Twilight Along the River

Ho on South Main

Or at any rate one "ho" as in "ho ho ho" for the holidays.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving

First Tennesee Building at Third and Madison, decorated with it's red bell and green tree lights.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and a great long weekend! Refer to my post from earlier this month about dining options downtown for Thanksgiving: http://www.memphistanista.com/2009/11/thanksgiving-downtown-and-thanksgiving.html

I'm taking a short break from blogging for a few days but check back next week. I may photo-blog in the meantime.

Carb Loading for St. Jude Memphis Marathon

Participating restaurants, primarily in the downtown area, will offer special selections and/or discounts for runners on the eve of race day (Race Eve is December 4, Race Day is Dec. 5). Show your official race number to take advantage of the special offers (normally available only to registered participants; all others in party will pay regular menu prices).

Printable version shows % discount and applicable entrees.

Participating DOWNTOWN Restaurants:
Alfred's
Arcade
Automatic Slim’s
Bardog Tavern
Blue Monkey
Capriccio Restaurant
Circa
Club 152
Felicia Suzanne's
Flying Saucer
Hard Rock Café
King’s Palace Café
Kooky Canuck
Majestic Grille
Market Café
McEwen’s on Monroe
Mesquite Chop House
Pa Pa Pia's
Pearl's Oyster House
Prime Time Sports Bar
Rum Boogie
Sauces Restaurants
Sole
Spindini
T.J. Mulligan’s
Tugs


Other Participating Restaurants:
Amerigo's
Bari Ristorante
Beauty Shop
Café Toscana
Elfo’s Restaurant
Mamma Mia's Pizzeria
Old Venice

Memphis in May Sale The Week After Thanksgiving

Click on the photo to enlarge:

Monday, November 30 - Friday, December 4 Memphis in May items for sale at 61 S. Main. T-Shirts, hats, cookbooks, posters and other items.

Court Square Lights Up

2010 Memphis Calendars

Memphis Heritage is having their 2010 calendar release party tonight. Click the image to enlarge:

The calendar features great black and white Don Newman historic photographs of Memphis landmarks.


And don't forget the David D. Lynch 2010 calendar in unrestrained technicolor available at:

Miss Cordelia's (Harbortown), Bluff City Coffee (S. Main), Blues City General Store/Alley Cats (on Beale) and the Frame Corner (EastGate)

Christmas Kicks Off Downtown

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving after which I will turn my thoughts to Christmas. But there are a few Christmas and Holiday events downtown, some coming up soon, to mention and keep in mind:

Friday, November 20 - Flip the Switch Ceremony in Court Square

Friday, November 27 - the Peabody Hotel Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony in the Lobby - 11 am - 7 pm

Sunday, November 29 - Harbor Town Christmas Tree Lighting in Christmas Tree Park

Saturday, December 5 - the Memphis Holiday Parade at 5 pm on South Main

Uptown - Christmas House Decorating Contest- $100 overall prize - Final Judging December 10th

Barnes & Noble Bookstore at the Zero Milestone; Law School Grand Opening

I was reminded by the Barnes and Noble construction dumpster now in front of the soon to be open U of M Law School on Front that a Barnes & Noble store will be housed in the law school. (UPDATE: the most recent article I've seen was in the MBJ and they stated the B&N would be ablut 2,000 sf and would sell mainly textbooks and some gifts.) When was there ever a real bookstore downtown? Let me think. There was a used bookstore in the basement of the Tobacco Bowl and going way back into the memory banks I seem to remember a bookstore in the Falls Building, maybe. But an actual bookstore like B & N will be so great and there will also be a coffee shop there. That area of Madison between Front and Main has become more populated with the opening of Metro 67 apartments. Add to that the usual bustle of the Madison Hotel and the coming influx of students and faculty and you will have a busy little hub of activity radiating from that zero mile marker. The milestone in the photos is directly in front of the law school on Front at the foot of Madison and has been there, as you can see, since 1923.



The Law School Grand Opening is set for January 16, 2010. Click on the graphic below to enlarge it:

Sports Sunday: Soccer in the Far East and Parkour Downtown

This tough looking guy is my nephew Eric. He's in town this weekend playing in a soccer tournament at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in the Far East (map provided for reference). So, I traveled out of downtown all the way to the F. E. to see him play.


World Class Goalie-ing.


I can see soccer fields for miles and miles and miles. There are 16 soccer fields and every single one of them was in use.




A fellow downtowner has been telling me lately about Parkour, a sport founded by Frenchmen David Belle. As I understand it the idea is to run, jump, climb and employ various techiques using obstacles in your environment to get from point to point as quickly and efficiently as possible. It is popular in urban environments as handrails, steps, benches, walls, etc. become that which to parkour off, on, over, under, through and around. Businessweek recently did an article on the World Freerunning and Parkour Federation and its efforts to promote the sport through social networking. See article here: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2009/tc20090730_936624.htm.

I have yet to see it for myself but the Youtube video below gives you the idea:

Market Cafe; Salad Expressions; Red Fish

A new restaurant (I'm sure the signage with be forthcoming) called Market Cafe has opened at 149 Madison between Second and Third. They offer lunches M - F, 11 - 3 that feature locally grown seasonal ingredients. Currently the menu offers such dishes as:

Sweet Potato Ravioli (spinach, sage cream sauce and toasted pumpkin seeds)
Mediterranean Sandwich (chickpea fritter, roasted seasonal vegetables, petite greens and herbed yogurt)
Chicken Pot Pie (creamy herb sauce, roasted chicken, seasonal vegetables and a cornmeal pie crust)
Roasted Beet Salad (roasted beets and seasonal vegetables, goat cheese, petite greens and herb goddess dressing)
See the full menu here: http://memphismarketcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/menu_10_26.pdf

Following up yesterday morning's tweet about another new restaurant, Salad Expressions, at 120 A. W. Willis Street (was Auction St.), I received their menu via fax (no website) and they have lots of great sounding salads like Raspberry-Orange Chicken Salad, Strawberry-Spinach Salad, Chicken, Spinach and Avocado Salad and Spicy Cilantro Cucumber Salad to name a few. Their number is 901-572-7004. I will say when I called to ask about the menu the lady who answered was gracious and helpful and, get this, seemed to understand customer service. That's hard to come by these days.

Reminder that Red Fish Gifts at 362 N Main will be having their Fall Preview tonight from 6 - 9, click the graphic below to enlarge:

Getting Back to the Greely Myatt Artwork and Lite Brite

A few months ago I posted a few pictures of the Greely Myatt artwork installation at Front and Adams. These panels are made of recycled street signs and I have been meaning to go back and take some photos at night. So, here they are.

Lit up by the flash in this way these quilt patterns remind me of the Lite Brite I used to have as a kid. Which in turn reminds me of the Christmas tree color wheel we had. I wonder whatever happened to that thing. I did manage to salvage the 40 year old fake Christmas tree I grew up with that more and more resembles Charlie Brown's tree with a few more little needles falling off each year. In any case, thank you Greely for, perhaps inadvertently, setting off a string of good memories. And speaking of Christmas, the light poles on Main street have been decorated with Christmas lights. The Season is upon us.

Thanksgiving Downtown and Thanksgiving Cautionary Tales

Here is a list of a few downtown restaurants that will be open on Thanksgiving, should you be planning on dining out:

Alfreds on Beale: Opening at 5pm

Grill 83 in the Madison Hotel - open 11 am - 10 pm. Reservations 901-333-1224.

Thanksgiving At the Peabody: Thanksgiving Champagne Brunch, on the Mezzanine level, 10:00am to 2:00 pm, adults $50.00, children 12yrs to 5yrs, $20.00. 901.529.4165.

Bardog Tavern: We will be open from 5PM-3AM.

BB King's: Open at 5:00pm on Thanksgiving evening and will be open until at least midnight.

Chez Philippe in the Peabody Hotel: Thanksgiving Prix Fix Dinner, 3:00pm, $75.00 per person 901.529.4188.

Capriccio Grill in the Peabody Hotel: Regular menu available, as well as special 3 course dinner for $35.00 per person, Serving from 11:00am to 10:00pm 901.529.4199.

Flying Saucer: Open Downtown @ 5pm.

Currents: Fine dining restaurant in the River Inn on Harbor Town will be open 11 am to 8 pm.

Some of the offerings may seem a bit pricey to some people and I imagine those people have never had to:

1. Plan the meal
2. Do all the shopping (this always requires trips to multiple places)
3. Get the house ready (and the unending tasks that alone entails)
4. Cook the turkey in whatever manner you subscribe to - this could take several hours or overnight
5. Prepare all the appetizers (see below)
6. Prepare all the side dishes
7. Prepare something totally separate for a guest with particular food requirements (see below)
8. Prepare the desserts/coffee
9. Clean everything up

$75 sounds like a bargain now doesn't it?

#5 - The appetizers. Some well meaning soul will always volunteer to bring an appetizer. Great! You are in the kitchen painstakingly making 35 dishes from scratch, using the most expensive ingredients and trying to decipher family recipes written down 30 years ago on now yellowing notebook paper. But this is Thanksgiving and it's the one time when the meal is supposed to be special and important. At least you think it is. When the appetizer maker shows up, you rush to door with bay leaves in your hair and sweat on your brow from standing over 150 simmering pots and pans in the kitchen, you greet them and are happy to usher them into kitchen and receive their dish. You are nonplussed as they pull out a can, jar, or package of something and start arranging it (could be anything like pickles, saltines, nuts, Vienna sausage, olives, hearts of palm, marshmallows, sardines, etc.) on some plate apparently in use since the Civil War that has been chipped one too many times. Or better yet they ask you if you have a serving dish.

#7 - Special Food Requirements. I used to date a vegetarian. He was cool and would eat anything on the table as long as it wasn't meat. Fine. But this was something my grandmother couldn't understand. As we sat down and started to eat she, as all grandmothers are, was concerned that everyone should have enough of everything. She noticed right away that the boyfriend did not have any turkey and started to serve him some. He stopped her and said "Thank you, it looks great but I don't eat meat." She looked slightly bewildered and after a few seconds retorted, "This isn't meat, it's turkey." 

The Boulevard Boutique on Madison Avenue

Boulevard Boutique opened last week on Madison between Second and Third. I stopped by last night and breezed through on my way home from work. They are open Monday - Friday 11am - 7pm and Saturdays 11am - 8pm. They have what I would call young, urban, trendy clothes that are affordably priced. Not so trendy and young, mind you, that a girl of a certain age who understands her body type couldn't pick up a few pieces there. They have a few accessories that are way young and trendy and if you can rock a huge pair of iridescent earrings, this is the place for you. The best part about this shop is the vintage section in the back; they had the coolest clutches I've seen anywhere for a steal. 164 Madison.

8th Annual Harbor Town Dog Show; Memphis Marathon

Click the graphic below to enlarge it and see all the details:


The St. Jude Memphis Marathon is coming up December 5th: http://www.stjudemarathon.org/marathon.htm

I haven't run in this or any marathon or even a half marathon. Maybe I could run a 10K. Maybe.

Photos for Monday

The photos above are of a building suffering from urban decay but in an oddly beautiful way. It's at the "corner" of Pennsylvania and Illinois and if you know where that is then you too like wandering around desolate areas of downtown.

Two more crumbling buildings at Crump and Kentucky that I hope will one day be restored to their former glory. They clearly have potential.

Downtown Dining Week Starts Today; Banquet Space in South Main

Downtown Dining Week kicks off today. Several downtown restaurants are participating by offering three course dinners for $20.09. Click here for all the details and a listing of participating restaurants: DOWNTOWN DINING WEEK - MEMPHIS

409 S. Main, formerly Jay Etkin Gallery, is now serving as event space. Keep it in mind for upcoming holiday events. They can accomodate small or large parties and there is a parking lot next door. http://www.409southmainstreet.com



A little interesting note about this building is the mosaic high up on the facade. You would miss it unless you were on the other side of the street. The building, built in 1912, originally housed the Puck Grocery and Warehouse. So the mosaic is of Puck, a character from Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Puck is a sprite, an elf, a knave.

The Subteens, et al at Nocturnal; Cotton Museum Harvest Party

Looking for a night of southern-punk-rock-indie music? Look no further than Nocturnal in midtown this Saturday, November 7:

Featuring: Gasoline Grace, Richard James & the Special Riders and The Subteens at Nocturnal (formerly the Antenna Club) 1588 Madison 9:30 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. $5 Cover. The Subteens were interviewed on the Chris Vernon show yesterday (730AM). Yes, that's a sports show but he regularly interviews Memphis musicians as well. Anywho, those young hooligans said they would be playing this weekend so they are top of mind.

Also this Saturday night is the 3rd Annual Harvest Party benefiting the Cotton Museum at 8 p.m. at Earnestine & Hazel’s, 531 South Main. Featuring: Silent Auction ~ Live Music & Open Bar ~ Food, $75 per person

RSVP 901.531.7826

Lost Cutie in South Main

A reader sent me the message below about the lost dog pictured above. A kind friend of his has taken her in while they search for the owner :

"There has been a stray dog around S. Main probably not for too long but at least a week. My wife spotted her last night in the lot next to Harry's Detour and was able to get her to come over. She was a little timid but was obviously a people lover, not a born stray. She almost immediately offered up her belly, and took to a leash immediately. Our friend Mikey took her in last night and cleaned her up, got her fed and safe, and now we're trying to spread the word and find this little girl a home or reunite her with her original owners."

Email inquiries to tazzking37@gmail.com.

It would be great to have a happy ending for a dog rather that the horrible news we've been hearing about the idiots at the Animal Shelter. I never write things like that on the blog but the pathetic people who allowed those things to happen deserve it.

CCC Alley Party Tonight

The Goner Records alley party that had originally been scheduled for October (and was rained out) will be tonight in Gayoso Alley. Harlan T. Bobo, Mouserocket and Magic Kids will perform. Click the graphic below for details:

Over the River and Down Madison to Grill 83 We Go

Not planning on having Thanksgiving Dinner at home and looking for a place to go? Grill 83 at the Madison Hotel has you covered. Click on the menu below to enlarge it:

What's Showing: Idiots and Angels and La Strada

Well, nothing is showing downtown but in midtown you'll find a couple of interesting films. Indie Memphis' Micro Cinema Club will pick back up in January. These used to be shown at Power House before they closed and I am hoping they continue on downtown somewhere. But for now....

Indie Memphis presents:
Idiots and Angels, Monday, Nov. 2 @ 7:30 pm at the Studio on the Square
$5 for the General Public / Free for Indie Memphis members and Memphis College of Art students with valid ID ** Presented on 35mm film.

Bill Plympton is scheduled to attend and participate in a Q&A after the screening. In Bill Plympton's latest feature, Idiots & Angels, a selfish and morally bankrupt man, wakes up one morning with wings on his back. Even more troublesome than their embarrassing appearance is the wings' tendency to want to do good deeds. After much ridicule, he desperately tries to rid himself of the good wings, but eventually finds himself fighting those who view the wings as their ticket to fame and fortune. Is Angel's misguided soul capable of being rescued? Told through Plympton's trademark animation style Idiots and Angels is a dark comedy about a man's battle for his soul.


Indie Memphis and the Brooks Museum of Art continue their year-round collaboration with this special program of Essential Art House Cinema:

La Strada Thursday, Nov. 5 @ 1 pm & 7:30 pm at the Brooks Museum of Art.
$5 for Indie Memphis members and members of The Brooks / $7 for non-members / Free with Indie Memphis '09 Silver or Gold Pass or Brooks VIP Film Pass **

New, restored high-definition digital transfer. There has never been a face quite like that of Giulietta Masina. Her husband, the legendary Federico Fellini, directs her as Gelsomina in La Strada, the film that launched them both to international stardom. Gelsomina is sold by her mother into the employ of Zampano (Anthony Quinn), a brutal strongman in a traveling circus. When Zampano encounters an old rival in highwire artist the Fool (Richard Basehart), his fury is provoked to its breaking point. With La Strada, Fellini left behind the familiar signposts of Italian neorealism for a poetic fable of love and cruelty, evoking brilliant performances and winning the hearts of audiences and critics worldwide.

The Day of the Dead

A kind of spookiness pervades this time of year as we segue from Halloween to All Saints' Day (Nov. 1) and then to All Souls' Day or Dia de los Muertos in Mexico (Nov. 2). These are days of honoring the dead by displaying skeleton figurines, making altars to welcome the dead and making cool little things called sugar skulls which are taken to the cemetery and placed on the graves of the deceased. I've always loved the idea of these things and thought I might try to make some... that is until I found a website with what appears to be the longest process on earth for making them. Check this out: http://www.zanzibartribalart.com/makingsugarskulls.htm.

I thought I may like to just buy some but I'm sure there is nowhere downtown to get them and I don't know if any Latino groceries around here sell them.