The Memphis Scene

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!

Andria Lisle weighs in on today's M-section cover with a long piece about craft beers, how to drink them, and what to drink them with. (I take mine hoppy as hell, with pizza.) The article includes a few recipes, like Black & Tan Brownies and Copper Flask Carbonade.

I had never heard of such a thing. But they were doing it earlier tonight over at the Whining & Dining blog. Looks like a nice, affordable Chianti. I should keep better track of my fellow CA blogs, right!?

According to this piece in today's newspaper, the smoking ban has been accompanied by drops in revenue for some dining and lounging spots. Dish in Cooper-Young went to an over-21/smoking-allowed policy after six tough weeks, while Huey's owner Thomas Boggs says his Cordova and Downtown locations have seen revenues drop $10,000 to $15,000 a month. Whether the smoking ban is directly responsible for these losses -- as opposed to an overall slow business climate -- is anyone's guess. But the Tennessee Restaurant Association wants to drop the over-21-only exception altogether.

The oldest brewing company in the U.S., Yuengling, has finally arrived in Memphis, courtesy of the fine folks at D. Canale. That's right: No more smuggling the stuff back from the East Coast. You might see signs promoting the Philadelphia-area mainstay at your local watering hole or quickie mart. Find out more about the brand and its various products over at Wikipedia (though the name has a vaguely Chinese sound, it is very much German).

Catch some of the excitement here at the Goner board, where I found out that Murphy's will have a Yuengling party of sorts next Tuesday at 5 p.m. Beers will be comped by the distributor -- can't beat that!