Paul Ryburn's Journal

Restaurant management company Packed House has announced holiday hours for all of its businesses.

Momma’s

• Christmas Eve – closes at 5 PM
• Christmas Day – closed
• New Year’s Eve – normal hours
• New Year’s Day – normal hours

Slider Inn

• Christmas Eve – closes at 5 PM
• Christmas Day – Downtown opens at 5 PM; Midtown closed
• New Year’s Eve – open 11 AM-1 AM; DJ DanceAlone plays Downtown 9 PM-1 AM; Witnesse plays Midtown 9 PM-1 AM
• New Year’s Day – normal hours

Aldo’s Pizza Pies

• Christmas Eve and Day – closed
• New Year’s Eve and Day – normal hours

Bardog

• Christmas Eve – normal Sunday hours – so 11 AM to 3 AM. INSIDER TIP: Last I heard, Butt Slut #1 and Bardog OG James are scheduled to work the upstairs bar 8 PM to close.
• Christmas Day – opens 5 PM
• New Year’s Eve – open as normal 11 AM-5 PM; open 7 PM-1:30 AM for their New Year’s Eve Bash (must have ticket; highly recommended by this blogger; details here)
• New Year’s Day – open normal Monday hours, which are 8 AM to 3 AM. Assuming she doesn’t switch with someone, Emily would be your morning bartender.

Today is National Coquito Day. This beverage is part of the holiday tradition of Puerto Rico. Coquito recipes vary and the drink is aged in the refrigerator before being served.

It’s also National French-Fried Shrimp Day. My recommendation is the Shrimp Basket at Flying Fish. I was gonna recommend Huey’s but it appears they don’t have the shrimp po-boy anymore.

Ja Morant returns to The Grindhouse tonight at 7 as the Memphis Grizzlies battle the Indiana Pacers. Local TV coverage will be Bally Sports. Free Grizzlies rally flag to the first 10,000 through the FedExForum gates.

There’s a holiday special at Feathers Spa at the Peabody Hotel: Buy (in-store) a gift card to the store worth $175 or more, and receive a free Zents gift set valued at $85. The gift set includes moisturizing body wash and an age-defying probiotic lotion.

It’s Wurlitzer Wonderland night at The Orpheum, a one-night concert featuring the theater’s historic pipe organ. Festive tunes played on the 95-year-old organ will get you in the holiday spirit. 7 PM showtime. $10 cash at the door.

The Daily Memphian has added word games.

E-scooter company Bird has filed for bankruptcy.

December 21 is the day of the year that Memphis gets the least sunshine… but the historically coldest time of the year is mid-January. ABC 24 explains why. For the same reason, June 21 is the longest day but July is the hottest month.

It won’t be a white Christmas in Memphis, but it’s beginning to look a lot like a wet Christmas. And – good news – a warm one.

Today’s specials at Bardog:

• Blackened salmon Alfredo – 19
• BBQ sliders – beef sliders with bacon, cheddar, BBQ sauce, pickle – 17
• Soup: Chicken & dumpling
• Dog: Bacon, bell pepper, ketchup, mustard
• Mussels: Garlic, tomato, white wine
• Bourbon pecan pie
• Chocolate cake

Back tomorrow with more news.

Happy birthday to my friend John D! He celebrates a big one today. See you at Local on Main in a little while, John!

The Memphis Tigers made it 4 victories vs.ranked teams last night, earning a 77-54 victory over 22 Virginia. Along with previous wins over 20 Arkansas, 21 Texas A&M, and undefeated 13 Clemson, Memphis has some assets to impress the NCAA tournament seeding committee.

Six seed sound about right for the Tigers? Maybe a ceiling of a five seed if we run the table against ranked conference opponent FAU.

And then there’s Ja… he looked brilliant in his last-second shot that gave the Grizzlies a 115-113 victory over New Orleans. We can all breathe a sigh of relief… our guy hasn’t lost a step. Ja had 34 points for the night.

The Memphis City Council has voted to give the Liberty Bowl stadium to the University of Memphis. Absolutely the correct move. Well done.

Today is National Sangria Day and Go Caroling Day.

I got a new troll yesterday. No idea what to name him. Suggestions?

Drew & Ellie Holcomb’s Neighborly Christmas is tonight at the Orpheum.

That’s it for now. Maybe back later today.

Truffle Philly cheese steak with fries, a $12 special today at Local. Tender and cheesy and the bun sops up the juice. Peppers and onions of course.

Chicken and short rib tacos, another special today at Local. $3 each. They have chorizo too.

$5 margarita special today at Local.

Blind Bear specials for this week:

• Fried chicken sliders – Three hand-buttered chicken breast sliders topped with Asian pickles and spicy mayo, served with seasoned fries or Nate’s tots – 15

• Chocolate peanut butter brownie – Chocolate brownie topped with peanut butter, chocolate, white chocolate, and peanuts – 8

• There is no “Soup of the Week” this week, but rather a “Soup that’s Back to Stay” because they rolled out a new menu yesterday. Gerald’s potato soup is back! I bet that’ll get Butt Slut #1 up there. You can get it “loaded” for $1 more cup / $2 more bowl.
• Also, Tony’s greens are now an everyday menu item.

Y’all, I tried one of those fried chicken sliders yesterday, and it was DEE-LISH-US. You will never want Chick-fil-A again after eating Tony’s chicken sliders.

As for the new menu, it’s not a giant change. The other major addition that had previously been a special was the coffee-crusted NY strip steak, with a loaded baked potato and Tony’s greens for $28.

The Peabody Hotel has added a robot to its security team, WREG reports. I have one question, though: Where’s the mustache? I mean, what kind of security guard DOESN’T have a mustache???

From ESPN: A quagmire situation: What Ja Morant’s return (tonight) means for a teetering Memphis Grizzlies season

The CA has a list of 10 Memphis restaurants Guy Fieri should visit for his TV show. Downtown suggestions include Chef Tam’s Underground Cafe, Momma’s, Sunrise, and Gus’s.

LEO Events is hiring a junior graphic designer.

Today’s specials at Bardog:

• Sesame soy steak-n-shrimp pasta over rigatoni with vegetables – 20
• Blackened chicken Philly – bell peppers, onions, pepper jack – 17
• Soup: Lobster bisque
• Dog: Bacon, red pepper, tomato, pepperoncini, spicy mayo
• Mussels: Garlic, tomato, white wine
• Bourbon pecan pie
• Chocolate cake

Not a very newsy Tuesday but that happens around Christmas. Back tomorrow with more.

The Memphis Tigers have entered the AP Top 25, having handed Clemson its first loss of the season. Penny’s Tigers came in at number 23. That’s one spot below the Virginia Cavaliers, who Memphis will face this week. Clemson fell 5 spots, from 13 to 18, following its loss to Memphis. FAU, who the Tigers will see in conference play twice this season, is 14th.

There’s going to be a South Main bar crawl on New Year’s Eve, organized by locals. Bar Ware, Ibis, and Lucky Cowboy are among the participating bars, with more to be added. Cover charge is $40 and goes toward a South Main Association initiative to purchase and install safety cameras in the neighborhood and connect them to MPD.

By the way… while I recommend the pub crawl listed above, I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT recommend pub crawls organized by out-of-towners. ESPECIALLY on New Year’s Eve. Too many failed promises. Too many instances of bars having no idea they’ve been listed as a participating business. These out-of-town companies tend to have very generic social media account names, for example “We Like Pub Crawls.” AVOID THEM.

Kinfolk, a breakfast and brunch restaurant on Harbor Town Square, is hiring a bartender.

Sheet Cake, the new art gallery at 405 Monroe out in The Edge, will host a holiday happy hour from 4:30 to 6:30 PM this Friday. There will be mulled wine and cookies. Artists who have work on display at Sheet Cake will be on site to talk about their creations.

Bleacher Report suggests the Grizzlies do a trade with the Utah Jazz: Memphis gets Kelly Olynyk, while Utah gets Luke Kennard and lottery-protected 2026 first-round pick.

TDOT intends to replace the I-55 bridge over the Mississippi River, “the old bridge” built in 1949, in 2026.

South Main Sounds, the music performance space at 550 South Main, has partnership opportunities available:

• Venue sponsorship
• TV show underwriting
• Promotion for your venue/show
• Social media sponsorship
• Music menu sponsorship
• YouTube sponsorship

Contact markmusic@att.net for more information about these opportunities.

Pro Wrestling Stories has a review of The Iron Claw, the movie documenting the life of the Von Erich family that debuts in theaters this week. I grew up watching the Von Erichs on cable TV. I was especially a big fan of David, who seemed destined to be a world champion. I was heartbroken when I turned on Fort Worth’s KTVT one Saturday night at 10:30 and announcer Mark Lowrance informed us that David had died in Japan. He was only 25.

Fan favorite Kenneth Lofton Jr. will likely be waived from the Grizzlies this week to free up a roster spot for the returning Ja Morant.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

 

My world business traveler friend Randy returned to Memphis last week. This time he’d been to New Zealand. He brought a goodie bag for me to Bardog with him Saturday.

These olives are SO GOOD! I wonder if I took them to Aldo’s Pizza Pies, would they put them on a pizza for me?

“Kiwi Poo,” chocolate covered peanuts.

Venison salami. I haven’t tried this yet but I am sure it is delicious!

Also in the goodie bag:

• A “Keepin’ It Kiwi” hoodie, which I’m wearing right now
• A huge bar of chocolate
• A bottle of vodka

Sunday morning I woke up around 7:30. With the bars not opening until 11, I found myself bored at home with nothing to do. I decided to start on the chocolate bar and the bottle of vodka. By 10 AM I’d finished half of each. With an hour remaining to kill, I took a seat on the sofa…

… and fell asleep for what seemed like a brief moment…

Then I woke up and checked my phone. It was 12:35. I thought something was wrong with my phone! But then I looked out the window and saw the sun directly overhead, and I realized I really had slept two-plus hours.

I threw on my clothes and hurried to Blind Bear. Chico behind the bar saw me come in. He ran to the kitchen door and shouted, “Tony, he’s here!”

A few seconds later, Tony came out of the kitchen, on his phone. “Yeah. He’s here. He just came in,” Tony said to whomever he was talking to.

Turns out I had told my friends Allie Cat and Butt Slut #1 I’d meet them at 11 at Bardog. When I no-showed, they were worried sick. Oops!

Let’s have a look at local basketball this week:

• Monday, December 18 (tonight): Memphis Grizzlies away at Oklahoma City Thunder, 7:00 PM. TV: Bally Sports
• Tuesday, December 19: Memphis Tigers at home vs. Virginia Cavaliers, 6:00 PM. TV: ESPN2. Virginia was ranked #22 in last Monday’s AP Top 25.
• Tuesday, December 19: Memphis Grizzlies away at New Orleans Pelicans, 6:30 PM. TV: TNT. Ja Morant is eligible to return as of this game.
• Thursday, December 21: Memphis Grizzlies at home vs. Indiana Pacers,7:00 PM. TV: Bally Sports. Free rally flag to the first 10,000 fans.
• Saturday, December 23: Memphis Tigers at home vs. Vanderbilt, 3:00 PM. TV: CBS
• Saturday, December 23: Memphis Grizzlies away at Atlanta Hawks, 7:00 PM: TV: Bally Sports

Tickets are still available for Bardog’s New Year’s Eve 2024 Bash.

What does a ticket get you?

• Six and a half hours (7:00 to 1:30) access to a food buffet – and we’re talking PREMIUM food here. Fliet mignon, shrimp cocktails, that kind of stuff.
• A completely open bar
• Ring in the new year in a familiar place – a place that isn’t overcrowded like most NYE parties (they’re capping ticket sales at 100) and isn’t full of douchebags
• Vueve Cliquot champagne toast at midnight

Tickets are $150 and that includes tax and gratuity. I don’t recommend a lot of New Year’s Eve parties, because they mostly all suck – but this is one I can get behind.

From the DM: Hire Local develops health care jobs in Memphis Medical District

Today is National Wear a Plunger on Your Head Day.

Memphis Made Brewing Co. will have a tailgate and watch party for December 29’s Liberty Bowl. Food truck Big River Dogs will be on site. Prefer to drink at home? They’ll be selling six-packs to go for $9.01 all day.

Congratulations to Brett Roler, new COO of the Downtown Memphis Commission.

Grizzlies jobs!

• Assistant, Facility and Operations Programming
• Human Resources Business Partner
• Manager, Training & Talent Development

Today’s specials at Bardog:

• Beef stroganoff pasta – 22
• Grilled buffalo chicken sandwich – bacon, American, lettuce, tomato, pickle, ranch – 17
• Soup: Lobster bisque
• Dog: Bacon, red pepper, tomato, pepperoncini, spicy mayo
• Mussels: Garlic, tomato, white wine
• Bourbon pecan pie
• Chocolate cake

Since the specials are time-sensitive, I’ll stop here and hit Publish. Possibly a second post later today.

Alcenia’s, the soul food restaurant just north of the I-40 overpass on North Main Street, is selling love-filled gift boxes. Each box comes with a jar of Alcenia’s famous apple butter, along with your choice of two of the following treats:

• Old-fashioned bread pudding
• Tea cakes
• Sweet potato pie
• Go-Go’s pecan pie

Tonight is the grand opening party at Esco.

Wiseacre releases its 2023 version of its Astronaut Status beer at 1 this afternoon.

Today is Cat Herders Day. Raise your glass if you’ve ever had a leadership position on a team that competed at BBQ Fest.

Speaking of which… $250,000 in prize money will be awarded at the new BBQ festival, to be organized by the people who bring us Mempho Fest, in Tom Lee Park the third weekend of May. The new festival’s grand champion will receive $50,000.

Today is also Underdog Day, a good day to hang out at Bardog’s downstairs bar. No nasty cigarettes down there.

Alexis Jade plays Momma’s tonight. 8 PM.

Hearing good things about the espresso martini at Curfew, which is made with premium products.

Sitting here at Bardog waiting on them to post today’s specials. Allie Cat says come entertain her. She’s mixing sugar cookie shots for the holidays.

Don’t forget, Blind Bear will be closed for a private corporate event this evening. The schedule:

• 6:00 PM: Last call for food
• 6:45 PM: You gots ta go!
• 9:00 PM: The Bear reopens to the public

I recommend you hang out at Bardog and harass Dani/Butt Slut #2 during the downtime. She loves hearing/smelling a good burp. If she’s impressed she’ll say “Ribbit.”

Bardog specials for today:

• Fried chicken Caesar wrap: Lettuce, tomato, bacon, Caesar dressing – 17
• Spicy grilled chicken Alfredo over spaghetti – 18
• Soup: Chicken tortilla
• Dog: Sauteed onion, bacon, 2 eggs, spicy mayo
• Mussels: Garlic, tomato, white wine
• Bourbon pecan pie
• Chocolate cake

That’ll wrap it up for now.

 

I don’t usually post this late in the day, I have some highly time-sensitive info. Earlier this afternoon, Local on Main posted

Comedy @ 8
Karaoke @ 9:30 and…

Late night BEER BUST

12 AM-3 AM – Kitchen open late

$10 bottomless draft*
$3 Fireball shots
$10 flatbreads

I haven’t seen a beer bust since the late ’90s. And I’ve never seen a beer bust that late.

The employees working Local today had no idea that the beer bust would be happening. They found out like everybody else, when they saw the event flyer posted to Facebook.

Can’t make it tonight? They say they’re doing it Friday and Saturday too.

I would love to be a fly on the wall for this. Anyone wanna spot me ten bucks? Make that fifteen so I can tip.

Catherine & Mary’s is hiring a Back Server. This position is said to be a great entry point into the hospitality industry, one which prepares the position’s holder to eventually move into the role of Server.

Coach Penny wants 18,000 butts in FedExForum seats for Saturday’s 2 PM game vs. unbeaten, 11th-ranked Clemson. It will be the Tigers’ first true home game in 30 days.

Specials at Bardog today:

• Filet mignon with mashed sweet potatoes and asparagus – 25
• Veal piccata with tomatoes, parsley, and spaghetti – 23
• Soup: Chicken tortilla
• Dog: Sauteed onion, bacon, 2 eggs, spicy mayo
• Mussels: Garlic, tomato, white wine
• Bourbon pecan pie
• Chocolate cake

Keep scrolling for the rest of the Thursday news. Due to some time-sensitive breakfast stuff, I had to fire off today’s first post right around midnight.

Hyatt Centric Memphis is hiring an area associate director of events.

NBA trade season begins tomorrow, with most free agents signed prior to the beginning of the season eligible to be traded. February 8 is this season’s trade deadline.

Doritos has created an 84-proof liquor that tastes just like the nacho cheese chips.

If you miss the 25-cent martinis Felicia Suzanne’s used to pour for Friday lunch, here’s a PRO TIP for you: Go see my friend Maddie at Bounty on Broad between 5 and 6 this evening. Apparently this is a Wednesday-Thursday thing out there.

Today is Monkey Day. Cheers to my friend Roscoe!

It’s also National Biscuits and Gravy Day. The King Biscuit at Sunrise Memphis on Jefferson would be a good way to celebrate. To drink, get a Grind and Shine, Sunrise’s version of a screwdriver, because today is also National Screwdriver Day.

The Peabody is now taking orders for Christmas dinner at home. The package is $160, serves 4 people, and includes

• 12 lb. whole turkey
• Mashed potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Cranberry sauce
• Green beans
• Gravy
• Pecan pie
• Cornbread dressing

Order by Sunday, December 17. Pick up in the hotel’s valet area on Christmas Eve 11 AM-3 PM.

The CA has the scoop on a new restaurant and brewery coming to Downtown. The restaurant will be JEM (Just Enjoy The Moment) Dining in The Edge at 644 Madison. The brewery will be in the South Main Arts District at 206 G.E. Patterson next to Renee’s Sandwich Shop. It will be called Memphis Filling Station.

Pools are fun. Summer is fun.

Holiday hours have kicked in at Feelin’ Memphis gift shop, 509 S. Main: 9 AM to 8 PM. This store is my top recommendation to visit if you’re looking to give a uniquely Memphis gift.

Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors has been suspended indefinitely by the NBA. He was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from a game earlier this week for striking Jusuf Nurkic in the face.

Green will have to “meet criteria” before being allowed back on the court. Most likely one of the criteria is a requirement to attend counseling. Could we see a kinder, gentler Draymond in 2024?

Jaren Jackson Jr. dropped 44 points last night but it wasn’t enough to prevent a Grizzlies road loss to Houston. Memphis has a chance for revenge Friday, hosting Houston at FedExForum. NOTABLE: It will be Dillon Brooks’ first time in the Grindhouse since he left the Grizzlies.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra presents The Ghosts of Christmas Eve: The Best of TSO and More tonight at FedExForum. Showtime is 7:00.

It’s early for me to publish a Thursday update post – it’s 11:37 PM Wednesday – but since I have breakfast recommendations in this post, I want to go ahead and get it online. Probably back in the 11 AM or noon hour with Thursday morning news and Bardog specials and maybe other specials.