Paul Ryburn's Journal

My BFF Stephanie is incredibly talented at Photoshop.  Here’s one of her latest works of art:

June Bug, happy to be free from her Christmas sweater, is seen here using superpowers to destroy a factory that makes Christmas sweaters for cats.

I ate at the Flying Fish this weekend.  As I was leaving, I noticed this sign hung outside:

Six bucks for a dozen oysters isn’t a bad deal, but that’s a 100% price increase over what they were doing before (25 cent oysters every Sunday).  Wow I bet that’s going to tick a lot of their Sunday regulars off.

I love the Fish though… my health guru AL will be pleased to read that I got the grilled tilapia with red beans and rice and grilled zucchini and squash.  They have PBR on draft and in cans.  Wish some of that PBR would find its way down the street to the bar that’s owned by the same company as the Fish.

If you brave the weather and go out tonight, keep in mind that you have a couple of new options Downtown.  First of all, this is the first day of Calhoun’s Monday night beer specials, with all beers except PBR at half-price.  That means their regular domestics are $1.50 and their premium beers and imports are $2.50.  Five TVs to watch Monday night football, and a friendly neighborhood crowd.

Farther north, it will be Lauren’s second night behind the bar at the Voodoo Room at Orleans on Front (aka Hoop’s new bar) from 8 to 3.  They have $2 PBR cans.  I went in there last night after the Dempseys finished about midnight, and the place was surprisingly full – so full that they ran out of PBR!  I assume that situation will be rectified before the bar opens tonight.  Glad to see the place doing well.

Then there’s the usual stuff going on:

– Pint Nite at the Flying Saucer, most pints $2.75

– Unlimited bowling at Jillian’s for $10

– Di Anne Price playing the piano in the Westin lobby

– Trivia at the Blue Monkey, 8 PM

– Trivia at Huey’s, 9 PM

– $2 34 oz. Coors Light, $3 blue kamikazes, $4 100 proof tequila shots, and $9.99 wings at Big Foot Lodge during Monday Night Football.  Please be sure to tip Meghan appropriately at the bar when you buy those $2 beers.  A 15% tip on a $2 beer is 30 cents.  Or, if you want to be extra generous, tip her 18% or 36 cents.

My plan is to do Pint Nite, then walk over to the Voodoo Room to see Lauren.  Be extra careful if you drive tonight – the forecast looks nasty.  Trolleys, walking, and cabs are good alternatives to driving Downtown.

I’ve received e-mails from several people telling me that the new restaurant taking over the old Roma space at Third and Court is A&R BBQ.  I’ve also been told they are breaking their long-standing tradition of not serving alcohol at their restaurants, and are applying for a beer license.

Automatic Slim’s has been under new ownership for the past couple of months; it’s no longer one of Karen’s restaurants.  The new chef in the kitchen is none other than Michael Patrick, who most recently worked at EP Delta Kitchen.  They’re making some changes to the place and he sent me an e-mail about them this morning.

First of all, they’re going to start doing a brunch Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 4.  The chef is going to send me a copy of the menu and I’ll write up a summary of it in a future post.

They’ll still be open for lunch (Mon-Fri 11-4) and dinner (5-10 nightly), but starting at 10 they will have a late night menu, which they will serve until they close at 3 AM.  It will consist of the appetizers from the dinner menu, soup of the day, Screaming Mimi iceberg wedge salad, 3 entrees which are smaller versions of their dinner entrees, a chef special, and a dessert.

Very cool… with Slim’s, Bardog, and Voodoo Room at Orleans on Front all doing late-night menus, Downtowners have a number of attractive dining options after 10 now.  It’s not just Huey’s and Denny’s anymore.

Just a reminder that the Dempseys play Downtown Huey’s tonight at 8:30.  I haven’t missed a Dempseys show at Huey’s in 5 years, and I don’t plan to miss this one.

I have advance knowledge of the Fire Sale today at the Saucer: Warsteiner.  A few weeks ago I called them out for a string of horrible Fire Sales that lasted several weeks in a row.  They are now doing much better.  This week we’ve had Blue Moon, Red Seal Pale Ale, Bass, Harp, and now Warsteiner on sale for $2.75… beers that people actually want to drink.  Also, kudos to them for putting the sound on for the Tiger game yesterday in the Garden.  If they keep this up maybe they’ll win back some of the business they’ve lost to Calhoun’s.

I have a feeling my BFF Stephanie is not real happy with me this morning… I got sidetracked at Bardog Tavern and never made it to the ugly sweater party in Midtown that she had invited me to.  And it wasn’t a case of not wanting to go… I honestly did, it’s just a case of there being so much going on in December that I was double-booked for events to attend.  Thursday of this week I’m triple-booked.  But I still hate it that I didn’t go… I’m a horrible BFF.  I’ve turned into Meghan. 

This article says that Bud Light is changing its packaging in 2009.  John D: “Really?  Paul, do you think they’ll be handing out any free samples?”

Speaking of John D, it’s time for me to head to the Majestic Grille, home of the John D breakfast, for Sunday brunch.  Have a good one, and maybe I’ll see you at Huey’s tonight.

Calhoun’s is going to put all its draft beers (except PBR) on sale for half-price on Monday nights, excluding Tiger games and BCS games.  That means the prices will be

• $1.50 for Miller Lite, Bud Light, Yuengling, and Mich Amber
• $2.50 for Guinness, Blue Moon, Ghost River Pale Ale, Bridgeport IPA, and Stella Artois

Looks like those in South Main will now have lots of affordable beers on Monday nights without having to make the trek north to the Saucer.

This poor kitty is wondering who she pissed off in one of her former nine lives, to deserve an owner who would do this to her.  The look on her face says “Get… this… sweater… off me NOW.”

The cat is JuneBug, owned by my BFF Stephanie and named after Estes aka “June Bug” the panhandler who’s been on the streets of Downtown Memphis for years, but is currently in jail on assault charges.

I’m looking forward to attending my first ugly sweater party tonight, even if it means I have to drive to Midtown.

I’ve been asked to be a celebrity judge for a holiday event at the Majestic Grille next Thursday, December 18.  Details to come in a second…

… but I had to switch over to my Facebook account to get details of the event, and while there I noticed that one of my friends has updated her “about me” to read, “I am a nicer, younger, cooler version of Martha Stewart.”  Facebook needs a “people I’m embarrassed to admit I know” section as well as a “friends” section.

Anyway… the contest is part of the Majestic Grille’s special showing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation on their big screen Thursday night the 18th.  Seating is at 7:30 with a special menu for the event, and the movie begins at 8.  There will be two contests, one for the tackiest Christmas sweater and another for the most authentic character costume for the movie.  I’ll be a judge for those.

Special menu consists of mixed greens salad, bourbon and brown sugar glazed baked ham, stewed green beans, macaroni and cheese, warm biscuits, and sherry trifle plus $19.95 plus tax and gratuity.  The regular menu will be available too.

They’re already filling up with reservations, so call 522-8555 if you want to attend the event.

Last night I visited Hoop’s new place for the first time.  Many Downtowners fondly remember the original Hoop’s Bar, a friendly neighborhood bar that was on the second floor of EP Delta Kitchen.  With a beer pong table, Wii bowling, and one of the most entertaining bar staffs ever, Hoop’s Bar continued to flourish even after EP’s started to go downhill.  Unfortunately, when EP’s closed in September, it had to close too.

Hoop’s new place, however, may be even better.  It’s the Voodoo Room in the basement of Orleans on Front (formerly Cayenne Moon, on Front between Union and Gayoso across from the Butcher Shop).  It has its own private entrance – look for an open door on Front, with steps leading downstairs.  There you’ll find a very groovy speakeasy-style lounge run by Hoop.  I was in there a couple of months ago for Orleans on Front’s grand opening.  Since then Hoop has made some changes to the downstairs to make it more appealing.  In particular, he enlarged the bar so it seats about 10, and the beer pong table has made its return.  He’s working on getting Wii.

Now for the answer to the important question:  They have PBR, and they serve it the way it was meant to be served, in cans.  Price is a reasonable 2 bucks each.

For food, they’ll have Orleans on Front’s menu until 10, and then after that they’ll have the Voodoo Room late-night menu.   That menu is still under construction but here’s what was on it as of last night:  Cheese stix; sweet potato fritters; parmesan fried green tomatoes with comeback sauce; french fries with comeback sauce; Rotel cheese fries; 2 hot dogs; pork chop sandwich; double cheeseburger; triple cheeseburger; blackened chicken sandwich; blackened or cornmeal breaded catfish basket or sandwich; homemade bread pudding with Southern Comfort bourbon sauce.  All the sandwiches, burgers, and dogs come with fries, and Rotel can be added to anything for $1.50.  Again, the menu is still not totally decided at this point.  Appetizers are $4-6.50 and sandwiches and baskets are $5-8, $9 for the triple cheeseburger.

The new bar will be open until 3 every night.  Hoop will be behind the bar Tuesday through Saturday, and Lauren (who also works at Calhoun’s, and used to work at the Saucer) will be there Sundays and Mondays.

Wow… so now I have the Voodoo Room, the Saucer, and Bardog Tavern all within 4 blocks of my front door.  Talk about a power trio of places to get a beer.  And Silly Goose is not far from opening.  And I want to try the new late night menu at Automatic Slim’s sometime soon too.  Downtown just keeps getting better and better!

I’m thinking about getting the triple cheeseburger with Rotel next time I go, just so I can tell my health guru AL that I did.

In other news:  Looks like the issue of what to wear to the ugly sweater party has been resolved… my friend Bicycle Bobby has a hideously ugly green sweater he’s going to give me.  Unfortunately he wants me to meet him at the Saucer tonight to pick it up… the Saucer?  I hate that place!  All that beer is so unhealthy, and the outfits those girls wear are just plain indecent.  I’ll have to spend extra time at church on Sunday to make up for it.  And by “church” I mean “brunch at the Majestic.”

I sent out an e-mail to my trivia team’s e-mail list kicking off the annual “what are we going to do on New Year’s Eve” discussion/argument a few minutes ago.  I’m looking for a better communication method than a Google e-mail list, because we keep leaving people off who aren’t on the trivia team.  What I’m looking for is a web-based contact manager where everyone in our group (whether on the team or not) can add their e-mail addresses.  Then, when someone has something they want to send out to the group, they can go through and check boxes next to names of people they want to invite, or click a “select all” button to check everybody.  It would then produce a list of e-mail addresses that can be pasted into the To: field of any e-mail program.  So far I haven’t found anything like that.  If anyone knows of such a tool let me know.  If I can’t find anything, I may write one using PHP.

More posts to come today – I’ve been asked to be a “celebrity judge” for an event at the Majestic Grille next week, and I’ll have info on a new cheap beer night at Calhoun’s.