Lots of Stuff: Restaurant Updates, Tigers Moving Up, Silly Goose Revisited, the New Corner Bar, Minglewood Hall and Tennis

Benihana has reopened their East Memphis location almost a year after the restaurant was destroyed by a fire. No longer will you find the older “tea room” style, instead the new building features a modern style only found at a few Benihana locations.

The Kitchen will open in East Memphis in April. This new European-style restaurant will be in the space formerly occupied by Caspian.

The Memphis Tigers are ranked as high as #5 in the latest college basketball polls. Early bracket predictions have the Tigers as a #2 seed, playing their first round games in Minneapolis. Even with the success of the Tigers, Conference USA Tournament tickets are moving at a slow pace. The economy probably has a lot to do with it, but the initial lack of excitement for the team could also be a contributor. If the Tigers keep winning, tickets will sell.

After another visit to the Silly Goose, it is looking like that it may turn into a hotspot. The bar was packed over the weekend and the long list of liquor options is something that Downtown has needed for a long time.

Another stop over the weekend was the Corner Bar at the Peabody Hotel. They have revamped their menu and adjusted their drink prices in an effort to attract more people. It was good to see a steep reduction in price on some of the beverages. One request to the management…live music.

Minglewood Hall has finally opened its doors. This new Midtown music venue has a nice selection of bands scheduled in the upcoming weeks. Its good to have another venue like this in Memphis, especially in Midtown.

The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and Cellular South Cup are being held this week at The Racquet Club of Memphis. There are a few big name players in town including Pete Sampras, who made an appearance in an exhibition match on Monday night, Andy Roddick and James Blake. Unfortunately, none of the popular “hot” female players are part of the draw. Then again, there may be some hidden gems in this year’s field.

Cheaps Suds Downtown This Weekend

On Sunday February 15th, Kooky Canuck will be serving $2 Coors Light all day long from 11am until 2:30am. This can be good for post-Valentine's Day recovery or to celebrate a three day weekend.

Amy LaVere On Conan & A Free Grand Slam

Memphis-based Amy LaVere will perform on The Late Show With Conan O'Brien tonight. You can check it out on Channel 5 at 11:30pm.

For those of you looking for a free breakfast, participating Denny's locations will be giving away free Grand Slams on Tuesday, Feb 3 from 6a-2pm. The Downtown Memphis Denny's location on Union should be festive.

Great Super Bowl, Horrible Ads

Wow, what a great game. Even though the Cardinals lost, the game was fun to watch with a fantastic finish. Congrats Steelers!

On the other hand the ads were horrible. There were a few good moments, but overall clients and ad agencies need to look deep inside themselves and wonder why they wasted so much money on these spots.

This year's top 3:

1. Careerbuilder
2. Cash4Gold.com
3. Coke Zero

Honorable mention: Miller High Life