Paul Ryburn's Journal

If you go to Pint Nite tonight and don’t see me there, don’t worry that I might have died or something. I’ve been invited to attend a presentation on the proposed changes to the panhandling ordinance. I’ll take notes if anything interesting gets said. Should be at Pint Nite no later than 7 though.

Slight correction to my post about the Flying Saucer’s upcoming beer dinner on 2/11: Drew from French Broad brewery will be the speaker, but the 8 beers will not all be French Broad beer as I’d previously posted, but rather beers from all over. Menu: Bacon potato soup, salad, braised pork tenderloin, strawberry shortcake. Did you know that beer pairs better with food than wine does?

You have 5 days left to enter to win a romantic Valentine’s Day package worth over $1,000. Go here and share what you love about Downtown Memphis, and you could win a one-night stay on February 13 in the Madison Hotel, flowers from Holliday Flowers, champagne from the Corkscrew, dinner for two at The Inn at Hunt-Phelan, chocolates from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and a personal driver and car for the evening from Premier Transportation. Winner will be drawn at random on February 5.

I’m thinking I may skip the poker tournament at the Silly Goose tonight and attend the one Wednesday at Bardog instead. My friend Chuck went for the first time last Wednesday. “The tables are small,” he said. “We had 25 people on 5 tables, or around that number. There may have been six at one table, but no more than that.” Hmmm interesting. With a 5-handed or 6-handed table, it’s possible to loosen up starting hand requirements considerably and see a flop with almost any two cards. I kinda like that. Great food and frosty cold mugs of PBR… Wednesday should be a good night. Maybe I can break my current poker losing streak, which continued yesterday afternoon in a live game.

South of Beale held its second speed dating event recently, and it was reportedly a success. They’re planning a third one for March 6, so e-mail southofbeale@gmail.com if interested.

Porter-Leath sent out an e-mail today saying that tickets for The Swamp at Rajun Cajun Crawfish Fest are now on sale. The Swamp is the VIP area, where you can sit in the shade and enjoy unlimited gumbo, crawfish, beer, and soft drinks. Festival will be Sunday, April 18 from noon to 6 on Wagner Place between Union and Beale. Swamp tickets are $50 per person and can be purchased by calling 901-577-2500, ext. 1100.

That is all for now… bruised rib still hurts… ow…

A couple of articles in the CA that I’ll link to before leaving for work…

First of all, there was a wonderful article about my friends Jamie and Aaron and their new condo on Riverside.  Jamie and Aaron are two of the nicest people Downtown and it’s good to see the article about their new home.

Here’s a link to an article about yesterday’s Arkansas-Ole Miss game.  Weather delayed the game by a day.  The Hogs managed to beat #18 Ole Miss on the road, impressive since their star player Courtney Fortson spent most of the second half benched by foul trouble.  Always nice to see a win for the Hogs, and a loss for Ole Miss.

Ow ow ow.  I bruised a rib somehow… probably in for a couple of weeks of pain.  It hurts like hell when I cough, and considering how much time I spend in smokey bars that means I’m probably in for a lot of hurt.

Off to work.  The streets Downtown are partly clear and partly still covered in ice, depending on whether shadows from tall buildings prevent them from getting sun.  Hopefully the drive in will be OK.

I had a reader e-mail come in last night that I thought needed to be addressed.  To sum it up, the reader asked, “Are you and Brick friends?  Does she know about this blog?  Or are you just being mean and picking on her?”

The answer is:  Yes, Katie/Brick and I are friends.  She checks this blog nearly every day on her iPhone.  Usually, when she reads a “Brick Quote of the Week” post, next time she sees me she’ll give me a playful punch on the arm, explain what she meant (which often results in another quote), and then give me a hug and say, “I love you, Pauly.”

Actually, she enjoys the attention.  In fact, yesterday I was considering giving her the ultimate torture – not posting a Brick quote at all.  If I had done that, most likely by Monday or Tuesday, she’d come to me with a sad face and say, “Paul… you didn’t say anything about me in your blog.”

She’s even taken to her new nickname.  Yesterday I posted a pic to Facebook of a smoke beer I was drinking.  One of my Facebook friends who is not a fan of smoke beers commented, “yuck… and no brick today?”  Katie, who is my friend on Facebook as well, responded, “Nope no Brick.”

I often follow up my teasing with, “… but she sure can wear a skirt” or something similar.  She loves that and eats it up like candy.  It’s a running gag with my group of friends… even the gay guys in my group comment on her that way.  Heck, they probably get more comments in than anybody.  But anyway, the reason I tease her and make those kinds of comments is because she’s comfortable with it and enjoys it.  If I thought it would make her uncomfortable in any way I wouldn’t do it.

Hope that clarifies things… my friends and I all love Katie and are laughing with her, rather than at her, when we tease her.  I can understand how people who haven’t been there and seen it might get the wrong idea from the quotes on my blog, might think I’m being mean.  If you have any doubt, I suggest you go to any of the bars I frequent regularly – Saucer, Calhoun’s, Bardog, Silly Goose – and ask the people who work there whether I treat them with respect.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled blogging.  I’m up early for a change so I may get another post in before I leave for work.

If you had tickets to last night’s Grizzlies game vs. the New Orleans Hornets at the FedExForum, but couldn’t make it to the game due to icy conditions, there’s good news.  You can exchange your unused tickets for tickets of comparable value to this Friday’s game against the Houston Rockets, subject to availability.  Details here.

While I’m on the subject of the Grizzlies, huge congratulations to Zach Randolph on being named as a reserve on the Western Conference All-Star team.  A very well deserved honor.

Finally done posting, so now I’m counting the minutes until the bar opens… looks like I may get a little poker in (the live variety, not PokerStars) this afternoon too.

For the past week, I’ve heard rumors of an upcoming beer dinner at the Flying Saucer.  Last night I got the details.

Drew Barton, who worked at the Saucer years ago, then left to become a brew master, will present 8 of the beers from his brewery, French Broad.  The beers will be served with a 4-course dinner.  $25 for UFO members, $30 for non-members.  $25 to sample 8 beers, and you get to eat, too?  That’s a pretty good deal.

It’s been 3 years since they had their last beer dinner and I’ve been waiting for another one.  The last time they did one, they really hit a home run with the food.  Can’t wait.

Attn whichever manager is working night shift this Tuesday:  Expect to be pestered by the Nuh-Uh Girl asking, “What kind of food are you having?” She’ll probably hint around that she’d like to come to the dinner for free too.

All right, one more post and then it’ll be time to get Sunday Fun Day started…

Having mentioned the Nuh-Uh Girl in the previous post, I am reminded of a reader question that came in recently.

“You talk about your iPhone on the blog all the time.  Question, does the nuh uh girl have an iPhone?  And if she does, what % of her apps are related to food?”

No, unfortunately, the Nuh-Uh Girl has a Blackberry.  They get some kind of work discount for them at FedEx.  However, if she did have an iPhone, I’d estimate that around 80% of her apps would have something to do with food.  Not to mention that her Photos app would be filled with pics of food, her Safari browser would have bookmarks to food sites, etc.

Just realized, the next post to come is not only about beer, but about food as well.  So the Nuh-Uh Girl will probably be mentioned yet again.

Jodie Vance, South Main resident and the publisher of Downtowner Magazine, will speak at the February meeting of the South Main Association.  She’ll speak on her two-decade journey as a South Main resident, about the history, fun and experiences building a neighborhood.  This should be a really interesting speech and I look forward to learning more about the history of South Main.

The meeting will be at SEE the Difference Interiors at 431 S. Main, on Tuesday, February 9, with social at 6:00 and program starting at 6:30.  There will be a cash bar, and SEE the Difference will provide complimentary hors d’oeuvres.  Free food?  Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Don’t forget, today is the last day to renew your SMA membership before the rates go up.  You can do it online here.

With the sub-freezing temperatures and ice outside, I thought everyone could use a winter warmer.  Therefore, I’d like to remind you that Tube Top Month is only 4 months and a day away.

For the entire month of June, every post on my blog will mention tube tops in some form or fashion, or contain a tube top pic, no matter how irrelevant tube tops are to the main subject of my post.  It’s an annual tradition on this blog that’s been going on for 5 years, and I see no reason to stop now.

OK… at least two more posts to come today… the Nuh-Uh Girl needs to be sure and check back, because one of the posts mentions free food.  Actually, all of Downtown needs to check back, because the other post is of paramount importance – it’s about BEER!

This week’s “Brick” Quote of the Week is going to be the shortest quote yet.

“Oh, F**K!!!”

I guess I should put that in context.  In the summer when it’s warm, many of the girls who work at the Saucer wear their uniforms to work.  However, in winter, it’s kind of chilly in a tank top and miniskirt, so usually they wear their street clothes to work and change in the restroom at the beginning of their shift.  They then put their street clothes in bags and stick them in a cabinet.

So, one day Brick came to work, and about 30 minutes later a female customer walked out of the restroom and went up to one of the managers.  “Are you a manager?” she asked.  “I’m not sure what’s going on, but there’s a pair of women’s jeans and women’s panties lying on the floor in the restroom.”

Brick, who was standing nearby, said, “Oh, F**K!!!” and ran to the restroom to retrieve her clothes.  Brick has managed to learn to change clothes by herself, quite an accomplishment for her, but remembering to pick up the clothes she changed out of is still a challenge.

You’d think, having left her clothes lying on the floor once, she’d learn her lesson and not do it again.  But about a week later, one of the other waitresses came out of the restroom, and she proceeded to show a pic she’d taken with her cell phone cam to everyone else working there.  It was a pic of jeans and panties lying on the floor of the women’s room.  When she showed it to Brick, Brick said “Oh, F**K!!!” and darted off to the restroom.

Remember in kindergarten, how the teacher used to pin notes to our parents to our shirts, so we wouldn’t lose them on the way home?  Perhaps Brick should pin a note to her shirt, saying “pick your clothes up off the floor,” along with other important things she needs to remember, like “My name is Katie,” “flip the switch up to turn the lights on, down to turn them off,” and “turn the faucet handle to the right for cold water, to the left for hot water” (although she’s not the only one at the Saucer who has trouble with that last one).

It’s Sunday morning and I just got back from my run to Jack’s Food Store.  They have Mountain Dew Throwback with real sugar.  I bought three of them.  I admit I don’t have a complete concept of what heaven looks like, but I’m pretty sure there’s Mountain Dew Throwback there.  And PBR.

I’ve got a bunch of stuff I need to post today, so check back.

In case you missed reading the Commercial Appeal yesterday due to the ice and snow, here’s a review of Market Cafe, one of the newest lunch spots Downtown.  I ate there on a rare off day right after it opened and liked it very much.  Sounds like the tuna salad sandwich will be the next thing I try.  Reviewer Jennifer Biggs raved about the roasted vegetable strudel, which sounds like something my health guru AL would love.

Home at 1 AM.  Note:  No matter how much ice is on the Main Street Mall, if you have drunkass to-go food from Huey’s you’re invincible.  That’s what I learned tonight.