Paul Ryburn's Journal

At lunch yesterday, I visited an ALDI for the first time ever.  ALDI is kind of a unique grocery chain – they only carry one brand of each item, which they’ve negotiated at a substantial discount.  It’s quality food though.  If you want a shopping cart, you rent it for 25 cents, and you either bring your own grocery bags or buy theirs.  By putting these rules in place, they can sell food for quite a bit cheaper than the big chain grocery stores.

So I went to the one in Southaven yesterday to buy food for the Stumbling Elvis pub crawl tonight, since the goal is to raise donations for the Mid-South Food Bank.  I’d planned to buy all veggies, but the prices were so damn cheap I got some meats too.  Chicken and dumplings, corned beef hash, whole kernel corn, green beans.

I also needed to eat, so I stopped by Qdoba Mexican Grill nearby.  I’ve been there a few times (enough to become mayor on Foursquare).  It’s one of those build-your-own-burrito places where you pick the meat, the sauce, and the toppings.  Yesterday, though, I tried something different – their Mexican gumbo.  If you find yourself near a Qdoba (there’s one in Cordova too) you have got to try this.  Like the burritos, it’s build-your-own.  You pick the meat you want in your gumbo (most people get chicken, I’m told) and pick either pintos or black beans.  They add in their tortilla soup, and you pick which salsa you want in it (most people get the corn salsa).  Then they top it with cheese, sour cream, and tortilla strips.  It was SO good.  I’m sure I’ll be back next week for another bowl.

After work, I went to the Saucer, then we all decided to move on to Calhoun’s.  I did a John Cena-style “The champ is here” several times, referring to Thursday night’s poker victory, and I could see the steam coming out of Mikey’s ears.  Met some new friends, which often happens at Calhoun’s, stayed until about 11.

Then I went to Kooky Canuck with a few friends, because there was reason to celebrate: It was Meghan’s last night at Kooky.  She’s moving to Southaven and going back to school.  Meghan, I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I cannot tell you how HAPPY your decision makes me.  And I want you to know, seven and a half years from now when you finish your bachelor’s degree in General Studies, I’ll be right there to watch you walk across the stage and receive your diploma.  Or certificate of completion or whatever they call it.

Eating ice cream as I type this.  Yarnell’s has a new flavor – Key Lime Pie.  Downtown Walgreens sells it.

So now I’m getting ready for the Stumbling Elvis pub crawl.  If you want to participate, dress up as Elvis, get some canned goods to donate to the Food Bank, and show up to the Flying Saucer at 7 PM.  Just got my costume out of the closet, and the first thought that occurred to me was, “Wow, sometime in the past 364 days I should’ve WASHED this thing.”  Too late now though.  It must be hand washed and line dried – it’d still be wet tonight if I did it now.

I picked up the final component of my Elvis costume this morning at Walgreens.  I’m adding to what I did last year.  Only one person knows what I have in store.  You’ll see it tonight.  Hint:  The costume addition did NOT come from the Elvis souvenir aisle.

Checking what my friends are doing on Twitter.  I’m so glad I’m not a girl so I don’t have to get manicures and pedicures.  #wasteofmoney  Also glad that Stephanie, Susie, Frank and Josh are sharing every last detail of their plan to visit Happy Mexican with the Twitterverse, because we are all so interested.

Going to take it slow this afternoon so I can rest up for tonight.  I need to hit an ATM to get cash to pay for my beers on the pub crawl – which reminds me – if you’re coming, please bring cash.  The crawl will run much more smoothly if there aren’t 70 people tabbing out on credit cards at each stop.  Other than that, probably I’ll get on PokerStars and see if the competition is as easy as what I encountered at Calhoun’s Thursday night.  May run down the street to Cockadoos for lunch.

Outta here.  Time to apply the final element of my Elvis costume.

Once again I find myself linking to a great post from Kerry’s I Love Memphis blog: 26 places to get free wireless Internet in Memphis. Kerry’s the perfect person to compile this list, as she has the freedom to work on her laptop from coffee shops around town. You know, the way all jobs should be.

Just a reminder that the Elvis pub crawl is tomorrow night, starting at the Saucer at 7 PM. Dress up like Elvis and stumble with us to Blue Fin, Alfred’s, and Silky’s, then back to the Saucer. Oh – and the GM of the Saucer just posted on Facebook that we get to stop by AutoZone Park too! Should be a very fun night. No need to sign up in advance – just show up.

If you’re coming, don’t forget to stop by the grocery store and get some canned goods to donate to our charity, the Food Bank. You’ll be able to drop them off at the Saucer. I’m about to visit an ALDI for the first time ever to pick up my donation. If you don’t feel like hauling around canned goods, they’ll accept cash too – their purchasing power multiplies dollars over and over. Donate donate donate! Don’t be “that guy” who doesn’t dress up, doesn’t donate anything to the Food Bank, but comes along anyway.

And don’t be the Nuh-Uh Girl and show up at the Food Bank and tell them you’d like to make a withdrawal.

This isn’t Downtown, but there’s a very unique event going on at the Levitt Shell in Overton Park tonight. FireTribe Memphis will perform “Burnish,” a collaboration of fire with dancers, musicians, and martial artists. They’ll explore the many interpretations of fire and its role in the performance arts. Free to the public, starts at 8:30. After-party at Oasis Lounge in Minglewood Hall.

Tweet from @MayorACWharton: “Working two pothole complaints in @DowntownMemphis – Peabody/Main and Second/Monroe. Any other street issues out there?” Using social media to better serve the citizens of Memphis? One more thing we never would have seen from King Willie. Way to go, Mayor Wharton! (He was my vote for “Best Memphian,” by the way)

The Calhoun’s regulars have been trying to get me back down to the Thursday night poker tournament for a while – it’s been almost a year since I last played there. “Bring it,” they told me. Last night, it got brought. After a bad beat early on that left me short stacked, I battled back. My luck ran a lot better than Wednesday night at Bardog’s tournament – I caught some good cards that held up in all-in situations, and about an hour and a half in, it was down to just Michele and me – which meant I’d get the $15 gift certificate regardless, since Michele is an employee and can’t win. I eliminated her too after a few more hands.

That was my fifth time to play in the Thursday night poker tournament, and my third time to walk away with the gift certificate. 60% win rate? I’ll take it. Looks like I’m going to have to make Calhoun’s a regular Thursday night stop, and make a few more additions to my gift certificate collection. Mikey may be mayor of Calhoun’s on Foursquare, but there’s a new sheriff in town on Thursdays.

Plans for tonight: Let’s just say that a lot of Downtowners have a reason to celebrate tonight. I’m gonna have to drink me a beer. A really big beer. Where can I get a really big beer?

I made an unexpected trip to Bardog’s Wednesday night poker tournament. I’d planned to hang out at the Saucer and watch the Elvis glass crowd, but the place was simply too hot! I didn’t bring a thermometer, but the temperature in the indoor room had to be mid-80s at least, and very humid. After two beers, I didn’t want to be there. So I made the walk to Bardog and went downstairs.

The poker night at Bardog has become wildly successful. I counted 24 entrants last night and they told me that’s the smallest crowd they’ve seen in a while. Poker Jon thinks it’s because he wears a tux. As usual, they were doing six per table, which I like because you can mess around with marginal hands more than you can at a full table of nine or ten.

Unfortunately, I got zero good hands, three marginal hands, and about twenty hands which were absolute trash! Q-10 was the best I had all night, seriously, and I folded it when two people went all-in behind me. I had to fold 2-2 when it missed the flop. Finally I got desperate and went all-in with 3-3, and lost to 10-8 suited when a 10 hit the river. I was out in under an hour. I seemed to be a magnet for hands with deuces, treys and fours in them. Not my night.

Anyway, on with the news…

If you’re a fan of roller derby, or if you’re curious about the sport and want to check it out, there will be a Memphis Roller Derby Double Header Saturday at the Pipkin Building, Mid-South Fairgrounds, from 6 to 10 PM. The early match will be the PrisKilla Presleys vs. the Angels of Death, and the late match will be the Hustlin’ Rollers vs. the Green Country Rollergirls. Beer and Chuck’s Barbeque will be available. $10 admission, $5 for kids 5-12. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Goner Records, or at the door.

After the doubleheader, the party moves Downtown for the Memphis Roller Derby after-party at Rockbottom, the bar in the ground floor of Rehab Disco.

The Peabody rooftop parties have ended for the year, but the Madison rooftop’s parties roll on, with Brian “Breeze” Cayolle tonight. Cash bar, cigars by Havana Mix, tapas menu, $7 admission.

Kerry has a great post, the 2010 Elvis Week Survival Guide, on the I Love Memphis blog today.

Lunchtime.  Not at all hungry but I guess I’ll go to Zaxby’s and eat something.  Tonight: Beer, haven’t decided where.

Thursday night I stopped by Calhoun’s for a PBR.  As I walked back toward the core, I decided I was getting a bit hungry, and what better place to stop for a snack than South of Beale.

I decided on their bar pie, pictured above.  It’s one of the most affordable items on the menu, and it’s enough to feed one hungry person or two people looking to split something.  It’s very simple but good, with homemade mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, and basil.  There will often be a second bar pie choice, a chef’s special of the night, with whatever toppings the chef decides to experiment with that day.

Filling and inexpensive.  A good choice.

For months now, I had been hearing that if you want a really good cheeseburger, you’ve got to go to Tops Bar-B-Q. People have told me it’s even better than Dyer’s. “Those little dumpy restaurants?” I thought. “They make decent BBQ sandwiches, but could they really make a good cheeseburger?”

Yesterday I decided to give it a try. I drove up to the restaurant on State Line Road, and ordered a double cheeseburger. The verdict: It’s as good as everyone has told me! That may actually be the best burger in Memphis. If you’ve been skeptical about Tops’ cheeseburger as I was, go get one! You won’t be disappointed. Unfortunately there’s not one Downtown. Nearest one is in the med center district at Union and Claybrook.

Tonight is Elvis glass night at the Flying Saucer. These glasses are usually really good, and they tend to sell out quickly. They go on sale at 7 PM. To make sure you get one, get there before 7, and let your server or bartender know you want one as soon as they’re available. Quantities vary, but there have been years in the past when they’ve run out by 7:20.

Also, for popular glasses, they limit sales to one per customer. Every year, the afternoon of Elvis glass night, I receive a bunch of texts saying, “Are you going to be at the Saucer? Can you get me a glass?” and I have to respond that I can’t. Be there if you want a glass.

One of the best blogs in Memphis, the I Love Memphis blog, got a redesign this week. I think it looks great.

MarksMenus is having its second “Eat-Up” – a meetup for users of its website and mobile apps. Next Monday, August 16 from 5:30-7:30 you can enjoy the “bites” menu for 50% off by showing your mobile app or the MarksMenus webpage on your mobile browser. Happy hour prices will be extended to 7:30 for everyone.

Congrats to the trivia team on another first-place win last night! With two plate parties thrown into the mix, we suddenly find ourselves with nearly $600 to spend on our next party. I was especially impressed that people who’ve said they can’t make the party (we’ve set the date already) came and played with the team, even though they won’t be here to enjoy the prize. Great team spirit and lack of selfishness!

Congrats to Misty, who became mayor of Lunch on Foursquare today.

Speaking of lunch, it’s time for me to cut this post off and go get something to eat. Plans for tonight: Beer. Somewhere.

I posted about this once before, but a movie shooting in Memphis is again doing a casting call. Details and contact information are below.

Feature Film Losers Take All
Casting Extras

Looking for ages 18-35, all ethnicities
Speaking roles, featured talent, and extras needed
Email current photos along with contact information
-Please note if you have a unmodified car from the ‘70s/80’s

LOSERS TAKE ALL is a comedy in which we follow “The Fingers,” a fictional punk-pop band circa 1986. Fingers are faced with the unlikely opportunity of committing the ultimate indie rock sin: selling out.

Do they stay true to their non-commercial DIY sound and ethos? Do they get in bed with corporate rock? Or do they simply keep getting wasted and implode into oblivion? Come be a part of their decision!

Directed by Alex Steyermark and Produced by Mike Ryan
Starring :
Kyle Gallner from A Nightmare on Elmstreet, CSI:NY, and Big Love
Tania Raymonde from Lost, and
Allison Scagliotti from Warehouse 13

Channel your inner Dead Kennedys, Replacements, and The Misfits

For more information call or email Abby
901-324-3424 or LTAcastingmemphis@gmail.com

EXTREMELY COOL deal on LivingSocial today… a flying lesson from Downtown Aviation for $29.50. Lesson includes a 20 minute Cliffs Notes-style ground school course, and 30 minutes in the air.

The Memphis Flyer has a new blog about the MIFA Store and its new director, Amy Hoyt. Amy acted as personal shopper for the Flyer’s blogger, helping her find several cute outfits – complete outfits – in the $7 to $11 range.

Spindini is starting a new wine/food/networking event called Wine Time Thursdays. The first one will be August 12, and the events will continue every other Thursday. Chef Joe Cartwright will select four wines, and pair them with food from Woodland Farms. $20 per person.

Tomorrow is National Health Care Day for the Homeless in Court Square from 10 AM to 2 PM. The Memphis Health Center and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs hold this event annually. Services and information provided include medical service, shelter placement, VA social services, mental health and substance abuse connections, HIV and syphilis testing, breast and cervical cancer information, and free haircuts. If you have contact with any homeless in the area, please make sure they are aware of this.

Don’t forget that today is S’mores Day all day at Kooky Canuck, with flavored marshmallows for s’mores you can make at your table. Drink specials too.

Attn anyone trying to reach me this evening: I’ll be unable to return texts between 7 and 9 tonight, as it’s our weekly trivia night at the Saucer. I make it a habit not to text during those times, because it could be mistaken by others in the bar as Googling trivia answers. Unlike some of my fellow team members, who text, tweet, Facebook, play Words with Friends, etc. nonstop during trivia and I wish they’d PUT THEIR DAMN PHONES AWAY. I know no one is cheating, but it looks bad.

Off to lunch… I’ve heard many good things about the double cheeseburger at Tops BBQ.  Time to give it a try.

Chinese restaurants have a “pu pu platter,” which is a sampler of their most popular appetizers.  Bardog Tavern may not be Chinese, but that didn’t stop them from putting out a Bardog Poo Poo platter.  Fries, egg rolls, wings, fried pickles, and shrimp skewers.  Easily enough to feed two at a reasonable price.  Note the five dipping sauces, or four depending if one considers ketchup a dipping sauce.

Speaking of Bardog:  I went in there tonight, after the Saucer got crowded with college kids beyond belief, and REGAINED THE MAYORSHIP!!!  Trevor, thanks for holding it down while I was in New Orleans, but the real mayor is back, buddy!

Tomorrow is the beginning of Elvis Week, full of activities to honor the King on the week that is the anniversary of his death.  The CVB has an Elvis Week website that tells you everything you need to know.  Check it out here.

Groupon has a good deal today – two dugout box tickets for any Redbirds game for $10. Valid for any regular-season game through September 2, subject to availablity. Get the deal here.