Friday Fun Food Facts - August 27, 2010

Triangle restaurant news...that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler

• This is the last weekend to take advantage of Restaurant Week in Downtown Raleigh. Participating restaurants are offering a three-course meal for either $20 or $30. Click here for a complete list of restaurants and to see their menus.
  
  
• The new location of Buffalo Brothers, known for their pizzas and wings, opened this week on Lake Boone Trail. It is located in the same center as WhichWich Sandwiches, just down the hill from Rex Hospital. Buffalo Brothers original location is on Capital Boulevard, also in Raleigh.
  
  
• According to the N&O's Andrea Weigl, there will be a free wine tasting from 3:30 - 5 pm this Sunday in the Wild Turkey Lounge at the Angus Barn. The Wild Turkey Lounge was recently named one of the Best Business Bars in America by Entrepreneur magazine.
  
  
• If you live in Garner, you've got a new option for steaks, pastas and seafood. TerraFin Station restaurant has opened in Garner at 25 Old Drugstore Road. TerraFin is open for dinner Monday through Friday and lunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday.
  
  
• Seth Gross, a co-founder of the Wine Authorities store in Durham, is opening Bull City Burger and Brewery next February at 107 E. Parrish St. in downtown Durham. It will be a farm-to-fork brewpub where the majority of offerings will be either made from scratch or purchased locally. It will feature six beers brewed on site.
  
  
• Another addition to the recently refurbished/reopened Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. Urban Food Group's Frazier's Wine Bar/Lounge is now open (reopened if you want to be picky) at 2418 Hillsborough Street. The bar still has food but the menu is limited and the concentration will be mostly on beverages. It is open daily from 5 pm until 1 am.
  
  
• It appears as if we are getting closer to new life at the former Biscuit Station / Mema's Biscuits on the outskirts of downtown Raleigh at 100 N. Person Street. Word on the street (literally) is that Ruben's will open in the next two weeks and will still feature good ol' Southern cooking!
  
  
• In honor of their 35th anniversary, The Melting Pot started this past Tuesday giving away a $100 gift card every day, and will do so for 35 consecutive days. Enter here for your chance to win! The Melting Pot has two Triangle locations - Wake Forest Road in Raleigh and across from The Streets at Southpoint in Durham.
  
  
• If you are a fan of Solomon's Restaurant in North Raleigh, listen up. They are offering a five-course wine dinner next Tuesday, Aug. 31 for $50. Dinner starts at 6:30 pm. To see the complete menu, click here. To make a reservation, call 844-4977.
  

• Durham's Revolution Restaurant is offering a five-course wine dnner this Sunday, Aug. 29 featuring wines from the B.R. Cohn Winery. The $65 dinner is 6:30-9 pm. For more information, click here.
  
  
• If you love the food trucks in Durham, word has it that there will be a round-up this Saturday from 5 to 8 pm in the CCB City Plaza located at 201 N. Corcoran in downtown Durham. All the regular suspects are expected to be there. If you haven't been to one of these, and looking for something fun to do this weekend, I highly recommend it.
  
  
• And not to be outdone by Durham, it appears Raleigh is getting a new food truck - Klausie's Pizza. You can follow their location via Twitter or visit their website.
  
  
• And one last "Food Truck" mention - Durham's very own Only Burger has been nominated to be on next season of the Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race." Voting runs from Aug. 29-Sept. 10. You can vote once a day - vote here.
  
  
• Tropical Smoothie Café is adding sandwiches and flatbreads to its breakfast menu starting September 1st. There are two locations in Raleigh - 1028 Oberlin Road and 8111 Creedmoor Road.
  
  
• Alright Starbucks fanatics, here's your chance to win a Starbucks espresso machine for your house. Seems pretty simple to enter, but unfortunately, it doesn't come with a barista! Enter here. They say it is valued at just over $800, but I gotta say this would be priceless in my house!
  
  
• Want to take a little of Spize Café home with you? They are now selling two of their most popular sauces - the Thai Peanut Dressing and the Lemongrass Marinade. Spize is located at 121 Fayetteville St. Get more information here.
  

• Following on the heels of Restaurant Week, next week is the inaugural Raleigh Beer Week, August 30-September 3, 2010. For this first year, there are beer dinners, special cask nights, brewer talks, and to start it all off, Mayor Meeker tapping the first keg opening night. Find our more here on their blog or on their facebook page.
  
  
• If you are thinking about attending the World Beer Festival in Durham on October 9th - you better get your tickets now. Word is that tickets are selling fast and they don't expect them to last much longer. The tickets are for either the noon - 4 pm session or the 6 - 10 pm session. General admission is $45 in advance. VIP tickets are already sold out. Get your tickets online here. For more information on the Festival, click here.
  
  
• You might not notice this the next time you are in there, but it is worth noting. The Carolina Brewery in Pittsboro, got six new tanks this week to help them keep up with the increased wholesale demand for their beer. Sounds like a good enough reason for me to stop in and have a cold one. Just to make sure they put them in correctly!
  
  
• I'm thinking a dad came up with this idea. The Museum of Life and Science in Durham is hosting the "Science of Beer" on September 16th from 7-9 pm. Enjoy live music, beer tasting and light snacks. Got kids and no babysitter? No problem, for an additional $10 you can enroll your little ones in "The Science of Root Beer." Members $12 per person / Non-members $15 per person. Pre-registration requested, please call 919-220-5429x313 to order tickets.
  

• Ted's Montana Grill is offering a coupon for $5 off any $15 or more purchase coupon. Get your's here. It expires September 9th. There are two Triangle locations - Triangle Town Center in Raleigh and in the Renaissance Center across from the Streets at Southpoint in Durham.