Paul Ryburn's Journal

Next Friday, April 20 from 7:30-10:30 there will be a Hoedown for Hope at Propcellar, 2585 Summer Avenue. This will be a fun, casual event with Southern food, music by He Said She Said, beer, specialty drinks, dancing, a silent auction, and a mechanical bull. The proceeds from this event benefit Hope House, an organization that helps children affected by HIV and poverty.

It’s the first Fireworks Night of the year at the Redbirds. The fireworks are presented by Tennessee Lottery and are launched from center field. First 1500 fans in the ball park get a replica of the PCL Championship Trophy the Redbirds won last season. Opponent is Iowa with first pitch at 6:35 and gates opening 5:00.

Margie’s 901, the former Maggie Moo’s ice cream parlor on the Main Street Mall, is having a free giveaway on Tax Day, April 17. Free chocolate covered strawberry with purchase, while supplies last.

 

Memphis Tigers men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway signed Cordova High’s Tyler Harris yesterday. Along with East High’s Alex Lomax, Penny has now recruited the two top Memphis prospects, overcoming objections that they are both point guards. Tubby Smith wouldn’t have got either of these players. He wouldn’t even have tried. I am the most excited I have been about Memphis Tigers basketball in years. I definitely plan on going to some 2018-19 home games, and might even consider 2019-20 season tickets.

So Nuts and Confections will be the featured vendor for Small Shop Saturday 12-4 today at Ghost River.

Drafts and Laughs XXIV with the Comma Comedians happens tonight at 7:30 at Memphis Made. This is a free show.

Ham what am!

My Thursday lunch at West Street Diner was so good that I went back for their country ham, purple hull peas, and a tossed salad.

The salad came in a separate bowl and I figured, you all know what a salad looks like so there’s no point including it in the photo. This was quite possibly the best piece of ham I have ever had in my life! Too bad my mom is not around for me to take there – ham and purple hull peas are a meal she would have loved. She used to buy purple hull peas at the Little Rock farmers market, and she and I would sit at the dining room table and shell them. The ham is an every-day menu item, whereas the purple hull peas are daily specials on Mondays and Fridays. The server, realizing I am becoming a regular, introduced herself. “See you this weekend!” she said.

“No, you won’t!” I replied. I explained to her that I work in Germantown, but I live Downtown. “You might see me Monday, though,” I said.

Did my taxes this morning! I got a federal refund, but annoyingly, I owe the state of Mississippi $12. Even more annoyingly, I will have to file a Mississippi tax return next year because I worked there 9 days this year.

Catching up with a friend from out of town today. Probably will stay local and skip the crawfish fest in Midtown. Back tomorrow with more news.

Friday the 13th! So far so good, and I hope it stays that way. I’ve been superstitious about Friday the 13th ever since a day in 2013 when my Saturn died coming off I-40 at Second Street, and it took months to find a competent mechanic who could diagnose the cause and get it working properly. I know at least one of my blog’s readers has been through a traumatic Friday the 13th in the past as well. Let’s hope today goes better than those.

By the way, I never told my readers what turned out to be wrong with the Saturn. A piece of carbon got sucked into the fuel line, shutting off fuel without which, of course, the car cannot run. This likely happened because I let the gas get down to 1/16 of a tank before filling up a few weeks before it happened. Since then I pull into a gas station every time my Jetta hits a quarter of a tank. Still loving the Jetta, by the way. I can’t thank my friends at Gossett VW/Porsche enough for getting me into it and out of the Saturn.

Games on Front returns to the courtyard outside the Cossitt Library, Front and Monroe, this afternoon from 4:30 to 7. Come out and enjoy free yard games and live music by a different artist every week, and this week it’s a good one: John Paul Keith. There will be beer and snacks as well.

The Redbirds host Iowa tonight at 7:05, with gates opening at 6. Block party in the Plaza before the game, with $2 beers. The Beale Street Flippers will perform before the game and at a break between innings. Don’t forget that it’s Free Stuff Friday with prizes every inning and one fan getting to roll giant dice for a chance at $10,000.

Chick-Fil-A has a Friday Family Pack Specialty Ticket. Purchase a minimum of four field box tickets at the link provided and also receive four free hot dogs, four free sodas, an extra large popcorn to share, and four Chick-Fil-A combo meal offer cards. It’s the specialty ticket that combines the joys of paying for Downtown parking and being 30th in line at Chick-Fil-A’s drive-thru.

The CA’s Jennifer Biggs has named brunch at Downtown restaurant Catherine and Mary’s a Best Bet.

The Memphis Daily News has an update on renovation in The Edge District of the former Wonder Bread building and other nearby buildings, as well as plans for a linear urban park. The hope is that the project will lead to a lot more people who work or go to school in The Edge living there too.

Mud Island River Park opens Wednesday. For the first time ever the park will allow dogs.

Kale, yeah! is the theme at the Memphis Farmers Market this Saturday. Whether you’re into kale or vegetables that don’t taste like ass, the Farmers Market has you covered. The University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy will have a table at the market 8 AM to noon to discuss diabetes awareness and prevention. Also, the federally-recognized organ procurement organization of the Mid-South, the Mid-South Transplant Foundation, will have a table from 8 to noon. Live music by Bud Summers 8-9:15, Amy Andres 9:30-10:45, and Bashville 11-12:30. The Market happens every Saturday under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson from 8 AM to 1 PM.

The weekend before I started my new job, I made a post on Facebook, asking where is good to get lunch within a 10 minute drive of Poplar and Kirby Parkway. I got something like 60 comments, but one of the places that kept coming up over and over was West Street Diner, a diner much like Jerry Seinfeld might visit in New York, but instead located in the heart of Germantown. However, one friend told me that the place was small, parking was limited, and I’d probably want to get my food to go and take it back with me. I’m not much on eating lunch in office break rooms, so for several weeks I put West Street Diner on the back burner.

However, earlier this week I was flipping through Google Reviews and I saw some photos of the interior of the place. I saw it had a lunch counter with stools. So if I got there right at 11, I’d get one of the stools and not take up a 4-top in a small restaurant by my lonesome. Also, by getting there at 11 I wouldn’t have to worry about a lack of parking. So, yesterday I went out there. I had scoped out the menu online in advance, particularly taking note of their daily specials. I penciled in West Street Diner on the calendar for Thursday after noting that was turkey & dressing day.

I got a seat at the counter and was brought a menu. I placed my order, and my food was out in about 4 minutes. Makes sense; if it’s a small but popular restaurant you want to have the food ready quickly so the tables can turn as many times as possible.

Good, home-style turkey and dressing like you might have on Thanksgiving. I selected mashed potatoes and green beans from a list of about 14 vegetables and sides. Good-sized portions of everything, making me regret that I somewhat killed my appetite with a bag of Fritos earlier in the morning. I have to give the folks at West St. kudos on one small but important touch: they put the cranberry sauce in a plastic cup. I am not a big fan of cranberry sauce and don’t want it there on the plate, commingling with my dressing and gravy. The cup allowed me to put it aside and have it as a small dessert.

I read on Google Reviews that the place has a lot of regulars, and I met one of them sitting at the counter. The staff was very welcoming as well when I told them I had just started a job on Kirby Parkway and am exploring the Germantown lunch scene. My check was $13.15, $16.15 after tip. I don’t want a lunch tab that high every day, but I have to admit the food and service were worth what I paid. I plan on coming back Wednesdays when two of my favorites, meatloaf and chicken livers, are on the daily special. The country ham on the every day menu has caught my eye as well. West St. Diner is the latest place to earn top-tier status among my lunch spots.

As you can see, I’m still really enjoying my lunch spots out east, the people I meet while at lunch, my job and my co-workers. By the way I plan on doing a “how I’m doing these days” post in more depth sometime soon, maybe over the weekend. One thing I learned during my time off was that a lot of people followed my personal story and I even inspired a few people. That touches my heart and is a major reason I do this blog.

In other news about me, I had the good fortune to run into members of my second BBQ family twice in six days. I still do love you guys (even if I haven’t acted like it at times the past two years or so) and miss hanging out with you guys to the extent that we used to. I’ve never been mad at you guys; it’s just that there are some things you don’t know that I wish you did. I look forward to seeing all of you at BBQ Fest and I’m glad our booths are closer than they have been the past couple of years.

That’s it for now. Check back tomorrow when I’ll have news about a fundraiser for Hope House, probably another food photo and more news.

Yesterday I got a bit ahead of myself and titled my Wednesday Update post Thursday Update. I didn’t catch it until about 6 hours after I posted it. Good thing I read my own blog or I wouldn’t have caught it at all.

Los Angeles based vendor Pranom Pop-Up, which travels the nation selling authentic Thai street food, will be back in Memphis once again this month. They will be at Memphis Made Brewing Co. today and April 19, and at Minglewood April 14. I had their Thai food at the Tennessee Brewery a few years back, and let me tell you, it is worth going out of your way to find when the mobile restaurant makes a stop in Memphis.

In other Asian food news, you can get Filipino egg rolls at South of Beale:

‘Biting into the Filipino egg rolls is like going back to the homeland.’ – Andrew Cabigao #adventuresob pic.twitter.com/6EYQYvWhtk

— South of Beale (@southofbeale) April 11, 2018

Sports 56 WHBQ radio show Fish and Stats will broadcast live from the Flying Saucer this afternoon from 3 to 6. They will have VIP tickets to Memphis Brewfest to give away.

There will be a South End neighborhood cleanup this Saturday. Meet at Ghost River at 10 AM, get your cleaning assignment, then return to Ghost River at noon for a free beer and music by Me & Leah.

For my Uptown readers: Please take a minute to fill out the 2018 Uptown Community Plan Survey.

Former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins is opening a new restaurant in Overton Square in the former Stanley BBQ space. The restaurant will serve Southern-inspired fare and will donate 2% of net food sales to the Mid-South Food Bank.

ALIVE Rescue Memphis will host Tax Day of the Dogs at the Green Beetle Sunday from 3 to 7. Live music, free Old Dominick swag, and plenty of adoptable dogs will be on site.

Random fact I learned at trivia last night: Green olives and black olives grow on the same tree. Black olives are ripe green olives. I’ll keep that in mind the next time I hit the olive bar at Bougie Kroger near where I work.

I gotta disagree with one thing Charles the Trivia Guy said last night, though. There was a question about Pope John Paul II, who served 27 years. After announcing the answer, Charles said Pius IX was the longest-serving pope at 31 years. Actually, Pius IX is the longest-serving elected pope. St. Peter, the first Bishop of Rome and considered the first pope by the Catholic Church (although that title was not yet in use), held the office from A.D. 33 to 67, a total of 34 years.

Regina’s Cajun Kitchen at 60 N. Main will celebrate the grand opening of its bar tomorrow night, Friday, April 13, 11 AM-10 PM. There will be $3 Jello shots and fruit shots, and select new appetizers will be $3. $5 well drinks and food specials too. They’ll have Game Night at 7 with Battle of the Sexes, trivia and more.

No “what I had for lunch yesterday” photos because I ate at Mayuri Indian Cuisine and have already posted photos from there. However, I do have one additional recommendation if you go: Get the papadum (thin round Indian crackers) and then get some of the spicy carrot sauce they have for dipping. Really tasty.

All right, outta here for now. Tomorrow I do expect to have a food photo for you, along with more news.

Tomorrow is the season opener of the Thursday night Peabody rooftop parties. The Molly Ringwalds, who cover all the musical genres of the 1980s, will keep you entertained. $15 general admission, $30 VIP admission with ladies and hotel guests free before 7 PM. Admission includes a buffet of chicken drummies with honey BBQ sauce and celery and carrots with Fiesta Ranch dip. If you’re in VIP you get a second buffet of lamb on a spit, stuffed grape leaves, spanakopita, and baklava.

If you plan on coming to a lot of these parties in 2018, it’s a good idea to go ahead and purchase the season-long VIP pass for $150. That gets you into all the parties including the VIP section, and it gets you discounts at the Peabody restaurants and valet parking.

For those new to Memphis, these parties are considered prime spots on the singles scene. (They can also be fun to go to and watch some of the singles try WAY TOO HARD.)

The Peabody’s restaurant Chez Philippe and Memphis in May will present a Cuisine of the Czech Republic experience May 12 from 6 to 10 PM. Czech chef, best-selling author, TV personality and entrepreneur Zdeněk Pohlreich will prepare a five-course dinner of cuisine from this year’s Memphis in May honored country.

The Center for Southern Literary Arts will present the 1st Annual Memphis Literary Arts Festival in The Edge District Friday-Saturday, June 15-16. That Friday there will be a Dinner in the Hibiscus Ballroom, an MLAF benefit featuring D. Arthur (chef), Kiese Laymon (author), Ada Victoria (musician), and Andrea Morales (photographer). Tickets are $85 general and $250 VIP.

Saturday there will be a street fair, free to attend, on Monroe Avenue between Orleans and Madison 9 AM-5 PM. There will be appearances by authors and artists Kiese Laymon, Eloisa Amezcua, Hanif Abdurraqib, Sam Sax, Jenny Johnson, Kaitlyn Greenidge, Alice Bolin, Heather Dobbins, Alice Faye Duncan, Andrea Morales, Siphne Aaye, Arthur Flowers, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Christina Oliveras, Osayi Endolyn, Ashanté M. Reese, and more to be announced. Readings, conversations, and performances in the Premiere Palace Ballroom and Marshall Arts Gallery. After-party at Premiere Palace 7:30-10 PM with DJ Siphne Aaye. First 100 drinks at the after-party are on the CSLA.

Fridays will be Free Stuff Fridays at the Redbirds this season. Every inning, prizes will be given away, and one fan will be selected to roll a pair of giant dice for the chance to win $10,000. If they don’t win, the prize rolls over to become $20,000 the next Friday there’s a game.

Downtown Candle Co. is having a 3 for $35 online sale today. If you buy at least 6 candles you’ll be entered into a drawing to win $100 worth of candles.

For lunch yesterday I tried Noodles Asian Bistro on Poplar, just east of Exeter in Germantown, for the first time. There were several dishes on the menu I wanted to try, finally settling on the Korean Spicy Seafood Noodles.

These are egg noodles tossed in a wok with shrimp, scallops, calamari, snow peas, sweet peppers, bean sprouts, cilantro, and Korean spicy sauce. They asked if I wanted the noodles mild, medium or hot, and I paused for a second here. Hot is my default value because I love spicy food, but in some Asian restaurants they can turn up the heat to tongue-scorching levels. “Well, if that happens, it’ll be a mistake I only make once,” I thought.

At Noodles, you order at the register then they give you a number you take to your seat so they can find you. I’ve seen several places in Germantown that do this, and I like it – it speeds things up at lunchtime. It also means I don’t have a server, saving me a few dollars on tip. While waiting on my food I noticed that they have $8.50 daily specials. I took a photo, as much for my own future reference as for yours:

The noodles came out with a spring roll on the side. They were delicious and just the right degree of hot (but remember, I like spicy; if you don’t you might want to stick to medium or mild). There was an abundance of seafood, and the sweet sauce that came with the spring roll was a nice counterpoint to the heat of my entree. With a $2 Coke and tax, I was out of there for $13.99.

Noodles has earned a spot in my first tier of lunch restaurants. I plan on coming back for their basil fried rice, Pad Thai, Dan Dan Noodles, and Vietnamese noodle soup.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has announced he’s not going to run for re-election. Wait, I don’t get it. The Republicans have control of both houses of Congress, a puppet in the White House who’ll push their agenda, Gorusch on the Supreme Court… the 2019-20 Congressional term could be the GOP’s opportunity to shape America in its vision. Why wouldn’t Speaker Ryan want to be a part of that? He could go down as one of history’s greatest Republican legislators.

You don’t suppose… the FBI raid on Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s home, office and hotel room has anything to do with this? Naaahhh… I’m just being a conspiracy theorist.

Maybe Ryan is been bullied into not running for his seat… could be someone named RICO coming after him.

That’ll do it for now. Back tomorrow.

The Grizzlies clinched with last night’s loss on the road. No, they didn’t clinch a playoff spot. They clinched the second-worst record in the NBA for 2017-18, meaning they will have the second most ping-pong balls in the draft lottery. The Grizzlies will have a 19.9% chance at the first pick and a 55% chance of picking in the top three, with the pick being fifth in the worst case scenario. Tankathon has a lottery simulator that is fun.

Want to work for the Grizzlies? They have a Video Archivist position open.

Memphis Brewfest, one of the city’s largest beer festivals, will be held on the field of the Liberty Bowl this Saturday, April 14 from 4:00 to 7:45 PM. Complete list of participating breweries

A Paranormal Evening with Alice Cooper comes to the Orpheum October 19. Cooper’s theatrical brand of hard rock draws from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10 AM.

In other Orpheum news, two legends of comedy, Steve Martin and Martin Short, are coming September 29. Tickets on sale this Friday at 10.

Baseball! Who’s in from Downtown? Just in time for the start of the season, Jennifer Biggs of the Commercial Appeal has five foods to try at AutoZone Park. The Redbirds have their Opening Day at home tonight. Gates open at 6:00. First pitch is 7:05 but fans are encouraged to be in seats by 6:40 for a presentation honoring the championship-winning 2017 club. Penny Hardaway will throw out the first pitch. First 1500 fans will receive a championship pennant with the name of every player and coach who helped win the 2017 PCL title. Select beers throughout the stadium for only $2, and there will be $1 hot dogs courtesy of Polk’s Meat Products.

The Kaleidoscope Food Festival returns to Wiseacre Saturday, April 21 from 3 to 7 PM. This will feature food from multicultural chefs in the Binghampton area. There will be dance performances and storytelling as well. Kids and dogs welcome.

WWE Smackdown Live returns to FedExForum on Tuesday, June 12. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday at 10 AM. There will be a Superstar Shake-Up between Raw and Smackdown next week, so until after that it is not clear who will appear on the show.

Belle Tavern will have all three of its Rabbit Hole Bourbons – the bourbon, rye, and PX sherry cask – half off all this week through Sunday. Rabbit Hole is only available in 9 states.

Volunteer Odyssey has open volunteer positions for the Tambourine Bash on April 19 benefiting Music Export Memphis’ ambassador program. This program provides tour grants for Memphis musicians to spread the good news of Memphis on the road. The Tambourine Jam will be at Old Dominick Distillery.

A bill allowing liquor stores to open on Sunday has passed the Tennessee House 55-35. It would also allow grocery stores to sell wine on Sunday. However, an amendment to the bill would ban liquor sales on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The bill now goes to the Tennessee Senate.

For those of you who weren’t paying attention to the news yesterday, FBI agents raided the home, office, and hotel room of Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen. They took away boxes of communications between Cohen and his clients, including Trump. Now, normally such communications would be inadmissible in court, due to attorney-client privilege. However, that privilege does not apply when the attorney and client were conspiring to commit a crime. Furthermore, the judge who issued the warrant had to find probable cause that conspiracy to commit a crime existed. Long story short, Cohen is in deep doo-doo.

Oh, one other thing… although Special Counsel Mueller referred the evidence, this is being handled by the public corruption unit of the Southern District of New York. In other words, Cohen will be hit with state charges. Presidents cannot pardon convictions at the state level. So Cohen is almost certain to go to prison. The only way out would be for him to turn state’s evidence and testify against Trump. Even though there were no indictments or convictions, yesterday was a pretty terrible day for The Donald.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meanwhile, my troll played the jukebox.

Didn’t realize she was an Eagles fan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

— Dj Stephens (@DdotJAY30) April 5, 2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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