Icy Friday Night

What to Eat During a Winter Storm: Recipes for Hibernation (if it comes to that)

Well, the weather people have predicted a winter storm starting late tonight or very early tomorrow morning. Whatever happens, I have some good recipes to try when it's dreary and cold outside. Above is my latest version of Huevos Rancheros. Here's the recipe:

1 15 oz can of Original Rotel
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed (I can't abide what I call the "thick, murky, black yucky stuff" packed in the can)
2 spring onions, chopped
4 eggs
1 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the first three ingredients in a mixing bowl. Heat the oil in a large saute pan and add the mixture. Saute over medium high heat a few minutes. Make four wells in the mixture and gently break an egg into each well. Cover the pan with a lid for a couple of minutes -the eggs will be poached in the bean mixture's liquid. Transfer each egg carefully to a plate so as not to break the yokes and spoon some of the bean mixture around the egg. Add some sliced avocado on the side and warm corn tortillas. Very nice.

The other recipe is from the Creative Structures blog. Blogger Diana has a rustic Sausage and Lentils recipe that looks perfect for cold weather.

Enjoy!

Flowers in South Main Again

Some good news from the Delphinium newsletter:

Delphinium will now be carrying fresh cut flowers. There has been a void in the neighborhood for a little while now, so we thought we’d give it a shot. We will be selling them by the stem, not vases, and no delivery, just simple, pretty and affordable fresh flowers. Don’t forget Valentines Day is right around the corner!

A Couple of Photos for Thursday; Trolley Tour This Friday; Jersey

I've seen this black cat in a doorway on Madison in midtown as well so I guess there are freaky black cats like this popping up in random places. What does it mean? I have no idea but it looks great in this particular crumbling doorway on the Sterick Building.

The gazebo is up in the new courtyard area of River Inn's River Hall reception space on Harbor Town.

This month's South Main Trolley Tour is this Friday, January 29th. It seems like forever since the last one which was before Christmas. Unfortunatley, a winter storm has been predicted for Friday. By the way, the South Main Historic Arts District has a great new website.

The multiple award winning musical Jersey Boys starts its 2 1/2 week run at the Orpheum tonight. The orpheum website states in its rating section "JERSEY BOYS contains smoke, gun shots, strobe lights, profane “authentic Jersey language” and is not recommended for children under the age of 12." Wow, it's a lot like Jersey Shore then! Speaking of, you could also head down to Beale St. Saturday night, January 30, for the Jersey Shore Pub Crawl. Garden State fun on Beale. Uh, I guess. Fahgetaboutit.

Oliver-Finnie, Cold Storage and The Pier is Closed

I noticed tonight that the Pier Restaurant on Wagner has closed. Apparently it's been closed for a couple of weeks. It had been operating since 1977. I was just commenting to a friend a while back about how surprising it was that the Pier was still open. I myself had not been there in at least 15 years, maybe longer. I remember it being a top choice for prom night dinners when I was in high school. This was just about the only restaurant downtown with a river view. Oliver-Finnie Grocers operated at this location until a fire destroyed the building 1906. It was re-built by Memphis Cold Storage Company to house their operations and that is the building standing today. Incidentally, if you have any memories or mementos of Oliver-Finnie Grocers, they are wanted at: oliverfinnie.com.

Washburn Apartments

The new Washburn Apartments at 60 S. Main Street between Union and Monroe now have a website where you can see leasing information and floorplans. The building was formerly known as the Lawrence Building because it's last tenant was a store called Lawrence that one of my C(ertified) M(emphistanista) S(ources) ( aka: Dad) says was a furniture store. The old postcard above shows that Walgreens had once been on the corner of Union and Main. If you click on the postcard to enlarge it you can see Lawrence just beyond the Walgreens. Originally, the Romanesque building was built in 1898 in two parts known as the Lemmon and Gale buildings. In fact, the name Lemmon still appears at the top of one side of the building.

Happy Hour at Itta Bena

A Happy Cupcake

After this stressful week, it was a nice surprise to get this cheerful little lemon cupcake at the office. Gigi's Cupcakes is opening a store in Memphis at 4907 Poplar. A quick perusal of my Memphis map shows me that Gigi's is located in the Middle East.

You know else made me a happy cupcake today? Reading over all the positive comments about downtown from people who have submitted entries into the CCC's Romantic Night Downtown Valentine's Day giveaway.

A Little Busy

I am overwhelmed with personal and professional issues this week it appears. But not so much so that I have forgotten my few regular readers! I did manage to eek out a couple of tweets (see sidebar).

There is so much happening downtown and on the horizon that the best thing I can do today is to direct you to the CCC website: http://www.downtownmemphis.com/

You’ll get the latest about Aldo’s Pizza, Mud Island’s pedestrian bridge, the International Blues Challenge, restaurant deals, shopping and more.

I’ll be back with some regular posting and photos soon.

Miami Beach Pictures

Random Miami Photos

Further evidence of a quick but enjoyable trip to Miami:

Former Versace Mansion

This shot makes it look like this cigar rolling guy was a bit peeved by my camera when in fact he was a cheerful guy. Seriously.

Cuban Lunch

My friend Mary and I had lunch at a great Cuban place in Miami Beach called YUCA:


A very refreshing mojito


Empanadas


Peppers stuffed with chorizo


Plantains

Plantain encrusted mahi mahi

M.I.A. in MIA, FLA

I haven't posted the past few days as I'm in Fort Lauderdale with my good friend Mary at her fabulous loft. We are going to Miami Beach today and I will post a few pictures soon. This is first time in my life I have gone someplace warm in the middle of winter and the first time I've been in South Florida. Why have I waited so long? It is beautiful down here and it's a nice, warm sunny day. Still, I would have loved to see all the activity around the U of M Law School grand opening last night. I saw them setting up before I left and I'm sure it was fantastic. In the meantime you can have a look at the list from the CCC website of things happening downtown today at this link: http://www.downtownmemphis.com

More Hustle and Bustle and the Grand Opening Ceremony of U of M Law School

This week there have been noticeably more people around my part of downtown thanks to the start of classes at the U of M Law School.

Update from the U of M Law School website:

With the start of its spring semester this week, the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law is holding classes in its new Downtown facility for the first time. Permission to use the former U.S. Customs House at 1 North Front Street, occupied by the federal government for more than 125 years, was given to the state of Tennessee in 2006, and renovations since that time have turned the historic and architecturally rich building into a modern educational facility.

“This is a magnificent building,” Dean Kevin Smith said, “steeped in history. Already, it is exceeding the expectations that I had for it. This could not be a better, more impressive place for a law school such as ours.”

The University will celebrate the opening of the building as a law school on Jan. 16, when alumni from around the nation will attend a black-tie gala there.

Approximately 500 students, faculty members and staff occupy the building.

The Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law has been declared a ‘best value law school’ by preLaw magazine, based on the combination of low tuition, the high percentage of graduates passing the Tennessee bar exam, and the success of graduates in finding employment. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools, the society for legal education in the United States. Graduates of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law include judges, other public servants, and leading practitioners in the Mid-South and throughout the nation.

MLK Events at the National Civil Rights Museum

The National Civil Rights Museum will be hosting events in honor of the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Saturday, January 16th is Youth Day when kids ages 3 - 10 can participate in various activities. Regular museum tour admission applies. 10am - 2pm

On MLK Day, Monday, January 18th, museum tour admission is $2 all day. Museum hours on the 18th are 8 am - 6 pm. You can purchase the $2 tickets in advance now through Sunday, January 17th and avoid the lines on Monday.

There will also be a food drive at the museum benefiting the Mid-South Food Bank Saturday, Jan. 16th - Monday Jan. 18th. They will be collecting non-perishable food items (no glass containers) as well as non-food items (paper products, cleaning products, etc.).

Semifreddo in the Courtyard

Half frozen fountain in Felicia Suzanne's courtyard:

Steak at Itta Bena

Check Itta Bena's facebook page for weekly specials:

Garage Work; Proposed Urban Trail Down Madison Avenue

The garage at Third and Monroe is having what looks like some heavy duty work done. Some cars were parked on the ground floor so I assume it's still possible to park there. This is the garage right across the alley from the Rendezvous. If you've parked there within the past couple of years, you understand it needed some work.

An article in the Daily News reports that the City Council will discuss the proposal to close Madison Avenue from Front St. to Cooper to vehicular traffic on Sundays from 5am to noon. This is councilman Shea Flinn's proposal aimed at creating an "urban trail" for bikers, walkers and runners.

Blue Waves By the River

Random downtown photo