Paul Ryburn's Journal

Last Sunday about 6:45, I had just eaten a good dinner at Cafe 61 and decided to make the trek south to Calhoun’s.  As I passed the trolley stop at Main and Beale, I heard a couple complaining that the trolley sure was taking a long time to arrive.  I wonder if they realized that they’d be standing there waiting until Monday morning for a trolley, because MATA shuts the trolley down at 6:30 PM on Sunday.

Six freakin’ thirty.  How are people who come here for a Friday-Saturday-Sunday long weekend supposed to get around Sunday evening if the trolleys have already gone home to bed?  It contributes to the mistaken belief that there’s nothing to do down here on Sundays.  Usually during the summer, I do a “it’s Thursday night, what’s going on?” post where I list events happening Downtown (except, yesterday I forgot to do it, sorry).  Let’s take a look at some of the stuff that goes on down here on Sunday nights – this list shows that there’s really something for everyone:

• Singer Barbara Blue belts out the tunes at Silky O’Sullivan’s from 4 to 8 PM, with piano accompaniment.  Barbara’s got a powerful voice, there’s lots of interaction with the crowd, and you can enjoy a Hurricane, Diver, or one of Silky’s other signature drinks while she sings.  She gladly takes requests – just remember, it’s “please” or money to request a song.
• Every Sunday Downtown Huey’s has bands on stage from 4-7 PM and from 8:30-midnight.  This week it’s Di Anne Price in the late slot; looks like the early show is TBA according to Huey’s website.  Good music, always a lot of fun, and a good excuse to eat a Huey burger.
• If you want to do “date night” on Sunday, Itta Bena, the restaurant on the 3rd floor of BB King’s, offers half off the price of bottles of wine.  That’s ANY bottle of wine in the house.  So you can order a $150 bottle of wine with dinner and pay $75.  I honestly don’t know how they make a profit off this, but I’m sure not complaining.  Fine dining on Beale Street, but a place where you can come in casually dressed and still feel welcome.  Private entrance and valet parking on Second just south of Beale.  Melissa at the bar is a possible BFF of the Month candidate for August.
• Downstairs from Itta Bena, you can always count on a good blues band at BB King’s on Sunday nights.
• Another fine dining option for Sunday night is Circa, which offers a tasting menu with wine pairings every Sunday for $45 per person.  Good chance to try some new wines, and of course Chef John Bragg’s food is always delicious.  Circa has patio dining as well as indoor dining, although with a predicted high of 99 for Sunday (according to the Weather Channel), it may be a bit uncomfortable to hang out on a patio this week.  That’s OK.  They have air conditioning inside.
• EP Delta Kitchen has a jam session with Roxanne Lemmon every Sunday from 8 PM until midnight.  (If the name sounds familiar, it’s probably because they’re the regular Wednesday night band at the Saucer.)  This is another option to get a quality meal on Sunday, as they have one of the best chefs in the city, Michael Patrick, in the kitchen.
• Jam band FreeWorld takes the stage at Blues City Cafe at 10:30 PM.  They play all over the city and the region, but Sunday night at Blues City is kind of their home base, a place where they really feel free to cut loose.  Every Downtowner needs to stay up late and catch FreeWorld at least once.  This is another place where you can get good food while you eat – their kitchen stays open late, so you can order a slab of ribs, or one of their massive steaks, or tamales, or their crab au gratin… the list goes on and on.
• There’s a jazz night at Earnestine & Hazel’s from 8 to 11 PM on Sundays.  Soul burgers!!!
• Then, of course, there are the neighborhood bars that are open on Sundays, the ones that don’t have featured entertainment but are just good, friendly places where the locals hang out.  For example, Calhoun’s on GE Patterson where you can get a $1.50 pint of PBR every day, and there are beer specials if either the Cubs or Cardinals are on TV.  The Flying Saucer puts a beer on $2.75 Fire Sale every day (a few examples of Fire Sale selections: Flying Dog Doggie Style, Flying Dog Tire Bite, Dos Equis Amber, Dos Equis Special Lager, Killian’s Red, Sam Adams Lager, Shiner Bock).  Up the street at Big Foot Lodge, there’s $4 34 oz. Bud Select, $5 34 oz. Blue Moon, and $9.99 34 oz. mixed drinks.  (Note:  Beware the 34 oz. mixed drinks if you have to go to work on Monday; I speak from experience here.)  You’ll find friendly people on both sides of the bar at all three of these places.

While I was hanging out at Calhoun’s talking to Max last Sunday, I noticed that the Cheesecake Corner next door was doing big business.  I’d recommend that as a perfect way to end the evening for those who do half-price wine night at Itta Bena… but, the problem is, Cheesecake Corner is about half a mile away, and you can’t ride the trolley down there for dessert because it stops running at 6:30 PM on Sundays.  There’s plenty to do down here… MATA is doing a real disservice to the Downtown community by not keeping the Sunday night trolley running until 11:45 PM, as it does Monday through Thursday.

Check out this Memphis Flyer article, which says that a Seattle company name Walkscore.com has named Downtown Memphis one of the nation’s top “walking paradises.”

So, get out of that car, stop spending that $4 gas, and take a walk.  I don’t even ride the trolley that often.  I live in literally the middle of Downtown, and when I go to South Main or the Pinch, I walk.  I usually only hop a trolley if it’s raining or below 32 degrees.

Speaking of the trolley, look for a MATA-themed post this weekend.  MATA is to public transportation what Willie Herenton is to mayors.  Damn I wish that indictment rumor had been true.

Mail bag:

“You have a 34 oz. Bud Select at Big Foot Lodge listed as $4.00.  Not to be nit-picky, but technically it’s $3.99.”

True, but I was counting bartender Meghan’s tip as part of the cost.

Off to bed.  First night this week to get a full night’s rest.

Update 6:07 PM:  A reader of this blog spoke to someone in the US Attorney’s Office who said that the rumor is absolutely not true.

I’ve heard from two different sources this afternoon that King Willie has been indicted and taken into federal custody. People at my work (who don’t know either of my sources) heard the same thing. For some reason the media isn’t covering it yet. Might want to keep your eye on the TV or local news websites tonight.

If this turns out to be a hoax, the people spreading it did a very convincing job.

Yesterday I was reading this week’s issue of the Memphis Flyer, and I noticed a classified ad looking for bartenders and waitstaff.  The address was 73 Monroe, which would be the address of the old Mike’s restaurant which is being renovated into Bar Dogs, “A TRUE NEIGHBORHOOD BAR” according to the ad.  That’s likely a sign that they’re getting close to opening… usually restaurants start advertising for staff about 4 weeks out.

Looking forward to this place.  I’ve been told it’s going to be a neighborhood bar much like Sleep Out Louie’s was, and I’ve heard they plan to stay open late to give service industry people a place to hang out after they get off (badly needed, now that McGuinness has closed).  Also, it’s less than a block from my front door, and my BFF Suzy’s front door as well.  I have a feeling I’m going to be spending a lot of time there.

PLEASE COME AND LEND YOUR SUPPORT

AT A RALLY FOR

CONGRESSMAN STEVE COHEN

JULY 19, 2008

7:30 PM to Midnight and beyond

Kris Kourdouvelis’ The Warehouse

36 G.E. Patterson

Corner of G.E. Patterson and Front

Free beer and sodas for registered voters and

those registering on site

21 and over, ID required

Music by

Keith Sykes

The Infidels

Steve Lockwood

Bluff City Backsliders

Juego Listo (with members of Devil Train and Minivan)

Could there be surprise guests?????

Let’s all thank Steve for his great contributions as our 9^th District Representative

Hope Lottery Scholarships, Micro-Brew Beer, support of Local Arts and Music in Memphis, Literacy Grant for Memphis City Schools, Grants for St. Jude, Animal Welfare and so much more!

DON’T MISS THIS EVENT!

RE-ELECT CONGRESSMAN COHEN

DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY AUGUST 7

VIP PRE-PARTY

543 S. FRONT STREET

6:00PM

MINIMUM SUGGESTED DONATION FOR VIP PARTY $100

RSVP Joan Robinson joan@dccrealtors.com or Brice Timmons, 901-274-5100

I had several people e-mail and say they liked the BBQ map… the map’s creator e-mailed back and says he has one for Chinese restaurants in Memphis as well.

Did you know there are more Chinese restaurants in Memphis than barbecue restaurants?

There has been a rumor going around that the Majestic Grille is closing.  I think this is due to the fact that the Peabody Place Mall is closing, and Belz who owns the mall also owns the Majestic Grille.  However, the Majestic is a block away and not at all involved in the Peabody Place shutdown.  I talked to one of the owners this afternoon, and the Majestic has had an incredible spring and summer and will be here for a long, long time.  So that rumor can be put to rest.

Glad to hear it since I still have about $50 in unspent gift cards.  Their steaks are the best Downtown.

I found an interesting story on Time Magazine’s website this morning:  A textbook company plans to give its books away. If more and more professors adopt free textbooks, this could spell the end of the ridiculously overpriced textbook publishing/college bookstore industry.  It would also make a college education more affordable to everyone.

Every week, Pete the Trivia Guy offers trivia teams 5 bonus points for buying a beer from a particular country or region. Last night it was German beer. Some weeks it will be beer from the Southern U.S., or from Great Britain, or one of the other popular beer-brewing regions.

Pete came over to us and commented, “If the bonus beer is Belgian beer, you’d be able to get the points with one of these,” and he held up a Budweiser. Heh. The Anheuser-Busch sale is rocking the world of beer.

Save the date: Tuesday, August 5 will be National Night Out and there will be a big party in the South Main area. More details to come, but there will food and games for children and the opportunity to meet the police officers who keep Downtown safe.

RealClearPolitics has updated their electoral map, which now shows 255 electoral votes solid or leaning Obama, 163 solid or leaning McCain, and 120 toss-ups. That leaves Obama just 15 votes short of the magic number to win the election. RCP still considers Ohio a toss-up, but recent poll averages have Obama up 4.5 percentage points there. Its 20 electoral votes would be all he needs to win. He’s also leading in toss-up states New Hampshire, Indiana, and Colorado. Nevada is a tie and there’s no poll data for New Mexico.

About to grab lunch from Court House Deli and head back to work…

A Discovery Channel blogger recently visited Downtown Memphis, and surprise, surprise… he was hit up by panhandlers asking for money.  In fact, he was approached by my new least favorite bum, who is going around telling people he is collecting money for St. Jude.  Talk about the scum of the earth… claiming to represent a children’s charity in order to finance his next bottle.  That guy makes the parking scammers look like Mahatma Gandhi by comparison.

Anyway, the Discovery Channel writer posted one of the best articles on panhandling in Memphis that I’ve seen.  He makes the distinction that homelessness and panhandling are different problems, and points out that most of the homeless do not panhandle.  He goes on to explain that the scammers we see down here – the people charging to park cars in metered spaces, selling copies of the Memphis Flyer, etc. – are painting the true homeless in a negative light.  That’s a vital point that needs to be emphasized, that people come down here, see the BUMS running their scams, and that becomes their mental image of “the homeless” and as a result, they feel less motivated to give to organizations that help the homeless.

If you’re as sick of these bums as I am, don’t forget that we have an online forum called Handling-Panhandling where you can contribute information about the people who try to scam you.  Sharing info is the best way to identify which ones are the criminals/scammers, so that the Downtown safety patrol and the police (both of whom monitor the forum) know who to watch out for.

Just found a neat software tool at work and figured I’d post it.  If you do a lot of stuff with PDFs, this might be a nifty program to have.  It’s called PDF Tools and you can get it here.  It can split one PDF into multiple ones (which is why I needed it), or it can join many PDFs into one.  It can also encrypt and decrypt PDFs if you need them to be secure, and it can put a text or image stamp on a PDF.  It can also create a PDF from a source XML file.

By the way, the website where you can download the program, FreewareFiles.com, is one of my favorite places to go when I need free software.