Paul Ryburn's Journal

Thur update: Thai Bistro, beer can Wi-Fi booster, Ferraro’s, AIA convention, rooftop parties and a WordPress meetup

This morning I got out of bed at 6:48 AM. I stumbled into the living room, sat down in front of the MacBook, and looked for WeatherBug in the system tray. I have it set up to report the temperature at AutoZone Park. Even at that early hour, already 86 degrees. “There is no torture worse than Memphis heat,” I thought.

Then I thought, “Except listening to karaoke.”

Last night about 9 I was walking down Madison, and noticed people in Thai Bistro eating. I had heard it opened this week. I need to get by there and try the place. I love Thai food. It’s on Madison between Second and Third, in the spot that was previously home to Cupboard Too and about a dozen other restaurants.

(Side note: I just looked at Thai Bistro’s specials. ONE DOLLAR MIMOSAS all day Sunday!!!)

I was in the area because I was planning to stop by the Brass Door for a beer. They were already closed at 9! I can kind of understand it though; Madison is still off the beaten path, and it probably doesn’t make sense to stay open late if people won’t find it. Hopefully as Madison becomes more well-known as a food and entertainment destination, there will be more foot traffic and the Irish pub will have more reason to stay open.

News Downtowners can use: Having trouble getting a Wi-Fi signal throughout your residence or business? Learn how to make a Wi-Fi booster out of only a beer can. I guess I’m going to have to pop open a PBR this weekend and give it a try.

Eat Local Memphis has a great post on Ferraro’s today. In addition to a caprese salad and small cheese and veggie pizzas, they tried “The Great 28,” a monster 28-inch pizza.

Lots of architects will be Downtown for the next two days. The Peabody is hosting the AIA convention today and Friday.

Speaking of the Peabody, they’re providing their employees’ 250 children with back-to-school supplies bags. There will be a bag stuffing party from 2 to 4 and the kids will get more or less all the supplies they need to start the school year. That’s a nice little perk of working for the hotel.

Tonight is the second-to-last Peabody rooftop party. Inner 61 will be the featured entertainment, along with opening band Crisis. “Lunchbox Favorites” will be the buffet theme, with peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, ham & cheese sandwiches, potato chips, Fritos, and grapes. In VIP they’ll have tuna salad sandwiches, a meat and cheese platter, and BBQ potato chips and onion dip. $10 to get in, which includes first drink; ladies free until 7.

Grace Askew is on the Madison rooftop tonight. $7 to get in, tapas menu and sophisticated drinks at a cash bar. Doors open at 5:30, sunset at 8:00.

There’s a WordPress meetup tonight at 6 PM at EmergeMemphis, 516 Tennessee Street across from the Lofts. Theme tonight is “Ask Otto,” with a chance to ask Otto, one of the key members of the WordPress community (where he’s known as “Otto42”), anything at all. Good opportunity to get answers about installing and administering the product, themes, plugins, and the future direction of WordPress. Meetup details are here.

Time for a quick run to Zaxby’s. Getting bored with the Nuclear sauce; think I’m going to step up to Insane sauce today. After work, I’ll grab a beer somewhere, undecided where yet.

Only one link in today’s lunchtime post. It’s a good one though

A lot of people tell me they read this blog to discover cool stuff to do in Memphis. Well, I only have one link in today’s lunchtime post, but it should be enough. Memphis Magazine recently published an article on Sherman Willmott, author of Kreature Comforts: A Low-Life Guide to Memphis. Willmott also gives tours of Memphis, not of the sanitized tourist attractions, but of the real, historic Memphis, for people who don’t mind “a few rough edges.” I’ve got to get this book. Excited to hear there may be a Kreature Comforts iPhone app as well. Even if you don’t get the book, the article contains selected tips on where to eat (including Downtown restaurants Cozy Corner and Spindini), Memphis movies, and things to do in Memphis for free.

Plans for tonight: I’ll probably start at Bardog around 6 for Panda Manda Hour, then head over to the Silly Goose for team trivia at 8.

Beetle Burger and key lime cake @ Green Beetle

Back with the third Paul’s Food Find post in the past 12 hours. No, I didn’t eat all this food today… just got behind on my posting.

Tonight I went to the Green Beetle for dinner. I decided to order the Beetle Burger.

Half pound of beef, cooked as you like it, with all the trimmings. You can add cheese for 50 cents extra. I asked what kind of cheese they had. They said they had American, provolone, and blue cheese. I went with provolone, kicked the tomato to the curb, added some mustard, and boy was it yummy. Steak fries on the side were good too.

Mark told me I had to leave room for dessert. “Would you prefer banana pudding cupcakes, or key lime cake?” Anything with key lime is an instant classic in my book, so I went with the key lime cake, also known as Beetle Cake because of the color.

Extremely rich and very… well, limey. Definitely a dessert I would recommend.

I talked to them about this past weekend. They were so busy for Trolley Night that there was a wait. No surprise there, because that’s typical of a South Main restaurant. However, they were also busy Saturday, and this is the cool part… they were so busy Sunday night that they were still serving their home-cooked lasagna and chicken fried steak at 12:30 AM. Very good to hear that people are getting out and enjoying the Beetle that late on what is traditionally an off-night.

Chef Jonathon Plumley will be in a new episode of Hell’s Kitchen on FOX tomorrow night at 7. I hear it is going to be a good episode, so tune in.

Build your own slice @ Flying Saucer

Last week the Flying Saucer released its new menu. Bar patrons now have the ability to create their own slice of pizza for $5.99. They have a pretty extensive list of toppings, including:

Veggies: Artichoke hearts, avocado, capers, diced tomatoes, green onions, Kalamata olives, mushrooms, red onions, roasted garlic, roasted red peppers, basil, cilantro, jalapenos
Meats: Applewood smoked bacon, chicken, prosciutto, finocchiona (salami), pepperoni, bratwurst

I ordered the slice above, with proscuitto, bacon and Kalamata olives. The bartender told me that they’re using a new, improved crust, and I found that to be true. Crust a little thicker than it was before, and overall quality of the pizza seemed to have improved. You won’t mistake it for Ferraro’s or Camy’s pizza by any means, but as a bar snack it is more than adequate. I appreciate being able to build exactly the pizza I want. You get a choice of up to three toppings.

With the Saucer’s new menu, and entire new menus to try at Brass Door and Green Beetle this month, there will be a lot of Paul’s Food Find posts coming up, so check back frequently.

Mon update: Trolley fares to increase, South of Beale news, Brass Door on Facebook, and a couple of how-to articles

Downtowners are about to take a hit in the pocketbook. According to this CA article, MATA plans to raise trolley fare to $1.25 in November. That’s going to be really inconvenient, since drivers don’t carry change.

South of Beale made a number of announcements yesterday. The big one is that they’re going to have their 2nd birthday party from 5 to 7 PM Sunday, August 7. $2 Ghost River pints, $2 samples from their new menu (which will go live August 4), and some sort of dessert. They’re also planning to open for lunch beginning in mid-September. If you’re on Foursquare, be sure to show them your checkin; it’s good for $3 off any “plate” item on the menu.

The Brass Door now has a Facebook fan page that you can “Like.” Good way to stay in touch and hear the latest news.

Here’s a link many Downtowners can use: How to drink responsibly. Hmmm, now that I’m reading through the article it seems kinda boring… never mind, read this one instead… How to teach your dog to get you a beer from the fridge.

Plans for tonight: Probably some combination of the Flying Saucer (for Pint Nite), Bardog and Brass Door. Doubt I’ll make it to poker at the Silly Goose at 9; I really need to catch up on my sleep. It was quite a long weekend.

Mojo wings @ Flying Saucer

Thursday night I decided to try one of the three new varieties of wings on the Flying Saucer’s menu. In addition to traditional Buffalo sauce, they now have

Mojo wings with Cajun spices
Asian wings with peanut, plum and cayenne
Atomic wings (super hot)

Unable to decide which I wanted, I decided to be a computer nerd and pulled up the random number generator at random.org on my iPhone. I had it generate a random number between 1 and 3, and it picked 1, which meant the Mojo wings would be my order.

The Mojo wings had a spicy kick to them. On the traditional wing heat levels of mild – medium – hot – extra hot – suicide, I’d estimate the spiciness was between medium and hot, although the taste was different because of the way they are prepared. They rub them in Cajun spices, then apply a light sauce.

I noticed that the number of wings you get has decreased from 10 to 8, while the price went up 30 cents to $8.29. On a positive note, though, they’re being a lot more generous with the veggies. Huge pieces of celery and carrots accompanied my order, as opposed to the widdle bitty ones they used to serve. I’m a big fan of dipping veggies in blue cheese, so that’s a plus.

As I finished up, the bartender said, “Would you get them again?” and my answer was yes, definitely. Flavorful, yet spicy enough to keep my attention.

I’ll try the Asian and Atomic wings soon and type up a report.

Friends praise Skull X Rose tattoo shop

A couple of days ago, I posted that a new tattoo parlor called Skull X Rose had opened on Second next door to Raiford’s. Since I don’t have tatts, I knew I’d never be able to personally review it. However, a couple of friends of mine went there last night. They were very happy with the work they had done. They told me it’s open noon to midnight, and unlike many tattoo parlors they accept walk-ins.

Fun night last night. After an afternoon at the Brass Door, I went to the Saucer where about 40 of us said goodbye to our friend Gary. He’s moving to the West Coast. About 11:30 I tried to take three friends to the Brass Door, but they had closed at 11 because it was their soft opening. So back to the Saucer we went, where I ended up staying ’til the lights came on. Then I went home… of course, Bardog was on the way home.

It’s Sunday Fun Day, which means business as usual but one extra stop this week. Majestic Grille for brunch at 11, Saucer at noon, and Huey’s at 8:30 PM to hear British Invasion cover band Jeffrey and the Pacemakers. We had a huge Sunday Fun Day at the Saucer last week, with probably 20 people from our extended Downtown group showing up at some point in the afternoon. Here’s a pic from last Sunday of Christy chowing down on chicken fingers.

Time to hit Publish, drink a Mountain Dew Throwback, get dressed and get the day started. I have several posts waiting in Drafts, so I may publish one or two of them from my phone this afternoon.

The Brass Door: Downtown’s Irish pub

This afternoon some friends and I checked out the Brass Door, the new Irish pub that opened today. It’s in the old Tobacco Bowl building on Madison across from the First Tennessee building.

P1020147 — Drink menu. They have a full bar.

P1020151 — Fish & chips. This was my lunch and the curry dipping sauce is awesome.

P1020152 — Every bar needs a value drinking option (this is a complaint I had with McGuinness; they didn't have one). PBR, $2.50 for a 16 ounce can.

P1020153 — This is a little nook behind the main upstairs bar. Seats about 5 and you have your own private TV.

P1020154 — View of the upstairs from the mezzanine

Very impressed with this place. If you knew it used to be the Tobacco Bowl, you’d see some elements that were carried over. Otherwise, you’d have no idea this used to be a cigar shop. There’s a downstairs too. I didn’t take photos of it because they’re currently using it as a storage area. It’s going to be really nice though. It’s as big as the upstairs, maybe even a little bit bigger, with a bar whose size is equal to upstairs.

Only slight negative is that the upstairs men’s room is a one-seater (don’t know about the women’s). That’s going to make for some lines outside the door. I assume there are additional bathrooms downstairs, although it isn’t open yet.

One big bonus: It’s NONSMOKING! We talked to the bartender about this and he said they’re trying to “redefine what an Irish pub is.” Good for them. There is no reason for any bar to open as a smoking bar in 2011. There’s a side door to the alley where you can easily step out and smoke. With the Beetle and the Brass Door both opening nonsmoking and the Saucer going that direction, it’s becoming increasingly clear that smoking is an artifact from an era whose time has passed.

They’re open tonight “until everyone leaves” (so you’ll be open until 9 AM then?), then they’re taking the day off tomorrow to discuss what worked and what didn’t, and Monday they’ll start regular hours. They’re still figuring out things like happy hour and whether they’ll be open for Sunday brunch. Main TV was tuned to soccer and a lot of people were excited about the Manchester United vs. Barcelona match that came on at 6.

Recap of last night: Black Snake Moan, Chuck gets a thank-you present, and planking on Max’s deck

South Main Trolley Night last night was absolutely off-the-chain fun. Despite the heat, turnout for the monthly event was extremely good. My shirt was drenched with sweat, but I didn’t care.

In Harry’s Detour courtyard, Michael Patrick was handing out spring rolls, there was a lemonade stand, and at 7:30 there was a Memphis movie costume contest.

P1020106 — Nikki and Josh, winners of the costume contest as a scene from Black Snake Moan

Lots of other stuff was going on too. Bravo had its opening event at the MPACT Memphis offices. Those who wore orange got free beer and wine. I don’t own any orange, other than that horrible jacket I wore when I was “Bruce Pearl” for Halloween last year, so I passed. I wandered in the Memphis College of Art gallery to get out of the heat, and enjoyed the excellent graduate student exhibit. There are some seriously talented people going to school there!

About 8:30 we ducked into Max’s Sports Bar to get out of the heat. “A couple of beers here, then I’ll head north to defend my Foursquare mayorships at the Saucer and Bardog,” I thought. That never happened. Max’s was so much fun that I didn’t want to leave!

Across the street, Harry’s Detour had its final night. After the restaurant closed, Chuck came over to Max’s, where he was presented with a gift for all he has done for South Main.

Later in the evening, several of us ended up on Max’s back deck. I noticed that it offered a lot of excellent opportunities for planking. It seemed like an especially excellent idea because of the umpteen beers I had consumed by that point.

P1020134 — I wanted to plank the rail of Max's deck but my friends talked me out of it. Spending Saturday morning in the hospital would not have been fun.

P1020140 — I then settled for a safer plank, across two of the benches.

chad-planking — Chad planked Max's grill.

Thanks to Lauren for driving me home, as the 12-block walk home would have been iffy at best, given my condition.

Fun day ahead. I want to give the Brass Door a try, and hopefully take some photos and post them later this afternoon. It’s a friend’s last day in town visiting, and another friend’s going-away party at the Saucer. Another weekend of excitement in Downtown Memphis!

Brass Door to open today

Last night at Trolley Night I ran into Seamus, and he told me the Brass Door, the new Irish pub on Madison, will open for business today at 11. It’s between Second and Third in the old Tobacco Bowl building. Can’t wait to see the place.