Friday Fun Food Facts - April 30, 2010

Henry's Gelato, offering fine Italian gelato, is now open in North Hills...Looking for great Mother's Day ideas? Check out the list compiled by the N&O's Greg Cox here...SANDWHICH opened back up for lunch in their new location on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill (407 W. Franklin Street) - next to McDonald's - this past Thursday. All indicators are that it will open for dinner and brunch some time next week...Coupon! Here's a coupon for Uncle Fatty's in Cameron Village - get a free shake with any entrée with this coupon!...The lights are now off at Joe's Place in downtown Raleigh (it closed this past January), but the story continues. The word is that Joe has sold the space and we are "eagerly awaiting" the announcement of the new restaurant concept that will open there...The Food Network star Paula Deen's postponed February show has been rescheduled at the DPAC at 3 pm on June 5, Tickets go on sale at 10 am Monday, May 3. But patrons who still have tickets for the cancelled February show can secure tickets to the new show by contacting customer service at customerservice@dpacnc.com. For other ticket sales, call 919-680-2787 or go online...The Triangle's first FreshBerry frozen yogurt store opened on Thursday in Raleigh at Six Forks Station (the shopping center with the Borders and the Kmart on Six Forks Road)...Patterson Place shopping center (the new/expanded shopping center at the intersection of 15-501/Mt. Moriah Road and I-40) is getting some new tenants. Be on the lookout for Moe's, Five Guys and an Applebee's...The Food Network will pay Chapel Hill's Sugarland a visit on May 10. TV personality Adam Gertler (of Will Work for Food fame) will learn the secrets behind the establishment's authentic artisan Italian gelato and signature frozen martinis for a yet unnamed show that will be similar to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives - but for desserts. Sugarland is also featured in the May issue of Southern Living...To many customers' dismay, a popular Asian grocery in Chapel Hill, Eastern Market Oriental Food and Gifts (505 W. Rosemary St., 968-1703), will close in late May...Here's a coupon for $5 off dinner for two at Olive Garden, but hurry as it expires May 7th...The owners of Harmony Farms (Creedmoor & W. Millbrook) are opening a café on May 1st (i.e. tomorrow!) - Café Harmony. The café will be Raleigh's first totally natural organic café. They'll be open everyday from 8 am until 3 pm...A familiar spot on the outskirts of downtown Raleigh is getting a new tenant. The Hook Up space at the corner of St. Mary and Johnson streets will open as Ciago's, a pizza, pasta and ale joint. Let's hope it lasts a bit longer than its previous tenants...If you missed all the hype this past Wednesday as Raleigh's Downtown Farmer's Market opened for the season (it will be open every Wednesday from now until October 27th on City Plaza), don't fret because there is another farmer's market kicking off this Saturday. The first Five Points Farmers' Market will debut this Saturday in the NOFO parking lot. The market runs from 8 to noon. NOFO will serve an early country breakfast (with Bloody Marys) until 10...A popular eatery on Glenwood South has opened a second Triangle location at an equally "hot" location in Durham. This past week, Tobacco Road Sports Cafe opened at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham. Check them out before a Durham Bulls game or a show at the DPAC...Carrboro's popular Southern Rail restaurant will now be open for lunch beginning this coming Monday...Speaking of hot restaurants, downtown Raleigh's Spize Café has new hours - open for lunch Monday through Thursday, and lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday. Also, book private events at night during the week!...We understand that Phil Evans, former executive chef of Herons restaurant in the Umstead Hotel in Cary, has bought Rudy's Pub & Grill in Apex. Definitely add it to your list of places to check out!...And we close with a Happy Birthday shout-out to the Mecca Restaurant in downtown Raleigh that turned 80 years old this past week. Truly a Raleigh institution.