Friday Fun Food Facts - June 3, 2011

Triangle Restaurant News

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

•  In a series of events that seems to prove that what goes around comes around...Kevin Summers, who started Rocky Top Hospitality with Dean Ogan (but moved on long ago), is now back in the restaurant scene. Summers announced that he would take over the Glenwood South space formerly occupied by Bogart's (a former Rocky Top Hospitality concept) with a modern Mexican restaurant called Cantina South.  No date set yet on an opening, but we'll keep an eye on it.

• About a month ago, the original owners of Tookie's Grill, known and loved for their chicken salad, returned to the restaurant business in a location similar to the Texaco station on Six Forks Road where it all started. But this time it is in the Wendell Mart Exxon at 2901 Wendell Blvd., across from the McDonald's. 

• The Lynnwood Grill, a locally owned bar and grill, located at 4821 Grove Barton Road in Raleigh (right next to the Raleigh Grande Theater at the intersection of Lynn & Glenwood) is opening today at 11 am. They describe themselves as the perfect place to grab a bite before or after the movie. Check them out here.   

• The Panera Bread in Falls Village in North Raleigh will close this month - but don't fret. It will move into a new location at the Market at Colonnade in front of the new Whole Foods. They are shooting for a June 10th opening.

• Opening day for the Which Wich Superior Sandwiches in Brier Creek Commons is June 15. The opening of the North Hills location has been pushed back until this fall. 

• YoLo Dessert Cafe has opened its first North Carolina location at Cary Park Town Center at 10110 Green Level Church Road, Suite 104. The cafe specializes in self-serve frozen yogurt with a large selection of locally sourced and produced sides and toppings.

• It appears as if Subway has found the last two strip malls in the Triangle that don't have a Subway location. You can find the newest two locations in Cary at 10130-300 Green Level Church Road, and the other at 705 Ninth St. in Durham.

• Looks like this is the month that we'll get the first peak at Calavera Empanda & Tequilla Bar which we reported many weeks ago was replacing the 101 Lounge at the corner of Blount and Davie in downtown Raleigh. Their twitter feed announces a "June" opening. Stay tuned.

• The Dancing Chocolatier, a gourmet bakery specializing in custom-order cakes and desserts as well as cupcakes, has opened at the Shoppes at Bedford in North Raleigh. The address is 3607 Falls River Ave., Suite 115B.  

• We've got a name for Eschelon Hospitality's newest concept opening this fall on the first floor of the RBC Plaza in downtown Raleigh - Zinda. It will be a pan-Asian restaurant with "a contemporary twist on traditional dishes from China, Thailand and India." Looking like a late October, early November open.

• Speaking of Eschelon Hospitality (owners of The Oxford, Sono, Mura, Dapper Style House, and The Borough), it appears they just recently swooped in to take over operations of Cameron Bar  & Grill in Raleigh's Cameron Village.

• There is another food truck on the scene, this time over in Cary. According to the N&O's Andrea Weigl, the Bavarian Brathaus (6464 Tryon Road in Cary) now has a food truck. Right now, they are parked at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh on Saturdays and Sundays and at the Whole Foods Cary on Mondays and Tuesdays. Follow them on twitter @bavarianbrats.

• Listen up Poole's Diner junkies, there is one more night a week that you can get your fix. It was just announced that they are now open on Tuesday nights.

• This is pretty lazy...I mean cool. You can now order your food at the Durham Bulls baseball games right from your seat with your smart phone. Check it out here. Now if they can just create an app for the bathroom...

• If you love Moe's Queso, you are going to have to dance to prove it. Moe's is offering $10,000 to the individual (or individuals) who are willing to dance to show their love. To enter, create a dance video no longer than 30 seconds and upload it to www.ilovequeso.com any time before July 24. All of this excitement surrounding Queso will lead up to Moe's second annual Free Queso Day on Wednesday, July 20.

• Hats off this week to the N&O's incredible Andrea Weigl who was nominated for Best Newspaper Food Coverage by the Association of Food Journalists. Winners will be named at an awards banquet in Charleston, SC, on Oct. 6. Go Andrea! 

• Here's an event you'll want to get tickets for - and tickets go on sale today! This is a "must attend" event according to the N&O's Andrea Weigl. TerraVITA Food & Wine Event brings together the finest biodynamic and organically-grown wines and microbrews in the world together with some of the very best North Carolina chefs, known and celebrated for their outstanding reputations and chosen for their devotion and allegiance to locally-grown organic ingredients! Get your tickets here!  The event takes place September 24th in Chapel Hill's Southern Village.

• If you're looking for a great Beer Dinner, we've got one for you next Monday, June 6th at 7 pm. It will be at Panzanella in Carrboro and will feature four courses and five beers from Chapel Hill's own Carolina Brewery! Call 929.6626 or visit them online.   

• Now in its 4th year, Triangle Restaurant Week returns to the area with three-course prix-fixe meals at $15 for lunch and $20 or $30 for dinner. The event will take place during the week of June 6th - 12th, 2011. For more details and a list of participating restaurants, go here.   

• Cackalacky will celebrate its 10th anniversary tomorrow at The Cackalacky Cookout. It will be held from 11 until 4 p.m. on June 4th in front of A Southern Season (University Mall in Chapel Hill) where Cackalacky secured its first wholesales account 10 years ago. Proceeds will benefit the Diabetes Bus Initiative. In addition, The Guilty Pleasures will play bluegrass and Duck-Rabbit Brewery will sell its brews.

• Over in Chapel Hill, The Weathervane in Southern Season will host a Highland Beer Dinner on June 15th at 7 pm. The dinner will feature 5 courses and 5 beers. Call 919.929.9466 to make your reservation.