Friday Fun Food Facts - March 26, 2010

Bruegger's at North Hills East is now open. It is a free standing building next to the CapTrust Tower. Nice outdoor patio!...Looking for something to do this weekend? The Vintage Bar and Lounge will celebrate its grand opening this weekend with live music, giveaways and half-price specials. They are located in Powerhouse Square at 116 N. West St. in downtown Raleigh. More information here...After a grand opening, the next best thing for a restaurant to celebrate is its one-year anniversary and The Busy Bee Café in downtown Raleigh will be doing just that with a few festivities planned for April 6th at 6 pm...Chubby's Tacos is also celebrating the one-year anniversary of its store on Lake Boone Trail with a coupon on its Web site. Basically buy any menu item $2 or more and they'll upgrade you to a meal for free. It's good through the end of the month at all locations (not just Lake Boone)...We told you about this a few weeks ago, but it is official now - Enzo's Pizza Company at the Pavilion East at Lakeview shopping complex off Duke's West Campus, is now open. Stop in for a slice...And in Raleigh, Chef Jason Smith of 18 Seaboard has opened a new restaurant: Cantina 18 in Cameron Village across from Village Draft House. Cantina 18 is described by Smith as "inspired Southwestern, very fresh, very fun." ...Also Sandwhich of Chapel Hill is moving to the former Patio Loco location, next to McDonald's on Franklin St. They will close for 2 to 3 weeks in April and hope to reopen at the end of April. But they will remain open at their current location as long as possible. Get details here...We've learned that Salsarita's in Briar Creek has closed. But as best as we can tell, the location in Cary is still slinging quesadillas...Brixx Pizza has announced plans for its 2nd Raleigh location in Cameron Village. Construction is slated to begin in the second half of the year...Shannon Station on Shannon Road in Durham is becoming a mecca for foodies - Rick's Catering; Only Burger; Durham Catering & Pops Backdoor Pizzeria are all in the process of opening soon...Rey's Restaurant has 1/2 price gift certificates, but you must get them today! Call now at 919-380-0122. They are valid for one year, so they make great gifts! Rey's is located at 1130 Buck Jones Road in Raleigh...Noticed a sign near the intersection of 54 & 55 in the strip mall behind Starbucks, that a Little Caesar's Pizza will be opening soon. More details to follow...In the save-the-date category, the 2010 Triangle Restaurant Week is May 17-23, more details to come...Congratulations to Bill Smith (Crook's Corner) and Andrea Reusing (The Lantern) for being nominated for Best Chef in the Southeast by the James Beard Foundation (kind of like the Oscars of the food world)...And finally, if you're looking for a new breakfast option, check out your neighborhood Subway starting April 5th...And if that is not enough for you, we've also learned that Quiznos recently introduced breakfast sandwiches at its convenience store locations.

Some Great Upcoming "Foodie" Events to Check Out

Get tickets now for the annual Wake Tech Pastry Show on Tuesday, April 13th at the Raleigh Convention Center from 4-8 p.m. Click here for more information and tickets. Tickets include 5 coupons for food tastings and cake samples.

Tickets for the World Beer Festival in Raleigh are now on sale. The event will happen April 24 in Moore Square Park and offers two, four-hour sessions - noon to 4 pm & 6-10 pm. Ticket price includes samples from a selection of more than 300 beers, live music and a festival tasting glass. Tickets cost $40 in advance, and $50 on the day of the event. Tickets can be purchased online.

The 15th annual Piedmont Farm Tour is set for the weekend of April 24 and 25. Here's how it works: You buy a $25 ticket and load up your car with folks to visit one or several of dozens of farms primarily in Orange and Chatham Counties. The farms are open from 1 to 5 p.m. that Saturday and Sunday. Purchase your tickets in advance here.

The annual Farm to Fork Picnic, an event celebrating local farms and food, will be Sunday, May 23 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Breeze Farm in Orange County. These tickets went fast last year so you want to buy early. $60 for non-members, $50 for members. Get them here now!

Friday Fun Food Facts - March 19, 2010

Downtown Raleigh got its first chocolate factory! Escazu Chocolates opened Tuesday at 936 North Blount St...Jason's Deli is coming to RDU's Terminal 2 Concourse D in Winter 2011. Jason's will be joined by a pre-security Starbucks, Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar, Flavours, Five Guys and Moe's Southwest Grill...Uncle Fatty's in Cameron Village has a coupon on their Web site for a free hot dog!...Today through Sunday night, you can get a $50 Goodberry's gift card for only $25! And best of... all, there are no annoying limitations on its use - use it all summer long, any day, any time. Just click here for your coupon...Allright downtown Sushi lovers, Sono has revamped their Monday dinner special!! All new menu items- 4 courses for only $25!...Want to share your input in the Triangle's best restaurants? Two local publications are conducting their annual survey's right now - Independent Weekly and Raleigh Metro Magazine. Vote now!...Want to do your part to beat cancer? Between now and the end of the NCAA tournament, visit papajohns.com and enter promo code BEATCANCER to receive a XL two-topping pizza for just $12 and $1 automatically will be donated to The V Foundation® for Cancer Research and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund®...On this Saturday, the NC School of Science and Math is setting out to break a world record and donate more than a half million pounds of non-perishable food items to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Get by there this Saturday to help them break that record. Get more information here...Starbucks is bringing back their Free Pastry Day, March 23. Choose a delicious pastry to pair with your beverage and that tasty item is free. But Free Pastry Day ends at 10:30 a.m. - so don't miss out. Clip your coupon here...The Carrboro Farmers Market is back to normal hours, starting Saturday, 7 am-Noon...This is the 50th year for Domino's Pizza and they marked their anniversary this past Tuesday with the opening of their 9,000th store. That's a lot of pizza!...Quiznos has a great way for you to try their three new chopped salads: Chili Taco Salad, Chicken Taco Salad and Pan Asian Chicken - $1 off coupon...So you think you have the next big idea for a chain restaurant? Here's your chance. NBC is bringing an open casting call to Raleigh on Monday from 10- 2 at Chipotle on Falls of Neuse Road for a new reality show called "America's Next Great Restaurant." No experience required - all you need is a great idea. Good luck!

Friday Fun Food Facts - March 12, 2010

The 32-year-old Chapel Hill institution, Time-Out Restaurant will open a 2nd location near N.C. State University this spring at 3001 Hillsborough St. And yes, it will be adorned in Wolfpack red!...Across town near Duke University, the Enzo's Pizza Company is scheduled to open next week at 2601 Erwin Road in Durham, directly across from campus...Camille's Sidewalk Cafe closed the doors of both its locations a week ago today - a big blow to the Triangle dining experience. Best of luck to Diane, Dina and the entire team at Camille's - we'll miss you!...Speaking of closings, it appears as if Cafe Zen at American Tobacco has closed its doors for good. But there are already rumblings of a new tenant...Rocky Top Hospitality's newest concept has met huge success since opening a few weeks ago, and now Tribeca Tavern is open for lunch in addition to dinner...Breugger's has added two new paninis to their lineup - the Roasted Veggie Melt and the Roast Beef & Veggie Melt. Yummy!...Natty Greene's Pub and Brewing in the Glenwood South area is now open for business, a bit ahead of schedule...Oakwood resident Sheila Sabol Duncan plans to open Pie Bird (serving up sweet and savory pies) in the old Conti's Italian Market location...In Cary's Crossroads Plaza, Jason's Deli will take over the old Pak Mail and Bear Rock spaces. An opening date has not been set....Amedeo's restaurant on Western Blvd. has reopened after an ownership change and remodel...We told you about this several weeks ago, but it is now confirmed that ZPizza has signed a 10-year lease for their 3rd location which will put them in the Bank of America building in downtown Raleigh...And speaking of downtown, Taste of India on Salisbury Street is now back open after being closed for over a month.

Friday Fun Food Facts - March 5, 2010

We are sad to confirm that LaRussa's in Chapel Hill has closed. We will miss working with Peter Susca and his entire family. We wish them the very best...A few weeks ago, Taste of India on Salisbury Street in downtown, seemed to have closed, but luckily the restaurant was just closed temporarily and will reopen next Monday (3/8)... We know that Z Pizza is looking to open a third Triangle location and we have reason to believe that location will be in the bottom of the Bank of America building in downtown Raleigh. Look for a spring-time opening...Are you a foodie looking for something to do this weekend? Hit up the 25th annual A Toast to the Triangle event on Sunday, at the McKimmon Center. Monies support the Tammy Lynn Memorial Foundation, Inc... Boston Market announced the availability of its $2.99 Market Meal Deals. The newly introduced Market Meal Deals are available through March 21 at all locations with no coupon required...42nd St. Oyster Bar has been named the best place for live music in the Entertainment category of Midtown Magazine's Diamond Awards. And I thought it was just awesome seafood!... For those not counting calories, you'll be glad to know that Dunkin Donuts is bringing back a fan favorite: the Waffle Breakfast Sandwich. This time around, the sandwich comes with sausage in addition to eggs, American cheese and two maple-flavored waffles for $2.99... If you're a fan of Miss Taffy's Cheesecakes you'll be glad to know that she is now selling cheesecakes out of her new retail location at Six String Café and Music Hall in Cary...And finally, listen up Durhamites - As evidenced by recent permit activity, two new downtown Durham eats are moving closer to reality - Phoebe Lawless' Scratch Seasonal Artisan Baking and Eno Restaurant and Market. Stay tuned.