Sat update: Streetdog Foundation’s Bark Madness, win a Jameson sign, Grizzliesstore.com offer, lots going on today

One last reminder: Blind Bear opens at 10 AM this morning to show the C-USA tournament final. The bar’s “mayor” will be in the house for the game. St. Patrick’s Day specials from open to close today and tomorrow. $2 Green PBR, $3Celtic Harpoon Bottles, $4 Guinness Draft, $5 Shots of the best Irish Whisky, $5 Car Bombs. Also, the Bear will open early tomorrow, at noon rather than their usual start time of 3.

Tomorrow is Selection Sunday, and then it will be time to fill out our brackets for the NCAA tournament. Want to fill out a bracket while supporting a good cause that helps animals? Head on over to the Streetdog Foundation’s Bark Madness. Entry fee is $10 and you can enter four brackets. Prizes include gift packages at Grace Animal Hospital and Felicia Suzanne’s, gift cards for Hollywood Feed and Double J Smokehouse, and Grizzlies and Redbirds tickets. The foundation’s founders are South Main residents so you’ll be supporting your neighbors as well as animals that need a home.

Bardog will raffle off a Jameson sign tomorrow for St. Patrick’s Day. To enter, buy Jameson. It’s that simple. Here’s a pic of the sign.

There’s a special offer going on through tomorrow at Grizzliesstore.com: Free shipping on orders over $50. Use code GRIZZ13FAN. Question for the people who operate the store: How come there are no Grizzlies tube tops for sale?

Mudbugs in March, 2-8 PM, Court Square. St. Pat’s parade, Beale Street, 3:30. Alley party, Brass Door, 3-close. Mad Earl soft opening next door to the Brass Door. Lots to do today. Come get u some!

Fri update: BBQ festival, St.Pat’s at Blind Bear, music recommendation

I’ve learned that another BBQ festival is in Memphis and is happening this weekend. It’s put on by Ducks Unlimited and is going on Thursday through tomorrow in Tiger Lane. Details here.

Add Blind Bear to the list of Downtown bars doing something special for St. Pat’s. From open to close Saturday and Sunday they will have $2 green PBR, $3 Celtic Harpoon bottles, $4 Guinness draft, $5 for shots of the best Irish whisky, and $5 car bombs. Jamie and Colin in kilts Saturday, Colin and Daniel in kilts Sunday, with the ladies dressed as Irish lassies.

If you’re looking for a music recommendation tonight, check out South Side Supper Club at the Center for Southern Folklore at 8 PM.

Short post today because I’ve got errands to run. If more news comes in I’ll do a 5:30 post.

Thur update: RIP Di Anne Price, Blues City Thrift to open. Google Reader/iGoogle replacement, craft beer tapping @ Green Beetle, C-USA tournament

A Downtown Memphis music legend has passed away: Pianist, singer, and songwriter Di Anne Price. There were many times when the 2003-era Sunday Fun Day crew would catch her show at Downtown Huey’s. Her interaction with her audience was second to none; she truly cared about the people who came to hear her sing. The Effin’ Memphis blog has a great post remembering Di Anne Price. Rest in peace, Diane, you made Downtown a welcoming place.

In more recent years, Di Anne had been performing at Mollie Fontaine Lounge. There will be a gathering of her “babies” at 8 PM tonight to remember her.

Blues City Thrift opens tomorrow at 6685 Quince, Suite 110. That’s not a Downtown address but Downtowners have been involved in making this happen the past three years. See the Blues City Thrift Facebook page for lots of photos of what you can find in the new store.

Google announced that it will shut down my favorite RSS reader, Google Reader, on July 1. They’ve already announced that their customizable iGoogle homepage will be shut down later this year too. I’ve been experimenting with NetVibes and am finding it a capable replacement for both.

Craft beer news: A special Lazy Magnolia firkin will be tapped tonight at the Green Beetle, 7 PM.

Conference USA tournament: Tigers tip off at 6 PM tonight vs. 8-seed Tulane. Game will be on CBS Sports Network and WREC AM 600. View the Conference USA tournament bracket here.

Any bars opening early if the Tigers make the 10:35 AM championship game Saturday? Shoot me an email at paul@paulryburn.com and let me know and I’ll post.

That’ll do it for now. Time for a quick lunch.

Brass Door St. Pat’s party Saturday-Sunday

This Saturday and Sunday, the Brass Door, the Irish pub on Madison Avenue, will hold a St. Patrick’s Day alley party with live music in the alley. The featured act will be award-winning band The DeLorentos, live from Dublin and straight from South by Southwest. Here’s the music lineup for each day:

Saturday, 3-close:
Joe Guyton
The Swamp Katz
The Sidestreet Steppers
Deering & Down
Dancin Jimmy

Sunday, 3-close:
The DeLorentos
Dancin Jimmy
Myla Smith
The Swamp Katz
Tori Tollison
The DeLorentos

For food, the Brass Door will sell its famous fish & chips in the alley. The Graze and Fuel food trucks will also be outside serving.

In addition, the soft opening of the Brass Door’s new sibling bar The Mad Earl will be happening next door. Might as well check out the Downtown core’s new sports bar while you’re down here!

Cover is $10, or $15 for a two-day pass. All guests will be registered in a drawing to win a Heineken iPod tower or a 39″ flat-screen TV.

Wed update: The burger rumor mill, pasta with clams, why no South American beers in Memphis?, Bass Pro to reconsider signage

Yesterday there was a rumor that was all over Twitter. An account named @InNOutMemphis was tweeting that In-N-Out Burger would soon be coming to Memphis. With the recent addition of Five Guys and BGR the Burger Joint, this seemed like a real score for Memphis. In the six months I lived in San Diego, I ate at the Pacific Beach In-N-Out many times and can tell you, their burgers are the real deal, especially the secret-menu Double Double Animal Style.

Normally, I would have been retweeting that like crazy and I would have done a special after-work blog post with the announcement and an endorsement of how great In-N-Out Burgers are. Something just didn’t seem right, though. It just didn’t seem like they way a burger chain would announce its expansion. Also, it seemed unusual that the West Coast burger chain would expand this far east without some major change to its business model, which they’d likely be touting along with the new location. So I decided to hold up on spreading the information. If I missed a legitimate scoop, oh well.

Sure enough, the account turned out to be a hoax. I have to wonder if it was some journalism student’s project to see how far “news” could spread before anyone bothered to verify it. Kind of reminds me of that Russian bath house that was rumored to be built at Main and Union a couple of years ago (the perpetrators actually recruited me as a participant in that hoax). Tiffany Langston, who writes the excellent food blog Tiffany Tastes, pointed out that there is no way In-N-Out would come here: They don’t believe in freezing their meat, so all locations have to be within a one-day drive of their meat-processing plant. The nearest locations are in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro.

As several people pointed out, even without In-N-Out, Memphis is hardly a burger desert. I still need to hit Roxie’s Grocery in Uptown and give their burger a try. Plus, I’m lucky enough to live within walking distance of Dyer’s, the Majestic Grille, Kooky Canuck, Local, and Huey’s, all of which make very good burgers.

Last night I posted about being hungry for pasta with clams, after reading about Mafiosi devouring it at a New York restaurant. I asked if anyplace Downtown has pasta with clams… well, DUH, I just posted about such a place a month ago. Clams are one of the proteins you can add on Bleu’s Build Your Own Pasta menu, available at lunch. I have some vacation coming up soon (taking the entire week off for BBQ Fest) and will have to eat lunch there one day early in the week.

A friend of mine from Venezuela was among people who joined me to try Goose Island 312, on Fire Sale yesterday at the Flying Saucer. It was her first time there, and she looked over the beer menu. “Why are there no beers from Venezuela?” she asked. It’s a good question. On a larger scale, why are there no beers from anywhere in South America that are widely available in Memphis? There are beers from Asia and Australia, much farther away. If any local beer experts have an answer to this question, I’d love to hear it.

Bass Pro is reconsidering its proposed signage for the Pyramid, according to the MBJ. A lot of people thought its earlier proposal, with huge Bass Pro logos on all four sides of the Pyramid, was too much. They plan to be open by the end of the year, so they need to get the matter settled fairly quickly.

Probably a second news post after work, so check back.

Umberto’s Clam House

So, I’ve been reading this book which is a history of the Mafia. It describes the five New York families and how they operate. In particular, it describes their meetings and planning out future hits while devouring huge plates of pasta and clams.

The place frequently mentioned in the book, Umberto’s Clam House, is still there in lower Manhattan. I actually got on Google StreetView and was right in front of the storefront. Murders were planned there. “Business” was discussed. Future initiations were planned.

I must admit, it made me hungry for pasta with clams. Is there anyplace Downtown that has that dish? If not, how about the rest of Memphis?

Tue update: Race Judicata, comet viewing, brewers support grocery wine sales, Evernote article, and more

The U of M Law School’s Race Judicata will happen Saturday, April 6, starting at Mississippi River Park (formerly Jefferson Davis Park) on Riverside Drive. Following the race, there will be food and live music. All proceeds raised from the race benefit Memphis Area Legal Services, which provides legal help to the low-income and the elderly.

A comet will be visible in the early evening sky for the next two weeks. Information about the comet and how to view it can be found here.

The Tennessee Malt Brewers Association has reversed its previous position and is now supporting legislation to permit the sale of wine in grocery stores. The kicker is that they want to add a rider to the bill that would also permit the sale of high-gravity beers in groceries. Currently, the law states that any beer above 6.0% alcohol by volume is technically liquor and can only be sold in liquor stores.

Good Lifehacker article today: I’ve Been Using Evernote All Wrong, it’s Actually Amazing. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been using it to organize this blog for the past year, and it’s helped a lot. I’m even thinking about upgrading to the premium service for $45 a year. The premium service lets you put a PIN on your mobile Evernote apps, allowing you to store important information in the cloud without worrying about its security.

BBQ team news: My team the Moody Ques received our letter from Memphis in May that we have been accepted for BBQ Fest. We have also received a generous contribution from our sponsor WordPress, who is now fully back on board.

312 on 3/12: If you haven’t tried the Goose Island 312 beer that just landed at the Flying Saucer, today would be a good day. It’s on Fire Sale with draft pints $3 today open to close. I’ll be there after work about 5:30 sampling some of those pints, and maybe some Dos Equis Lager pints as well.

Mon update: Big day coming this Saturday, Grizzlies Groupon, river bridge walking tour, Peabody announces rooftop party start date

This coming Saturday, March 16, is shaping up to be a huge day Downtown, with several big events running. Mudbugs in March will happen during the afternoon in Court Square. The annual St. Patrick’s Day parade will be on Beale Street at 3:30. Elton John will perform at the FedExForum at 8. The high is predicted to be in the low 70s, so the weather looks ideal.

Odd that they’re doing the parade on Saturday when Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day. I guess it’s smart for local businesses to make it a two-day celebration.

If you’re a new Memphian, make sure you see “the raising of the goat” in front of Silky’s on Beale Street. This should happen around 5 on Saturday and probably Sunday too. The deal is, there’s a goat. And they put it on a platform and elevate it. And people look at the goat and drink green beer. I have no idea what this has to do with St. Pat’s, but everyone should see it at least once. It’s a Downtown Memphis tradition.

If you’re not driving, get a Call-a-Cab daiquiri from Wet Willie’s to drink as you watch the parade.

There’s a Groupon offer going on to save money on Grizzlies tickets. You can pick club or terrace level seating for your choice of the Minnesota game (3/18), Charlotte (4/9), or Utah (4/17). You get a T-shirt too.

Looking for something quiet and low-key to do on St. Patrick’s Day? Historian Jimmy Ogle will lead a tour across the Memphis-Arkansas (I-55) bridge at 2 PM. You’ll learn a lot about the bridges, the railroads, the river, and more. Meet at Crump Park near Crump and I-55 (exit 12C).

The Peabody has announced that its rooftop party season will start a month from today, on Thursday, April 11.

Photo Mar 10, 3 51 36 PMCongratulations to my friend Eddie, who got his 5th plate on the wall yesterday at the Flying Saucer. That makes him a member of their exclusive Master of the Universe club. Mid-afternoon, I was standing at the bar, and Tiffany who was working his party told me, “Eddie wants to buy you a beer.” So I ordered a Dos Equis Lager.

Tiffany came back a few minutes later. “No, Eddie wants you to order a good beer on him.” So I changed my order to a glass of Chimay Cinq Cents, which they carry on draft.

Tiffany came back again. “No, Eddie wants to buy you a bottle. A big one.” So I ended up with a 25 oz. bottle of Chimay Grande Reserve, one of the most premium beers the Saucer carries! Thanks Eddie!

I’ll be out at the Saucer about 5:30 tonight, then over to the Silly Goose later in the evening, fashionably late for the Monday night poker game. With good beer and poker, Monday’s not so bad.

Sun update: Crawfish @ Beetle, saving Dewey’s booth, new Sunday brunch, exercise tip, ticket app, recap of last night at Texas de Brazil

We are moving into spring party season, and as of today the sun is staying up late to party with us. I’ve learned of another new spring event to add to the calendar. The Green Beetle will have a crawfish boil Sunday, April 7. More details to come.

The Memphis Flyer had a good article about saving Dewey’s booth in the Chisca Hotel. Starting May 7, the Chisca will begin to be renovated into apartments. However, the developers hope to save a piece of history in the building. Dewey Phillips, a Memphis DJ, was the first person to ever play an Elvis Presley record on the radio, from his booth in the Chisca in 1954. Money is being raised to relocate the booth to the ground floor for all to see.

There’s nothing like going out for brunch on Sunday Fun Day, and as of today we Downtowners have a new brunch to add to the list.

2013-03-10 01.14.35

Starting today from noon to 3, the Flying Saucer will serve a brunch menu with six different food options. The Migas Baveria, two scrambled eggs, black beans, and a beer brat served with warm tortillas in particular sounds interesting, a mix of Mexican and German breakfasts. Also, $7.99 for shrimp and grits is one of the lowest prices I’ve seen on a brunch menu. Also from 12-3 they have a Bloody Mary bar. You pay for ice and vodka and then fill your glass up with tomato juice and whatever else you want. They have over 30 sauces, seasonings, spices, and garnishes. The brunch is new but they’ve been doing the Bloody Mary bar for a while. Last week I noticed they’d added sriracha to the bar, which I consider to be a key ingredient in a good Bloody Mary.

From Lifehacker: Researchers claim to have found the most efficient exercise regimen. You better own or have access to an exercise bike if you want to take advantage of it. My neighbors and I in Number 10 Main have several exercise bikes in the basement of our building, and cable TV to watch.

Cool app I learned about on Twitter yesterday: Let’s Move Down. Once at a Grizzlies game or other sporting events, you can locate better seats and purchase them on your phone, right there in the arena.

Fabulous night with friends last night. My friends Nick and Sarah were in town to take wedding photos, and afterward about 18 of us met up at Texas de Brazil for dinner. This is the first time since 2003 that I’ve had dinner there, as opposed to Sunday brunch. We started off with the salad bar. I have a rule about items on the salad bar: If a rabbit would eat it, it has no business on my plate. Lettuce? No. Green beans? Uh-uh. Mozzarella balls? Can always make room for those. Shrimp? Yes, please. Provolone? Of course. Bacon? Yes yes yes. (They don’t have bacon crumbles for salad toppings. They have half-pieces of peppered bacon.) Calabrese cold cuts? Yes sir. Imported olives? Yes. Lobster bisque? The universal dipping sauce at Texas de Brazil. Gotta have a bowl of that.

Then the meats came out. “Nick! That’s what you want!” I pointed as the piçanha, the Brazilian house garlic sirloin, came around. Cooked to a perfect medium rare, it “melts in your mouth,” Nick commented. Other favorites included flank steak, the American version of garlic sirloin, bacon-wrapped filet, and Brazilian sausage which was perfect for dipping in the lobster bisque. I passed on parmesan chicken and parmesan pork. “A short time ago, my dinner was standing in a pasture, mooing,” I thought. “Now it’s sitting on my plate next to garlic mashed potatoes.” By the way, PRO TIP: Those garlic mashed potatoes they put out to complement your meal – don’t put those on your plate as soon as they come out. Eat some meat first, and then use the potatoes to sop up the leftover meat juice.

Edited to add: PRO TIP #2: Before you go to the salad bar, while people are being seated and drink orders are being taken, they put out baskets of these little buttery bread balls for you to snack on. Definitely have one, but don’t over-indulge. The more bread you eat, the less room you will have for meat. The bread balls are delicious, but as a poker player I look at them and think, “those have a negative expected value.”

Although Texas de Brazil had a full menu of beer, wine, and liquor, I decided to skip alcohol during my meal so I could savor the food more. I ordered a Coke, and it came out in one of those little glass bottles, along with a glass and ice.

Nick was amused by how many people I knew who worked there. “That’s Randi, I play poker with her on Mondays,” I said. “That’s Allie, she used to work at Blind Bear. I don’t see my friend Jerome, he must be working downstairs.” I didn’t know the couple next to me but they told me they read my blog all the time. That’s the kind of stuff that happens to me. I’ve said this before about Downtown: There are friends you know, and friends you haven’t met yet.

My tab was $58, counting the Coke, tax, and an 18% gratuity. I added a few dollars more because 18% is stingy by my standards when dining Downtown. I wouldn’t want to spend that much for dinner every night, but for one night out with friends it was worth every penny.

After dinner we checked out the Blind Bear. They had a band playing and it was super duper crowded. Of course, I’m always comfortable at the Bear, but some of our group were people who are no longer into the go-out-to-bars-every-night thing, and constantly having to move out of people’s way was a bit much. “Do you know of someplace less crowded?” Sarah asked. Not surprisingly, I had a suggestion: The Flying Saucer.

I was wrong about the Saucer being less crowded. There were at least twice as many people as were in the Blind Bear. However, the Saucer is probably three times the size of the Bear, so there was still a little more room to stand and after a few minutes some bar seats came open. “This is the place,” Nick said, and I can’t disagree. Nick had done 188 beers toward his plate on the wall (need 200 total) so anytime he’s in town he gets a few beers knocked out. Sarah used to bartend at the Saucer and she spent a while catching up with Jim, who’s been there ever since I first started coming.

My friends took off about midnight. Full of energy post-Texas de Brazil, I held on and had a few more beers until the Saucer turned the lights on. I meant to watch my phone’s clock make the jump from 1:59 to 3:00 but I forgot. After the Saucer closed, I went back to the Blind Bear, which was less crowded by that time, and closed the Bear down too. The bartenders wear ’20s period attire as they work, but as the night winds down they sneak back into the office and change. “When Jamie and Jeannette change into T-shirt and jeans, you know it’s game over,” I posted to Facebook. “It’s like when Shaq Goodwin takes off the hair band at the end of Tigers games.”

Congratulations to the Tigers, by the way, on a perfect 16-0 conference record. Even in a bad conference, making it all the way through without slipping up even once is quite an accomplishment.

Happy birthday to the Nuh-Uh Girl, who I’m sure will celebrate by devouring mountainous amounts of free food today. Also, a belated happy birthday to my friend Charlie Brown. I had to miss his birthday party at the Goose when I realized I’d already committed to the Nick and Sarah dinner. I’m sure I’ll catch up with him today. Time to put on some shorts (glad the weather is finally acting like March) and get Sunday Fun Day started.