Like beacon shining bright

Sorry for the light blogging around here lately. As you may be aware B and I have been moving into our new place in Fourth and Gill, so the free time has been scarce. I spent Saturday moving the bulk of my stuff to the new place (the one that's requiring B and I to take up lawn care as a hobby), leaving behind West Knoxville, which I've called home for nearly two years now.

Despite the impression the Wigshop may have given you, I actually kind of like West Knoxville. Sure, there's plenty not to like such as the traffic on Kingston Pike between the hours of 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., but there's something to be said for the comforts and conveniences that line Kingston. There's plenty of character to be had in the heart of Bearden, albeit character I couldn't always afford.

Still, the front porches and sidewalks of North Knoxville and the prospect of living with B lured me away from the west side. I love our new home, but there are a few things I will miss about the old one. Like seeing the Arby's sign at night as I either crested Bearden Hill or rounded the corner at Papermill. It's been like a beacon to me. When I would see the call of delicious roast beef after a long day on the job or a late night out, I knew I was nearly to my Deane Hill home. I've yet to discover a similar beacon for my new home.

None of the other cities I've lived in had the gigantic Arby's hat signs, so the Arby's hat to me means Knoxville.


Thanks for being a good home for the past two years, West Knoxville. I promise not to be too much of a stranger.

views of Knoxville

One of my favorite buildings in town, The Medical Arts Building.

Knoxville's Secret Society

Traveling home along central at 12:30 last night I saw something that surprised and intrigued me.

What looked like a troop of renegade bicyclists terrorizing an empty parking lot, actually was an organized sporting event typically consigned to trust-fund babies.

There is apparently an underground bike polo scene in this city that needs out attention. How on earth could this go on, under our noses, without any of us noticing it? What other sports do people play in this town that are done only in the dark of night away from prying eyes? Is there a group of hooded cricketers out in Sequoyah? Do squash players break into the Y at 2 AM to satisfy their need for a more cultured for of racquetball?

Please, if anyone out there knows about this polo group or any other not-so-illicit late night sports we at the Wigsphere would love to know about them.

knoxville happy hour: sapphire

Friday is upon is, it's been a long work week, and it's a beautiful day. Sounds like a recipe for happy hour.

By and large, Knoxville bars and restaurants offer amazing happy hour specials. We've got plenty of places that boast half-off wine nights, half priced appetizers and other cheap treats. And in the Twitter age, many local spots have been taking their promotions to the web, offering special deals and tips to their online followers. With this in mind, I hope to feature some great happy hour spots with some semi-regularity on this blog.

Like I said, I've had a very long week. I've got a friend coming to visit for the weekend, and I think I'll take her to one of my most favorite happy hour spots: Sapphire. Located at 428 South Gay Street (next to Downtown Grill and Brewery), Sapphire is known as downtown Knoxville's modern bar and restaurant.

Modern is a good word. Possibly, so is trendy. I suppose Sapphire is slightly upscale, though its standard prices certainly aren't astronomical; and you wouldn't feel out of place in jeans. I might describe it as a scene, or a place that people would want to go to see and be seen. But I don't mean that in a bad way. Sapphire is a really fun, clean, aesthetically pleasing place. It's definitely got a vibe. On weekend nights after say 9pm, it tends to be a little loud and crowded for my taste, but it is the perfect place for a relaxed, low key, delicious happy hour.

If it's nice out like it is today, I always try to get there early to snag one of the 4 or 5 patio tables. I love people watching on Gay Street, and there's always something going on around the 400 block. If those tables are already taken, the bar tables are just as comfortable.

The goods:

I don't have a complete list of Sapphire's happy hour deals, but here's what I do know. Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 (I believe), you can get 5 dollar mojitos and 5 dollar liquor drinks. House wines (decent labels, too) are on special and so are the beers. It's either every day or at least one day a week that all martinis are 5 dollars as well. Appetizers (minus a few select items) are half priced and so are all the maki sushi rolls. Somewhere along the way, Sapphire has developed a really good sushi menu. The eel, cream cheese and seaweed salad Garden Snake, which is not offered at happy hour price, is my favorite roll and still worth it at 8 dollars. And there are plenty of great, half-priced maki rolls to choose from.

I have never ordered off the dinner menu at Sapphire, but the entrees look like the sort of unique dishes that any foodie would love.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good dive bar and a relaxed time with friends, but I also love Sapphire's happy hour because it's well attended but never overly crowded. I'm almost always guaranteed to run into someone I know, and I can get a good chilled vodka martini for 5 bucks. Where a few years ago I would have described the service as tedious, something has changed more recently and the servers are friendly, knowledgeable and attentive. Now I'm just waiting for the day that my sweetheart will purchase me the Sapphire Martini: Bombay Sapphire garnished with a 2.25 carat sapphire. That one's not priced for happy hour.

BBQ Quest: M&M Catering

I've had several people tell me both before and since my barbecue quest began that M&M Catering would satisfy my every need for pulled pork 'cue. Before I started the quest, I made plans several times to head out Middlebrook and see if they were correct, but my plans kept getting derailed. After I started the quest I decided to hold off on visiting M&M until I'd visited several other places first. If M&M really was as satisfying as they claimed it was then I didn't want the rest to be judged based on my experience there.

That plan got completely derailed when a wedding I attended a few weeks ago (in which the groom was also a barbecue snob from Memphis) served M&M as the reception fare. I knew then that M&M had to become a regular feature in my life.

But to be fair, I knew a trip to the M&M establishment was in order, so The Pol, B, CK and a few of our friends made an event out of it last Friday as a kick off to the holiday weekend. Here are two things I've learned about M&M lately: 1. It's not where it used to be -- they picked up and moved down Middlebrook a ways; 2. It's another take it and go place but without the benefit of picnic tables like at F.A.T.S. or Dixson's.

photos by The MG

I knew something was right when we pulled up and I counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 8!!! smokers!!! Granted, it was the day before the largest barbecue consumption day of the year, but I choose to believe they ALWAYS have eight smokers smoking like a good barbecue place should. It wasn't all for pork, they had some tasty, meaty lookin' chicken wings going too.

Y'all, believe me when I say: this is real pulled pork barbecue. It's chunky and tender and just the right kind of smoky and flavorful. It goes down so well, aided by your choice of sweet or spicy barbecue sauces. (I tried the sweet, and it was just what I wanted). It is what my life has been missing since moving back to this city.
two of the eight smokers

Between the five of us we had beans, slaw, mac and cheese, potato chips, lemonade and fruit tea. The beans were good in a very unassuming way. They weren't spicy or overly sweet. They didn't have chunks of things in them. They were your classic baked beans. The slaw I gather was standard. The mac and cheese was thick and gelatanous, but in a good way. I'm guessing there weren't any complaints about the standard-issue chips. The lemonade and fruit tea were basically sugar with a side of liquid. (On the flip side, M&M sells all kinds of bottled options INCLUDING COKE ZERO, which is awesome).

Also, CK finally sampled his first Knoxville pig burger. I'll let him do his own review of that, but my preview is this: it looked like meatloaf.

I was a little miffed that M&M didn't at least have a picnic table outside to sit at, though the search for a picnic table took us Wigshoppers on an amusing trek through the Cedar Bluff area. Still, I'm about 99.9 percent certain it's going to be the ultimate winner of BBQ Quest. I won't conclude the quest just yet as no barbecue in this town will go unsampled by The MG, but please accept my recommendation of M&M.

M&M Catering (follow that link for hours and menu)
1039 Summerwood Rd.
Knoxville, TN 37923
865-692-1003

Suggestions?

As a proud native East Tennessean and someone who attended Sundown in high school, I have to say the series is a great part of downtown. I hate that people don't patronize the local joints. If they do, sometimes they don't tip well or at all. It is frustrating. I have close friends who work down there and I hear about it. I also hate that Market Square is covered with trash every Thursday night. But that comes with any public event: Christmas parades, football, 4th of July festivities, etc. People litter. People can be cheap. Period.

I wonder if there is some way to create more awareness about those two things without calling people names, stereotyping them, or sending them away. That approach, as you may have seen in our comments section, is not healthy. Nor do I like it at all. The people that attend Sundown are eclectic and I feel like they represent a cross-section of the community in which we all live. The more the merrier.

I liked those "Don't throw down on K-town" stickers that surfaced a couple of years ago. I wonder if there could be some "Don't throw down on Sundown" kind of campaign that would make people aware that if they are being served it is customary to tip. Don't throw down on our servers, etc. Be good patrons y'all. Another part would encourage people to keep each other accountable for picking up their trash. There are a gazillion trash and recycling bins around the square. It isn't that hard to pick up your stuff (if you even sat it down in the first place) and put it in the proper bin. Be good citizens y'all.

respectfully.

MAX.

No Mow?

The Modern Gal and I have recently moved into the 4th and Gill neighborhood. It's a sweet little area, and the people nearby are really nice and friendly.

Along with a big old musty house to clean and take care of, I, for the first time in my life, live in a place where I'm partially responsible for maintaining the yard. MG doesn't seem worried about this, but just the thought of lugging out the mower each week makes me tired. I have a slight aversion to household tasks that require continuous attention (and do not live, breathe, and look like a cat.)

But, on the 5th, I mustered up the motivation to go out and mow the lawn when a friend of mine told me I could not mow on a Sunday. This seemed hard to believe, but when I perked up my ears, I didn't hear the faintest sound of nearby neighbors doing yard work.

Considering my conservative upbringing, I kind of like the idea of reserving one day of peace and quiet for you and your neighbors, but I'm skeptical of this unwritten rule. Or is it written?

Would any of you homeowners care to fill me in on the big, wide world of yard maintenance?