Friday Fun Food Facts - April 27, 2012

Triangle Restaurant News

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

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We'd like to welcome our newest members of our catering line-up. And note that all three are locally-owned and operated! Welcome to Dorry's Downtown Cafe & Catering, Worth It Cafe and Fork & Barrel Restaurant. Order from these great additions for your meetings next week!

And if you are not ordering all your catering through Triangle Food Guy, ask yourself what else are you missing out on? Have you "Liked Us" on Facebook? Do so now!
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• Spring has definitely sprung at Park West Village shopping center at the intersection of Cary Parkway and Chapel Hill Road in Morrisville. Recent openings include Buffalo Wild Wings, Hibachi Blue, Ruckus Pizza and Zoe's Kitchen. And Travinia Italian Kitchen will be opening next Tuesday, May 1. 

• If you want to dine in Clyde Cooper's BBQ as you currently know it, you better plan a visit soon. It's not going away, but we got word this week that the restaurant will relocate at some point toward the end of this summer to make way for the pending construction of a six-story mixed-use retail and residential building in downtown Raleigh. The good news is, the restaurant will remain "in the neighborhood." We'll keep an eye on this for you. Learn more about Clyde Cooper's BBQ here.

• Shhhh. I'll let you in on something if you promise not to tell my kids. Tutti Frutti in Chapel Hill's quaint little Southern Village opened this week and will have their grand opening celebration this Saturday. As part of their grand opening celebration, they will have yogurt in 12 ounce cups for $1 between 4 and 7 p.m. Get all the details here on their regular website or on their Facebook page here.

• And the much-anticipated move from Chapel Hill to Raleigh is complete and The Original Flying Burrito has opened in Raleigh in the former Lynwood Grill location on Grove Barton Road. Get more details here.

• Thanks for a tip from my buddy Chuck Hackney, Hibachi 88 has opened on Poole Road over in Raleigh. It is located at 3416 Poole Road in the Walnut Creek Shopping Center. Get more information on their website here.

• We told you about Oakleaf a couple of weeks ago, but thanks to Andrea Weigl at the N&O, we now know an opening date of May 16th. Oakleaf is a new farm-to-table restaurant located in Pittsboro's Chatham Mills complex. Keep up with them on their Facebook page here.

• Thanks to a tip from John over at The Triangle Explorer, we have a new pizza joint in North Raleigh. Touting themselves as the best New York pizza in NC, Sergio's NY Pizza is located next to the Food Lion at 13200 New Falls of Neuse at the intersection of Wakefield Pines. Get more details here on their Facebook page or their regular website.

• With the weather warming up, you may find yourself looking for a cool place to dine outside in downtown Cary. Look no further than Dorry's Downtown Café. Owner Ray Dorry announced this week on his Facebook page that they have completed the outdoor dining patio. Stop by and enjoy a beautiful afternoon in downtown Cary. Or a nice breakfast on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Get all the details here.

• Look out food truck junkies, there's another one to add to your list. MaMa Duke's is a new gourmet food truck run by father-and-son team Michael and Mike Alexakis. They will be serving a Southern-inspired Mediterranean menu featuring deep-fried shrimp skewered as souvlaki (Greek-style kebabs), falafel tater tots, homemade tzatziki sauce and MaMa Duke's famous baked beans. Keep up with the truck here.

• And if that is not enough, here is yet another food truck that just started rolling this month - Big City Sandwiches. They are bringing famous sandwiches from big cities across the US directly to the streets of the Triangle and they pride themselves on featuring fresh local produce, homemade condiments, artisan breads and wholesome cold cuts from Applegate Farms. Check them out here.

• And keeping in the "food truck" realm, we told you a while back about LoMo Market - the mobile farmers' market concept (one of the coolest concepts we've covered in a while). Well, they are hitting the road starting next week - May 2nd to be exact. Want them to come to your office or neighborhood? Go to their website to make it happen.

• Looking for something really cool to do this weekend? Well, load up the family this Saturday and/or Sunday and take in the country's largest sustainable farm tour in America - right here in our own backyard. Tickets for the 17th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour are sold per carload and are $25 in advance or $30 the weekend of the tour for all farms, or $10 per farm. You can get all the details here.

• Speaking of something else cool, lovers of North Carolina craft beer should head to downtown Raleigh from 3-9 p.m. Saturday for Brewgaloo, a craft beer event with live music and food trucks - Klausie's Pizza, Cafe Prost, Big Al's BBQ, Chirba Chirba Dumpling and Baguettaboutit. Get more details here.

• This is the week for the 4th Annual Taste of the Triangle - next Wednesday, May 2nd beginning at 5:15 pm - just prior to the Railhawks home game. Your $10 ticket gives you access to dozens of area restaurants and breweries offering up samples of their fares and goodies. More details here.

• Tickets for the annual Farm to Fork Picnic went on sale this week, and you'll want to grab them up quickly as this event sells out every year. If you have never been, the Farm to Fork Picnic pairs local farmers with local chefs; the farmers provide the ingredients and the chefs create the dishes. Get all the details here.

• So, last week we told you about the new location (Greenwood Commons Shopping Center) of the South Durham Farmers' Market, and this week we can confirm that they will have their opening this weekend - April 28th. Keep up with them here.

• Go ahead and mark your calendars for the Taste of Morrisville event which will be held Saturday, May 12th from 12 to 7 p.m. on Town Hall Drive in Morrisville (rain or shine). Taste of Morrisville is an opportunity to experience all the wonderful diverse food offerings from Morrisville restaurants! Get more details here.

• And kudos go out to a handful of local restaurants that made the final list in the "Best Dish in North Carolina" competition sponsored by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Our State Magazine. The finalist located here in the Triangle are: Gravy Italian-American Kitchen of Raleigh; Sitti Restaurant of Raleigh; Market Restaurant of Raleigh; Bull Street Gourmet & Market of Durham; Angelina's Kitchen of Pittsboro; and Tonali of Durham. See the full press release here.