The Memphis Scene

Dan McGuinness' Downtown location will close after this Saturday. Word has it the Irish pub doesn't fit with the developers' upscale plans for the Peabody Place mall.

Paul Ryburn beat me to the punch, and he has a few more details.

I touched on some of the other Downtown retail/nightspot closings in this post. Let's hope that whatever the developers have up their sleeve prevents Peabody Place from becoming yet another Memphis white elephant.

Majestic Grille is about to unveil a new menu of cocktails, including classics like Old-Fashioned and Sazerac as well as newfangled creations like the strawberry-basil martini. The new line of drinks was mentioned in last week's issue of the local alternative tabloid newspaper, but a big party for the Stanford St. Jude Classic golf tournament intervened, so cocktail fans will need to wait a bit longer -- or know what they want without looking at a menu.

I stopped by the Majestic on Sunday evening to catch some of the Boston Celtics' beatdown of the Los Angeles Lakers. The huge movie screen is in full effect at the converted early 20th century cinema ("Roman Holiday" was showing while I was there), and the handsomely redesigned food menu features some recently added items like a duck-confit/caramelized-onion flatbread with mixed greens and goat cheese, as well as irresistible tempura green beans.

Paul Ryburn has the skinny on other happenings at the Majestic, which has really been asserting itself lately on the dining scene.

* The new Blue Monkey Downtown is open for business as of last week. You'll recognize many of the faces on the staff from the Midtown location (or the former Downtown location that burned a few years ago). The floor plan is much the same (elevated bar seating), and other fixtures return, such as the painstaking wine-cork molding and collages of wine labels covering parts of the walls and the bar surface. The place has no beer on tap, but does feature plenty of bottles as well as the usual massive selection of premium liquor (including coffee-flavored Patron XO Cafe, which I had never seen before). I didn't have a chance to peep the food menu; I'll check it out next time.

Meanwhile, Paul Ryburn has pictures and writeup of his own.

* In other Downtown bar news, also from the fertile blog of Ryburn, that man about Downtown, Calhoun's on G.E. Patterson has to change its name. Any ideas?

I totally forgot to post about this, but fellow blogger Andria Lisle was good enough to take care of it. South Main institution Earnestine & Hazel's made Esquire magazine's state-by-state list of the best bars in America.

Take a few minutes to check out the full list, and see how many of the bars you have visited on your travels. I remember having a post-commencement lunch with my family here, for one.

This thread on the Goner board got me thinking about the best patio for dining or lounging in Memphis. Obviously, we've had some nice days and nights for doing so lately.

I'll cast my vote for the new patio out back at Cafe 1912. I didn't even know it was there until our waiter whisked us back there Sunday night. It's a nice secluded place with wicker chairs and sturdy wooden tables, and my girlfriend and I were lucky enough to have the whole place to ourselves.

Cafe 1912 is becoming one of my favorite places in town for a nice dinner. The menu continues to be tweaked for the seasons (I had a nice lamb loin with just-in-season peas and asparagus), and you can't beat the selection of cheap wines-by-the-glass ($6 now instead of $5, but still a deal).

In case you hadn't heard, the new Ground Zero Blues Club is cranking up from its April soft opening with a full lineup of top blues acts. The Downtown venue, right next door to the Red Rooster on Lt. George W. Lee Avenue, is the Memphis branch of the Clarksdale, Miss., club founded by actor Morgan Freeman and his partner Bill Luckett. It sports a top-notch sound system, well-appointed bar and walls you can write your name on. Check it out Saturday night when hill-country dynamo and former R.L. Burnside sideman Kenny Brown comes to town.

I was just catching up on Paul Ryburn's blog, when I ran across this item, linking to a story in The Commercial Appeal that says Swig Martini Bar might reopen soon. Recall that I covered Swig's closure a few weeks ago.

I don't have any inside scoop to add, except that nearly all of the former staff appears to have found other employment. Some of those folks had been there for years, so I don't know if the plan would be to hire a whole new crew, or what. Also, I wonder how long it would take to find another tenant for that prime Peabody Place real estate if Swig does not reopen. The huge spot up the street, formerly occupied by Tower Records, is still vacant. Recall, also, that Muvico has closed some of its screens and might be gobbled up by The Peabody hotel. Then there's Ann Taylor Loft, the collectibles shop Sports Avenue among other businesses that have closed in the past year. Open just a few short years, Peabody Place is starting to look like the Mall of Memphis.

My brother sent me a link to this blog today, and I'm about to fall out of my chair laughing just from scanning the post titles. As you could guess, it's highly controversial. (As seen on Drudge Report!)

Incidentally, I marked this particular white-adult rite of passage just before Christmas, throwing not just any dinner party, but a holiday dinner party, to boot!

* Downtown habitue Paul Ryburn is in full-throated protest of the Flying Saucer on St. Patrick's Day. It appears the Saucer, which usually has nearly all of its draft beers on sale on Monday nights, is restricting the deal tongiht to just a couple of Irish-themed beers. So Ryburn, a serious Saucer regular who is working his way toward an honorary wall plate, is ensconced at Dan McGuinness across the street.

I used to stop by the Saucer pretty regularly on Monday nights after work, but at a certain point, the stench of spilled beer and the overall bustle of the place got to me. From a business standpoint, the Saucer's decision makes good sense to me. Just like New Year's Eve, St. Patrick's is a good occasion to gouge the many non-regulars who come out.

Ryburn also reminds us that the downtown Blue Monkey location is set to open in just a few weeks. For now, the Monkey's Midtown location has all of its draft pints (only a fraction of the Saucer's but a good selection nonetheless) for $3 on both Sundays and Mondays.

I should have mentioned this in my post Wednesday, but the crew over at Whining & Dining is conducting a live-blog beer tasting this evening at 7 p.m. Joining host Jennifer Biggs will be Steve Barzizza, proprietor of Naked Lion Brewing Co. Go pick up your beer while there's time!