also, given how many vegetarians come to Sunday brunch there, they have added a vegetable frittata. There is also a hangover Benedict and a granola parfait. In addition, they have added a quiche of the day and waffle French toast of the day, which will change weekly based on whatever idea the chef comes up with.

After that my plan was to go to Max’s Sports Bar and watch the Memphis Tigers game. Bartender PBjarRni posted that multiple people had messaged him and asked him what time Max’s would be opening (normal time is 4:30, except on Saturdays when it’s 11, and they open early for NFL, college football, and Grizzlies and Tigers games). He said opening time would be 2. Suggestion for Max’s and other bars that have variable opening times: When not opening at your normally scheduled time, have the opening time on the bar’s Facebook and Twitter accounts at least 1 day in advance. Don’t count on people messaging bartenders to figure it out.

It was a good day at Max’s, so warm outside that I had to shed my outer layers of clothing and watch the game in my Trolls movie T-shirt. I was especially pleased to learn that two people who sit at the corner table at Max’s have purchased the book I recommended, The Gaslighting Effect by Reva Steenbergen. Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the effort to understand me. It really means a lot. If you read that book you will understand what I’ve been going through since 2014 and in particular why 2015 was such a rough year for me.

We have wintry precip in the forecast, and this is particularly important for those of you who hang out at Bardog late night. According to WeatherBug, rain will move in about 7 this evening, with the temperature rapidly falling. By midnight the rain will change over to snow. $2 Fireball at Bardog when it’s snowing! I don’t partake in Fireball anymore but it’s fun to be there listening to people chanting “SNOW SNOW SNOW SNOW SNOW” as the change-over is imminent.

By the way, and this is tentative and subject to change, I’m leaning toward Bardog as the best Super Bowl watch option next Sunday. If I stick with that plan I will probably lead off there at 11, as I often do on Saturday, and stick around the entire day.

The Broom Closet at 546 S. Main is having an Introduction to Remote Viewing class in August. No, this is not a class about setting up Remote Desktop Connection on your PC. Rather, it is about using extrasensory perception and the senses of the mind to pick up what is going on with a distant or unseen target. No experience in this field is necessary. It’s a limited-size class and the cost is $35.

Developer Billy Orgel plans to save two buildings on Front Street, at 99 and 105 S. Front. These are the buildings that housed two longtime and now-closed restaurants, The Pier and The Butcher Shop.

For those of you who are sad that the Saints got robbed of their 2019 Super Bowl opportunity, you can relive the glory days at Loflin Yard. Sunday they will show the 2010 Super Bowl, which the Saints won. They’ll have a New Orleans menu and $2 Bud Light, and if anyone cares about this year’s Super Bowl, they’ll have that game on too. They’ll also have NFL Ref Olympics, consisting of games of cornhole and darts played blindfolded.

The Arkansas gate of Big River Crossing is once again closed due to rising water on the Mississippi River.

A trolley car (number 455) is being tested on the Main Street Mall this week. It won’r be accepting customers during this test run.

Earth, Wind & Fire are coming to the Orpheum on Tuesday, May 14. Argh! Why do all these good shows have to come here during BBQ Fest week?

Cordelia’s Market has announced its Pick 3 promotion in its grab & go case. Pick 1 protein, pick 2 sides and it’s $9.99.

The Memphis Grizzlies host their fifth home game in 8 days tonight, taking on the Denver Nuggets at FedExForum at 7 PM. After tonight the Grizzlies go on the road for 3 games, and as we near the trade deadline it’s possible that not all the current Grizz players will return from the trip.

Well, I only got one of my three Royal Rumble predictions right. It was a great show, although I have to say it was overshadowed by NXT Takeover on the WWE Network the night before. For those of you who have yet to watch the Rumble, I won’t tell you which prediction I got right.

 

Sunday update

The Memphis Flyer reports that the plans for Tom Lee Park will be unveiled this week, and they sound ambitious. There will be trees and rolling hills, and there will be a new “engagement center” at the north end of the park. The engagement center will open this week and will be a place people can go to learn about the changes. Memphis River Parks Partnership staff will be there on Wednesdays and Saturdays to talk about the changes with anyone who has questions. Construction on the park is scheduled to begin in June and wrap up in 2020, so it sounds like Music Fest and BBQ Fest will not be affected this year.

The grand opening of the engagement center is Saturday, February 2., from noon to 3 PM at Beale Street Landing. They’ll have a scale model of the soon-to-be-improved park, and there will even be a virtual reality experience complete with goggles.

Oscar Meyer is hiring drivers to drive the famous Wienermobile. The drivers would not only drive but would serve as marketing and PR people for the brand’s hot dogs, visiting grocery stores, charity events, and veterans’ events. I have already informed my friends Rahul and Tony about this career opportunity. I know they’d love getting paid to handle a large wiener.

There will be an exploration of the plagues of early Memphis at Elmwood Cemetery on Saturday, February 23. This 50 minute, indoor, seated presentation will discuss the various causes of death of the people who settled Memphis. Beverages and light snacks will be served. $20 to attend and this is an 18 and up event.

Bianca from the Vegan Crunk blog has a review of the Beyond Burger, the new burger at Huey’s using a vegan patty. She notes that the black bean burger, which is so good that even I prefer it over a beef patty at times, is safe for vegetarians but not vegans because it contains eggs.

Lifehacker has an explanation of why 5% beer gets you so much more drunk than 4% beer.

Furloughed bison are pouring back into national parks now that the government shutdown has ended.

Broke Tall Folk and Grant Holt play the Tin Roof this afternoon at 2.

The Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team hosts UCF at 3 this afternoon at FedExForum.

I’m getting the phone’s battery and external charger charged all the way up this morning, because tonight, I’ve got some watchin’ to do! The 2019 Royal Rumble pay-per-view airs on the WWE Network this evening. It’s especially exciting because unlike most years, there is no clear favorite as to who will win the men’s or women’s Rumble. Here are my predictions:

Men’s Rumble winner: Bobby Lashley, who will go on to challenge Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania for the WWE Universal championship. Vince McMahon loves to match two powerhouses against one another, and remember, Lashley represented Donald Trump in the 2006 WrestleMania main event which culminated in Trump shaving McMahon’s head. Because of that, he’s got more star power than anyone on the babyface side of the male RAW roster – well, except for John Cena, but I can’t see him winning.

As for the women: I predict Becky Lynch will lose her Smackdown women’s championship match to Asuka. However, she will then declare herself an entrant in the women’s Rumble, which she will go on to win. Although a member of the Smackdown brand, Lynch will have the right to challenge for either women’s title, and she will choose to face off against RAW women’s champion Ronda Rousey in what will be the first women’s match to ever main-event WrestleMania.

Other: I think Shane McMahon will turn heel, setting up a match between him and The Miz at Mania.

That’ll do it for now. I’m leading off this morning at D-RANKS with B-RAD at Pontotoc Lounge, where the vibe should be a good deal more mature than usual because Rahul and Tony are out of town. Then a little before 3 I will wander down to Max’s Sports Bar to watch the Tigers game. If I’m reading the calendar correctly, this is a great weekend to be at Max’s because I don’t anticipate having to deal with crazy. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

Saturday update

I heard a rumor yesterday, and posted “can anyone confirm this?” on Facebook and started quite a stir, so I want to discuss it here. I heard through second-hand information that they may have removed the jukebox from Earnestine & Hazel’s. My Facebook post drew more than 20 comments, mostly speculation and feelings of anger and sadness. However, toward the end i got comments that lead me to believe the rumor is NOT TRUE. I will try to get down to South Main today or tomorrow and find out what is going on for myself.

This is a situation in which you really have to consider both sides of the story. Earnestine & Hazel’s, along with Paula & Raiford’s and A. Schwab on Beale, is one of those places that just oozes soul, that makes you feel the Memphis of our great-grandparents’ time. That jukebox with all the soul, Elvis, and country classics…. the soul burgers…. the upstairs which has hardly changed since it was a brothel in the 1980s… none of us want to lose that. I certainly don’t. In my early years as a Downtowner E&H was my go-to place around midnight, 1 AM on weekend nights. In more recent times I’ve enjoyed it during the day. There will never be another place like it.

However, we also have to consider this from an owner’s perspective. E&H sits on what is becoming one of the most desirable corners in Memphis. I would say within 3 years, South Main and G.E. Patterson is going to have the desirability of corners like Madison and Cooper, Poplar and Highland, or Poplar and Ridgeway. However, unlike those corners, E&H’s corner will retain its neighborhood feel. It makes sense to have a business on that corner that draws heavy foot traffic all the time, not just from midnight to 3 AM two days a week.

So, although I hope Earnestine & Hazel’s will retain the character that has made it special all these years, I do understand how an owner would want the business to keep pace with the changing neighborhood. Also, as my friend Tawanda Pirtle pointed out, the owner is still dealing with the recent death of her father, and we need to be considerate of that.

I do have one concern that came out of all the comments on Facebook. One commenter said he was in there recently and had a soul burger with ketchup, mustard, and mayo. Wait, WHAT??? Ketchup on a soul burger? Unless it was specifically ordered that way, that’s a foul. Grilled onions, pickles, mustard, mayo, bun warmed on the grill, side of Golden Flake potato chips… that’s a soul burger as late owner Russell George would have cooked it.

So many great memories there. I used to see Mike Fratello in there all the time when he was the Grizzlies’ head coach. A 2007 visit to Nate’s bar upstairs ended up being a seminal moment in the formation of a local BBQ team (not mine) a few years later. And I’ll make a confession… I can be a bit of a brat sometimes. You know how in the past couple of years, I’ve gone up there and pumped a $5 bill into the jukebox, and then played all disco? I did that so someone couldn’t come in and play her favorite Johnny Cash song.

Wow I’m running out of time if I’m going to make it to Bardog at 11. Let get through the time-sensitive news quickly. Tonight is Grizz’a birthday and he’s celebrating by giving away backpacks to the first 5000 fans in attendance. Tip-off is at 7 PM and the Indiana Pacers are the opponents.

Although the talk has been all about shopping Mike and Marc on the trade market, the sources I follow on Twitter indicate that the two players drawing the most interest from other teams are JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple. They would fit in nicely at the power forward and wing positions for a team with playoff aspirations, and if Memphis could get back young talent, draft picks, and/or expiring contracts to free up cap space this summer, that would be good.

One of the founding members of The Supremes, Mary Wilson, performs at the Halloran Centre tonight.

Evelyn & Olive out in The Edge District posted that they have a special jerk BBQ rib today.

Out of time! The non-time-sensitive news items in my queue will be pushed back until tomorrow, so check back.