Paul Ryburn's Journal

Polar Bear Plunge and Chili Cook-off on Mud Island, 10-3

Tigers vs. Xavier, FedExForum, noon

IBC Finals, Orpheum. 2 PM bands, 7:30 PM solo/duos

Cochon555, The Columns at One Commerce Square, 6 PM (sold out)

Those are the big events. For more, see the DMC’s calendar of events.

I had a fun night at the Grizzlies watch party at the Blind Bear last night. We killed the Hawks, and showed everyone why we’re leading the league in steals per game. I ended up sitting only a few feet away from a Board of Directors meeting of my new BBQ team, the Moody Ques. I got to hear the plans for this year. I’m not allowed to post any of them yet, but I asked the vice president of the team, “Am I at least allowed to say that it will be epic?” He said yes. So there you go. Epic. I have every reason to believe they will exceed what my former team did in their best years, 2008-10.

Attention UT fans: You’ll have an inexpensive way to get to Knoxville for home games this fall. Megabus is adding a route from Memphis to Knoxville. Service starts February 29 and fares are as cheap as $1. The farther ahead you book, the cheaper the fare. There’s a stop in Nashville, so the bus is a travel option there too.

There’s a Groupon for a comedy/blues show at the New Daisy on Valentine’s Day that is currently active. Description reads, “Def Jam ‘Bad Girl’ Sonya D hosts trio of comics in Valentine’s Day comedy show shared with blues artist Ms. Toni Green.” There are options to purchase 2, 4, or 6 tickets, or 2 VIP tickets.

A new women’s retail store will soon appear in the Downtown core. A shop called Revive has rented space in One Commerce Square at the northwest corner of Union and Second, according to the Memphis Business Journal. It will sell clothing, shoes and accessories, and is owned by the former operator of the Coco & Lilly shop in Peabody Place mall. The Revive location has never been used for retail before.

Felicia Suzanne’s, open for lunch on Friday only, has added a new lunch special: Enjoy a vodka or gin martini for $0.25 with your lunch.

Plans for tonight: Not at all sure. I’ll probably start at the Saucer for happy hour and figure it out from there. May wander down to Beale for IBC.

List updated to include Blind Bear, Max’s, Tug’s, and Kooky Canuck.

Bardog Tavern: 25 cent wings, $2 Bud and Bud Light longnecks, $2 Fireball. Game on 4 HDTVs including a new 60″ TV downstairs in the Underdog Room.

B.B. King’s: $4 wells, $5 house wines, $2.50 domestic bottles, half price apps. Also a food/drink deal: Pitcher of domestic beer & Super Soul Sampler (wings, pickles, ribs, catfish bites) for $20.

Blind Bear: Chicken Bear Claws – chicken strips served with golden BBQ sauce or “as hot as you can bear it” sauce $5, two chili dawgs $5, $3 fireball shots, $10 domestic beer buckets (5 per bucket)

Ferraro’s Pizzeria and Pub: Super Bowl Bash in the Party Room. View the game on a HUGE screen plusall you can eat Italian Buffet and all you can drink Bud Light for only $25.

Flying Saucer: Pint Nite, normally only done on Mondays. Almost all of the 75 drafts on the wall only $3 a pint.

Green Beetle: $1 Miller Lite drafts, $5 buckets of domestics, $3 Stolis. They’re adding an extra TV for the game.

Kooky Canuck: $2.00 34oz Bud Light, $2.00 well drinks, $11.99 for 20 Wings w/french fries, extra large projection screen, 8 HDTV screens, game sound will be playing.

Local Gastropub: $2 sliders, $3 Fireballs, $4 shooter specials, $3 Ghost River pints, $1 off domestic bottles.

Max’s Sports Bar: $2 Bud Light longnecks, giveaways every commercial with an entry for every beer you buy. Mirrors, hats, pictures, T-shirts, etc. Everyone will get something. 10 HDTVs.

Silly Goose: $2.50 Bud, Bud Light, Bud Select, Mich Ultra longnecks; $10 buckets of beer; $5 game time food specials.

T.J. Mulligans: $10 Bud Light buckets, $7 Bud Light pitchers, $4 Super Bowl shooter, 45 cent hot wings, $5 pizza, $5.50 chicken quesadilla, $7.50 football combo (no idea what is in the combo).

Tug’s: $2 beverages 5-10 PM; drawings for a night at the River Inn, $25/$50 Tug’s gift cards. Drawing for a $10 Tug’s gift card after every touchdown.

Yesterday I posted about the Memphis Business Journal’s “Vote for the Best Chef” competition. Many chefs were displeased with the format of the vote, in which they were placed against one another, single elimination, bracket style. Apparently the MBJ suggested the chefs “smack talk” one another on social media to create a buzz (Edit: The MBJ says in an article this afternoon that claims “smack talk” was encouraged were patently false). However, the chefs see themselves as a community and did not want to be pitted against one another. Many of the chefs in the contest wrote a letter to the MBJ respecfully declining to be part of the contest.

My advice to the MBJ, as someone who does social media marketing? Turn a negative into a positive. Admit that the competition was a bad idea, shut it down, and then reach out to the chefs who declined to be a part of it. Ask them how you can work together to promote the rich culinary experience that is Memphis. You have a chance to build relationships with a number of wonderful people here. Don’t blow it.

My thought as I was reading the chefs’ letter to the MBJ? “Wow, this contest was such a bad idea, I’m surprised the Commercial Appeal didn’t think of it first.”

The Blind Bear is hosting the official Grizzlies watch party tonight, as the Grizzlies travel to Atlanta to take on the Hawks. The Bear will open at 5:30, with regular happy hour until 8, and happy hour specials through the end of the game for anyone dressed in Grizzlies attire. They’re also advertising a “Big Bear Bonus” for anyone dressed as Super Grizz. Game time is 6:30 PM.

A friend of mine has a condo for rent in Barton Flats, available March 1. One bedroom, two bath loft, 1460 square feet, two stories, view of the Mississippi. Barton Flats is a 100+ year old Cotton Row warehouse that was converted to condos last decade, and they did a beautiful job. I’ve been in there many times – exposed brick, hardwood floors, one of the best rooftops downtown, awesome neighbors. Here’s the listing.

The Fuel food truck was told this morning that they are no longer welcome at the Barking Lot at the corner of Main and Jefferson, because they are too close to the entrance of Easy Way. The ordinance says food trucks cannot be within 50 feet of restaurants, but since when is Easy Way a restaurant? And wasn’t that space on the lot designed specifically for food trucks? This is bullshit if you ask me.

Memphis techies are banding together for charitable causes. Like the MemphisGives page on Facebook if you want to help out. They’re having an event next Tuesday at Cortona restaurant in Cooper-Young, to raise donation for clothes for the homeless.

The South Main Association normally meets the second Tuesday of every month. However, that would be Valentine’s Day this month, so they’re changing the meeting to Monday, February 13. It will be at Earnestine & Hazel’s (soul burgers!), social at 6 PM, meeting at 6:30. Councilman Edmund Ford will speak. For the first time in 4 months, they’re not holding an election.

The International Blues Challenge continues tonight at clubs on and near Beale Street. Buy a wristband and hear the best blues bands in the world compete in many different clubs.

I’ll post an updated Super Bowl special list later today or tomorrow. I’ve added Blind Bear and Kooky Canuck… just need to check the Flyer to see if there’s anything additional in there. Still no idea where I plan on watching the game.

Time to grab lunch. Possibly another post after work.

The Memphis Business Journal has started a new “vote for the best chef” competition that is creating some controversy. Rather than voting for your favorite in all of Memphis, the chefs are pitted off one versus the other, bracket style, single elimination. At least two prominent Downtown chefs have expressed their displeasure on Twitter. They see themselves as a community and don’t want to be pitted off against one another as adversaries. One chef who is in the competition has asked to be removed. I kind of see their point. This isn’t the NBA playoffs where ultimately there can be only one winner; rather, it’s Memphis where we’re ALL winners because these chefs are here. Anyway, if you want to take a look, here it is.

Bardog is taking their creativity with the Dog of the Day to new levels. Today’s Dog is the “Nutty Joe Young,” with crunchy peanut butter, fried bananas & roasted peanut crumbles.

The Peabody has announced that their rooftop parties will start April 19.

Good article on the Memphis Daily News site about Tastin’ Round Town, a company that conducts food tours of Memphis. Several Downtown restaurants are on the tours.

Also in the Daily News: This isn’t Downtown, but Memphis is getting a trampoline park and it opens next week. That’s pretty cool. How many cities can say they have a trampoline park? Maybe I should hold a Tube Top Month event there in June. That could be fun.

Only in Memphis: A fight over chicken at a bus stop at Poplar and Danny Thomas led to a knife assault. The victim grabbed away the knife and knocked several of the suspect’s teeth out. More info here.

Fun night playing poker at the Blind Bear last night. Less than 30 minutes into the game, I was running on fumes with barely 2 big blinds left in my stack… I made a comeback, though, and got to the final table. Congratulations to last night’s winner Bobby. Even though I didn’t take home a prize, I was quite happy with my second-place finish, considering how poorly I was doing early on. If you want to play some Texas Hold’em, the place to go tonight is the Underdog Room of Bardog, 7:30 game.

Plans for tonight: Due to the bad weather currently moving through, I’m going to switch things up tonight. Panda Manda Hour at Bardog to start off the evening. I’ll decide whether I feel like going downstairs for a third consecutive night of poker. After that, Saucer and maybe Blind Bear.

The Memphis Daily News has reported that the Great American Steamboat Company will host a job fair here the third week of February. The steamboat company moved into its new headquarters at One Commerce Square last fall, and their maiden voyage from the Beale Street Landing will happen in April. To prepare for the new cruises, the company is looking to fill 300 positions, including housekeeping, culinary, technical crew, and front and back of the house. They plan to have positions filled by March.

For someone with a sense of adventure, this could be a fun place to work. True, you’d be away for days or weeks at a time, but you’d return flush with cash (since it’s not like you’d be spending a lot on the boat) and time off to spend it before the next voyage. Also, you’d have lots of interesting river travel stories to share with your friends. Furthermore, you’d get to visit all the river port cities on the Mississippi and its tributaries – St.Louis, St. Paul, Vicksburg, Louisville, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Chattanooga – on the company dime. Given the travel, probably not ideal positions for someone with a family; but, for a single guy or gal wanting to explore the South and Midwest, this could be an ideal gig.

Read more about the career fair on the Daily News website.

I haven’t written much about it, but Cochon555 is coming to One Commerce Square this Saturday. Five chefs compete, each cooking a whole hog. One of the main purposes of the event is to raise awareness of heritage pork. Thomas of the Eat Local Memphis blog has a fantastic interview with Brady Lowe, creator of the Cochon555 concept, and some of the local chefs. Read it here.

Karen Waldrup and Ashlee K. Thomas play the Brass Door again tonight at 7. There is no cover charge, but tips are appreciated. You can register to win a guitar signed by the two musicians.

Don’t forget that the Blind Bear has a $4 sausage and cheese plate tonight from 6 to 9. I haven’t had that plate myself yet, but I’ve seen others order it and even at its regular price of $6 it’s a heck of a value. They’ll have half price bottles of wine from 6 to 9 too.

That’s all the news for now. Time for Pint Nite, then poker. If I get eliminated from poker before 9, I’ll check out that sausage and cheese plate for myself.

The big event happening Downtown this week is the 28th annual International Blues Challenge. Blues musicians from around the world come to Beale Street to compete for awards in various categories, as well as to show record labels what they can do. Last year there were 110 bands and 83 solo/duo acts in the Challenge, and just as many are expected this year.

What does this mean for you? The chance to hear some of the best blues in the world for one low price. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights they do wristband night on Beale. You pay for a wristband and have access to over a dozen clubs on and near Beale Street. Wednesday and Thursday are the quarterfinals, and Friday is the semifinals. The finals will be at the Orpheum on Saturday.

More info about the festival here. Which night is the best to go? Any night is good, but Wednesday and Thursday are especially good for locals. Many of the people flying in from out of town will not have arrived yet, and you’ll be able to get up close and personal with the bands.

In the meantime, if you need something to do tonight and tomorrow while you’re waiting on IBC to start, why not hit the FedExForum for a Grizzlies game? We host the Spurs tonight and the Nuggets tomorrow. Both games are at 7 PM.

Thanks to those who have sent me Super Bowl information. I’ve started compiling a list and will post later this week. I am still completely undecided where I will watch the game.

Plans for tonight: Pint Nite at the Saucer at 6, poker at the Goose at 7:30. In other words, the Monday usual. I’ll probably post again after work.

Speak no evil.