Folks, I have some exciting news. My troll Perjorie has a new brother!
Everyone, meet Mendatius T. Roll. I was hanging out at the Silly Goose happy hour yesterday afternoon when Gary, aka “G-Rock” who has over 40 plates at the Flying Saucer, asked if I was going to be there for a bit. I said yes. Not only did Gary bring me the troll, but a Tiger blue T-shirt repping the best beer in the world, which of course is Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Markings on Mendatius’ feet indicate that he was made in China in 1991, so I guess that makes him Perjorie’s older brother. Also, that was long enough ago that we shouldn’t have to worry that he brought the coronavirus with him to the United States.
My trolls and I decided to take a trip south for Trolley Night.
We stopped by Max’s Sports Bar for a couple of beers. Mendatius wanted to remind everyone that there’s a crawfish boil there today. Doors open at 11, and the first batch of crawfish will be ready around noon. You can buy 1 pound or 2, and they come with sides of corn, taters, and sausage which are also cooked in the boil.
I told Mendatius there used to be another troll at Max’s, who stood on a shelf behind the bar most of the time. “He got covered with shit though,” I explained. Perjorie and Mendatius are not allowed to play with that troll.
Across the street at Little Italy – more on that in a minute – Mendatius peeked out of my coat pocket as I ate.
This is something I’m going to have to figure out – Mendatius is too big to fit in a pants pocket, so he can only come out in the winter months, when I have a jacket or hoodie with a big pocket. In summer I would have to wear my cargo shorts to bring him out. I only wear those to BBQ Fest, and I need the extra pockets for spare batteries, guest wristbands, and other BBQ Fest needs.
We headed back north to the Blind Bear, where Mary braided Mendatius’ hair. Mary and Feeny molested him, pulling down his pants and determining that he is as poorly endowed as a certain president who has similar-colored hair.
On to the news… Cuban band Sweet Lizzy Project plays the Halloran Centre tonight. They are described as “American pop-rock with an intoxicating Latino flair.”
Outer Ring plays fresh, soulful jazz at Loflin Yard tonight at 9. This is a free show.
The Ultimate Brunch Set, a celebration of music, art, and cigars, returns to the Blind Bear one month from today, Sunday, March 29:
A large sinkhole has opened up on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville. No I am not talking about Neyland Stadium.
The Memphis Tigers travel to New Orleans to play Tulane tonight at 7. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Subway has an ongoing promotion where you buy a footlong and get a footlong of equal or lesser value for free when you order online. Apologies to Bill and Pam at River Time Market & Deli but I’m going to cheat on you next week. I can get 3 days’ worth of lunches out of 2 Subway footlongs.
The Grizzlies lost their fifth straight game last night. The standings still show them in 8th place, where they would qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today. However, the New Orleans Pelicans are rapidly catching up, having pulled within two games of the Grizzlies. If the Pels make the playoffs and the Grizzlies don’t, could that influence Rookie of the Year going to Zion rather than Ja? I hope not. The Grizzlies host the L.A. Lakers in the second game of a back-to-back tonight at 7.
So yeah, last night after I left Max’s Sports Bar, I looked across the street and saw Little Italy. I wanted to go in there and try the place out, but I figured on Trolley Night, it would be packed to the gills. Curiosity made me cross the street, though, just to get a look at the place. I peered in the window and…
… there was almost no one in there! So I went in. Clearly they had anticipated a big Trolley Night, because they had about 8 pizzas which could be purchased by the slice, hot and ready, as well as a selection of calzones. Initially I was leaning toward a calzone, but I remembered my friend Mikey posting that the calzones were so big he couldn’t even finish his. I wasn’t all that hungry, so I decided to have a slice of pie. After inspecting their offerings, I ordered a slice of the meatzza.
Large slice loaded with all the good stuff – pepperoni, sausage, ham, and mozzarella. Just what I needed at that point in the evening. Hard to believe that not all that many years ago, Downtown had zero pizza options, other than calling Camy’s or Domino’s for delivery. Now we have Ferraro’s, Aldo’s, Silly Goose, Spindini, and Little Italy.
I felt bad that there were so few people in there. People are just not conditioned to think “there’s food there” when they think of that block of G.E. Patterson (other than the Arcade, obviously). Please everyone, if you’re hungry for pizza or Italian food, keep Little Italy in mind. We need to find someone who will post as many Little Italy pizza photos to social media as I do at the Silly Goose.
Antonio Hobson plays Robusto by Havana Mix tonight.
The CA reports that Raymond James’ lawsuit against its landlord at 50 N. Front is likely to be dismissed. The lawsuit claimed negligence in the operation of elevators within the office tower.
The CA also has a roundup of where to find crawfish in Memphis.
The Daily Memphian reports that the Doubletree hotel at B.B. King and Union will become part of the Marriott’s chain of Autograph boutique hotels.
Interesting statistic I just read through a RealClearPolitics link: Trump won Arizona by 91,000 votes in 2016. Since then 160,000 Latinos have turned 18. Damn. That traditionally red state really is going to be a swing state this year. If the Democratic nominee picks Stacey Abrams as his or her running mate, Georgia would be in play, too. Flip both of those and it would be possible to lose Michigan, Wisconsin, or Pennsylvania and still win the Electoral College.
Bardog is my first stop as usual. Maybe John D and I will get to talk to some of the ginners. Back tomorrow with more news.