The Memphis Flyer’s 2020 Best of Memphis poll results are out. Read the issue online or download the PDF. I have not had a chance to read yet, but congratulations to all the winners! The Flyer poll is widely considered the most credible public poll reflecting the best of the best in our city.
… Okay, now I am a few pages in, and I have got to say CONGRATULATIONS to my friends at New Wing Order, who tied for first place for Best Food Truck. To earn that recognition a mere two years after the wheels first hit the pavement is quite an accomplishment. Not only are they great cooks but kind and generous people who are a part of the community. Go see them when the truck visits your neighborhood.
Congratulations as well to Slider Inn Downtown on first in Best New Bar. Their Slider Out backyard has been rocking the live music this month.
Most of the other winners are about what you’d expect: Central BBQ, Huey’s, Gus’s, Bhan Thai. This was not the year to get out and get adventurous with restaurants.
The COVID-19 pandemic was the perfect time for the Orpheum to send its Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ to Chicago for a complete restoration. The organ will be back next month, and will have a homecoming on Thursday, November 19. A historian will share tales of the organ’s legacy, and tunes from the organ will accompany the 1928 Buster Keaton silent film The Cameraman. Free admission.
Tonight is the final edition of the Downtown Dinner + Music Series, 5-7 PM. Tonight’s live entertainment:
- Tia Henderson at southwest corner of S. Main and G.E. Patterson
- Jeremy Shrader at the mural across from Rizzo’s on S. Main
- Ghost Town Blues Band at The Vault
Come out, listen to some music, and support one of our great South Main restaurants. Also, don’t forget that new gift shop Feelin’ Memphis is open until 6 tonight at 509 S. Main.
A plan is underway to get a statue of Ida B. Wells erected at the corner of Beale and Fourth. Wells was an African-American investigative journalist who lived in Memphis in the 1880s and 1890s, documenting lynchings and other civil rights abuses.
I had to contact a website’s tech support team this week, and I want to share a tool that made it super simple to get them the information about my computer that they needed to troubleshoot: What’s My Browser. Load the page and it will tell you
- What web browser (Chrome, Edge, IE, Firefox, Safari, etc.) you are using, and what version
- What operating system (Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android, etc.) you are using, and what version
- IP address
- Whether Javascript and cookies are enabled
- Whether Flash and Java are installed
- Whether certain protocols are supported
- What is the default language (US English for most of us)
- Display settings
- Whether you’re using an ad blocker
Best of all, you don’t even have to copy and paste all this info to send to tech support… they provide a link that you can simply send them that contains all this information. As someone who has had to do tech support calls in former jobs, I can tell you this link can save many minutes of frustration on both ends of the phone. If you know someone who is not good with computers, I recommend you show them this link and help them bookmark it.
While reading fellow authors on Medium yesterday I found a related link: SeniorNet, an organization that helps bridge the divide between older people and technology. They have a full calendar of online social programs, as well as over 100 free courses through a company called TechBoomers. This would be a good site to share with parents and grandparents who might otherwise be left behind by the current technological wave.
There’s a Halloween Paint & Pour class tonight at Tin Roof at 7. Tickets include all painting supplies and one complimentary draft beer.
The Memphis Business Journal has an update on the Liberty Bowl, still scheduled to happen New Year’s Eve. Officials are working closely with the Health Department to implement proper COVID safety protocols so the game can proceed. There is no requirement to win 6 games to be bowl-eligible this season, so the Big 12 and the SEC will not have any difficulty sending a team.
North Main Street has reopened following convention center construction. There are new trolley stops and a new walkway from the center to the Sheraton Hotel.
If you want a very tiny piece of good news in the pandemic fight, the reproduction rate has fallen to 1.23 in Shelby County. It hit 1.24 earlier this week. Hopefully that’s the beginning of a trend and not just a blip in the measurement.
The CA has a story on haunted tours and ghost tours in Memphis.
Advice to employers: Don’t schedule any important meetings for next Wednesday. The day following a presidential election tends to be a huge sick day/mental health day. Many of those who do come in are going to be super tired from staying up late to watch the results come in.
People who are COVID-19 positive can still vote in person in Shelby County on Election Day. Special precautions will be taken to allow people to vote from their cars. If you are positive, call the election commission to set up drive-in voting at 980 Nixon Drive.
Eat at Eric’s Grill is scheduled to be at Grind City Brewing tonight from 4 to 7:30.
There’s Halloween trivia tonight at Miss Cordelia’s.
Temperatures will be dropping through the afternoon, so I recommend you take a jacket even if it seems like you can get by without one this morning. Back tomorrow with more news.