Mi Vida Loca, day number 12,888

Last night, Brendan and I were about to opt to stay in and watch the movie Sideways, but his friend Belinda had a friend visiting from Denmark who wanted some BBQ. They were trying to convince me to go to Corky's with them, and like a needle scratching across a record grinding a party to a halt, I was forced to intervene. Real Memphians know there are only like 3 places to get BBQ and neither Corky's nor The Rendezvous are the ones, I don't care how much money they throw at advertising -- WE KNOW, OK? Sorry, It's not like The Rendezvous or Corky's are bad. They're fine ribs, particularly The Rendezvous (which I would eat before I'd ever eat at Corky's again). But they offer the average visitor to Memphis decent BBQ at over-inflated prices. If you're going to eat BBQ in Memphis, go where the locals eat, ok? I protested that if they did not either go with me to Neely's/Interstate BBQ or to Central BBQ, they might as well go and have a McRib sandwich and kick it with the red-headed clown.

My ploy worked. We headed over to Central BBQ and met up with Belinda, her friends, and two of Brendan's other friends, Russell and Shelly. Once inside, were greeted at the register (as always) by Steve Gross, a long-time friend of my family and the backbone of the Central BBQ team. We were served enormous slabs of lip-smacking ribs that were so tender, the meat literally fell off the bone. The BBQ Turkey was a slice of sin so heavenly, my mouth waters with the recollection. If you are ever visiting Memphis, RUN AWAY, FAR FAR FAR AWAY from Corky's or The Rendezvous (unless you have thousands of dollars to burn, then by all means, The Rendezvous before Corky's). From there, the crew wanted to head to Sidestreet Grill/RedBar Martini Emporium, where they enjoyed cocktails and I had something "fruity and non-alcoholic".

After long conversations, the crew splintered and we went to the Young Avenue Deli to enjoy the Benefit for Tsunami Relief. I have seen The Lost Sounds many times, but I really wanted to see the other bands last night. I had expected to walk in and catch just the last half of, perhaps, The Lost Sounds. I was anticipating a chance to see Snowglobe, The Glass, The Pirates and, of course, Harlan T. Bobo. To my chagrin, Brad Postlethwaite, Snowglobe and Harlan had already played. It was just barely 10:30. I was very disappointed. The explanation, given to me by someone in the crowd, went something like this: "Well, those other bands might have been supposed to headline, but notice that Alicia Scott isn't in one of those bands." Oh vile hipster egos, can you not control yourself in the name of charity? Nonetheless, I had a wonderful time -- The Glass, The Lost Sounds, and The Pirates were all in rare form. It was good to run into a bunch of people last night, too! Seen at the show, in no particular order, were Jeanine, Lauren Goler, Annigurl, Ro-Ro, Jen, Neal, Darren O'Brien, the ever lovely Rachel, Bayne Whatley ("Yo, WHATLEY!"), Aaron, Greg Faison, Mark Richens, and even my sweetheart Pat Mitchell (who came out for the first time since having her baby) and about 360 other friendly faces showing their support for a great cause.

Brendan and I actually did end up back at my place watching Sideways, but strangely enough, he never managed to open his 2002 Hedges Columbia Valley Blend of Cabernets, Merlot, and Syrah -- a wine that would have perfectly complimented the movie.