Elvis Week, marking the 46th anniversary of the death of The King, kicks off Wednesday. The Memphis Travel website has everything you need to know.
There’s Sunset Jazz at Court Square tonight from 6 to 8 featuring Paul McKinney.
Memphis Flyer Burger Week happens August 9-15 and showcases some of the city’s best burgers at the price of only $6.99. Downtown restaurants participating include
Belle Tavern
Earnestine & Hazel’s
Huey’s
Loflin Yard
Sunrise
Full details will be in the Flyer issue that hits the stands Wednesday.
Taylor Swift fans: Grind City Brewing Co. will host an End of the Eras Tour party this Friday from 6 to 10 PM. Swifties are invited to dress up and join in for an evening that will include
Historian Willy Bearden will give a presentation on Memphis music this afternoon at 2 at Elmwood Cemetery. The event will be held inside the cemetery’s chapel and the cost is $20.
Leather Duchess, a rock & roll quartet from L.A., plays the King’s Palace Tap Room on Beale Street Friday night at 10.
British country star Sasha McVeigh plays Tin Roof on Beale Friday night.
Worth a Lyft or an Uber: Wax & Wine: Soul Records + Global Wine + Southern Chefs at Stax Museum of American Soul Music this Friday night. Co-presented by The Edge District’s Rootstock Wines. Kelly English, Phillip Ashley, and Craig Richards will provide the cuisine. DJs will play rare vinyl from a private collection.
That’s it for now. Going on my 5th and final tour for work training this afternoon from 1:30 to 3:00. On the way home I’ll probably stop at Blind Bear for a couple of PBRs. Back tomorrow if there’s any news to report.
This is going to be a somewhat short and disjointed post, I am afraid. The reason why is that I am a bit exhausted after the two Downtown Memphis tours I trained on yesterday. They were fun and informative, but a lot of walking and the mosquitoes were out for blood. Literally.
The guide to the Beale Street walking tour I took yesterday afternoon was someone I’ve known for years and is someone who knows regional culture and music well. I learned from her how to tie the different eras of the street together – the pre-Civil War years, the “Black Main Street of America” years, the Saloon Row years, the W.C. Handy years, the Elvis years, the 1980s rebirth.
The ghost tour I took last night led us through the South Main district, including past a private Victorian mansion, the Green Beetle, Earnestine & Hazel’s, a lost 1850s graveyard, and the Orpheum. They prefer their tour guides to have paranormal experience, so I probably won’t be conducting this one. However, I need to be familiar with it to describe it on the phone and via email.
There’s a new chef at Bishop, the French restaurant inside Central Station. He has revamped the menu while keeping favorites including the Bishop burger.
Today is International Blues Music Day. My recommendations would be B.B. King’s at Second and Beale (The Blues Trio at noon, Flic’s Pics at 4, the All-Star house band at 8) and Mr. Handy’s Blues Hall Juke Joint further down the other side of the street.
Good morning! The weekend starts dry & muggy with sunshine, so temps will rise quickly. We’ll see highs in the mid 90s; heat indices 105°+. Stay hydrated! A chance of storms arrives after 5pm with a level 1 severe risk for gusty wind in a few storms. Not all see rain though. pic.twitter.com/wqll6KEjI4
Back to training for work today. At 1:30 this afternoon, I am taking a one-hour Beale Street Walking Tour, and then at 8:00 tonight, I’m back to take a walking Ghost Tour of South Main. Both will be taught by experienced guides. I’ll get a feel for how those tours operate, so I can lead them in the future as well as sell them over the phone and email.
Saturday I have the day off, which will be good since I haven’t seen my Bardog friends in 3 weeks. Then Sunday I’m back to take my company’s other regular tour, a bus tour called Memphis Mojo. This is a tour I won’t be leading in the future because all of its guides are professional musicians (and they perform on the bus). I still need to experience it in order to be able to sell it.
Then on Wednesday, I meet with the company VP to get trained on computer software and answering the phones. Hopefully, soon after that, I’ll get tours of my own to lead.
About 10 of my friends have indicated they want to go on one of my tours. As soon as I have dates and times, I’ll post them here and on Facebook. I’m gonna try to get a Monday tour since many of those friends are service industry folks.
On to the news…
The CA has a look at Downtown’s new Mobility Center, which opened yesterday. It takes up the block between Front and Main and between Peabody Place and Beale. It has 960 parking spaces and will have 11,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor. There will be spaces for electric vehicles to charge and a bike hub with 24/7 security.
Memphis Made Brewing Co. will host an Ale to Tail beer dinner at Central BBQ Downtown on Saturday, August 19 from 6 to 9 PM.
Appetizers will be served at 6 PM with dinner service beginning at 6:30, featuring a whole hog smoked by Craig Blondis. The hog will be complemented by Southern side dishes prepared by Melissa Griffith. These will include
pimiento cheese tarts
green goddess deviled eggs
dill pickle fritter with comeback sauce
Craig’s potato salad
Roger’s hoecakes
succotash with fresh veggies
tomato pie
Central BBQ desserts
These will be paired with Memphis Made beers including Fireside, GonerBrau, Cat Nap, and more. Purchase tickets
WKNO’s Behind the Headlines discusses the future of Downtown parks with Memphis River Parks Partnership president/CEO Carol Coletta. She discusses Music Fest feedback, damage costs to Tom Lee Park from Memphis in May festivals, and the future of Mud Island and Beale Street Landing.
Extreme Dwarfanators Wrestling comes to the Renasant Convention Center tonight. The show is a combination of little people and lucha libre tradition.
Oh Sweets Skin Care has its grand opening at its new 65 Monroe Saturday at 3. Sip, shop, eat. Raffles and giveaways. I’ll be a couple of doors down at Bardog (73 Monroe) around that time, so swing by and say hello!
Keith Jackson, retired NFL player and broadcast analyst, will be the featured speaker at the Southern Heritage Classic Coaches Luncheon on September 8. The event will be at the Renasant Convention Center.
It’s International Beer Day. Grind City Brewing Co. has $5 drafts all day to celebrate. Doors open at 4.
It’s also National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. Today through Sunday at Insomnia Cookies on Beale, you get a free chocolate chip cookie with $5 minimum purchase. Customers must mention the deal in-store or add it to their online cart.
Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane handed out backpacks to Boys and Girls Club kids this week. Each backpack had a surprise in it – 4 tickets to a Grizzlies game this coming season.
The Blind Bear has its first Flapper Friday today, with $2 off all giggle water 3 PM- 3 AM. Giggle water was a slang term for cocktails in the 1920s Prohibition era. Giggle water menu
In other alcohol news, the Bear now has key lime cream Ole Smoky moonshine. I haven’t tried it yet but it sounds delicious. It’s only 35 proof, so one shot won’t do a lot of damage.
One other Bear announcement and this one is a bit surprising… they’re temporarily shutting down weekend brunch effective this Sunday, August 6. They want some time to reimagine brunch and create a better experience. In the meantime, they’ll open Saturdays and Sundays at 3 PM.
That’s it for now. Time for me to continue to read Memphis history to prep for the job. Back tomorrow probably.
Today and the next two days are the best time of the year to be a sports fan.
No, not because the NFL preseason is starting. Blah to that.
Today, tomorrow, and Saturday are the return of ESPN8: The Ocho. Just about every kind of weird and unusual sport will be represented in 43 hours of programming. Just a few examples:
A heads-up pinball invitational
The USA mullet championship
Air guitar championships
Disc golf championships
Tag
Microsoft Excel world championship
Arm wrestling
Kickball
Slippery stairs
A pillow fight championship
Corgi races
River stone skipping competition
Tetris
Ultimate ninja world finals
It’ll be on the channel we think of as ESPN2 starting at 6 this evening and continuing through Saturday morning.
LEO Events, headquartered in The Edge at 411 Monroe, is hiring a marketing manager.
In celebration of National Disc Golf Day, the Flying Saucer will release a new Hex Mid Range Driver Disc this Saturday at 11 AM. The discs are limited-quantity and will sell for $22.
The South Main Association has announced its August South Main Social. It’ll be on the rooftop of the Old Dominick Distillery Tuesday evening, August 15, from 6 to 8. DJ Tree will provide the tunes and there will be bites from Old Dominick’s neighbor across the street, Gus’s Fried Chicken. There will be complimentary spirits too. Free for SMA members, $20 for non-members. Join SMA
Got a case of the nerves? The Cossitt Library has a unique solution: Read to the Dog. Lovie the therapy dog will be at the Cossitt branch Monday from 10:30 to 11:15 AM. Read to this loving, patient dog and you may be surprised at how much your anxiety decreases.
Want to own a grocery store with some great burgers? The DM reports that Roxie’s Grocery at 520 N. Third is about to be put on the market. $800,000 will be the asking price.
The basketball Memphis Tigers lost an exhibition game to the Dominican Republic National Team yesterday, 91-84.
Here’s a pic of the firecracker salmon with potatoes, green beans, and cherry tomatoes, a special at the Blind Bear this week:
I hear that Cards Against Humanity will possibly be the game we play during happy hour from 3 to 7 for Blind Bear gift card prizes. That game is becoming Old Reliable up there, the one game that adapts really well to bar play. Don’t forget, you have a rare opportunity to see Jeannette behind the bar for today’s happy hour.
New drone footage shows that the $60M renovation of Tom Lee Park is almost complete.
Wiseacre Brewing Co. seeks an area sales rep for the Memphis market.
Comedian Karious Miller comes to the Orpheum on Saturday.
The next Women’s World Cup match for the U.S. Women’s National Team has been announced, and the start time is atrocious: Sweden vs. USA, 4 AM Sunday on FOX.
An Excessive Heat Warning has been issued for Shelby County today, with the heat index potentially climbing to 114.
Mick Jagger turned 80 last week.
Dos Hermanos Kitchen, the restaurant in the Cossitt Library at Front and Monroe, is doing Brunch on the Bluff this Saturday from 11 AM to 4 PM.
There’s a free Memphis trivia app for iPhone and Android. It’s called Na Bruh. I just installed it on my MacBook, which can run iPhone apps.
Black Lodge will hold a Pee-wee’s Playhouse marathon this Sunday. It’s free, all ages are welcome, and it starts at 3 PM.
The Blind Bear has announced its Features (specials) for this week:
French onion soup
Firecracker salmon
Lemon cheesecake (by Keun Anderson)
They’ll have the specials until they run out. That means they’ll probably have them through Saturday, but if you want to make sure you don’t miss out, come Friday or earlier.
One more piece of Blind Bear news: Mama Bear herself, Jeannette, will pick up a bartending shift for Thursday happy hour (3-7 PM). It will be Throwdown Thursday where you can play games for a chance to win Bear gift cards – if enough people show up. Last week’s game would have been Spelling Bee – which, as a writer, would have given me a huge advantage – but we never had enough people to start. I guess it’s because so many people are out on vacation.
That’s it for today. Not a terribly newsy day. Back tomorrow.
Yesterday one of my Facebook friends asked, “What song reminds you of your high school days?” A 1987 grad, I responded with Cameo’s “Word Up” and Run-DMC’s “Walk This Way.” Something from the Beastie Boys’ License to Ill could have made my list too, but really, it’s the whole album that deserves to be mentioned.
But one more song deserves to be mentioned too. Our Hall High cheerleaders danced to it during timeouts at the 1986-87 basketball games.
Check it out, party people, ’cause this party is burnin’ For a brand new dance I know you. been yearnin’ This is for all you people concerning A brand new dance called the Pee-wee Herman
Paul Reubens, the actor who portrayed Pee-wee Herman, has passed away at 70 following a six-year private battle with cancer.
R.I.P.-wee.
RANDY: Any chance we can add this song to the mix, if just for one week? I’m not saying it’s the greatest 1980s song by any means, but it’s far better than some of the crap Butt Slut #1 has on the playlist.
LRK (Looney Ricks Kiss, a design firm of architects, urban designers, planners, and interior designers), seeks a Project Manager. Downtown candidates would have an easy commute to the office at 50 S. B.B. King, which would be the office building next to AutoZone Park.
Speaking of AutoZone Park, the Redbirds host the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp there this week. Here’s a look at the action:
Tuesday, August 1 – first pitch 7:05 PM
Wednesday, August 2 – first pitch 7:05 PM
Thursday, August 3 – Throwback Thursday – enjoy throwback concession prices with $2 PBR and $1 hot dogs. The Redbirds will wear throwback Memphis Chicks uniforms. First pitch 7:05 PM.
Friday, August 4 – First 1500 fans get a replica Memphis Chicks jersey, navy in color with red lettering.
Also on Friday, a specialty ticket will entitle holders to an Italian buffet of cheese and pepperoni deep-dish pizza, spaghetti & meatballs, salad with ranch dressing, garlic knots, soda, and water. $30 dugout, $27 field box. First pitch 7:05 PM.
Saturday, August 5 – First 1500 fans 21 and up get a 25th-anniversary commemorative beer stein featuring significant Redbird players over the years.
Stick around after the game for fireworks. First pitch 6:35 PM.
Sunday, August 6 – Kids 12 and under receive a Prairie Farms ice cream sandwich upon entering the park. After the game, all kids can run the bases
Also on Sunday, there will be a specialty ticket for brunch. Brunch includes bottomless mimosas and bottomless Bloody Marys in the Chill Zone. First pitch 2:05 PM.
Coors Light Chill Zone THIS SUNDAY!!!
✅ Bottomless brunch
✅ Bottomless mimosas
✅ Bottomless Bloody Mary’s
✅ Pool tables and cornhole
✅ A/C
Drake’s FedExForum concert, scheduled for Sunday, has been canceled. The show as designed was said to be “logistically impossible” to bring to the arena.
The U.S. Women’s National Team advanced to the World Cup knockout stage with a 0-0 draw vs. Portugal overnight our time. The USWNT survived a scare though – a Portugal shot on goal hit the post at 90′ + 1′. Just a few inches to the left and the USWNT would have been eliminated.
Rose Lavelle will miss the knockout round of 16 due to yellow cards.
Just got back from Walgreens. It’s back-to-school time and they have some fantastic bargains this week if you’re a myWalgreens member. I got some badly-needed gel ink pens and a wide-ruled notebook and treated myself to a Caramello bar on sale for $1.
I got to try a few sips of Chico’s peach martinis, one of the specials he makes for Martini Mondays 3-7 PM at Blind Bear, and it is out of this world. I would recommend it highly. I believe it was peach moonshine, peach puree, and simple syrup in a glass with a sugar rim topped with a moonshine-infused peach.
DJ Superbrad will do karaoke at Pretty Taco starting Thursday this week. 8 PM start time.
I know last week seemed like a good week for me. And in many ways, it was. I got offered what is essentially a dream job, giving tours of the city I love. I started training Friday and Saturday.
For the first time in a long time, I have hope. Hope of having stability while loving every minute of the work I do.
But hope doesn’t change current conditions.
And current conditions are not good.
It’s July 31 and I haven’t paid my July rent yet. And August is now 6 days away from being past due. I’m surprised they haven’t served me with papers saying they’re starting the eviction process.
My AT&T bill is past due. Part of the new job is answering questions and booking tours. I need a working phone to be able to do that.
My Xfinity bill is past due. I need working Internet to do my job – and to continue publishing these daily posts about what’s going on Downtown.
My MLGW bill is past due. Without power, I can’t charge my phone or operate my MacBook.
I’m down to my last roll of toilet paper. I’m down to my last pen. I have enough laundry detergent for maybe 2 more loads.
My bank balance stayed negative for so long that First Horizon closed the account I had for more than 35 years. That’s why I took the Tip Jar links off my posts – there’s nowhere for the money to go. For the same reason, I can’t take Venmo or Cashapp or PayPal. What little royalties I still earn from Medium now have no place to be sent.
I mentioned there was a financial chasm I had to leap over until paychecks start coming in. What I just described above is the chasm.
If I’ve seemed sleepy when you’ve seen me lately, it’s because I lie awake two-thirds of most nights worrying about money.
Friends are making sure I eat regularly. So at least I have that in my favor. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it. Without that nourishment, I’d never have been able to walk those 16,000 steps Friday.
I was in financial straits this dire once before, back in 2019. At that time I thought the solution was to jump off my 16th-story rooftop. Two feet from the edge, I realized it wasn’t the solution at all.
And I don’t see that as the solution now. I have too many people who love me. And now I have a job I’m excited to go to. I have a ton of reasons to live.
It’s just really scary not knowing what the future holds.
My birthday falls on a Saturday this year. I was gonna request not to be scheduled for work that day. Hopefully I will wake up that morning in the very same bed I woke up in today, get on my MacBook and do a blog post, get on my phone and “Like”/respond to people who left me birthday wishes on Facebook, then walk around the corner to Bardog where I will celebrate with friends… and, of course, continue the celebration at Blind Bear later in the day.
I just have to leap the chasm between here and there.
Thanks for reading. And now, let’s get on to the news…
The Downtown Blue Monkey is once again open on Sundays from noon to 8. One of their Sunday regulars told me that they have a breakfast sandwich all day and that they post their specials to social media.
A grocery tax holiday will be in effect in Tennessee tomorrow through Halloween. However, candy, prepared food, booze, and dietary supplements will still be taxed.
Today is National Avocado Day. I’d recommend celebrating with a Cobb salad at Bardog, which comes with thick slices of avocado.
There was a shooting on B.B. King Blvd. about a block south of Beale last night.
I mentioned that I’ve been reading two books on Memphis by Bill Patton, my tour company’s founder. Several friends of mine have recommended another Memphis book, Beale Street Dynasty by Preston Lauterbach. It’s the story of Robert Church Sr. (1839-1912), the South’s Black millionaire, and of Beale Street of that era.
One of the friends recommending the book told me he was assigned to read it for work – and he works for the Grizzlies.
The U.S. Women’s National Team plays Portugal in the final match of the World Cup group stage at 2 AM tomorrow (Tuesday). A win or a draw advances the USWNT to the knockout stage. If you want to watch the match – the entire match – at a Memphis bar, it’ll have to be on Beale Street. They are the only ones allowed to be open past 3 AM.
The NFL pre-season begins Thursday night as the New York Jets play the Cleveland Browns in the Hall of Fame game.
That’s it for today. Back tomorrow, assuming I have power and Internet access. Again, thanks for reading.
The Downtown Mobility Center at Main and Beale has its opening this Thursday at 4 PM. The center will be a multi-modal hub for cars, bikes, and public transit. There will be a ribbon-cutting and remarks at 4:15 followed by self-guided tours.
I went as an observer on my new company’s Discovery Tour yesterday. It was every bit as fabulous as the history tour I went on Friday. Here are a few personal highlights I experienced:
I got to see the I AM A MAN plaza for the first time. It used to be the parking lot of Clayborn Temple and served as a staging ground for the marches to City Hall during the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike
I got to walk down Adams Avenue and hear the stories of the Victorian Villiage mansions built in the 1800s
I learned the origin of the term “hooker” to describe a prostitute (hey, these tours are as Memphis as Memphis gets)
I learned how Johnny Cash became The Man in Black
The Discovery Tour covers more ground than the history tour I went on Friday and therefore took place in an air-conditioned bus. Yesterday’s tour guide drove the bus himself, but I’m told I will have a driver when I conduct the tour in the future.
I will let you know the dates and times when I start leading my own tours.
I have had people ask where they can buy the two excellent books written by tour company founder Bill Patton. One is a history lover’s guide to Memphis, while the other focuses specifically on Downtown. To purchase, I direct you to the company’s About page. It has Amazon links to both books.
The DM has a look at the Skol-Astic Book Fair that will happen at Soul & Spirits brewery on Saturday, August 12. It’ll be a book fair for adults.
FOX 13 reports that Second between Court and Madison is closed for road work. No timetable has been given for its reopening.
Want to live on Court Square? There’s a 6th-floor condo for sale.
There’s a rumor going around that The Rock will return to WWE for the Summerslam premium live event on Saturday, probably in a speaking role as opposed to a match. His cousin Roman Reigns is the company’s universal champion and is involved in a family-based storyline.
There will be a live podcast with Fred Jones, founder of the Southern Heritage Classic, at the Cossitt Library this Saturday, August 5 from 2:00 to 3:30 PM.
That’ll wrap it up for today. Back tomorrow with more news.
Yesterday was a wonderful day. My iPhone tells me I took 16,356 steps and walked 7.2 miles. That’s the most I’ve walked in one day on any day in the past year. BY FAR. Time permitting, I’ll come back and say more about that before the end of this post.
Yesterday morning I went on the Historic Memphis Walking Tour for my first day at the new job. That’s a tour I am told I will soon be leading myself, and they wanted me to get the feel of it as presented by an experienced tour guide.
Prior to the tour, I thought, “I wonder if I’ll learn anything new?” After all, I’ve lived in Memphis for 36 years, Downtown for 21 of those years, and I’ve written a blog for 19 of those years I was pretty sure I knew it all, or nearly all.
I was so wrong!
The tour was OUTSTANDING. I’d estimate 60-65% of it was either completely new to me or added depth to topics I already knew about. We walked down Beale, up Main, through Court Square, through Fourth Bluff, down Cotton Row on Front Street, through the Cotton Exchange Building lobby, and over to the Peabody just in time to see the ducks march out of the elevator.
Would I recommend it to someone who lives or works Downtown? Absolutely, absolutely! In fact, you’re missing out if you don’t take this tour.
I will let you know dates and times once I start leading this tour.
Today I get to go on a second tour, the Discovery Tour, a bus tour that includes a sampling at Central BBQ. You bet I’m looking forward to that!
I went to my first South Main Trolley Night in more than a year last night and I’d like to share a few highlights.
I gravitated toward Feelin’ Memphis at 509 S. Main as soon as I got to the Arts District. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see my friends Tawanda and Cordell, who are in Florida for a wedding. I still had an awesome time browsing though. That is the COOLEST place to go if you’re looking for fun, hip, Memphis-y stuff.
Feelin’ has a wide variety of iconic Memphis images on coasters. Great way to spruce up your living room and they are inexpensive gifts to give.
They have a variety of BBQ rubs, sauces, and seasonings. I want to mention Robinson Smokehouse’s products in particular because Anwar is a friend.
It was also good to see Pink Pig Apparel back on South Main. Feelin’ Memphis sells that brand now.
Puppy Party in Bar Hustle inside Arrive Hotel today: (click for a larger, more readable image)
It was kinda sad to walk down G.E. Patterson east of Main. Walking Pants Curiosities has packed up and moved to Beale. Cheesecake Corner is gone too. Anyone know if they moved too? The storefronts between Arcade and Max’s are empty. That block has always been so vibrant.
It’s also kinda sad to see that some South Main businesses chose to close at their regularly scheduled time and not stay open late for Trolley Night. The event is a license to print money if marketed right by the SMA and by individual businesses.
I got to check out South Point Grocery for the first time. What a beautiful neighborhood grocery store. The prices were more competitive than I thought they would be.
Got to hang out with friends outside South Main Sounds last night, including Mark who books the bands there. That was a real treat.
It was very neat to walk around and identify myself as “a local blogger AND tour guide.” This new job is part of who I am more than any job since I taught at the university.
I wish I could’ve stopped in Max’s Sports Bar or Longshot for an icy cold beverage, but finances do not permit. I’m working now but have not been paid yet, and even after that it will take me several pay cycles to get caught up on rent and bills. I literally did not have enough cash on me to buy a beer last night. It made me feel like an outsider.
All right, let’s see if there’s any news to report.
I start training for the new job this morning. I’m going on a Historic Memphis Walking Tour at 9:30, which I’m told is being led by one of our best and most experienced tour guides. My mission today will not be so much to absorb the tour information – they’ll give me notes for that – but to observe how the tour operates and how the guide interacts with guests.
As part of the tour, I get to observe the 11 AM march of the Peabody ducks. I haven’t seen the ducks do their thing in about 10 years.
I’m training tomorrow as well, when I’ll be boarding a bus for a Memphis Discovery Tour, led by another of the company’s best and most experienced guides. That tour includes a tasting at Downtown Central BBQ. Looking forward to meeting and greeting some Memphis guests and to learning all I can from the tour guides.
I’ll let you know when I get my own tours to lead. Fun facts: You can bring alcohol on tours that run via bus (coolers with permission only though, due to space limitations). You can bring your dog on all the tours. You’re allowed to tip your tour guide if you had a great experience.
There’s a free yoga class, led by Andrea Jay, at the Cossitt Library today from 4:00 to 5:30 PM.
The Sunset Jazz concert with Deborah Swiney, postponed because of rain a couple of weeks ago, has been rescheduled for this Sunday 6-8 PM in Court Square. Lawn chairs and blankets are welcome and food trucks will be present.
It’s South Main Trolley Night with many of the businesses of South Main staying open until 9 or later. Some will offer specials, live music, wine, beer, and/or hors d’oeuvres. It’s a great chance to shop local and mingle with your neighbors.
Kathy Driftwood, Alexis Jade, and Callie Cash will perform at South Main Sounds, 550 S. Main, tonight from 7 to 9 PM.
Raneem and Better in Color play Slider Inn Downtown tonight at 7.
The Westin Hotel will have live jazz tonight from 6 to 9.
STIX will have Drag Queen Bingo hosted by Miss Imagene Azengraber tonight from 6 to 8.
Mr. Good Burger at Roxie’s Grocery – double meat, 4 strips of bacon, pepper jack, hoop cheese, grilled onion, lettuce, pickle, mayo, mustard, and ketchup. Note that Roxie’s is not a restaurant, so be prepared to eat in your car or take your food home.
One-Eyed Bacon Cheeseburger at Westy’s – with a fried egg
World Famous Memphis Original Sliders at Bardog Tavern – but don’t get them the way they come, with mayo and ketchup. Ketchup is a child’s condiment. I keep the white American cheese, standard on Bardog’s sliders, but I replace the mayo + ketchup with pickle + mustard. Another good option is to top the sliders with BOLT (bacon, onion, lettuce, tomato).
Texas Toast Burger at Huey’s – pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, jalapenos on buttered Texas toast
West Coast Burger at Huey’s – guacamole, Monterey Jack cheese, mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, on a buttered, toasted whole wheat bun
Any Huey’s burger with a black bean patty – I am a hard-core meat lover yet I appreciate this vegetarian offering.
Yonge Street Burger at Kooky Canuck – American cheese, sauteed mushrooms & onions, bacon, burger sauce, lettuce, tomato, pickle. Me personally, I hold the tomato or pick it off and eat it as a side.
Smashed Bear Burger at Blind Bear – double patties, cheese, sauteed onions, lettuce, tomato, burger sauce, brioche bun. Again, I pick the tomato off before eating. Get a side of Nate’s tots and ask for ranch for dipping – unless you’re under 7, in which case it’s OK to dip tots in ketchup.
Majestic Burger at Majestic Grille – American or cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, parmesan fries
The Telluride at Flying Saucer – green chiles (hatch when available), lettuce, beefsteak tomato, red onion, poblano goat cheese, green chili chutney. Comes with fries, chips, or side salad; get the fries, they are awesome.
Sputnik Monroe at Flying Saucer – bacon and onion marmalade, arugula, spinach, white cheddar, ranch mayo. Comes with fries, chips, or side salad; get the fries, they are awesome.
Double-Double at Dyer’s – 2 all-beef patties, 2 slices of cheese, mustard, pickle, and onions
Rotel Burger at Green Beetle – smothered in housemade smoked Rotel queso. Lettuce, onion, pickle, or tomato upon request.
Mushroom & Swiss Sliders at Slider Inn Downtown – get 3 with fries. This is a sister restaurant to previously-mentioned Bardog Tavern.
Soul Burger at Earnestine & Hazel’s – mustard, mayo, grilled onions, bag of chips on the side
I think I may head to South Main Trolley Night this evening! I haven’t made it to one this year and I’m in the mood to be social. Back tomorrow with more news.
