Paul Ryburn's Journal

I’m not entirely sure I have the number right, so 19 plus or minus 1. Maybe. Last night was the quarterly gathering of our trivia team, the Rapscallions, to spend the gift certificates we had won over the past three months. We didn’t have an enormous $600+ tab as we’ve had the past couple of parties. This time it was a more reasonable $443.

Usually most of the team members drink $3 Fire Sales or their favorite beers in the $4-$7 range to make the tab last as long as possible, but last night I offered an alternate suggestion. “You know what?” I said, “Let’s go big. Let’s order expensive beers and see how fast we can run this tab out. We’ve earned it. We deserve to treat ourselves.” The team happily took that suggestion to heart, and beers in the double-digit price range flowed freely.

My beers for my plate were Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, Dogfish Head Raison d’Etre, and Stone Ruination IPA. Otto gave me a sample of a black IPA made by Stone which was really delicious. Going to have to try that one soon. Even though it’s only two days after my last plate party, I’m already 35 beers into my 5th plate. 165 more and I’ll get my Master of the Universe card and someone will have another plate party to barge into uninvited.

Next party will probably be in late February/early March. Go team!

Arkansas Razorbacks tube top. Click this link or the pic above to buy.

Big victory by the Hogs last night in overtime vs. Mississippi State. It was our 19th (I think) Rapscallion trivia team party where we cashed in our gift certificates for the past three months, and we watched the game on the big screen. We called the Hogs twice during the party. Pics coming soon.

I just came across this info on TJ Mulligan’s Pinch website. During football games Saturday, Sunday and Monday there are drink specials including $1.75 domestic bottles and dollar PBR drafts. Wanted to pass this info along, as this is the kind of information for which people turn to this blog. With cheap beer, sports on TV and people to talk to at the bar, Mulligan’s is starting to sound like a winner.

Got a lead on another bar with dollar draft too. Going to investigate that in a few minutes.

Here are a few pics that were snapped last night at the Snuggie Pub Crawl. Thanks to Joe for e-mailing me the pics.

That’ll do it for now… got a plan in place for this afternoon, which I can’t post because certain annoying people check this blog to find out where I am and then show up uninvited. Those who have my number can text me and I’ll tell you where I am.

Apologies to the people who ran the Snuggie Pub Crawl for leaving early last night… I wasn’t feeling well, which had everything to do with the birthday shots I did Thursday, and missed the last two stops on the crawl. I got a good night’s sleep and am feeling back to normal this morning.

Thanksgiving weekend is usually a big party weekend Downtown, and I see that Friday is coming together nicely. For one thing, it’s the 10th anniversary of South Main Trolley Night. As usual, many of the shops and galleries will be open, and many will offer complimentary wine, beer, and hors d’oeuvres. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up. If you have any Trolley Night memorabilia, Leslie from Delphinium is putting together a display, so please contact her.

That night will also be the annual “rent party” for the Blues Foundation, at The Warehouse on G.E. Patterson. The theme this year is Jimi Hendrix. Jimi’s music and concert footage will be playing, and there will be a special Jimi set by the Will Tucker Band. Food from the Majestic Grille and Lenny’s, “Red House Over Yonder” beer from Ghost River. Tickets are $10 and the party starts at 7 PM. As I’ve said on this blog many times before, anytime there’s an excuse to attend a Warehouse party, my advice is, GO.

Here’s an article about the annual Thanksgiving Day dinner at the convention center, giving 1,000 homeless people a hot Thanksgiving meal. They’ll also get access to blood pressure checks, cholesterol screenings and flu shots, and at a later date they will be able to receive vision screenings, new glasses and dental screenings at a later date. If you talk to any of the homeless down here, please make sure they know about this opportunity. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will dress as a homeless person and show up.

The man who hopes to open the Union Street Bath House, Yuri, has run into immigration problems. He had to travel home to tend to his sick mother, and when he returned to the United States he was stopped by customs. They told him he does not have the right kind of visa to open a bath house. Read his message here. Too bad. If he can’t get the bath house open, I hope something can be done with that building at Union and Main.

Ah, Saturday. I guess I’ll go to A New Face for an Old Broad at some point today. Early afternoon probably, after the temperature has warmed up to the point that I can wear shorts. Since I’m driving down there I won’t be able to drink beer at the event, but I guess I don’t have to have a beer in my hand all the time. Besides, there will be plenty of beer tonight when the trivia team cashes in our gift certificates for the past three months. Reminds me, I need to buy envelopes so I can have a “tips” envelope for tonight – it’s my job to collect tip money to give the waitress. Wonder if the usual person will drink expensive beers for his plate, then leave a tip that’s half as large as what everyone else gave.

Time to get in the shower, throw a load of laundry in, and get the day started.

Tomorrow night, Sunday, November 21, marks the return of Sunday Suppers to the Majestic Grille. Every Sunday night through December 19, they’ll show a classic movie on the big screen, and they will offer a special three-course menu (their regular menu will be available too).

This week’s movie is Horse Feathers, a 1932 film starring the Marx Brothers. Having not previously seen this film, I looked it up on Wikipedia. Some of the jokes concern the status of college football players as amateur athletes, and are still relevant almost 80 years later.

It will also be the final day of Downtown Dining Week, so the special menu will be the DDW menu. That consists of

First Course
Please choose one of the following starters:
Cup of Today’s Soup
Mixed Greens Salad – Tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, feta cheese , red wine vinaigrette
Second Course
Please choose one of the following entrees:
Grilled Veal Chop – Roasted sweet peppers,garlic mashed potatoes, pesto bordelaise
Pan-Fried Tilapia – Chive and crawfish butter, jasmine rice,buttered asparagus
Dessert
Choice of Majestic Grille Signature Desserts –
Strawberry Shortcake, Key Lime Pie, Carrot Cake, Lemon Cheesecake, Chocolate Mousse, Tiramisu

Upcoming movies include Miracle on 34th Street on the 28th, Holiday Affair on the 5th, Holiday Inn on the 12th, and It’s a Wonderful Life on the 19th. On Thursday, December 16, there will be the annual showing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. There will be prizes awarded that night for tackiest sweater and for best character costume from the movie. Menus for these upcoming events can be found on the restaurant’s event page.

If you’re looking for something to do tonight, put on a Snuggie, the blanket with sleeves, and come to the second annual Snuggie Pub Crawl Downtown.

The money raised from the crawl will be donated to Amelia’s Voice, a charity trying to raise awareness for a rare disease that causes tumor-like growths on vocal chords. As of now there is no known cure and Amelia, a child affected by the disease and the namesake of the charity, has to have regular laser surgeries to keep the tumors from spreading to her lungs, which would be fatal.

So, where are we drinking?

The events starts at Kooky Canuck, an excellent place to kick it off. I love those 34 ounce beers! Check-in is at Kooky from 6 to 7. If you previously ordered tickets, you can pick them up at a will-call desk. If you haven’t bought an advance ticket and want to participate, best advice is to show up as close to 6 as possible, because there will only be a limited number of tickets left.

After we leave Kooky, the next stops are as follows:

7:00: B.B. King’s
8:00: Club 152
9:00: Silky’s
10:00: Rum Boogie Cafe
11:00: Alfred’s

There will be awards for best costume – men’s, women’s, and group, and best in show. Wonder what Puckett has planned for this year? Can he top the Samurai Snuggie of 2009?

There will also be bingo at the various bars, with the first five people turning in completed bingo cards at Alfred’s winning prizes.

In only its second year, this has become one of Memphis’ most highly anticipated pub crawls. Come join us!

I’m seeing reports on Twitter that Tennessee Vols men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl will be suspended for the first 8 conference games in SEC play this year. UT has already cracked down on Pearl, now the SEC. Next up, the NCAA.

Between Pearl’s suspension and kicker Jeff Reed being cut from the Steelers, it’s been a bad week for douchebags in sports. (Edit: Not college sports – apparently in my hung over state I forgot that the Steelers are a pro team.)

One of the things I’ve been preaching on this blog in recent weeks is that you have to own up to your mistakes on social media. Time for me to own up to one of mine.

Wednesday night I received numerous complaints about a particular restaurant only doing Downtown Dining Week specials from 5 to 7 PM. Several people went in after 7 and were not happy about having to pay full menu prices. Wednesday night I laid the blame for that on the owner of the restaurant.

Just got off the phone and it looks like I was incorrect. They told me they were operating within parameters set by the Center City Commission, which put Downtown Dining Week together, and that there were other restaurants also doing the 5-7 hours. Did not know that. I apologize for laying blame where I should not have.

So, my revised suggestion is this: The Downtown Dining Week site gives the impression that the specials are available during restaurants’ full dinner hours. If that is not the case, the hours need to be spelled out restaurant by restaurant in the listings on the website.  In the meantime, if you have DDW plans this weekend, you’d be well advised to call ahead and check on the hours of the specials being offered.

Kudos to all the participating restaurants for offering some amazing specials, in some cases at price points well below their norm. This is a fantastic event and I hope it continues and grows bigger next year.

I made a very, very good decision. I decided that the day after my birthday should be a vacation day. On any birthday I believe this is a good idea, but especially when having a plate party on my birthday. Last night my fourth plate was unveiled:

When I first saw it I thought they got the color wrong – it appeared to be black, the color for the people who have only been through the 200-beer Ring of Honor one time. But, as you can see in the photo above, it really is dark blue, the color for fourth-timers who have gone through 800 beers (and as Findlay pointed out, another 800 Dos Equis Lagers that didn’t count toward the plate).

I had an entire year to forget that when it’s your birthday, people buy you shots. Feeling the effects this morning.

Thanks to all my friends for making it a memorable night, and to Lauren for the delicious cupcakes from Muddy’s Bake Shop.

Going to take a shower and see if that helps bring me back to life.