Friday Fun Food Facts - April 20, 2012

Triangle Restaurant News

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

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Quick bit of housekeeping. Want to see who won our March contest? You remember, the night at The Umstead, dinner at Heron's and a spa treatment at The Umstead Spa? Check out our winner on our Facebook page here. While you're there, give us a LIKE!

And ask yourself, why is it that I'm not ordering all my catering through Triangle Food Guy? 

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•  It is a restaurant with a museum, or a museum with a restaurant? You’ll have to go and let me know. What I do know is that this is a pretty cool venture for both Rocky Top Hospitality and Dean Ogan as well as the Museum of Natural Sciences. And it is great for downtown Raleigh with a new option for dining, both inside and out on the sidewalk. The Daily Planet Café will reflect North Carolina as much as the museum does - think produce, beef, cheese, honey, beer, wine, bread and even ice cream sandwiches all from North Carolina! The museum and the Café open tonight at 5 pm with a 24-hour opening extravaganza. More details here.  

• We told you about this back in March (thanks to our friends at Cranky Dinners) but on Monday, the latest location of the Another Broken Egg Cafe restaurant chain will open in Durham at 2608 Erwin Road in Pavilion East. The restaurant serves an upscale breakfast, brunch and lunch menu. The restaurant will be open 7 am-2 pm daily. A second Triangle location will open later this summer in Morrisville. For more information or to see the menu, go here. 

• Favor Desserts Bakery and Coffee Shop is celebrating its grand opening from noon-7 pm this Saturday. The bakery is the work of Keijuane Hester who spent the last decade building his baking business. Saturday’s celebration will include coffee and cake tastings, live music by a jazz/neo soul band, children’s activities and giveaways. The bakery is at 5607 N.C. 55, Suite 105, in the Bentley Ridge shopping center. For more information go here. 

• Vine Sushi & Thai is set to open in Bull City Market by early June. Vine will be in the space previously occupied by Cillias, which is just between Ninth Street and Duke’s East campus - adjacent to Ben & Jerry’s and Whole Foods. Thanks to the folks over at the Ninth Street Blog for this tip. 

• The Lilly’s “watch” continues over in Durham as we are now within a month of the opening of the second location of Lilly’s Pizza. According to the N&O’s Andrea Weigl, the opening date is now just three weeks out. The second location of Lilly’s will be in downtown Durham in the former Pop’s location adjacent to Morgan Imports. We’ll continue to maintain our “watch” for you (can you tell we are excited about this???). You can join me in my vigil by following Lilly’s Facebook page here.    

• Last week Raleigh’s Cameron Village got its second grand opening in as many weeks with the opening of the Triangle’s second location of Sugarland Bakery & Café. The original location is over in Chapel Hill on Franklin Street. In addition to their fresh, made-from-scratch desserts, they also offer coffee and will be adding a full bar featuring their signature frozen gelato martinis. They are in the former Lavender & Lace location at 2031 Cameron Avenue. Check them out on Facebook here. 
  
  
• And in the food truck world, there is a new kid on the block. American Meltdown officially began rolling on March 11. The truck serves gourmet melts & grilled cheese sandwiches from the truck they affectionately call 'The Big Cheese.' Get more details on their website here or their Facebook page here.  

• This Saturday, April 21st is the annual Cuegrass Festival outside The Pit restaurant in downtown Raleigh. It goes from noon until 6 pm and is just $5. More details here.    
  
  
• On Sunday, Chatham County’s Briar Chapel (located off 15-501 between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro) is hosting an Earth Day celebration with children’s activities and a food truck rodeo! Chirba Chirba Dumpling, Baguettaboutit, Will & Pop’s and The Parlour will be there. Get more details here.    
  
  
• And SEEDS’ Annual Pie Social and skills share auction is also on Sunday afternoon from 1-5 pm. This unique event allows you to taste and vote on your favorite pie from nearly 30 restaurants in and around Durham. The event will be held at 706 Gilbert Street. Get more details here.
  
  
• Listen up foodies. On April 24, the much-anticipated annual Culinary Arts Showcase will take place at the Raleigh Convention Center with doors opening at 4 pm. This Triangle tradition displays the talents of culinary students from across the state and industry professionals from throughout the Southeast. With over 100 competitors, this is one of the largest competitions of its kind in the country. There will be a live showpiece challenge, ice carving exhibition, food demos-fruit carving, fondant & more, food tastings from local restaurants & hands on fun for the kids. General admission is $10, $5 for students w/ ID & kids under 5 are free. Get more info here.  

• Thanks to a reminder from John Huisman over at Triangle Explorer, don't forget to sign up for the May 5th tour of Larry’s Beans Roasting Plant in Raleigh. The tour is awesome! Details are here. 

• There is great news coming out of the South Durham Farmers' Market - they now have a “home.” They will be located at Greenwood Commons Shopping Center in South Durham and shooting for either an April 28th or May 5th opening date. Keep an eye on it here.  

• And speaking of farmers’ markets, the Midtown Farmers Market kicks off this Saturday on the North Hills Commons over in Raleigh. Now in 5th season, this is something you’ll want to work into your Saturday morning routine. Get more details here. 

• And if you like food and soccer (who doesn’t?) you’ll want to mark your calendars for the 4th Annual Taste of the Triangle coming up on Wednesday, May 2nd. Beginning at 5:15 pm, your $10 ticket gives you access to dozens of area restaurants and breweries offering up samples of their fares and goodies. And you’ll want to stick around for the Railhawks game (who are currently undefeated) which kicks-off at 7 pm. More details here.  
  
  
• They just announced the dates for the Farm to Fork Picnic - May 20th from 4-7 pm. It will be held at the Breeze Farm in Hurdle Mills just north of Hillsborough. The event pairs the area’s wonderful chefs and farmers in a local foods extravaganza. Tickets, which include drinks this year, will go on sale later this month for $100 each. Get more details here.
  
  And now a few wine dinners to tell you about, thanks to Andrea Weigl at the N&O.

• First up, downtown Raleigh’s Beasley's Chicken + Honey is doing a soft shell crab dinner on Monday, April 23rd. You get soft shell crabs, family-style sides and three glasses of spring wine for $35. They are doing seatings at 6 and 8 pm. To make a reservation, call (919) 322-0127. Get more information on Beasley's here. 

• Also, over in Chapel Hill, Jujube’s has two wine dinners: The one on April 26 at 7 pm will be a five-course dinner featuring Argentinian wines and costs $45 per person. And the one on May 8th is also at 7 pm and will feature a five-course dinner with Austrian wine pairings and costs $50 per person. To see the full menus, go here. To make a reservation, call (919) 960-0555.