Friday Fun Food Facts - May 28, 2010

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

• Next Friday, June 4 is National Doughnut Day, so mark your calendar and visit either Krispy Kreme or Dunkin' Donuts as they'll both be offering free donuts (drink purchase required at Dunkin' Donuts

• Which brings up some GREAT news...The "Hot Now" light at the downtown Raleigh Krispy Kreme will flicker back on on Tuesday, June 1 after several months of renovations. The first person in line will receive one dozen doughnuts a week for a year! In addition, someone who is in line before 5:30 a.m. will be chosen at random to flip the switch on the store's iconic "Hot Now" sign.

• And just down the street from Krispy Kreme is Raleigh's latest addition to the restaurant scene - Market (938 N. Blount St.) whose motto is "Local ingredients, West Coast inspired." Be sure to work them into your "gotta try" list of restaurants. Early reviews are proving that it is well worth the effort to get there.
  

• And staying in downtown Raleigh, on the ground floor of the Progress Energy building on Fayetteville Street, newcomer La Volta has opened its doors. La Volta is an authentic Italian restaurant open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. La Volta means "the vault", paying tribute to the fact that their location was a former bank, and the "vault" is now their wine cellar.

• Speaking of Italian...Do you think you're Italian? Here's how you'll know...Italians eat about a 1/2 lb. of bread a day & drink 26 gallons of wine a year. That might explain a lot of things for many of us!

• Cameron Village has added another restaurant to its lineup of great eateries. The latest addition is Café Caturra (432 Woodburn Road) and is the first North Carolina location of a small Virginia-based chain. Café Caturra is hardly a typical chain, though, starting with the fact that it's a wine bar/sandwich shop/wood-fired pizzeria rolled into one and that it's sandwiches are served on La Farm Bakery breads!

• Looking for a new breakfast joint? The Irregardless Café at 901 West Morgan Street on the outskirts of downtown Raleigh is now serving breakfast every day they are open (they are closed on Monday).

• In search of dinner plans? Saffron opened its second Triangle location this week at East 54. Check them out here.
  

• This looks like a recipe for success - local restaurant owner Giorgios Bakatsias is teaming with former Rocky Top Hospitality co-owner Kevin "Michael" Summers to open two new eateries in Wake Forest, at the intersection of N.C. Bypass 98 and Jones Dairy Road. The first restaurant is a Tuscan-style eatery called Girasole Trattoria, which means sunflower neighborhood café in Italian. Construction on the building is already complete, and the restaurant is scheduled to open early next month. A pub-style bar dubbed Gatehouse Tavern also will open by the end of June.

• A couple of new bakeries have emerged in both Durham and Raleigh. In Durham, Phoebe Lawless will open Scratch Artisan Bakery at the end of this month at 111 Orange Street in downtown Durham. And Sheila Duncan will open PieBird shortly after that in downtown Raleigh at 618 N. Person Street.

• Locopops has decided to add Locopints to the mix which are pints of frozen Locopop ice creams and sorbets. Locopops has 4 Triangle locations as well as a half-dozen satellite locations. Find out more here.

• Gravy, in the heart of downtown Raleigh, has a new lunch and dinner menu. Check it out here.

• Check out the Buy One Get One Free entrees being offered through June 1st at Twisted Fork, Michael Deans, Red Room & Bogart's! Can't beat this, but you better hurry!

• Ruth's Chris at Southpoint has extended its $25 three-course meal for Triangle Restaurant Week until May 30.

• Chick-fil-A offering free Spicy Chicken Sandwich. To promote the launch of a new spicy version of its famous chicken sandwich, Chick-fil-A Inc. has started an online giveaway. By clicking here customers can make an online reservation for a free Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich. The offer is good from May 31 to June 5. The sandwich will not be added officially to the chain's menu until June 7.

• There are a couple of printable coupons for Quizno's HERE, and you have a few days left to use them. But hurry, they expire May 30.