Paul Ryburn's Journal

Despite being Easter weekend, a weekend that is usually slow entertainment-wise, the rest of this week and this weekend is pretty well stacked with parties going on Downtown. Here’s a summary.

Tonight FedExForum will host the watch party for the second Grizzlies vs. Spurs playoff matchup. Screens will be set up outside and in the lobby, and food and drinks will be available in Jack Daniels’ Old No. 7 bar. Details here.

Tomorrow night, the Third Thursdays block parties return to the block of Main between Peabody Place and Gayoso. It’s free from 5:30 PM until close, with retail discounts and food and drink specials at area restaurants. Performers this month will include Memphis Jazz Trio, Copper Possum, and Eric Hughes Trio.

A particularly good deal at the block party will happen at Shelton Clothiers. When you stop by and give at least a minimum $5 donation to LeBonheur, you’ll get to enjoy beer and BBQ from Squeal Street BBQ until it’s gone. All you can eat? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Friday night, the South Main District will have a block party, with great specials and selections of art and apparel. Hours will be 6 to 9 PM.

Saturday there will be a big party at Max’s Sports Bar from 2 to 10. “Concert in the Courtyard” will feature music by Dynaflow, Deering & Down, and Jimmy Davis. $3.50 New Belgium Draft, $2.50 Rolling Rock, crawfish by the pound. Grizzlies game shown at 7:30 on their 10 HDTVs inside and 2 HDTVs outside. Free to get in the bar, $5 to get on the patio.

As you can see, even though it’s Easter weekend, there’s still plenty to do.

Happy birthday to our friend Dennis, who is a frequent Downtown visitor with his wife Mary Pat. Dennis turns 50 today.

Apologies if I’m behind on e-mails, getting stuff on the blog that’s been requested… have been dealing with car repairs the past couple of days, and recovering from weekend festivals. Should be back on more of a normal routine from here on out.

I went to the food truck festival in Court Square, but the lines were so long that I didn’t feel like dealing with them. (This is a good sign that the food trucks will be successful.) So I decided to take a walk to one of my favorite eateries that I never get to enjoy, Lunchbox Eats.

Lunchbox Eats is on Fourth just south of Linden, a little out of the way but worth the walk. I had the Third Period Smoking Birds sandwich, consisting of turkey, chicken, and duck on buttered bread (it’s a turducken in a sandwich). I got a huge bowl of mac & cheese as a side.

Definitely one of Downtown’s best lunch spots, but I rarely get to eat there. The drive from Horn Lake, where I work, and back simply takes too lunch for an hour lunch. However, while eating I got some good news. Lunchbox Eats will start opening on Saturdays from 11 AM to 7 PM. Now Downtowners who can’t make it down here for lunch will have a chance to enjoy this amazing restaurant. If you haven’t tried it yet, you really need to!

This weekend, I took Monday as a vacation day to recover from hot wing fest/crawfish fest. It unexpectedly turned into a 4-day weekend, as I had the car in the shop for repairs and it wasn’t ready by the end of the day yesterday. I picked a nice day to be off, because it enabled me to walk over to Court Square and check out the food truck demonstration.

Lots of people out, and about seven vendors. I got there right at noon, probably the busiest time. The line for Fuel Cafe’s truck, serving the restaurant’s famous bison burgers, was about 30 deep. There’s a reggae band playing in the gazebo and people were having a good time. It’s actually kind of hot outside today!

The food truck demo was part of the CCC’s Downtown Alive series. Here’s the lineup for the rest of April (click the image to zoom in for full size):

Hmmm my camera seems to be leaving a smudge on every image. May have to invest in a new camera before BBQ Fest gets here. Will certainly need it then.

In other news, the Memphis Business Journal reports that a new restaurant is coming to Beale Street. Johnny G’s Creole Kitchen will open at 156 Beale by the end of April. It will serve traditional Creole fare including jambalaya, red beans and rice, etoufee, po’boys, and 8 different kinds of gumbo. Prices will be affordable, starting at $6.95 for entrees. The restaurant is in the former Alley Katz gift shop space.

Sorry I’ve been blogging a little less than usual lately. Been living it up at festivals and friends’ birthday parties, and fretting about having to spend vacation days dealing with car repairs. Hopefully I’ll resume my normal schedule tomorrow.

There will be a food truck party in Court Square tomorrow from 11 to 2. Fuel Cafe, YoLo, Rolling Pit and A Square Meal on Wheels will vend tomorrow, and there will be live reggae as part of the Downtown Alive! series.

The event happens as a new ordinance, designed to make it easier for food trucks to operate, makes its way through City Council. It will have its third and final reading tomorrow. Everyone come out and show your support for the food trucks!

I still need to type up a recap of the weekend but for now I’ll just say this… GO GRIZZLIES!!!!!!!!! We are no longer the lovable losers, but a team that is a legitimate threat to anyone. Great job, guys! How awesome would it be if the FedExForum is still hosting Grizzlies games in June?

Yesterday I started the day at the Southern Hot Wing Festival, then rode a very slow trolley north to Memphis Brewfest at AutoZone Park. Here are a few highlights of the day:

I’ll post a more detailed recap of yesterday later… right now I have to get ready for Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest on the river. Weather is much better than yesterday, so come on down!

I love it when I don’t have to travel far to go to a party. Last night, after a little pre-game beer at the Saucer, the gang gathered in the lobby of Number 10 to celebrate our friend (and my neighbor) Moody’s birthday.

 

Full album (110 pics) here. Time to shower and get dressed for Hot Wing Fest. The camera is on the charger and there will be more pics.

The Grizzlies have announced watch parties for the first two playoff games. They will set up screens outside on the FedExForum plaza and inside the Forum’s lobby, and the Jack Daniels Old No. 7 bar will be open for game viewing as well. Sunday’s party starts at 11 AM for the first game, and the second game’s watch party begins Wednesday at 6:30. More info here. (Hey, there’s Gary!)

If hockey is more your thing than basketball, there’s a watch party for that as well. Tonight Kooky Canuck will show the playoffs on their new HDTVs, with Rangers vs. Capitals at 6:30 and Blackhawks vs. Canucks at 9.

The Metal Museum is hosting Spring Arts on the Bluff Sunday. Performance by Hattiloo Theatre at 2 and the Stax Philharmonic at 3. There will be hands-on demos, blacksmiths working in the smithy, hot dogs from Cafe Eclectic and ice cream from Ms. Sally Anne’s. Blankets and lawn chairs are welcome.

Whew… fun night last night catching up with friends I hadn’t seen at a while. Saucer, then Kooky Canuck, then Raiford’s… it just doesn’t get much better than that. Tonight will probably be a quiet night. May get a few beers at the Saucer early in the evening, but I otherwise see myself sticking close to home. Ready for a long weekend of hot wing fest, brewfest, and crawfish fest!

Here’s a pic of DJ Keshia Raiford tearing it up on the dance floor of Paula & Raiford’s Disco. Damn she was taught by the finest, and it shows.

Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling, the second-largest pro wrestling company in North America, has announced a big event coming to Memphis. On Saturday night, June 11, TNA Will present “Basebrawl” at AutoZone Park.

Stars announced for the show include TNA World Champion Sting, Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, Matt Hardy, “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner, “The King of the Mountain” Jeff Jarrett, and Matt Morgan. It’s very unusual for Sting to work a date other than TV and pay-per-view, which is a sign that TNA is treating this as a big deal.

Although he hasn’t been announced, management at The Pony should be aware that “Nature Boy” Ric Flair works for TNA, so get ready to roll out the red carpet for him later that evening.

After the wrestling ends, there will be a fireworks show. Tickets will be on sale at 10 AM tomorrow at the box office and on the Memphis Redbirds website. In addition to regular tickets, there will also be a $50 VIP ticket for sale that includes a meet-and-greet with the TNA stars at 5:30 that afternoon.

More details about the event can be found here.

The Grizzlies lost to the Clippers last night, finishing 8th in the Western Conference. As a result, we will meet the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. Here are game times, locations, and TV (if known at this time). All times are Central Daylight Time.

Game 1: Sun 4/17, noon in San Antonio (TNT)
Game 2: Wed 4/20, 7:30 PM in San Antonio (NBATV)
Game 3: Sat 4/23. 6:30 PM in Memphis (ESPN)
Game 4: Mon 4/25, time TBD in Memphis
Game 5 (if needed): Wed 4/27, time TBD in San Antonio
Game 6 (if needed): Fri 4/29, time TBD in Memphis
Game 7 (if needed): Sun 5/1, time TBD in San Antonio

Blast! Game 1 is during Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest, which I’m absolutely not missing. Guess I’ll have to rely on my iPhone for score updates. If the Grizz announce watch parties for the first two games, I’ll try to post details.

There will be a Grizzlies pep rally tomorrow in Court Square from 11:45 AM to 1 PM. Grizzlies Claw Crew and the Grizz Girls dancers will be there, and you can challenge Grizz to a round of Twister.

Go Grizzlies!