Yesterday afternoon after work, I looked at Twitter. Seth, the organizer of the Best Memphis Burger Festival, was talking about a burger he had Sunday that was one of the best things he ever ate. What was really surprising was that it was a burger cooked by a chain restaurant, BGR The Burger Joint. Knowing that Seth usually prefers to eat local, I thought to myself, that burger must have been amazing.
So I went to BGR’s menu page and looked up the burger he mentioned, the Wellington. I read the list of toppings – roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, garlic with a touch of mustard seed and blue cheese – and thought to myself, “hey, I judged that burger on Sunday!” Remember how I said two of the burgers were average, one was very very good, and one was possibly the juiciest, tastiest burger I’ve ever had? I’m just about positive the one that got my highest marks was the Wellington. If that’s the case, then that burger is absolutely worth a trip to East Memphis. I cannot praise it enough.
Speaking of the burger fest, Seth emailed all the judges this morning and told us that $5500 was raised for Mid-South Spay & Neuter Services! Great job to all who participated!
In Downtown news, Max’s Sports Bar will open early this afternoon, at 3:30, for the Cardinals game. Max’s has $3 shots of Fireball and $1 dogs every Friday for happy hour until 7 PM.
Several things going on outdoors tomorrow on what will be a chilly 60-degree day. First of all, there’s an Irish festival in the Pinch. Celtic band Reel McCoy will perform, as will the Swamp Katz. Irish menu at Mulligan’s and Westy’s. Opportunities to learn about the Pinch’s Irish history, including a free walking tour by historian Jimmy Ogle. The Grizzlies street team will be there, and prizes will be given away including tickets to a pre-season game. 2-8 PM. The Pinch is the portion of North Main north of the I-40 overpass.
Over on the island, Tug’s will have an Oktoberfest celebration Saturday and Sunday, with German food and beer under the big tent.
At noon Saturday, popular jam band FreeWorld will get their note on historic Beale Street. FreeWorld recently celebrated their 25th anniversary, and they jam all over town including their weekly Sunday night gig at Blues City. Happy to see the band receiving this much-deserved honor.
The Mid-South Pride Festival and Parade will happen all day Saturday at Robert Church Park, on Beale just east of Fourth. This is the largest gay/lesbian event of the year. The parade marches down Beale at 4 PM.
Time for a trip to hell – well, not really hell, but Walmart, almost the same thing. I’ll be out about 6 after work. Will probably start at the Saucer, then figure out the plan for the evening as I go along.
Last night I hopped in a cab and headed to the Broad Avenue district. The Memphis Flyer throws a party every year for the winners of its Best of Memphis poll, and the parties are always in fun, hip, off-the-beaten-path venues. This year didn’t disappoint. The party was in a huge warehouse underneath the water tower on Broad, with the parking lot turned into a courtyard for live entertainment.
One of the best things about the Flyer’s BOM parties is that the winning restaurants are invited to cater the event. Below is one of two plates of food I had.
Clockwise, from top: Chicken wing from Gus’s, sushi from Sekisui, BBQ nachos from Central BBQ, black bean roll from Cafe Eclectic, and Soul Burger from Earnestine & Hazel’s. I posted this pic when I checked in on Foursquare, and within a few minutes the Nuh-Uh Girl commented, “Jealous.”
This may be surprising coming from me, but the real star of this plate was the black bean roll. The spiciness of the black bean patty and spicy mayo was perfectly contrasted with the coolness of avocado and tomato. I would definitely make the journey across the A.W. Willis Avenue bridge to get this at Little Cafe Eclectic in Harbor Town.
I noticed that the party was across the street from Jack Magoo’s, the Broad Avenue sports bar. I had never been there, and decided to duck out of the party early, about 8. “One beer at Magoo’s to look around, then I’ll catch a cab back Downtown for rounds two and three of trivia at Blind Bear,” I thought.
I took a seat at the bar, ordered a PBR, and heard “Pau Pau!” to my right. Only one person calls me that – Lana Danko from Kooky Canuck. She and Shawn were at the bar. More friends came in a few minutes later. I looked around. The downstairs alone had more TVs than Max’s Sports Bar, which means there are a LOT of TVs. When the bartenders heard it was my first time in, they took me on a tour of the place. There’s an entire second bar upstairs, plus pool tables, air hockey, and a Wendesday and Thursday night poker game. Outside is the largest courtyard in town, with live music and they’re in the process of getting murals painted on the walls. I felt right at home at Jack Magoo’s and am going to try to get a group of Downtowners together for a field trip out there soon. I had such a good time that “just one beer” turned into “three PBRs and five shots of Fireball.” Ouch!
The Best of Memphis winners are now online. You can view them here.
Chris Vernon had a major scoop on his radio show today: Peyton Manning has agreed in principle to become part-owner of the Memphis Grizzlies. He will join Penny Hardaway and Justin Timberlake as part of the minority ownership group.
Bad news for the pigeons: A peregrine falcon has been spotted Downtown. Do falcons hunt at night? Lately there have been more rats than usual running around the Main Street Mall after dark.
Downtown Dining Week has been set for November 5-11. Many Downtown restaurants will offer three-course dinners for the low price of $20.12. Even better, Athens Distributing, Ketel One Vodka, Woodford Reserve Bourbon and Coppola Wines are sponsoring the week, so there will be drink features as well.
A new gallery on South Main, the Ewing Entertainment Museum, shows photos of R&B and soul artists of the past 30 years. You can also rent classic movies on VHS or DVD there, and the space is available for rental. The gallery is at 304 S. Main.
The Cooper-Young Beerfest has partnered with Guidebook for an app related to the festival. It’s available now, and will be continuously updated through next Saturday with information about brewers, beers, the Beer Tent Revival schedule and more. Info on how to get the app here.
Outta here for now. Once again, thanks to those who voted for me in the Flyer poll.
I’ve learned that this blog has tied for third in the Memphis Flyer Best of Memphis 2012 voting. Thank you to all who voted for me, and all who read this blog. I’m happy that you find it informative and entertaining. I Love Memphis took first place again, with Eat Local Memphis finishing second, and Dining with Monkeys tying me for third. I’m in very good company in the top three.
The Downtown Central BBQ location will open to the public Friday. It will be open 11 AM to 10 PM. It’s at the corner of Butler and St. Martin, across from the Civil Rights Museum. I haven’t been in the place yet but I’ve been told it’s a really neat space with garage windows similar to those in the Flying Saucer.
Movie & Pizza Co. has announced the first annual Harbor Town Beer and Food Festival Saturday, October 20 from 2 to 9 PM. Breweries already committed are New Belgium, Ghost River, Lazy Magnolia, Blue Moon, Sam Adams, Blackstone, Yuengling, O’Fallon, Angry Orchard, Abita, Henry Weinherds, Abita, Magic Hat, Shiner Bock, Schafly, and Yazoo. There will be food pairings from Miss Cordelia’s, Tug’s and Movie & Pizza. Charvey McLemore will play 7 to 9 PM. Tickets are $33 in advance, $38 at the door. More info here.
The Rendezvous tweeted this morning that they will start Downtown delivery of their BBQ via bike next week.
Tickets for the International Blues Challenge (Jan.29-Feb.2, 2013) are now on sale here. There is perhaps no better place to hear the blues in Memphis than this winter festival on Beale. It draws competitors from all over the world.
I’ve been watching the Memphis Flyer Twitter feed of the BOM winners this morning. Alchemy has been all over the first-place votes. I still have not been. We Downtowners need to catch a cab and invade the place one night. If we get 7 of us in a van it won’t cost that much…
I’ll be at the Best of Memphis party tonight. Leaving work early so I can catch a cab out there. I’ll try to post some pics to Twitter and Instagram.
Easily enough news to warrant a second post today. Let’s see what we’ve got…
The past two days, I’ve been telling people about my experiences as a judge at Best Memphis Burger Fest. I didn’t judge the Extreme category but I saw the 45 lb. burger that Kooky Canuck entered. A lot of people said, “I wish I’d seen that!” when I described it to them. This afternoon I saw a pic of it. Here it is. Behind the burger are Seth from Best Memphis Burger Festival and Shawn from Kooky Canuck.
By the way, tonight is “Super Tuesday” at Kooky Canuck, with all their 34 oz. signature drinks only $5.
If you didn’t get by the festival to make a donation to Mid-South Spay & Neuter Services, you have another chance to support the cause tomorrow. On the Border will donate 10% of the cost of all purchases tomorrow, October 3, to the charity. All you have to do is bring a copy of this flyer and present it to your server.
The MBJ reports that construction on Bass Pro in the Pyramid will be delayed a few months because the shop has decided to add a 190-room hotel inside the structure. That will require extra seismic work, which has already begun.
If you have metalwork that needs repair, this weekend (Thursday-Sunday) will be Repair Days at the Metal Museum. More info on their website.
My friend Sarah Copeland, an artist who used to live in Memphis, has some of her artwork online for sale. Some of her images are of the Downtown Memphis skyline and her site sells them in a print-on-demand format. You can view her work here.
After my problems catching a cab Sunday, one of my friends at the Saucer recommended a smartphone app called Taxi Magic. “I used it, and a cab was there in 7 minutes,” he told me. “If you enter a credit card number, you can even pre-pay for your cab. It also shows you maps of the route that your driver should be taking,” which helps keep drivers honest. I have to take a cab to a party tomorrow night and will give this app a try.
Local sports author Ryne Hancock now has his book Say Goodnight, Cassie: The Unsung Journey of the 2011 LSU Tigers available in Kindle format for only $7.99. If you don’t have a Kindle device, there are free apps for reading Kindle books available for PCs, Macs, and iOS and Android devices. Buy the book here.
All right, that’ll do it for this evening. Time to go find a good place to have a beer.
The results from the Best Memphis Burger competition are now live on the site. View them here. Congratulations to “I Like Big Burgers and I Can Not Lie” on their first-place win in the Best Memphis Burger category. Scores for all teams are listed in each category, and “some guys with a grill” type teams did very well against established restaurants.
The Flyer’s Hungry Memphis blog has a post about a new restaurant, Arepas & Salsa, that has opened at 662 Madison in the former Burly’s Burgers space. It is a Venezuelan restaurant, and I am quite intrigued by the picture of the sandwich with an arepa as a bun. Years ago, when I was teaching at the University of Memphis, I would walk over to the Highland Strip for lunch. For about a year there was a Colombian restaurant with very similar sandwiches. They were delicious. Delighted to have a restaurant serving arepas within trolley distance of my front door. Will have to try the place soon.
The Blind Bear is selling bottles of Buehler Chardonnay, Liberty School Cabernet, and Bear Boat Pinot Noir for $20 until they run out. These wines normally sell for $10 a glass at the Bear, so you’re getting quite a deal. Wine experts: Suggestions for which would pair best with their pepper jack mac & cheese?
Tomorrow night the Flying Saucer sells their annual tribute glass in honor of John Lennon’s birthday (actual birthday is the 9th). Here’s a pic. Glasses will go on sale at 7 PM and will run out pretty quickly.
This was all over social media yesterday, but in case you missed it: ESPN is writing “three big things” columns about men’s college basketball teams projected to be in the preseason top 20. Yesterday’s column was three big things about the Memphis Tigers. I agree with all three of these points.
This is interesting for fans of electoral math: FiveThirtyEight posted that new polls raise the possibility of an Electoral College tie. A result of 269-269 would not be good for President Obama, since the election would be thrown to the House where most state delegations are dominated by Republicans. Although these scenarios are possible, it should be noted that every one of them has the president losing Florida, where he’s currently leading in the polls.
I hate to report a couple of pieces of bad news: First of all, there were more layoffs at the Commercial Appeal yesterday. This time it was the newsroom including several senior positions. My sympathy goes out to the talented writers who are now without a paycheck, and I hope all of you get back on your feet soon. If you work for the CA and survived this round of layoffs, I strongly suggest you be proactive and get a resume together now.
My sympathy also goes out to Memphis in May BBQ team People’s Republic of Swina, who had their trailer stolen this week. The trailer took 6 months to build and was valued at $15,000. It was used for less than a year at regional competitions and BBQ Fest before being stolen.
The trailer was taken this weekend from a facility off Shelby Drive. If you have information that can help locate it, please call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH.
That’ll do it for now. Possibly a second news post after work.
My Sunday was a little different this week. I was a judge for the Best Memphis Burger festival. There were four cooking categories. I was a judge in the overall Best Memphis Burger category – the burger had to be cooked with beef, but beyond that teams could do whatever they wanted.
Best Memphis Burger was the last category to be judged, with turn-in at 2 PM. They asked us to be there 30-40 minutes prior to then. Since I got up early on Sunday, I had time to join my friends for brunch at the Majestic (I didn’t eat, obviously). After that I decided I had time for one quick beer, then I’d call a cab to take me to Minglewood Hall where the festival was being held.
My friends went to Blind Bear after the Majestic, but I decided to go to the Saucer because I figured it would be easier for cab drivers to find. Drank a Dos Equis Lager, called 577-7777 (Yellow Cab) at 12:30. “I need a cab to pick me up at Flying Saucer, Second at Peabody Place. Destination is Minglewood Hall, 1555 Madison.”
“You need to be picked up at the Flying J?” the dispatcher asked.
“Flying SAUCER,” I said, and repeated the address. They said they’d have someone right over. I hung up the phone and waited… and waited… and waited. The clock struck 1. No cab. I walked a block up the street in the rain to the Peabody Hotel, where FOUR Yellow Cabs with the 577-7777 number on the side were sitting. I got in one and told the driver what had happened. “There’s a new computer system,” he said. “People are not familiar with it yet.” I made a mental note that I would not be calling Yellow Cab for my trip home.
I got to the festival and Seth of the Best Memphis Burger blog was one of the first people I ran into. “Let me get you a beer,” he said, and went to the stand and poured me a Bud Light. “Do you want some Fireball too?” I turned down the Fireball, wanting a clear head for the judging.
At 2 I sat down for the judging and they brought out the burgers. Each judge was given four burgers in a blind box. First we had to open all four boxes and assign a score based on appearance. With that out of the way, we were asked to take a bite or two of each burger and judge the juiciness on a scale of 2 to 9. After that we were to take another bite or two and judge the taste. Two of my burgers were quite average. One was quite possibly better than any burger I’ve had in Memphis, and another not far behind. I had to eat nearly half of each before I was able to determine which was better in each category. I ran through a LOT of napkins because those two burgers were so juicy.
We were told we had to judge the entire burger on taste. That meant that if it came with a cup of sauce on the side, we had to apply the sauce to the burger and judge it with the sauce, even if we thought the burger would taste better without it. None of my four burgers came with sauce, though, so it wasn’t an issue.
After judging I walked over and watched the Kookamonga-eating competition. Teams of two competed to see who could eat the most of Kooky Canuck‘s seven and a half-pound Kookamonga burger in 10 minutes. One team member started, then tagged off at the 5-minute mark. At the end of 10 minutes, burgers were weighed to see who had the least left. However, the weigh-in resulted in a tie. Shawn from Kooky Canuck declared a 5-minute eat-off between the two top teams, with both teammates eating simultaneously. Congratulations to fellow blogger Buck Daddy, whose team emerged from the eat-off as the winner.
One of the cool things about the burger fest is that I got to meet a lot of people who I know from social media but have never talked to in person. Nice to meet Cordell and Tawanda from Jack Pirtle’s Chicken in particular. I heard they stepped up big time as a sponsor and played a key role in making the festival happen. It was also good to meet Heather and Greg who I know from social media, Jennifer Biggs from the CA, Todd from Memphis Dawgs, and many others.
I commented that I really didn’t know if I deserved to be a burger judge. “I surely don’t know as much about food as Jennifer Biggs,” I said. “I think that’s why they want you here,” said Kevin Cerrito from MemphiSport Live. You kind of represent the view of the average guy on the street.” That makes sense. After all, what food is more the food of the everyman than a burger?
I stayed for the awards ceremony – sorry for not taking notes on who won what, but it was raining, and I didn’t want my phone out in the rain. I’m sure the results will be on the festival website pretty soon.
After the awards I called a cab, this time using 323-3333 (Arrow Cab). Driver was there in 10 minutes and they called me when the cab arrived. Much better. Next time I have to call a cab (which will be Wednesday) I will be calling Arrow.
With Burger Fest in the books, I got Sunday Fun Day started at the Blind Bear about 4, hanging out with the lovely Walker family and a suburbanite/former Downtowner in a tube top dress and cowboy boots. I told them about the burger judging. “Did Huey’s enter?” they asked. Only six restaurant teams entered, and Huey’s was not among them. It makes sense – the average Memphian thinks of Huey’s burger as the best. Why would they put their reputation on the line and risk losing to some guy with a backyard grill?
The Best Memphis Burger winner, by the way, was not a restaurant team. That means that their burger will appear on Kooky Canuck’s menu for a week. When it goes on the menu, I definitely want to stop by there and find out if it was one of the two really good burgers in my judging boxes.
I noticed that a really good mix of ’70s and ’80s tunes was playing at the Bear. I asked the server what exactly we were hearing, and she said it was a Hall & Oates Pandora station. Never would have guessed that, but I’m creating that station on my iPad today.
I stayed for poker at the Bear at 6:30 and ended up coming in second. I’ve had a lot of second, third and fourth place finishes lately but no wins. At least I’m accumulating a lot of final table points. By the way, from time to time I get asked how much the buy-in is. All these poker games I play at bars are free to play.
It’s Monday, so Pint Nite at the Saucer is first on the agenda. Aldo’s Pizza Pies is a likely stop as well.
The big day is here! Today 22 teams will compete for the title of Best Memphis Burger in the parking lot of Minglewood Hall at 1555 Madison. There are four burger competitions: Veggie (turn-in time 11 AM), Anything But (beef; turn-in time noon); Extreme (at least 2 lbs., turn in time 1 PM), and Best Memphis Burger (turn-in time 2 PM). I am one of the judges in the Best Memphis Burger category. I am really looking forward to it. A lot of my fellow judges are people I know from blogs, media, or social media, but haven’t met in person. I am honored that Seth selected me to help pick out the Best Memphis Burger.
The festival is free, but donations to Mid-South Spay and Neuter Services are encouraged. In addition to the burger cooking competitions, there will be a Kooky Canuck Kookamonga eating competition and a children’s chalk art competition. Live music, Minglewood will be selling beer, there will be vendors, and if you want to adopt a pet you can do that too. Come on out!
It’s the last Friday of the month, and that means it’s time for South Main Trolley Tour. Many of the shops and galleries will be open from 6 to 9 PM this evening. Some shops offer appetizers and beer/wine; some offer discounts, and some restaurants in the area will try to lure you in with specials. There will be musicians and street performers, and the SMA will host a blood drive. Beautiful night to get out and mill around and meet your fellow Memphians. Also, Christmas is less than 3 months away, so it’s not too early to scour South Main for some unique holiday gift ideas.
Hoop City Memphis, makers of the “38103” shirt I’ve been wearing lately, will be at South of Beale selling their Memphis-themed apparel. It’s too bad they never took the suggestion to make a 38103 tube top that was requested by one of my readers.
Also at Trolley Tour, look for deep discounts at Delphinium, which is moving to an online presence only. There will be deep discounts at Shop Girl New York, which is about to move to a location in the core. More info on those businesses here.
Read about the recipients of 2012 Downtown Vision Awards here. These are people who have significantly contributed to Downtown’s advancement. The awards were presented yesterday at the DMC open house.
The FuzzyBrew blog has posted a video: Behind the scenes at Ghost River. Good to watch if you’re curious what goes on at a brewery.
Bikes on Beale, the Wednesday night gathering of motorcycles, has been extended through the end of October. Hampton Inn and Suites at Third and Beale sponsored the extension.
There’s a pirate fair on Mud Island this weekend. Yay.
Bad news for Chris Paul and Blake Griffin: The NBA is finalizing penalty procedures for flopping. “Flopping” is when a player hits the floor hard, in an attempt to make the referee believe that the opposing team had committed a foul. Many players in the NBA flop, especially in the playoffs. The L.A. Clippers are especially known for it.
Plans for tonight: I’m going to go to Trolley Tour, and tonight I plan to actually GO and walk around and look at what’s in the galleries. Too often I say I’m going to Trolley Tour and then make a beeline for Max’s Sports Bar or Double J. Hope to see you out on South Main this evening.
I just got home from Bardog with the Dog of the Day. It’s the “Model T,” available however you want it, as long as you want it with black beans, black olives, rice, pico, and hot sauce. I got mine with potato salad instead of fries. I don’t know what Henry Ford would have thought about the side dish option.
Ladies: Cooking dishes with black olives in them is a key to my heart.
The Downtown Memphis Commission is having an Open House this afternoon from 4 to 7 at their office at 114 N. Main (at Adams). They will present Vision Awards to honor Jason Wexler, University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Robert McGowan, Annie Mahaffey, and Jimmy Ogle. Live entertainment will include Preston Shannon, Valeria’s Wings, Misti Rae Warrent, Beale Street Flippers, and Tiger High. Beer, wine, and refreshments; complimentary food by Downtown Memphis restaurants. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.
I had heard they were going to be charging admission for RiverArtsFest this year. Here are the details. Free Friday, October 26; $5 admission Saturday, October 27; $5 admission Sunday, October 28 but free 10 AM to noon. This is a great festival and $5 is a small price to pay to get in.
Karaoke for a cause: The Double J Smokehouse and Saloon will have karaoke from 7-11 PM Sunday night in support of the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). There will be food and drink specials. Karaoke is a lot less atrocious when it benefits a charity, so come on down to the Double J and show your support.
The politics of beer: This chart shows which party you’re more likely to vote for, and how likely you are to vote, based on the beer you drink. My first reaction to this chart is, they left off PBR!!! Unthinkable. At the Flying Saucer, one of the few bars that doesn’t carry PBR, I drink Dos Equis, which casts me as a middle-of-the-road voter and slightly less likely than average to go to the polls.
This morning I pulled up Google Reader on my laptop and looked at the Commercial Appeal’s RSS feed. They announced the winner of the Smokin’ Aces BBQ contest in Tunica. So, the contest ended Sunday and the CA is just now getting around to reporting on it? Not exactly timely coverage. Also, they only covered the grand champions. You’d think they might have mentioned that a local team, Squeal Street BBQ, won People’s Choice for the second year in a row, but nope, they didn’t. Also reported early today was that there are 12 new electric car charging stations Downtown. Other news sources (including this blog) reported that last week. Keep up the good work, CA.
That’s all for now. Plans for tonight: Could head north to the DMC party, south to poker at Max’s, or go have a beer at the Saucer. I’ll make a game-time decision which to do.
