Weekend Wrap Up: Downtown Thursday, Redbirds and more

My arm was twisted and I joined a couple of friends Downtown for drinks Thursday night. We started out at the Flying Saucer and we were surprised to see how busy it was. We had a couple of beers and decided to go to Country On Beale, a weekly free country concert held at Handy Park.

Country On Beale was packed. The only problem is that an easy 80% of the attendees were under 18. Not good for my single friends. So we went back to the Saucer for more beers.

We then headed to Atlas. Word on the street is that this place is cool on Thursday nights. Apparently we were misinformed. It was pretty lame and the crowd was a bit old for me.

On Friday we went to the Redbirds game. Baseball is one of my favorite sports, so I was excited to go. The hapless Rebdirds managed to pull out a win against Salt Lake City. After the game they had a nice fireworks display that we all enjoyed. My only comment about Autozone Park is that they need to upgrade the payment options the concession stands. Many people, including myself, were surprised to see they did not accept credit cards. Luckily, I had cash. Others did not.

On Saturday, we went to the Memphis Farmer's Market. There has been lots of hoopla about the latest South Main activity, but I cannot justify why. It was very overrated. There were only a few vendors and their offerings were very limited. I'll try it again in the future, maybe it will get better.

Saturday night I made dinner at my house. The menu included a grilled chicken spinach salad with a honey mustard vinegarette dressing and deep fried corn with spicy honey butter (I had to try and recreate the Seattle delicacy). Both were excellent. I poured a 2004 Sterling Vinter's Collection Pinot Noir (Central Coast) with the meal. It was a simple wine with cherry flavors and it adequately complimented the meal. For dessert we enjoyed some fresh berries and the remainder of the wine.

I planned for Sunday to be a relaxing day, but it was far from it. We went to the teapot exhibit at the Dixon. I was expecting basic painted teapots, instead the teapots were decorative, outrageous pieces of art. I definitely recommend this exhibit. I think it runs through September.

For lunch I took NL on her first visit to Gus' Fried Chicken on Front Street. As always, the folks at Gus' did a wonderful job. NL enjoyed the chicken and mentioned that we should visit at least once per month. Not a bad idea!

After a some quick shopping, we headed back to my neighorhood for the 2nd annual Lea's Woods picnic. I'll have more details on the picnic in tomorrow's post.

Time for bed. Have a happy Monday!

Seattle Day 2: Pike's Market, Palace Kitchen, Pioneer Park

This is the second of four installments about my recent trip to Seattle.

Friday morning started bright and early in with a 6:15 breakfast with co-workers. The business agenda called for meetings from 7a-6p. The plan was for NL to sleep in and enjoy a few Seattle sites on her own.

The morning session of meetings ended around 11:30a. At this point I called NL to see where she was and perhaps meet for lunch. When I got in touch with her she was on the way back to the hotel after a morning of exploring. I met her in the lobby and we headed over to Pike Place Market, famous for the flying fish market.

This place was really cool. There were hundreds of vendors with fresh seafood, meat, fruits, vegetables, baked goods, flowers and pretty much anything you can think of. We walked around sampling whatever we could. We purchased some fresh peaches and a few packages of jerky from a vendor. Other nearby vendors included restaurants, wine shops and the original Starbucks.

After roaming around the market, we found Kells Irish Pub tucked in an alley. Since I had to go back to the meetings, I had a Pepsi and some Dungeness crab cakes. They were light and crispy with a lemon caper sauce. A perfect lunch for a warm and busy day. NL had the crab sandwich, a crab salad served open face with melted cheese. It looked very good.

After lunch, I headed back to the business portion of the trip for a few more hours. After the meeting, NL and I walked down to the Palace Kitchen for dinner. I visited this restaurant on my last visit and I was looking forward to enjoying it again. The restaurant was kind of busy, but we were immediately seated at a cozy table near the window.

We started our dinner with cocktails and a couple of appetizers - fried corn on the cob and bacon wrapped quail. The quail was okay, it was very flavorful and melted in your mouth. The corn was everything I remember from the year before. 2-3 inch wide pieces of corn on the cob were seasoned and deep fried and served with honey butter and a chipotle style butter. I recommend this to anyone.

For the main course I had the Washington chicken and NL enjoyed the salmon. Both were well-received and were complimented nicely with a bottle of 2004 A to Z Pinot Noir.

After dinner we walked to the Pioneer Park area of Downtown and stopped at a local bar for cocktails. They had a great Cult coverband playing and strong drinks. Not a bad combination.

It was getting late, so we made our way back to the hotel for a full day of Saturday fun.

Thursday Update: S.O.R. Revisited and Weekend Plans

Apparently the "Statue of Religity" project on Kirby and Winchester is not yet complete. Still in the works in a replica of Jesus' tomb in the base of the statue and a visitor parking lot. To quote the church pastor, "I feel that it is money well spent." This church is quickly becoming a legtimate contender for the Memphis area "Six Flags Over Jesus" award. This is currently held by another church located off of I-40.

Tomorrow night I'm heading over to my first Redbirds game of the year. Sure they are a horrible team, but its hard to turn down suite tickets. This could be followed up by a visit to a Downtown watering hole.

Saturday is currently wide open, except for a some home maintence. Cleaning is fun!

Sunday should be a relaxing day, with a neighborhood pot luck picnic in the evening. I wonder what I should bring?

Looking forward to football season! The Golden Eagles kick off in 36 days.

Wednesday Update: Concert News and Bye Bye Gibson Fridays

The Court Square Concert Series is set to begin next week in Downtown Memphis. The shows are free and food/drink is available for purchase. The first band will be Memphis' own Free Sol. The series will end on October 25.

In a previous post I mentioned going to a Friday night roof top party at the Gibson Guitar Factory. The attendance was poor and I left disappointed. I was informed today that the Friday night parties at the Gibson have been cancelled. Apparently the attendance numbers never improved. Based on the people running the show, I'm not surprised

Tuesday Update: The New Bottomline and Brookhaven Pub

In an attempt to find a fun happy hour, I accompanied some co-workers for an adult beverage after work. We have a belief that happy hour is a long forgotten tradition in Memphis, especially in East Memphis. Tonight was no different.

Our first stop was at the New Bottomline on Kirby and Poplar. It was dead when we walked in, but we opted to stay. Heck, we were already there. We had a few beers and a couple of snacks. We also had the opportunity to watch some exciting sports on ESPNU and ESPN.

ESPNU was featuring the collegiate version of the lumberjack championships. This was hard to believe, but then my favorite TV sport appeared on ESPN. The one, the only, World Series of Darts. That's right kids, we sat and watched professional dart players fight it in heart wrenching games of 501.

After a while we changed venues and made our way to the Brookhaven Pub. The crowd was younger and more vibrant than the New Bottomline crowd. We knew it was a good place to be when we saw the Swingers. After a couple of drinks and some trivia questions, I headed home to get some rest.

The quest for a good happy hour spot in East Memphis continues, but for right now Brookhaven is the leader.

Seattle Day 1: 4 Hour Flight, Scavenger's Guide, Red Lion, Elephant & Castle and EMP

As mentioned yesterday, I spent a few days in Seattle on business. Over the next couple of days I'll provide some highlights of the trip.

When I woke up on Thursday, I knew it was going to be a long day. NL picked me up at 7:30 to head to the airport for my 8:45 flight. While checking in my luggage, I received a First Class upgrade. Its good to be a kinda sort of frequent flyer. The flight was on time and before I knew it we were in the air on our 4 hour journey.

I packed several items to keep me busy on the flight. A laptop, my iPod, a portable DVD player and a book. I chose the last option, The Scavenger's Guide To Haute Cuisine by Steven Rinella. It is a well written, easy to read book about a Rinella's desire to prepare a 3-day 45 course meal. The catch is that none of the ingredients are store bought. The book explains Rinella's adventures around the States hunting down the fish, elk, etc for his extravagant feast. I was able to read about half of the book during the flight.

After landing, we headed to our hotel in Downtown Seattle. The Red Lion Hotel was a nice hotel, with an even better location. It was minutes away from several Seattle attractions.

For lunch I went to a close pub/eatery called the Elephant & Castle. It was okay. The food was your standard pub grub. I had a burger with a Pilsner Urquel.

After lunch I walked down to the Experience Music Project, Seattle's music museum. I'm not sure if it was worth $20, but it did have some cool stuff like the history of music in the Northwest Passage and a Jimi Hendrix exhibit.

I had a work function to attend at 6, so I returned to the hotel. After eating dinner, I joined a few co-workers at the Elephant & Castle for a couple of beers and Washington Apple shots (a combination of Crown Royal and Apple Pucker). I was back in my room by 11pm.

NL arrived at the hotel at 11:45. I wanted to go out and have more fun, but I had to save my engergy for the next day's meetings.

Back In Memphis

I'm back in Memphis after a visit to Seattle. Overall the trip was fun. Look for more details over the next couple of days.

Discouraging News In Lea's Woods

No less than a week after I praised the upcoming improvements to the Lea's Woods neighborhood, discouraging news was delivered to my doorstep yesterday. A concerned neighbor was going door-to-door to let everyone know about the recent crime spree in the area. Completely obliviously to this sort of activity, I was shocked to hear that there were at least six homes broken into on near by streets in the past week. That's right...6!!!

It sounds like its time to reorganize the Neighborhood Watch program in the area. We also need to increase the police presence in the area. The crimes haven't been violent, but this kind of behavior should be stopped before things get out of hand. Residents in nearby neighborhoods like Cooper-Young and Downtown have noticed a reduction in crime with the more officers on patrol and more community involvement.

A recent movement that I've been impressed with is Residents For A Safer Downtown Memphis. Fed up with the increased criminal activity (one of the founder's was mugged), they formed this group to heighten awareness and to push Memphis Police to patrol their Downtown neighborhoods. From all accounts, this has been a success so far.

I'm not saying that we have to go as far as having a neighborhood website, but a daily e-mail blast or blog posting with neighborhood updates wouldn't be a bad thing. Combined with a watch program and more police patrols, this could help push the criminal activity out.

Weekend Wrap Up: Thai Food + Irish Pub = Saturday Hangover

On Friday night I joined a group of friends at Bhan Thai for dinner and drinks. I've been to Bhan Thai a couple of times, but never had the opportunity to sit outside. They have a nice patio-style set up with umbrella covered tables and an outside bar. To beat the heat, they also have large fans circulating cool air.

We claimed our table and enjoyed the Thai food and several bottles of 2004 Lockwood Sauvignon Blanc (Monterey). The dry wine had flavors of apricot and apples and came at reasonable price ($25). I had the spicey basil chicken. The wine nicely complimented the blend of vegetables, chicken and spices.

This was supposed to be a low-key night, but that quickly changed when we headed over to Celtic Crossing. We were hoping to enjoy the outside seating, but several other people had the same idea, so we claimed our spot at the bar. After a while the inside became just as crowded with patrons.

When it first opened last year, I had my doubts about an Irish pub in the Cooper-Young area, but every time I go the place it's packed. It has replaced the Blue Monkey as my favorite bar in Mid-town.

Later, we decided to participate in Celtic's Friday night trivia contest. 10 questions with the winner getting a bar gift card. We answered all of the questions correctly and finished tied for 1st place. Our reward a $25 gift card. It will come in handy later this summer.

Throughout the night I consumed too many Ketel and tonics, which for some reason go down like water. The end result was a not so pleasant hangover Saturday morning. This dictated my activities for the remainder of the weekend...rest and relaxation.

Why are weekends so short?

Katrina Reconstruction And Good News In Lea's Woods

A friend informed me of a humorous, true situation today. Like many others, a New Orleans area man returned home after Hurricane Katrina to find his home with severe flood damage. A couple of months later, he signed up to have his house gutted for free by a church group. On Tuesday, the group finally began tearing down his house.

The guy received a call today from the leader of the church group saying the house was not finished and they would no longer be gutting the house. Why do you ask? Because the church group found the homeowners porn collection. Whatever happened to he who is without sin should cast the first stone?

It appears that the Lea's Woods Historic Conservation District is getting a small face lift. Forum Investments LLC has purchased several dwellings on Williford Street with the intent to demolish the existing structures and build new SFDU's. They have already started the process with three new homes currently being constructed. Forum currently has nine Certificates of Appropriateness (COAs)applications for demolition of structure under review with the Memphis Landmarks Commission (MLC). The properties in question are in poor condition and need to be demolished. The MLC should approve the COAs without any hesitation.

Poker News

The House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday forbidding the use of credit cards to settle online bets. Elected officials need to remember that prohibition is most likely the wrong answer, because it doesn't work. Die-hards will find a way to play. The smart thing to do would have been to regulate the $12 billion industry and collect taxes. It will be interesting to see if the bill gains Senate approval.

Speaking of online poker, Interpoker.com's latest gimmick is basically an extreme poker challenge on July 26th called Loser’s Leap. Qualifying tournament winners will play in the championship round in a plane flying at 10,000 feet. As players lose all of their chips, they have to exit the plane while still in the air. I'm guessing parachutes will be provided. I wonder which network will pick this up for a tape-delayed airing.

Lyric Jeans, Pee Wee's Playhouse and Tax Relief

Lyric Jeans is a new clothing line that prints music lyrics on its jeans. According to Lyric, they have partnered with EMI Music to get permission to use select songs on your leg, pocket or butt. I haven't had time to check, but I wonder what songs you can choose from. Hopefully the list includes "Big Butts", "I'm Too Sexy", "I Touch Myself" and the American classic "Move Bitch."

While channel surfing tonight, I came across Pee Wee's Playhouse on The Cartoon Network. It looks like they are going to air the classic Saturday morning show Monday-Thursday at 10pm CST in the Adult Swim block. Kudos to CN for bringing Pee Wee back in our lives.

Did I just use the word kudos?

Special thanks need to be extended to Shelby County for not raising property taxes. I believe the City of Memphis is holding back as well. With inflation on the rise and energy costs climbing daily, this was much needed relief.

Relaxation, Bowling and Free Stuff

Every now and then people need to take a break from going out all the time and chill at home. I took one of those breaks this weekend. Instead of bar hopping or dining out, we relaxed on the comfort of our couches drinking wine and watching movies. The only time we ventured out was to go bowling.

Friday night was extremely low-key, just lots of sleep.

After an errand-filled Saturday morning, we decided to go bowling later in the afternoon at Jillian’s. I hadn’t bowled in couple of years and my impressive 99 in the first game showed it. I did follow it up with a respectable 158. Not too shabby. We actually wanted to bowl another game or two, but we opted to leave for a couple of reasons.

First, it was hot in there. They needed to crank up the AC a little more.

Second, the family bowling next to us was obnoxious. It looked like a nice family outing. There were about 10 people bowling on the lane. A little much, however they appeared to be managing the situation nicely. This quickly changed when they began celebrating their gutters, spares and strikes in our lane and loitering in our area between their shots. There was plenty of space to gather in their own lane, but for some reason they insisted on venturing into our area. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for family fun, but this group needed to brush up on their manners and bowling etiquette. It wasn’t worth the hassle to keep them out of our space, so we packed it up.

After two quick games, we headed back to Midtown for dinner. We were thinking about heading to En Tour, but we changed our minds and decided to fire up the old charcoal grill. New York strips, potatoes, asparagus and wine would be on the menu this night. The food was good and the wine complimented it very well.

Quickly on the wine, we had a 2003 Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon (Puente Alto). An underrated wine, it was solid with blackberry and cherry flavors with notes of vanilla and chocolate with a long finish. At $16-$20, it’s definitely worth the price.

Sunday wasn’t much different from the previous two days, yet I was still exhausted on Monday morning. How does that work?

Starting tomorrow, the first one million people to try on a pair of American Eagle jeans will get a pass for admission to a AMC theater. To quote NL: “Yeah, too bad there aren’t any AMC theaters here…and too bad their jeans are so incredibly low riding that half my crack sticks out. The underwear above the jeans, prison-style look isn’t really for me. Or any one else for that matter.”

Indeed.

Thursday Snacking: Cafe Med, Fleming's and Free Wine

I’ve finally grown sick of the restaurant choices near my office. We always go to the same old place’s like Lenny’s, Jason’s, Swanky’s etc. On Thursday, we decided to try something different and went to the Café Med on Kirby and Poplar (in between Danver’s and the New Bottom Line).

The restaurant was clean and the service was prompt and friendly. The menu included a variety of appetizers, Greek Gyros, grilled pita sandwiches, Italian pannini sandwiches and salads. Prices ranged from $4.95 to $7.95.

I had the chicken pesto panino, a grilled fococcia sandwich with basil pesto, provolone cheese, baby spinach, chicken breast, sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts. The sandwich was above average in size, light yet filling, and seemed to have the perfect blend of ingredients. I would rate the experience an A. I look forward to going back to Café Med.

The only thing that was missing was a nice glass of white wine, so later in the day I met NL at Fleming’s for cocktails and appetizers. My craving for white wine quickly changed to red. We ordered a bottle of 2002 Ortman Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley). It is an inviting wine, with blueberry, plum and vanilla flavors. The restaurant price of$64 was not unreasonable, but far from cheap. I continue to be impressed with the overall experience at Fleming’s.

Free Wine

A free wine tasting is being held Saturday from 1-3p at Salsa on Poplar. Sponsored by Great Wines, it will be a blind tasting of Italian wines. Good stuff!

Check please!

After an intense post-4th of July morning work session, I went to the Blue Plate Cafe on Poplar for lunch with a couple of co-workers. Known for serving breakfast all day and plate lunches, we figured we could grab a quick bite to eat and head back to the office.

After we were done with our meals (I had the burger with bacon and cheese - no fries), I noticed something on the wall near my co-worker. I quickly glanced over and there it was, a nice-sized cock roach loitering near the beverage and condiments station. My stomach quickly began to turn. Our bill arleady paid, we hurried out of the restaurant.

On the way out, I noticed the restaurant scored an 84 on the health inspection. Based on the cameo appearance by our crawling friend, I think the score should be significantly lower. Is this something I should report to the Department of Health?

Needless to say, I won't be going back to the Blue Plate Cafe (all locations) any time soon.

What's that on Winchester?

A Memphis area church is set to unveil a new monument on July 4th. The 72-foot tall statue is a Statue of Liberty look-a-like. The trademark torch has been replaced with a cross and the tablet is now the Ten Commandments. The church is calling it “The Statue of Liberation Through Christ.” NL and LL have named it “The Statue of Religity.”

I’m all for a person’s freedom of religion, but is a $260,000 statue the best way to renew someone’s faith? The price tag is not a typo. In most cases, the purpose of contributing to the donation plate it assist the poor, fund church programs and to cover other expenses. In this case, it purchased a big green statue. Sources close to the church have said several members opted to switch churches after hearing of the plans and then seeing the construction of the monster statue.

Maybe something better would have been traditional religious symbols. A cross or a statue of Jesus. This is too easy and would limit merchandising opportunities. Merchandising? That’s right. The church website has established a store to sell Lord knows what commemorating the statue.

With all of the issues in Memphis today, I would think the money could be better spent in the community. The city is in dire need of youth programs. Why not enhance the current church programs? Or start new ones like drug prevention or helping the homeless. The 260K could feed approximately 450 seniors every day for the remainder of the year via M.I.FA. This seems like the Christian thing to do.

Unfortunately, the Christian thing to do might get you great PR, but at the end of the day it can’t guarantee you financial wealth.

Lazy Sunday

What’s to do on the Sunday of a 4-5 day weekend? I think I’m one of the only people around who didn’t strategically plan a super long 4th of July weekend. I’d rather save my vacation days for the holidays and football season. It’s a pretty day, perhaps an outside brunch is in the cards or some kind of grill action later in the day.

I’ve always enjoyed the 4th of July. We typically went on vacations to the Redneck Riviera or held some kind of cook out at home or a relative’s houses. Getting sunburned, drinking and eating are some of my favorite things.

Independence Day wouldn’t be complete with out fireworks. We always went to Wild Bill’s Fireworks in Slidell and loaded up on bottle rockets, jumping jacks, M-80’s and what ever else would be colorful and make loud noises. Unfortunately, I read the other day that many cities (including Slidell) are having fireworks bans due to drought conditions. Bring on the rain!!!

Last Friday: South Main to Overton Square

One of the more underrated activities in Memphis is the South Main Art Trolley Tour. A majority of the galleries and businesses on South Main basically have an open house. We went door to door exploring galleries, shops and condo developments. Each location has complimentary adult beverages and snack. There was lots of people watching and free beverages...what's not to like?

Thanks to NL, I had the opportunity to meet George Hunt outside one of the galleries. Mr. Hunt is a Louisiana native and is considered America's foremost blues artist. His work goes well beyond making music-inspired pictures. He is a super nice guy and agreed to sign my 2005 Congo Square print of the late "Gatemouth" Brown. That pretty much made my night. Now I need to find a time to get down there and have him sign it.

After the Tour, we went to Le Chardonnay for more cocktails and snacks. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food, but as usual I was busy with the wine. We had a couple of bottles of 2004 La Crema Pinot Noir. As expected, La Crema has done wonderful job with this vintage. The wine had cherry and plum flavors with balanced tannins. I need to keep some of this at my house.

Looking forward to a low-key Saturday night.

UCP Fundraiser At Firebirds

Firebirds Rocky Mountain Grill's new Collierville location held is pre-grand opening party Thursday night. Admission was $25 with all proceeds going UCP of the Mid-South. The sold out event included a generous sampling of Firebirds menu items, wine, beer and a silent auction.

Overall the heavy hor's doerves were pleasing. My favorites were the kobe beef spears and the creme broulee cheesecake. Other items included crab cakes, sliced beef, pork and several other items.

At the end of the night, UCP was able to reel in over $10,000.

After Firebirds, we made our way closer to home base and had a couple of cocktails and Grisanti's on Poplar. Thursday nights have been to know to be crowded at the bar, but not on this Thursday. After a couple of drinks, we headed over the Blue Monkey. The crowd was better than Grisanti's and the band was pretty good. There even was a "swingers" siting.