Friday the 13th doesn’t scare us, but those tongues …

Hahaha! This photo will be explained later. From left, Tim Young, Robin Thomas and Jeff Cupp.

Even though it was an unlucky day, the Downtown Progressive Dinner Club (I just made up that name) was undeterred earlier this month. It was time to have a progressive dinner. We had a couple of targets we were trying to lure into staying in downtown permanently. And, by cracky, we were going to have the dinner.

So, of course, we decided to embrace the fact it was Friday the 13th and make that the theme of our entire evening!

A little information about Friday the 13th. Apparently for quite some time (nobody can say for sure), it has been considered an unlucky day. It seems to be a combination of the belief that Fridays are unlucky days of the week and the number 13 is unlucky. Although many cultures and religions seem to have some squeamishness about Fridays and the number 13, in the Christian tradition, Friday is viewed with disdain because that was the day Christ was crucified. And 13? Well, there were 13 people at the Last Supper. Folklore has it that it is extremely bad luck to have 13 people at a dinner party. It is said that, if you do, one of those people will soon die. As Judas Iscariot did.

So, fortunately, although we decided to have a Friday the 13th progressive dinner, we only had 11 diners. Whew! Just saying.

As many readers of The Blue Streak know, a group of us downtown dwellers has made it a goal to get everyone we know (that we like) to move downtown. We attempt to accomplish this by inviting certain “targets” to join us on a progressive dinner, where we have a different course at each of several (usually three) downtown residences.

This month, our targets were a great couple named Robin Thomas and Chris Crouch. They are business consultants and have recently moved into a rental unit in The Elliott on Church Avenue. They are one of those great stories of a couple who wanted to find a new place to live (they came from Germantown, Tennessee) and repeatedly Googled “best cities to live” to find a list of finalists.

Chris said last summer he and Robin were in Knoxville on business when a colleague brought them to Gay Street. “This feels good,” Robin noted. They decided to call Kimberly Dixon Hamilton, a downtown Realtor, and explore further. “We were sitting at the Tomato Head drinking a beer and watching people,” Chris said. “We noticed that we couldn’t really detect a demographic — it was everybody!”

They went back to Germantown and discussed the options. “We had considered downtown Memphis and downtown Nashville,” Chris said. “But we couldn’t find any place that felt like a neighborhood. Downtown Knoxville is like a little section of New York City — you rarely wander more than a few blocks. I started measuring things in steps!”

So, after 15 years in Germantown in a gated community, the couple have downsized from 5,000 square feet to 1,500 square feet. “The big house and all that was not serving us well anymore,” Chris noted. “Downtown Knoxville is helping us joyfully enjoy life.”

Isn’t that a great story? The couple is just temporarily in their space in The Elliott. Now, they are looking for something more long term. Please post a comment if you have an idea for them on a possible amazing place. Or any other thoughts about downtown living.

The first stop — appetizers — was Mickey Mallonee’s fantastic condo in The Emporium. From left, Robin Thomas, Jeff Cupp, Tim Young, Mickey and Gay Lyons.

Devils on Horseback were quickly scarfed. Perfect dish for Friday the 13th, don’t you think?

Mickey called this one “Bloody Skewers!” Ha. They were actually delicious bites of melt-in-your-mouth beef tenderloin and two tantalizing dipping sauces.

Bruce Anderson, one of our regular club members, approved.

Here are Alan Carmichael and Chris Crouch getting to know each other. (These nights always start off so calm before taking a turn!)

Soon, we said goodbye to Mickey’s live-in boyfriend (I love this guy!) and headed out to our next stop, Tim Young’s condo above Mast General Store.

The gang traveling south on Gay Street.

And what have we here? Why, black cat martinis, of course. Tim and his friend Jeff Cupp made them up. They have become famous for the signature cocktails they always add to our progressive dinners.

Mickey loved them. But she said she had to stop drinking them because she could no longer feel her lips!

I guess you can figure out where those blue tongues at the top of this post came from!

Although I liked them, too, I have learned the hard way not to drink too many of Jeff and Tim’s cocktails. So I was happy when Gay pulled out of the refrigerator a bottle of my favorite pinot grigio. It’s a little more predictable.

Still, I found someone had appropriately adorned my wine glass. Loved!

Although we were at Tim’s place, Gay usually does the cooking. She called these deviled eggs “She Devils,” in keeping with our theme.

Tim took us on a tour. Here are Robin and Chris drinking martinis in Tim’s shower!

Tim’s closet is bigger than our master bedroom!

We love Tim’s rooftop.

Here’s the view to the south.

When we went back downstairs, Gay was serving shrimp diablo. (Diablo means “devil” in Spanish.)

And a damn good salad.

Here’s a closer look at that shrimp diablo. I added crushed red pepper flakes to mine to kick the heat up even more.

Next stop was at Cherokee Lofts where Alan and I live. I had decided to make black cat cookies as one part of our dessert. Guess how you make black icing? Get fudge icing and add blue food coloring to it. Who knew? (Answer: Pinterest did.)

Black cat cookie

But the “real” dessert took a more heavenly turn. These are called “berries on a cloud” and they are light and delicious.

Bill Lyons liked it.

I could not resist these cocktail napkins! Ain’t it the truth?

Robin and Chris

From left, Monique Anderson, Jeff and Mickey.

Our super shy calico cat, Rexie, came out from hiding the minute our guests closed the front door! What a chicken.