February Follies in M-Town

Greetings from Yours Truly!  Life has been busy and fun here in M-Town and I've been neglectful of my blog.  I'll try to make amends!  West and I have been into lots of things since the start of 2013.  Primarily we are keeping ourselves downtown since it offers so much to do! The weather has been fairly mild, with a few snowy days thrown in here and there and we have hibernated a bit more than usual. 

This past week was chock full o' adventure and fun for YT!  Tuesday night was trivia night for team "Beading Off On Fat Tuesday"....yeah, little risque but that's the nature of the team names at the Double J's!  We were on a mission to continue our 2 week winning streak....but sadly....it wasn't meant to be that night.  We did, however, put up a good fight and it was a close call!  But, primarily...we had fun and met some new people!  We were invited to Bill's "plating party", which will be held next Saturday at The Flying Saucer.  He has fulfilled the requirements and gets to hang his plate on the FS Hall of Fame, so to speak.  He was super nice and I'm looking forward to this event!



Wednesday night was a blast!  Yours Truly attended her first Memphis Tigers basketball game, with my great friend Clare Myers!  We started out at Double J's since they offer complimentary limo service for patrons attending events at the FedEx Forum.  Thanks to Mikey who is THE BEST and NICEST limo driver ON THE PLANET!!!
Clare had obtained floor seats so this was indeed a great inaugural game for me!  We were smack dab in the middle of the AWESOME band and the tiny cheerleaders and the manly cheer guys....able to lift these tiny cheerleaders like they were picking up their laundry!  It was a fun spot to be in!  It was even better when a couple of the players came tumbling into the mix...well, not fun for them given the loud THUD as they hit that floor.  What was even more fun was my discovery of the picture on the Commercial Appeal's website the next day!  PRICELESS!!! 

Thursday night.....Love was in the air!  West had made Valentines dinner reservations for us at Rizzo's Diner.  A cute little place right next door to Double J's, which we have walked past numerous times but never eaten there.  They had a lovely menu for V-Day.  Yours Truly started her meal with lobster risotto baked in puff pastry...in the shape of a heart!  Yes, a heart!  It was WONDERFUL!!  West had duck bisque!  For my salad course, a lovely sauteed shitake mushroom and spinach salad with a wonderful citrus vinaigrette.  My entree was pepper crusted skirt steak with a chimichurri sauce - delish!  And, last but not least was a vanilla and caramel mousse with fresh blueberries!!  West had gotten a bottle of red, bottle of white so we had wonderful wine for this fabulous meal!  Hats off to Chef Michael Patrick and team Rizzo for a great meal!

Friday night found us both WORN OUT so we just kept ourselves home for the evening, with YT heading to bed early....very early!!!  But the sleep was wonderful and much appreciated.  I woke up Saturday morning feeling GREAT!  Since I had procrastinated all week and did NOT get my Krogering done, the cupboards were bare in the breakfast food category so we decided to head back to Double J's since they have a breakfast menu that we have been wanting to try.  It was SO good!  I had the good Southern standard - biscuits and gravy with sausage while Rick had the "Double J Gunslinger"....a waffle, hash browns, 2 eggs, bacon, and a biscuits.  I enjoyed a nice Mimosa since it was close to noon and it WAS brunch!

Saturday afternoon....1:30 to 3:00 was ME TIME....fully devoted to Sly at Massage Envy on Union Avenue in Midtown.  Now, Sly uses reflexology and if you have never had this type of massage....let me recommend you give it a try!  Yours Truly has had stiffness in her ankles and other joints that are sadly probably related to arthritis.  But, Sly....dear, sweet, wonderful Sly...he has been targeting these pesky trouble spots for several visits and I can tell you IT'S WORKING!!!  Now, this isn't your typical foo-foo lay there and be pampered massage...it's rough. I'm not gonna lie.  It sometimes hurts...just a wee bit...but the benefits far outweigh the temporary discomfort.  It's so worth it....give it a try!
After the massage, while West thought I would go straight home and have my customary 4 hour post-massage nap....I proved him wrong and FINALLY got my Krogering done!  I headed back to CdW Downtown and put all of my purchases away.  I settled down on the sofa with a nice glass of vino and watched a few of my DVR'd shows.  When West got home, I was watching The Sandwich King.  Wouldn't you know it...he was making a lobster roll.....so what did we immediately start craving??  If you said LOBSTER ROLL....well, you were absolutely right!  So, we whip out our IPads....visit our new best friend - Yelp.com - and lo and behold....we find the ONLY place in Memphis (according to Yelp) that serves a Lobster Roll. 

Now, we had planned to head to Double J's to listen to a band that the owner, Jeff, had told us about at brunch so we spiffed up a little, and headed back to Midtown and The Slider Inn.  This is a really funky little place which primarily features sliders of an upscale version on their menu.  But thankfully they also have the coveted lobster roll.  The lobster is flown in from Maine 3 times per week and they had just received it that morning so we were in luck!!  The sandwich was PERFECT and the shoestring french fries were divine!! 

After satisfying this craving, back home where we parked the car and walked 1 block to Double J's.  We visited with a few friends, Jeff and Sarah, and met a man and his wife who live primarily in Nashville but he has lots of business in M-Town so he keeps a condo too.  They were very nice.  The band ended up being 1 guy and his guitar...playing country music.  Now, he was very good but I knew that my girl, Patty Harper and her band, Patty Harper & Faultline, were playing at Wet Willies and it had been a while since we had listened to them and with surprisingly very little coercion needed....West and I were on the trolley and headed to Beale Street!  Yes, we would have normally walked but it was COLD and that was NOT happening!  We arrived at Wet Willies and the band was near the end of their first set.  Got a nice wave from Patty and we lucked out and snagged a table pretty quickly.  It was pretty crowded and we shared our extra chairs with a nice couple cause we roll like that!! 

After a little tambourine playing, a White Russian daiquiri and a few more sets it was time to brave the cold and head home.  Now, on a lazy Sunday morning I've already got West's requested pot of turkey chili simmering on the stove, I'm having some vanilla Greek yogurt with blackberries and feeling good about finally getting my blog current.  Of course, there are a few weeks missing but honestly there is always something going on.  So, I encourage you just to get in your car and come see me....and you'll see for yourself!!  Until then, remember....be nice to people and tell the ones you love how much you love them!! 

Now, I bid you good day! 
Love, Yours Truly