Friday Fun Food Facts - March 9, 2012

Triangle Restaurant News

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

•  Now you can get the extremely popular Lumpy's Ice Cream at a place other than various special events around the Triangle. After 11 years, Buck Buchanan has opened a "brick and mortar" location at 306 E. Wait Avenue in downtown Wake Forest. The shop opened last Saturday, and will hold their grand opening celebration on March 24. Check out their website here. 
  
  
• Kemp's Seafood House on Highway 70 between Raleigh is transitioning through some changes. The first is their recent decision to eliminate their lunch-time service - opting just for dinner service (nightly 5-9 p.m.). And the second is that they are looking to sell their current location and move to a smaller space in the immediate vicinity. We'll keep an eye on it. In the meantime, enjoy a delicious seafood dinner here. 
  
  
• Thanks to Andrea Weigl at the N&O I learned about a new Korean French restaurant called KoMo KoMo. It is located in Cary in the Maynard Crossing Shopping Center at 1305 NW Maynard Road. The restaurant is the work of husband-and-wife team, chef Jae Lee and El Ryoo. Get more information on their website here.  

• And in that same shopping center, there is a new Italian restaurant called Paisan's. Paisan is an endearing Italian term meaning friends. Get more information on Paisan's here. 

• Also in Cary, in the heart of downtown, a new wine bar opened at the end of last year called Unwine'd Wine Bar. Unwine'd is the end result of Scott Higginbotham's desire to bring a nice wine bar with jazz music to the area. It is located in the Olde Cary Commons building at the corner of Harrison Avenue and West Chatham Street. They serve about 80 wines by the glass, beer and a tapas menu. Get more information here.  

• Or if you're looking for a new place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year, Cary has you covered in that category as well. According to the N&O, Mahoney's Irish Pub opened this week at the corner of Tryon Road and Cary Parkway. Get all the details here.  

• And before we "leave" Cary, back in January, we told you about Cary getting North Carolina's first Hurricane Grill & Wings. Well, it opened this week in the Shoppes of Kildaire (same shopping center as Staples and Trader Joe's). Check them out here.  
   

• Out in Holly Springs, Little Hen, a farm-to-table restaurant, opened their doors on March 2nd and is in full swing now. And from what we hear, it is well worth the drive. They are located at 5160 Sunset Lake Road. Get all the details here on their website. Also, here is a great write-up in Cary Magazine.  
  
  
• We told you a couple of months ago that Chapel Hill's Flying Burrito had closed and was moving to Raleigh. Then we told you they were opening in the former Lynwood Grill spot by the Raleigh Grand Cinema. Now we are happy to report that they are just weeks away from opening in that location. Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted. Here is a link to their Facebook page and their website.   

• We discovered this week that a North Chapel Hill fixture has closed their doors. J&J's Deli in the Timberlyne Shopping Center closed their doors about two weeks ago. No word yet on a possible replacement.
  
  
• If you ever thought this food truck craze was just a phase we were going through, you better check the current count. According to a list put together by the N&O, the number of food trucks, carts and even bikes in the Triangle has swelled to over 40! Check it out here. They've got links to their sites and Twitter handles.  
  
  
• And speaking of a crazy number of food trucks, if you want to see nearly all of them in one spot, here is your chance...this weekend! It is here! Durham's Central Park is hosting another of their wildly successful Food Truck Rodeos this Sunday (March 11) from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. This will be the largest assembly of food trucks...ever. I can't even list them all - let's just say the current count is at 29 and growing! And if you are truly a food truck junkie, you'll want to go ahead and mark your calendar for the other upcoming Food Truck Rodeos at Durham's Central Park - June 17, August 19, October 28 and December 31! Get all the details here.  

• Raleigh's Capital Club 16 is doing special dinners on the last Sunday of each month. The next one is 7 pm March 25 featuring Foothills Brewing, Heritage Farms and Videri Chocolate Factory. The three-course meal with hors d'oeuvres and beer pairings costs $45 per person. See the menu and all the details online here.  

• And over in Durham at 2002 Hillsborough Road (corner of 9th Street and Hillsborough), Blu Seafood and Bar is hosting two dinners in March. First enjoy a shellfish wine dinner on Wednesday March 14 as Chef Tim Lyons and his team will serve a four-course meal inspired by shellfish. Each dish will be paired with wine from Hope Valley Bottle Shop. Tickets are $45. The second, on March 22, is a benefit dinner to support 4-year old Preston Winslow's fight against Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Tickets are $100 per person and 60 percent of all proceeds will go to the Winslow family. To learn more about Preston's cause, click here. Reservations are required for both dinners. For more information, call 286-9777. Get menus and more information here. 

• If you are a fan of Quizno's and a fan of saving a couple of dollars, here is the link for you - a $2 off coupon at Quizno's for any $10 purchase. Use it before it expires on March 14.

• And we close with a "goodbye" to a Triangle restaurant legend. This week we lost an icon with the passing of Jimmy Chris, the owner of Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe in downtown Chapel Hill. Ye Olde will celebrate their 40th anniversary this year.