Paul Ryburn's Journal

Big concert at AutoZone Park this evening. Bob Dylan, WILCO, My Morning Jacket, and the Richard Thompson Electric Trio will play starting at 5:30. In case you didn’t see it, I did a rare second Monday Update post last night in which I pointed out that you can park for free in South Main and ride the Double J limo to and from the concert.

If you’re looking for something to do pre-concert, Shelby County residents can visit The Rock N’ Soul Museum Tuesdays from 2 until close.

Couple of good food articles on the Flyer site today, including one place I didn’t even know about. “The Office” Uptown Cafe at 594 N. Second is open from 10 AM to 3 PM weekdays. It serves sandwiches and salads. It also has “office” resources such as computers, scanners, a meeting room, and copiers.

The Flyer also has a Nighttime Nosh article. It has info on the late-night menu at Flight, and what is happening at Twelve Bar, the upstairs room in Jerry Lee Lewis Honky Tonk and Cafe.

The Cochon 555 heritage pork festival is coming back to Downtown August 30.

If you’re looking for a job, there are a bunch of openings listed on the Greater Memphis Chamber site.

There will be a Rock N’ Wild pizza party Saturday, July 27 from 5 to 8 PM at the Memphis Farmers’ Market. Food from the Rock N’ Dough Pizza food truck, and Castello Monaci Wines by Frederick Wildman Imports. $25 gets you slices of pizza and four wine tickets.

The Downtown Memphis Commission has updated its strategic plan for Downtown. You can view it here.

Plans for tonight: Although it’s a great night for music and tube top watching in Downtown Memphis, I’m going to miss the concert. Tonight is the final table in Blind Bear’s poker league, and all the participants are friends of mine. (At least two of them have concert tickets. Wonder what they’re going to do?) Final table starts at 8, and I’ll be there a little early to get a good seat and cheer them on. I think they’re having a side game too, but I’m more interested in watching my friends.

If you’re coming to the Bob Dylan show at AutoZone Park, and aren’t sure where to park your car, I have a suggestion. Park in the South Main area where there is ample free parking. Go to the Double J Smokehouse and Saloon which is one block east of Main on G.E. Patterson Avenue. You can park for free in the vicinity, and they have cold PBR and other beers on tap as well as ribs, steaks, and more. When you’re ready Double J’s limo will take you to the concert for FREE. They’ll pick you up and bring you back too, and you can eat and drink to your heart’s content after the show. Best parking deal Downtown for concerts, and remember them this fall for Grizzlies games too.

Speaking of the Double J, they were featured in Meet the Bartender last week on the Commercial Appeal website.

There are a couple of Fourth of July celebrations happening Downtown, and they are actually happening on the Fourth this year as they should. One will be at Mud Island River Park. Starts at 6:00 PM, free, concessions available, tube tops recommended as attire, fireworks at 9:45. The other is the Redbirds post-game, first pitch at 6:05, fireworks after the game (so probably before the Mud Island fireworks), buffet option available. All-you-can-eat buffet? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Front St. Deli is back with a limited menu. View it here.

I hate tennis but if you don’t, the Brass Door is having a Wimbledon Finals party Sunday at 9 AM. Pimm’s Cup and Pitchers, Strawberries and Cream, Scones, English Tea. $15 mimosa bottles, $15 Bloody Mary pitchers.

Eating sheesh kabob from City Market’s grab-n-go section as I type this drunk post. Back at lunchtime tomorrow probably.

If you’re free this afternoon, why not head over to the James Lee House project launch at 690 Adams from 4-6? The historic mansion is being renovated into a 5-suite luxury bed and breakfast. There will be remarks by Rep. Steve Cohen, Mayor A.C. Wharton, Councilman Lee Harris, Paul Morris who runs DMC, and several others including the owners. At 4:55 James Lee, Sr. will ring the James Lee Steamer Bell. There will be music, food, and refreshments.

The Memphis Flyer is accepting nominations for Best Bartender, Best Server, Best Singer and Best Local Band for their 2013 Best of Memphis poll. You can make nominations here through July 7, and voting will begin July 10.

If you missed the State of the Mongo address on MemphiSport Live Saturday, you can listen to the audio file here.

As of today, the University of Memphis is officially a member of the American Athletic Conference.

The Green Beetle is hiring servers. Apply in person Monday-Friday 2-4 PM.

WMC-TV has a recap of fans getting slimed at Nickelodeon Day at AutoZone Park yesterday.

WMC also has coverage of people receiving free gas at the Poplar and Danny Thomas Exxon. The giveaway was by Light of Glory International Church, and food and MATA vouchers were handed out too. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl showed up.

Kooky Canuck got mentioned in Canada’s National Post today.

Hard to believe the year’s half over. I’ll be out enjoying unseasonably cool July weather about 5:30.

Today is the annual Canada Day celebration at Kooky Canuck. They’ll have $3 Canadian beer bottles along with $4 Forty Creek. They have 32 Canadian whiskys. They’ll also have a special Canada Day menu, including perogies, poutine, Montreal steamies, the Donair, maple sirloin steak, the Canadian burger, the Yonge Street Burger (my favorite), maple bread pudding and Nainamo bars. There will be a poutine eating contest at 2 PM. Recommended attire is Canadian colors (red and white), Canadian hockey jerseys, or tube tops. Most of that recommendation came from Shawn but I might have added something there at the end.

Yesterday I rode down the elevator with two of my neighbors. They asked if I’d been to Havana’s Pilon, the new Cuban restaurant around the corner on Madison, and I had to admit I still have not. They told me that not only are the entrees delicious, but the restaurant sells smoothies too. They recommended the passion fruit smoothie in particular.

My first stop yesterday was Bardog. Every day they have a Dog of the Day, an enormous hot dog special. Yesterday the Dog of the Day was the “Wake and Bake,” a 10 oz. all-beef hot dog, wrapped in bacon, deep-fried, and topped with curry mustard and green onions. Food porn at its finest and a heart attack on a plate.

My next stop was the Flying Saucer. They are doing their annual raffle in conjunction with Pints for Prostates. Pints for Prostates helps raise awareness of prostate cancer through the universal male language of beer. From July 3 through the 24th, every Wednesday 144 glasses will go on sale. Proceeds from the glasees will go to Pints for Prostates, and with each glass will come a raffle ticket. Winner of the raffle will get a beer trip to Belgium, Holland, and Germany September 12-22. Last year’s raffle winner was from the Memphis Saucer and was my Moody Ques BBQ teammate G-Rock. More info here.

In other Flying Saucer news, they have a new beer on tap. It’s Abita Strawtator, also known as Strawberry Andygator. It’s 8% alcohol by volume, similar to original Andygator, so this is not a beer to mess around with after you’ve already had a few. In the right state of mind, though, it is delicious.

After I left the Saucer, I went to the Silly Goose, where the day shift crew from the Saucer had gone for a drink after they got off. I joined them for a PBR on the Goose’s new patio furniture. I snapped this pic:

About 7 I decided it was “halftime” and decided to go home and take a nap before going back out. I was more tired than I realized, though, and when I woke up the clock read 2:03 AM. “The Blind Bear closes at 3, and is 2 blocks down the street. I still have time,” I thought. I put my clothes on and walked down there. That’s the beauty of living in the Downtown core, that I can do things like that. I found a couple of my poker buddies at the bar, and in the remaining 57 minutes I found time for 2 PBRs and a couple of shots of Fireball.

Not-so-random pro wrestling video of the week: Jake “The Snake” Roberts falls off the wagon. You might remember Jake from late ’80e/early ’90s WWE. He’d come to the ring with a burlap sack. After winning with his signature move, the DDT, he’d take his python Damien out of the sack and place Damien on top of his beaten opponent. In the past two decades Jake has suffered from addictions to alcohol, cocaine, and crack that nearly killed him. His friend Diamond Dallas Page, after retiring from wrestling, started a second career teaching DDP Yoga. DDP invited Jake to move in with him, calling his house The House of Accountability. Wrestler/addict Scott Hall also moved in. For 8 months Jake was completely clean and doing the right things to get his life back together. However, in late June he had a road trip where he had some drinks. Jake turns into a completely different person when drunk, a sure sign of an alcoholic. Back at The House of Accountability, DDP dressed Jake down. “When you drink, you turn into THAT GUY. And THAT GUY sucks to live with.” After talking to Jake’s therapist and recovering alcoholics, DDP came up with a plan to get “The Snake” back on the right track: 90 meetings in 90 days. Not, “well Jake, it’s OK if you have a drink now and then, but only a little.” Hardcore is the only plan that will work. If anyone reading this blog sees a little of themselves in Jake, perhaps they should attend daily AA meetings too, while separating themselves from the environment that leads to bad decisions.

Getting ready to head to the Majestic for brunch, with a stop at Canada Day at some point in the afternoon. Beautiful, cooler weather outside today. Let’s enjoy this last day of June.

The past couple of weeks I’ve been kind of stressed out. My car registration expires in June, and the car had a broken parking brake. It wouldn’t pass until I got that fixed, and since the car is a Saturn I can’t just take it to the dealership because there are no more Saturn dealerships.

I got on eBay, found the part, and bought it. I had it in hand Monday, which was cutting it awful close because I only had this week to get the car through inspection. “No problem, though,” I thought. “Get it fixed Tuesday, run it through inspection Wednesday, and if it fails emissions (which it never has) fix it Thursday and go back to inspection Friday.” For those not familiar with Memphis inspections, you can’t get your car inspected at licensed garages. You have to wait in line at one of four city inspection centers. I’ll say more about this later.

Tuesday I took the part to Gateway near where I work, and while I was there I decided to go ahead and get some other much needed work done too: an alignment, new brakes, and an oil change. About an hour later they called me and said they couldn’t fix the parking brake and I needed to take it to a dealer. Since there are no more Saturn dealers they recommended Jimmy Gray Chevrolet near where I work. I told them to go ahead and do the other stuff, and I’d take the car to Jimmy Gray on Wednesday. That gave me Thursday to get the car inspected, again closer to the end of the month than I’d like. But I figured, if it fails I’ll get it fixed Friday and run it through inspection again Saturday.

Jimmy Gray got the parking brake fixed (both Jimmy Gray and Gateway were courteous and professional, by the way). Thursday I got to the inspection station at 7 AM and was second in line. The lady did all the tests, printed out a sheet of paper, and told me, “Sir, you passed everything else but you failed emissions. You’re slightly over on hydrocarbons. What you need to do is get that taken care of and come back to us.” Dammit. I did not want to spend Saturday in an inspection line.

Then she paused for a minute and continued, “However…… city inspections end tomorrow. So what you could do is just go get your tags on Monday (July 1).”

“So you’re saying I don’t really need to get this fixed?” I asked. She smiled and nodded. I drove on to Horn Lake, relieved, arriving at work 35 minutes early. About 11 the city sent out the official email saying the inspection stations were closing.

So Monday I’ll walk down to Washington Avenue and get my tags. I will get the emissions thing fixed at some point, because it’s surely not good for my car’s engine to be running with all that gunk inside it. However, I will get my tags first and drive to the service center in a legally licensed car. Now that MPD has those scanners on top of some of their cars that can read license plates, I don’t want to be driving around with expired tags for even part of a day.

I want to send my condolences to those who were laid off at the inspection centers. No matter what you do, it sucks to have your job pulled out from under you. I’ve been there. I wish you well and hope you land on your feet.

However… I am THRILLED that the inspections are gone. Memphis had the stupidest way of doing vehicle inspections in the country, and possibly in the world. You have to wait in line for sometimes an hour or more, while your car builds up emissions as it idles that could cause it to fail. (And in my case, I wait in the scorching June heat. At least ladies can wear a tube top to inspection and keep cool.) If you fail, you have to spend a second day going to get the car fixed, and a third day getting re-inspected. I suppose you could condense all that into one day, but when you have a job it’s hard to do that without taking vacation. Sitting in inspection line and in a service center’s waiting room is NOT a vacation.

For six months I lived in the state with the tightest emissions standards in the country, California. Right after I moved there I had to get the car inspected. I drove three blocks up the street and left my car with a licensed mechanic on Ingraham Boulevard in San Diego. He told me the inspection would take 35-40 minutes, so I gave him my phone number and walked up to World Curry on Garnet Avenue for lunch (that’s a restaurant concept I would love to see in Downtown Memphis). As I was eating, the mechanic called and told me I’d passed and could come get the car.

What if I had failed? The mechanic would have fixed the problem then and there and re-inspected. One day spent on inspection even if the car failed. Not three. And there were dozens of state-licensed mechanics all over town, so no one had to drive more than a mile to get it done.

I grew up in Arkansas and it handled inspections the same way as California (I assume it still does). I work in Mississippi and my co-workers who live there tell me it’s handled that way too.

Those who defend Memphis’ inspection system might say, you have to do it that way to test for emissions. Um, once again, I lived in CALIFORNIA and they found a way for licensed mechanics to apply the toughest emissions test in the country. If California can do it, why can’t Tennessee?

If inspections are ever brought back by the city, county, or state, I hope they bulldoze those inspection stations and go the licensed-mechanic route. I know the new Appling station won awards, but still. It’s like the city leaders, when they planned how inspections would work, thought, “How can we cause the maximum possible inconvenience to our citizens?”

As I said, I will go get the emissions problem looked at soon. But on Monday, I’ll be a proud polluter with 2014 tags.

 

If you’re looking for something fun to do with your kids tomorrow, bring them to AutoZone Park for a special Nickelodeon Day with the Redbirds. Game time has been moved to 1:35 PM. Contestants will be slimed, pied and watered during half-inning breaks, reminiscent of shows You Can’t Do That on Television and Figure It Out.  Jeff Sutphen of Figure It Out will host the day’s events. Kids, if you’ve always wanted to be covered in green slime, this is your chance. The ‘birds will play the Albuquerque Isotopes.

Fun fact: The Isotopes derived their name from an episode of The Simpsons.

If you plan on cooking out for the 4th, Double J can help. They have full slabs of ribs (no sides) for $22.50, and whole butts $4.50 a pound (approximately $35-40 each). They have other items too, so swing by and talk to them if you want some good BBQ to celebrate our independence.

From USA Today: Memphis pulled pork: America’s best regional food?

The Silly Goose finally got its new patio furniture in. I didn’t get by there yesterday to take a pic, but the furniture is very lounge-y, much like what’s on the patio at Bluefin. The ladies will look good lounging on the patio in tube tops.

A group has promised to donate $100,000 to MIFA as soon as the organization raises $200,000. Can you help? More info here.

Tennessee’s new beer tax laws go into effect Monday. Good news for those who brew beer and those who drink it in the state.

Check out this week’s New Yorker cover where Bert and Ernie celebrate the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage. Very cool.

My BBQ team captain, who is an attorney, sent me this job posting. It’s long so I’m just going to copy and paste.

MBA Seeking Communications Director

MBA Communications Director Dottie McCallen will be leaving the MBA at the end of July, and the MBA is currently seeking applications from individuals interested in serving as part-time Communications Director for the association. The responsibilities of the MBA Communications Director include but are not limited to the design and management of Memphis Lawyer magazine, the bimonthly magazine of the MBA; the design and timely dissemination of the weekly MBA Bar Bulletin and the quarterly Young Lawyers’ Appeal enewsletters; the marketing of all MBA events, conferences and seminars, including the design of related print and online materials; the management of the MBA website, www.memphisbar.org, including updating and creating pages and graphics and working with an outside web developer to coordinate major changes; and overseeing the MBA social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Qualified candidates should hold a bachelor’s degree preferably in journalism or public relations or with 5+ years experience in these fields and have extensive knowledge of Adobe InDesign and Photoshop; working knowledge of HTML code and extensive experience with web editing; and excellent writing and editing skills, publishing experience preferred. Other qualifications include extensive knowledge of Microsoft Office software (i.e., Excel, PowerPoint); experience in e-communications and/or familiarity with e-marketing etiquette and laws; and familiarity with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and a good understanding of how the MBA can utilize them to grow its value and membership.
Those interested in this position should submit a resume to afritz@memphisbar.org.

Plans for today: It’s my work’s annual company picnic at the zoo, an opportunity to meet everyone’s kids. It’s possible I may make a wrong turn and end up at Bardog rather than the zoo.

The NBA draft was last night, and while the Grizzlies didn’t have any first-round picks, they made some moves in the second. The Flyer’s Chris Herrington has an excellent analysis. The biggest move is that we dealt Darrell Arthur to Denver. In return, we got an asset we desperately needed, Kosta Koufos, a true center. Koufos will allow Marc Gasol to get some rest on the bench when he needs it. Koufos started 81 games for Denver last season.

In breaking Grizzlies news, it looks like Jerryd Bayless will be back next year. I bet Meg is jumping up and down with joy right now. Hopefully in a tube top.

Also, D.J. Stephens will play on the Miami Heat’s NBA summer league team. He has not been drafted by any NBA team as of yet.

South Main Trolley Night is tonight, with many galleries and shops open until 9 or later. There are several special events. One is a closing reception for George Hunt’s “Memphis – Still the Blues” show at d’Edge, as well as a celebration of Mr. Hunt’s 73rd birthday. Miss Birdsong’s Sweet Tooth Candy Company will have a booth at Main and Nettleton. There will also be illustrators and silk-screen artists doing demos, and the Amurica photo booth will be in the area. There will also be several shops and galleries with live music.

MPD is considering moving its headquarters out of the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center and into a building the city already owns at 128 Adams. That building served as police HQ from 1911 to 1982. I remember attending a presentation by former MPD director Larry Godwin a few years ago, and he said what a great thing it would be to have all public safety services housed together in one building. Currently those functions are scattered across the city.

The Orpheum will show 1956 John Wayne western The Searchers at 7 tonight. Before the movie at 6:30 there will be a concert by bluegrass band Blue Day.

Want to learn to fly? There’s a Groupon for Downtown Aviation. For $49 you get a 90-minute lesson with both ground school and flight time. Downtown Aviation isn’t actually Downtown, but up the road on North Second a bit. Close enough, though. For those of you who live in suburban hell Olive Branch, there’s an option to take your lesson out there too.

Mobile LED signs may be coming to Downtown. The DMC’s Design Review Board will review the proposal Wednesday, July 3 at 4 PM, and the public is welcome for those who have input.

Plans for tonight: I’ll lead off at the Saucer, where I’ll likely drink Dos Equis Lager while being stared at by a person who has been consumed with bitterness and resentment lately. Then around the corner to celebrate a friend’s birthday at 7. (Mostly) fun times ahead for tonight.

There was an explosion and underground transformer fire last night at the Exchange Building at Second and Madison. Second was blocked from Court to Madison for a while.

There’s a great article with lots of info about new Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger on GrizzGrind.com. Thanks to @chrisvernonshow for tweeting it this morning. The article’s author definitely writes outside of the box, shall we say, but it’s still worth a read.

The Brass Door is having a “Rally in the Alley” outside tomorrow evening starting at 5 PM. They will have $2.50 Miller Lite, $3.50 Brass Door Red, and $4 Fireball.

5th Kind headlines tonight’s Peabody rooftop party. The buffet this week will be a mashed potato bar, and if you’re in VIP you’ll have meatloaf sliders, tater totals, and pimiento cheese spread with vegetables. The drink special this week will be Cruzan “9” spiced rum for $4.

Last week was my mother’s birthday. As a believer in shopping local, I wanted to find her something produced in Memphis. After a few minutes of pondering, I thought, “Why not send her what Memphis is most well known for – BBQ?” I got on Central BBQ’s web storefront. I poked around for a bit, then selected the Small Central BBQ Combination Pack. It came with one slab of ribs, one pound of pulled pork, one rub (I chose the rib rub) and one sauce (I chose mild). Since she really needed to be home to get the delivery, I scheduled it for last Friday rather than her birthday in case someone took her out that day. She had the pulled pork last weekend and loved it. She also shared the pork with a couple of her neighbors. She has the ribs in the freezer and I’m sure she will love them too. Keep Central in mind if you want to send someone a birthday or holiday treat.

From Consumerist: Some restaurants are now courting customers who use popular photo-sharing social app Instagram. They see the sharing of food porn as good for business, and I would agree. There have been a few times when I have shown up at Aldo’s Pizza Pies, for example, because someone Instagrammed the Slice of the Day.

That’ll do it for now. Will probably start at the Goose after work, then park myself somewhere later in the evening and watch the draft second round.

Craig from the Memphis Que blog has an interesting post comparing The Rendezvous to Latham’s, a BBQ joint in Jackson, Tennessee. Craig does a great job dispelling the myth that The Rendezvous is the place to go for true Memphis-style ribs. For those not wanting to drive to Jackson, he recommends several local restaurants, three of which are Downtown: Central BBQ, Double J, and Cozy Corner. If you’re a tourist coming to Memphis and want the true Memphis BBQ experience, I’d recommend any of those three over Rendezvous. Craig puts it well when he says that of all the BBQ joints in Memphis, Rendezvous represents the biggest gap between hype and reality. I do disagree with one thing Craig says, though, about Blues City Cafe on Beale being a tourist trap. I like their ribs too and send tourists there all the time, especially when the tourists don’t feel up to the longer walk to Central.

RAW: Natural Born Artists presents Kaleidoscope tomorrow at Minglewood Hall. This is a showcase of local talent in the areas of art, fashion, music, film, hair, makeup, photography, and performing art.

Great news for beer lovers! Dogfish Head has announced it will return to Tennessee and several other states in 2013. A few years ago you could find delicious Dogfish Head beers including their 60 and 90 Minute IPAs and my favorite, the Midas Touch brewed from a 3000-year-old recipe. However, demand for the beer exceeded their capacity to produce it at the time, and they had to pull back. Now they have scaled up and are ready to re-enter some markets, including our state.

The Memphis Business Journal posted an article about LetsMoveDown, an app that will let you upgrade to better seats once you’re already in your seat at Grizzlies games. The really good news, though, is at the end of the article: Next season you will be able to use your phone to show tickets, rather than having to print them out or go to Will Call.

That’s it for now. I’ll probably lead off at the Silly Goose after work, in the hope that Jessica will wear another tube top.

At lunchtime I posted about a decision by the Alcoholic Beverage Commission to start enforcing a 2006 law banning infused alcohol. Now The Tennessean is reporting that the ABC has reversed that decision and will not prohibit infusions. Good call.

There’s a current Groupon for Alannah’s Breakfast Kafe on North Main Street. Two options: $7 for $14 worth of food, or $20 for $42 worth of food.

The Tamp and Tap Room, the new coffee and beer bar soon to open in Van Vleet Flats, reports that its baristas have been in Chicago. They’ve been training in Latte Art at Metropolis Roastery, and will soon get to show off their skills.

Prince Mongo, the spirit from the planet Zambodia who has run for mayor of Memphis on several occasions, will give his annual “State of the Mongo” address Saturday at noon. Hear it on AM 560/FM 87.7 on MemphiSport Live.

Central BBQ (all three locations) will be closed Monday, July 1 all day. In other news, I’ve heard that Downtown Central has a couple of locally brewed High Cotton beers for the next couple of weeks.

The Nuh-Uh Girl (last seen on this blog in a tube top) texted me tonight and told me poker night at the Mad Earl is definitely worth checking out. 6:30 and 8:30 Mondays.

Home after Pint Nite at the Saucer. I stopped by Blind Bear where Ruffin cooked me some excellent blackened fish with sides of pepper jack mac & cheese and green beans. Few more bites then off to bed.