Gloria Ferris

I stopped in to see Sherry Perry at The Ugly Broad yesterday, and she gave me a menu for a new restaurant over on Memphis Avenue. She told me that two of her friends had opened the Memphis Eatery in the old Taco Bell at 6212 Memphis Avenue. After Taco Bell moved up the street, a “Dogs & Taters” place went in there, but it didn’t make it. Then “83 Degrees” moved in and although it was different and had a good menu it didn’t make it either. The restaurant business is tough to say the least.

But, Michelle and Tina have decided to take the plunge. Both worked for Nick at the “Expressway Diner” so they certainly have some good experience under their belts. And as any good restaurateur will tell you “competition is a good thing in the restaurant business because no one eats at the same place EVERY day!” So here’s hoping that the third time will be the charm for this location and the gals are successful. Patrons will help that happen so here is my take on it.

I looked at the menu and saw that it was my kind of place. For breakfast, there is a country section that has Biscuits and Gravy, Eggs Benedict and an “everything omelet” plus a whole lot more, but this is MY blog and I am talking about MY favorites here. On the lunch side, the gals have open faced sandwiches including the usual roast beef and turkey but also meatloaf and sirloin steak. All the sandwiches are served WITH french fries. It isn’t totally a la carte which adds to the price so it is affordable. Nothing is over $7.00 and the average price seems to run between $4 and $5.

Sherry tells me that Tina is the chef and Sherry runs the front so it appears they have decided on division of labor which is a good thing. Now, Tim and I need to try it out and see if the food is as good as it looks on paper. Our only argument will be that I won’t want to get there right at 6:30 a.m. when they open. Tim loves 24 hour places and early in the morning venues. Me I am more of a late lunch person. We will work it out though, and try out this new place in the neighborhood.

Here are the vitals if you want to try it out too.

Memphis Eatery
6212 Memphis Avenue
Telephone 216-398-8890
Hours: 6:30 a..m. to 2:30 p.m.

Have I just labeled myself a nerd?  Have I dated myself?  Frankly, I don’t care.  I just found something out that I didn’t know, and the first words that popped into my mind to describe it were “WAY COOL” .  In my capacity of main scheduler for Meet.The.Bloggers I am looking for a place in Grandview Heights where we can interview Ted Celeste, former Governor Dick Celeste’s brother.  Tim and I are particularly fond of Grandview Heights and I love a coffee shop there named Stauf’s.  It is a great place that has WiFi and is not only a favorite spot for OSU students, but for the neighborhood residents as well as having a  bit of tourist feel-one of those places where you take friends from out of town.

Well now back to the reason for this post. I did a google search.  Friends tell me to avoid “googled” something about copyright infringement or something like that.  Personally, I think that it should be an honor to enter into common vernacular.  Talk about market saturation and awareness.  Anyway, I searched the web for Stauf’s Grandview Ohio and it directed me to Amazon.com’s Yellow pages where I was able to click on “call this business now” . A pop-up window appeared and when I put in my phone number and clicked on “dial now”  My phone range, I picked it up and it was an automatic voice telling me to please hold while I was connected. It was incredibly cool.  I talked to a very helpful person at Stauf’s who said that the coffee shop was quieter than usual because OSU was not in session until the middle of September but they couldn’t guarantee quiet.

Since I wanted to be sure that I could stop at Stauf’s I asked if he could think of any other place close by where we could hold an interview in relative quiet circumstances.  He suggested Paul’s 5th Avenue.  When I located the information for this restaurant by browsing the Grandview Heights Yellow Pages,  I again clicked on the little phone and this time my phone number was still there.  All I had to do was click on “dial now”. 

I know, I know.  I am sure many of you already now about the little tricks of technology I learned today, but I didn’t, and it gave me one more reason for being grateful for being alive in this time and place.

So I have two recommendations for all of you. 

!. When you travel to Columbus check out Stauf’s

2. When you plan your trip, use amazon.com’s yellow pages.

After I try the homemade pasta at Paul’s 5th Avenue, I will probably recommend that too.  If you can’t wait for my report, check them out too, and let me know what you think.    

In my continuing quest to buy local even when I am in another community,  Stauf’s is a locally owned company established in 1988 and Paul’s 5th Avenue is a local restaurant celebrating 35 years in Grandview.     

I spent many an afternoon sitting in front of our Philco TV munching on Oreos, sipping cold, cold milk watching the Little Rascals put on one of their famous “shows”. I wished and I hoped that I would find a group of friends just like those characters on TV that would want to hang a blanket in our  barn  and have the time of their life.  Who knew that well past my childhood, I would find my group of rascals.  When I read this post at Word of Mouth, I held my breath, closed my eyes, and whispered ”No, it couldn’t be”.

Well, for those of us who are literalists in the blogosphere, it wasn’t EXACTLY a Little Rascals Productions, but it was a Meet the Bloggers production, and that, my friends, is good enough for me.  Believe me, you never want me up on a stage singing to you.  So all of my fantasy didn’t play out, but the best part did. Everyone pitched in, worked very hard, and people came!  And then more people came, and it rained, but it didn’t change a thing.  We just moved it all inside and kept on laughing and enjoying our time together, and my band of friends just kept growing and growing.  I even ate FRIED Oreos.  Of course, the beverage of choice was no longer cold, cold milk but instead cold, cold beer,  but hey nothing ever stays the same.   

And, as the night wore down, people began to leave. When there were just a few of us left sitting around that round table at The Town Fryer, we talked about what a great day it had been, and then, Scott, who had worked harder than all of us on making the day the success that it was, said “Wait until next year!”  Music to a woman’s ears who had always wanted to be a part of “The Little Rascals”.    Thanks everybody!

is because Bloggapalooza is going to be the Kickass event of the summer for bloggers and friends. See you there!

The music! It’s always about the music, isn’t it?  The line-up found on the Bloggapalooza page at Brewed Fresh Daily has a list of the bands and many of those bands have websites so you can check them out for yourself.  All I can say is that Scott of Word of Mouth, the website and the band,  has come up with an eclectic group of bands with something for everyone.  It should be quite a show.

You will MEET THE BLOGGERS, and some of the interviewees, and the blog readers, friends of bloggers and readers, and bloggers who play music and write and read poetry and anyone else who shows for Bloggapalooza.  There will also be some former waiters and waitresses helping Suzy and her staff.  And then there will be the roadies, former or wannabes, but roadies.  I’m telling you this event has everything and you don’t want to miss out by not attending! 

Another day that you can hang out with Susie “Slingo” Porter and her incredibly talented staff which includes, Bobby, Fred, Martha, and her daughter Allie and probably others that I haven’t had the chance to meet.  Not only are they great at their jobs but they also are incredibly interesting as people.  Be sure to spend a few minutes just getting to know them, and tip well.  The day to hang out with Suzy and her crew is of course July 22nd at Bloggapalooza hosted by The Town Fryer. 

…and more at The Town Fryer.  My personal favorites are the fried Bologna sandwich on rye, red beans and rice, black bean chili, chicken burrito, and/or fried twinkies or oreos.  Of course, Susie might have something else in mind as a surprise but then of course, there is always the Gumbo.

You wil meet the Bloggi Lama.  Now, I am not sure who that is presently,  the honor seems to shift at times, but there will be one, and you will meet him or her If you attend Bloggapalooza. 

Rain or shine, Bloggapalooza will go on!  Sadly, last night the Ingenuity Festival did not have very good luck with the weather gods, and it blew, and it poured, and lightning lit up the sky, but today and tomorrow look much more promising.  So, please block out some time to venture downtown and take in this wonderful experience.