Hot Spot #9 Spindini

They've got wine, they've got gourmet pizza, they've got great conversation...what more can you ask for? Oh wait, I forgot to mention it is all half off on Monday!!!

    Monday night at Spindini, located at 383 South Main, has quickly become one of my favorite hangouts in the city.  Like many of you Monday is a day of recap, the day when you get together with friends and talk about the adventures, or foolery that made up your weekend.  And also like many of you Monday is that day when you watch the clock all day until you can have that 1st glass of wine.  Ahhhh Monday, we all have a love hate relationship with you.  But fear not, Spindini to the rescue. 

Duke, Myself, and Jan

    Even though they are generally involved in my weekend adventures,  Monday is my day to get together with my 2 best friends Jan and Duke.  While we love to partake in a nice cold beer, Monday night is when we show a little culture and indulge in a selection of wine.  Wine is good for the soul, and great for conversation.  For some reason our Monday convos are often the serious ones.  After we get the usual "I had a date with" or "I hooked up with" weekend run through out of the way,  it then turns a little serious.  It takes a turn to "So my girlfriend did" and "In 5 years I want to be".  And then we realize we have been too serious for and excess of 30 minutes and Duke will normally check one of us and the laughs will proceed throughout the night. 

    Now lets get to the nitty gritty of it all, 3 phrases...HALF-OFF WINE/ HALF-OFF PIZZAS/ OPEN BAR!

The Spindini Bar

     I typically like to start my Spindini Experience with a water and the Italian Tomato Caprese.  Hmmm it is so yummy.  These are sliced tomatoes topped with fresh buffalo mozzarella, basil, and pesto settled in basil vinaigrette.  Sounds fancy huh? Really it is the same thing we used to eat at my granddaddy's house out in Atoka, Tn.  Spinidi has caught hold of a country delicate.  On to wine...I am typically a red wine type of gal.  As of lately I have been exploring my various selections of Cabernet.  It has the sweetness of a white, yet without the bitterness of a Merlot.  But I would encourage you to just go with your taste buds.  Hey they are half-off, so you really can not go wrong.  And if you are just stuck, the wait staff always offers great suggestions and will convenience you to a mini wine tasting.  Now entrees...while Spindini offers a wide variety of delicious options ranging from salmon to lamb chops, on Monday night there is only 1 option, PIZZA!  I am absolutely in love with the Lobster Pizza.  These pizzas are grilled under a wood planked fire.  The lobster pizza is a combination of fresh doe topped with mozzarella, ricotta salada, fresh spinach and tomato, drizzled with chipotle aioli.  Is your mouth watering yet?  I know mine is just typing this up, and today is Monday!  You can have a look at the full menu here: Spindini 

Wine & Beer Menu

Lobster Pizza



   Now I know all of this sounds enticing to you.  So if it happens to be a Monday and you are reading this blog but you have no one to go with you to the Spindini Experience, do not fret!  That has never stopped me in my adventures.  Just go in and grab a seat at the bar.  There you will always find good people, attractive faces, and exciting conversation...ENJOY!          

    

      

  

HOT SPOT #8 HILTON HOTEL

"Back in the days when I was young I'm not a kid anymore, but some days I sit and wish I was a kid again."  As I sit and think over my experience Saturday night, this is the first song that pops into my head...Where did I go, you may ask...Well I'll tell you...The Hilton Hotel for Play Date Memphis!

So, I had heard about this event months ago but never had the pleasure of experiencing it.  That all changed last Saturday.  I was looking for an alternative Hot Spot, you know, not a bar, definitely not a club, somewhere I could go and just have some good old fashioned fun.  Oh wow, wait, I just described Play Date to a tee.  Now that that is out the way....this particular Play Date had a Mardi Gras theme.  Upon arrival, you get a mask and a name tag.  The tags ranged from "Athlete Today" to  "Good Insurance"! Some people brought their own mask, others got creative and did extravagant make-up mask. 

Make-up Mardi Gras mask

love the name tags

Mardi Gras mask

We walked in and I was immediately reminded of an average day at work...no no, that's a good thing! I work as a Director of a child care center and I saw all the games we play on a daily basis.  Set up at different tables, they had "Hungry Hungry Hippos", "Dominoes", "Cards", "Uno", "Checkers", "Jinga", I mean you name it we were playing it.  They even had the "Micheal Jackson Experience" Wii as their featured game for the night.  I was so excited because at work I can kinda play but I have to be more of the "Facilitator" of the games and not get too caught up in the fun of it all.  But this was a full blown playground.

Games

Jenga Jenga!

MJ Experience

OK OK, I know what you are think, "Ima grown *zz man/woman, what I look like playing some kid games?" But you can't knock it until you try it, and once you try it I guarantee you will love it!  They also had group games going on at the center floor.  These were hilarious.  My favorite was "Musical Chairs" adult edition.  The guys would be down on 1 knee and the ladies would walk around.  When the music stopped they would race to sit on a guy's knee.  But the funny part was them playing the freaky music and all the ladies trying to seduce the men but at the same time make sure they stayed close to a knee.  Ha it really turned into something similar to a bouquet toss! I mean running, pushing, and unlimited laughs!

Musical Chairs

It got XXX Rated

And she goes down...

After all of that fun I got to meet some really cool people. Ena Esco, Radio Personality was 1 of the host on the mic.  I got the privilege to interview with Reggie, one of the brains behind the insanity of it all.  I also met the VP of Marketing and Promotions, Robert, aka "Twitter Guy".  That was nice because we had been in contact and it is always nice to put a face with the name.  He gave us some special prizes from their Sponsors. From BCBGeneration of Memphis we got a keep sake book, which I am currently using for meeting notes and lyrics, and we also got BCBG sharpies and a very sleek pair of shades.  From Wax Bistro we got a Marti Gras edition "Green" candle.  It currently has my room smelling like field of flowers....and I haven't even lite it yet. 

PlayDate Memphis



Play Date Memphis & Wax Bistro (Robert snuck in at the last minute)



Gifts from Wax Bistro

Gifts from BCBGeneration

Overall we had a Blast! I had a tough week but Play Date Memphis made me forget about it all and just be a kid again.  It is definitely an alternative to your average night out.  So if you are looking for that alternative, consider Play Date Memphis for your next evening out! Follow them on Twitter @PlayDateMemphis and find them on Facebook PlayDate Memphis.

Adri and Mz. iC

Signing off...Mz. iC....HOT SPOT #8..........OFFICIAL!

HOT SPOT #7 PEABODY CORNER BAR

If any of you guys know me personally, you know that I am one who can appreciate a vast amount of crowds in various atmospheres.  Well, I kinda got the best of both worlds Friday night when I got to the Peabody Corner bar located at 149 Union Ave inside the luxurious Peabody Hotel.  I went for an event hosted by Moody Inc. entitled "The N Crowd", and that's exactly what I experienced.

Moody Inc. Consist of Marcus Moody and Wayne Moody.  I had always heard that they were brother, but guess what......come closer......they are cousins! *inside information from Wayne himself* But shhhhhhhh...don't tell anybody, pinkie promise? OK cool. Marcus Moody is a former Memphis Tiger hoop star from 98'-01.  Wayne Moody was also a  basketball star for CBU during the 01-03 season.  Now we know that I am a die hard basketball lover so I'll leave it at that and not get into stats.

So initially upon walking into the Peabody Corner Bar, the atmosphere was nice and uppity...I know I know, my type of crowd right?! Everyone was sitting down in their clicks sipping and chatting.  As we walked in, we immediately spotted some friends.  After that, the first stop is normally the bar.  Yet, I got side tracked and stopped to speak to a friend and he introduced me to Wayne Moody, at this point I had not formally met him yet so it was really nice to put a face with a name.  After a quick chat I joined the girls back at the bar.  It took forever to get a drink so I caught a waitress coming out the side.  As we waited for drinks...it seemed as if the DJ had to have seen someone that inspired him because he started to play all the best "Twerk Songs".  I was loving it! Me and my girl Whitley started to have a mini twerk-off by the bar ha! But the thing is, the uppity crowd was still in affect.  Luckily I can mix and mingle with the best of them.  After that, it seemed as if the atmosphere started to change, for the better.  More people started dancing, more people started to arrive, and more people started to look attractive.  Oh wait, that may have been the Chardonnay.  Any who, There was a vast amount of local celebrities in the house; Grizzlies, Tigers, News Anchors, Promoters, you name it, they were there.  The vibe was right and my girls and I were having a blast!

As the crowd increased I snuck away and grabbed Wayne and Marcus for interviews.  After the interviews, I mingled a little more then ran into old friends.  By this time, the girls had tapped out.  Brittney was knocked out in the chair and Whitley was talking to a friend of mine in the lobby.  So we decided to call it a night.  Overall,  I had a great time.  It was a mix of my two favorite crowds, uppity and twerkers.  I guess when you mix the two you get...."THE N CROWD"!

Mal B!

2 of my favorite guys AJ & Young Mem

Set!

Jade, from the Blue Monkey Blog!

Signing off....Mz. iC....Hot Spot #7 Peabody Corner Bar.....OFFICIAL!

HOT SPOT #6 MEMPHIS MUSIC FOUNDATION

ATTENTION ATTENTION....CALLING ALL ARTIST, VOCALIST, MUSICIANS, ALL THOSE INTERESTED IN BREAKING INTO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AT ANY ASPECT...THIS BLOG IS FOR YOU!!!

So I found Memphis Music Foundation located at 431 South Main because I was trying to find a field trip to take my kids on this summer that incorporated the Arts in some aspect.  I knew that the city had some form of support organization for musicians so I hit that good "Google" and there it was.  I checked out the web site http://www.memphismeansmusic.com/ and I was immediately taken to the organization. 

I met with Issac, one of the Program Assistants/engineers.  Funny thing is I went to see if they could create a workshop for my kids, but about 10 minutes into our meeting, my mind was on what they could do for my professional career. Memphis Music Foundation helps members "break into the industry".  All you have to do is join via their website free of charge.  They teach you how to record, they teach you how to write legal documents, they teach proper DJ techniques, they teach you how to use ProTools, they teach you how to write contracts, they teach you lighting, they have computers at your disposal and a fully equiped studio......any and every aspect of the music industry there is, they can teach you how to conquer it.  If all of that does not entice you, maybe this will...all of their services are FREE of charge to members!

We got to talking about how I'm building my own home studio right now. I want to record children's music and break into the animated movie and sound track industry so I am in the process of creating a demo that I can send out to different Executives and Labels.  We talked about interfaces, mics, and ProTools. I told him I had the ProTools program but had no idea how to use it.  He proceeds to tell me the foundation was holding a ProTools workshop the upcoming Thursday! The Foundation has different workshop about 2x's a week on various programs and other aspects of the industry.  It was right up my alley and I was excited to attend.

Memphis Music Foundation also has an Open House every Friday.  At these Open Houses, they invite music executives, record labels, musicians, agents, and DJ's local and also from around the country.  They also have spot light artist for each Open House. I asked Issac how do you become the spotlight artist.  He answered with a simple, "Just be an active member." The process of "getting in" is simple.  Labels, executives, and agents contact Memphis Music Foundation first when they are looking for new talent.  The program assistants give the names of artist who are active members of the foundation.  So if you go to the facilities often, are seeking help on a consistent basis, are attending workshops regularly, you are in! The foundation is here for all the Artist in the city, Free of charge.  So I highly suggest anyone interested in music and the industry to go seek out this organization. It will be well worth it!

Signing off...Mz. iC....HOT SPOT #6.......OFFICIAL!!!

HOT SPOT #5 ZODIAC LOUNGE *Special VDay Edition*

The question goes...."What do the lonely do, on Valentine's Day?" Hmmmm, well I answer that by saying....,"Go hear some great Music, with soulful Spoken word, and a sexy atmosphere.  That is exactly what I got when I stepped foot in the Zodiac Lounge, located at 6135 Mt. Moriah Suite 105! We went to support my Friend Marque with his 1st show which happened to be on Valentine's Day.

I walked in and the lights were low, they had smooth R&B playing through the sound system, you know, that "Grown and Sexy" type music.  We grabbed a seat right in the front so I could make sure we didn't miss a beat.  The MC for the evening began to push traffic to the bar by announcing their 3-for-1 drink specials until 8:30. So of course I went straight to the bar.  They had your typical drinks included in the special, but they really were only $5, and they were pretty good. So we proceeded to get 3 rounds...so that's ummmm....x3, carry the 1.........ummmmm....9 drinks for $15 total.  We figured we didn't want to do the sloppy stumble out of the club so we order some food. 

The Music started and the mood was just right! Marque was accompanied by a lead, bass, keys, drums, and background singer.  Now to be honest, in my professional musical opinion (trained in classical, jazz, gospel, and play piano) the following people need to be replaced: The Vocalist- extremely pitchy, did not know how to propel her vocals, where the mic faltered-------> actually that's it. And she wasn't the cutest thing and everyone can use a looker behind them.  On the other hand, Marque was AMAZING.  I had heard him play before as he accompanied my choir at church on our youth day last summer, but that was Gospel, and this was music for the soul! I felt every note he played, I followed every run hit! I can't even run like that with my vocals...and I'm a pretty good runner! It was beautiful.

Then I look up and it was intermission, and I noticed we still had not received our food! Yea.....terrible food service.  It took a good 2 hours to receive our food.  But the waitress did give us a complimentary round for the long wait.  During intermission, 2 poets feed us with a couple of words.  Me being honest, again, Phat Mac was awesome. I loved how he involved the audience by coming out to us and hitting us with some "Bipolar Love"! But....uuuhhh......A.T. Chill....yea, not so much.  He forgot his poem 2 times and had to let Phat Mac go so he could gather himself, which that is fine....it happens to the best of us.  Personally something about his tone annoyed me. He just wasn't my type of poet.  Needless to say, they were both banging and only contributed to the already amazing evening.

After intermission, Marque and his band, whom has yet to come up with a name, hit the stage for a second set. He got more personal with us by coming into the audience and it seemed like he was playing directly to you an only for you! Now we all know behind every great show there is a great woman. The woman of the evening was Marque's lovely girlfriend Brittani (hope I'm spelling it right)! Brittani was right there at the stage cheering her man on, she was backstage handling all the little mishaps we didn't know about, she was at the door taking money, and seating people.  To Brittani I say KUDOS BOO!

I know this blog is long but when I truly enjoy myself I have a lot to say. Marque and Brittani, keep it up!

Signing off....Mz. iC....HOT SPOT #5....OFFICIAL!

HOT SPOT #4 BLUE MONKEY

So I'm always down to go check out a "Chill" type place.  You know, the kinda place you don't tell all your friends to go to because the atmosphere and the crowd is just right for you to enjoy.  Well I was invited to Blue Monkey on last Friday by a elementary school friend of mine name Jade.  Yea, throw back!

 Blue Monkey is a bar located on 513 S Front St. downtown.  There is also another one on Madison.  I can't say that Blue Monkey was really my type of spot initially.  There wasn't really a "mixed crowd" feel to it, which is what I normally like.  Myself and my friend where the only Black people.  Oh wait... a group of black people came later but they got kicked out for whatever reason so I'm wrong.  When I got there Jade had a plate of picked at chicken wings.  He said they were not good.  Later we found out they had just gotten a new cook sooooo I guess It is going to take a little while for the cook to step her wing game up....??? The drinks were good.  We went the simple route and stuck with wine, can't really mess that up. 

As the night went on the vibe kinda of lightened.  I got enthralled in good conversation, drunken white people, and other randoms.  Jade had a friend girl of his to come in and offered her a seat.  She said she would have a seat in a second.  As time when by, after she sat she out of nowhere said, "uugghhh my pussy hurts!"  Us, looking curiously, asked why.  She precedes to tell us how she had just gotten her clitoris pierced ha.  She then went on to tell us about the very interesting experience and about how long it takes before you can have sex.  I believe Jade got a little excited because he definitely set up a "Beat Appointment" with her that Sunday ha ha! As the night went on the people got drunker and drunker.  Some random white lady hit me with a chair and another guy was doing the drunk off beat dance. It was all pretty hilarious.  I believe they stay open until about 3am but I left somewhere around 12:30.  It was time to go home and reflect on all the laughs I had.

Overall Blue Monkey was definitely a place that had to grow on me after being there for about 2 hours.  It's a cool place to have drinks and good conversation but I don't think it is a place I will be revisiting any time soon. 

White lady that hit me with the chair

Doing the drunk dance

Jade's Tat

Signing off, I'm Mz. iC.....HOT SPOT #4.....OFFICIAL!

HOT SPOT #3.1-3.3

Mayne! My Saturday was amazing, exciting, wild, fun, informative, banging, and every other adjective you could think of all wrapped into 1!  Where do I start??? Ok, there are 3 different HOT SPOTZ for Saturday so I'll break them up by 3.1-Evergreen Theatre, 3.2-Gold Strick Casino, Tunica, and 3.3- Push Night Club. 

HOT SPOT 3.1 was the Evergreen Theatre located at 1705 Poplar Ave.  I had the great privilege to see "Black Man-O-Logues".  This is a play by Memphis's own Jacquay Waller.  He and his theatre company, Dream Catcher Productions are based in Atlanta, GA.  The play "Black Man-O-Logues" takes a serious look at black men and how they preceive love and true feeling when faced with different obstacles.  It had an interesting format.  It took a look at about 10 different individuals, "The Preacher" for example, and went through about a 10minute piece on character.  "The Preacher" had a family, wife and kids, and a huge following at a popular church.  But he was also "having relations" with one of his married members.  They would have personal counseling sessions that turned into free for all "F*ck Fest"! (excuse my language hehehe) She left her husband and family because pastor told her he would leave his wife for her.  After being told that he would not "hold up his end of the bargain" she threatens him with blackmail then storms off stage leaving the pastor to analyze how he got himself into the situation with about a 5 minute monologue.  The play ended very intriguingly.  The director announced to the audience that we could ask questions to the cast in reference to the situations we saw and they would respond.  What we didn't know was that we were asking questions directly to the particular character, and they would either respond directly, talk bad to us for asking a question of that sort, get in an argument with another character, I mean wherever the question took the character everyone would go with it.  I've never been to a play that ended with an improve like that.  Very well done.  I got the chance to interview Mr. Waller after the play ended, which will be uploaded soon, and he informed me that the Company could be contacted via their website http://www.catchingdreamz.com/.

HOT SPOT #3.2 was Gold Strick Casino located on the casino strip in Tunica, Ms.  I love staying at this hotel.  They have the full amenities, spa, workout center, pool, jacuzzi, gambling, great restaurants, you name it they have it.  We checked in our room and did our normal routine of filling the sink with ice on putting the bottles on chill. One of my girls *cough cough* left her razor and began to panic! I suggested she call the front desk and see if they have shaving kits.  They sure did, saving her from a mini crisis.  The beds in Goldstrick are nice and comfy, even though we never really get too much sleep when we do go.  Over all, Goldstrick is the place to stay if you ever make that drive to Tunica.  It definitely will not fell like you are at home, yet you'll fell like you have had a mini luxury get-a-way that's only 45 minutes from your home.

HOT SPOT #3.3 was Push Night Club located in Horseshoe Casino in Tunica, MS.  Now I have gotten away from clubbing really but if there is any club I will go to it is Push.  It definitely does not have the Memphis Club feel.  Push can compete right up there with the LA, Miami, or NYC night clubs! There was no wait in the line, unlike in Memphis! We walked in the club and it was popping.  We all know guys like to show off so my friend immediately offer to get drinks for me and the girls...wait you definitely didn't think we bought them ourselves did you? We went to the dance floor and as usual it was all eyes on us!!! We're young, hot, and sexy...we are used to it ha! The DJ was on point with his mix of hip hop and pop music.  There was music played for every type of person, not too ghetto and not to white, just right! The drinks where coming, had the sexy Go-Go dancers doing their thing on stage, I mean we were have a blast.  Then we got pulled to the stage...typical night out ha! We danced on stage the rest of the night, right by the DJ, V.I.P. of course.  By the end of the night after pre-gaming, drinks, and shots, we were ummmmmm.......yea THROWED! It had been 1 "Hell of a Night"....unlimited dancing and twerking! We tobbled back to the room and we were starving! We called up room service and got buffalo wings and a huge plate of fries! After that uummmmm yea.....I'm going to assume we all went to sleep *the blur starts about there* Over all, Push Night Club just reaffirms that fact that Memphis clubs are so typical and stuck in a box.  But we have a banging secret getaway right up the highway, and if I ever feel the urge to just club it up again, I will definitely make my way to PUSH!

Dance floor from stage

Go-Go dancer

DJ

Gab n iC

random white girls in bathroom

Signing off, I'm Mz. iC......HOT SPOTZ #3.1-3.3...OFFICIAL!