Friday Fun Food Facts - September 28, 2012

Triangle Restaurant News

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

•  Big news coming from the N&O’s Andrea Weigl this morning. Niall Hanley, the man behind Hibernian Pub (with locations in Downtown Raleigh and Cary), will bring the third location of Hibernian to North Raleigh in the former Duffy’s Tavern location at 8021 Falls of Neuse Road. Look for it to open before year’s end. Get more information on Hibernian here. 

• The N&O is also reporting this morning that Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Raleigh opened this week at 6552 Glenwood Ave. This is the second Dickey’s franchise in Raleigh and the 11th in North Carolina. Another Dickey’s is expected to open in Morrisville later this year. Get more information on Dickey's here.

• This past Wednesday, BurgerFi opened up their 9th location, 2nd in the Triangle (they opened in Cary 2 months ago), in North Raleigh in the same shopping center as Trader Joe’s (just inside the beltline on Wake Forest Road). Get all the details on BurgerFi here. 

• It is now confirmed that Charlotte’s popular Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar will be opening a location in the CapTrust Tower in North Hills, sometime in the spring of 2013. It will be next to World of Beer and Yard House. Check them out here. 

• According to a sign in the window, Ashee Ethiopian Cuisine is coming to Cary in the space next to Lucky 7 at 906 NE Maynard Road. We don’t know too much else at this point, but we’ll keep an eye on it.

• I got word this week from Triangle Explorer (aka John Huisman) that another location of Greek Fiesta is coming to North Raleigh, and more specifically to the Falls Point Shopping Center at 9660 Falls of Neuse Road next to Great Clips. We don’t have an exact open date, but it is soon. We’ll keep you posted. Check them out here. 

• Want to see a 100% vegetarian restaurant in downtown Raleigh? If so, now is the time to put your money where your mouth is (or wants to be!). Chefs Caroline Morrison and Siobhan Southern are planning to open Fiction Kitchen by years end at 428 S. Dawson St., next to Deep South the Bar. They are currently $10k into a $36k kickstarter campaign to purchase the necessary equipment. If you are interested in supporting this endeavor, visit their kickstarter campaign here or you can get their full story here.

• It is with a sad heart that I pass along news from my buddy Dana McCall that Hector’s will close its Crabtree Valley Mall location this Sunday. Hector’s has been an institution in Crabtree since 1969, one of the original tenants. Apparently it will be converted into another location of Greek Fiesta.

• This evening (September 28) Chatham Hill Winery will host their 2nd Annual Food Truck Rodeo from 6 to 9 p.m. In addition to the 8 food trucks (Olde North State BBQ, Baguettaboutit, Hibachi Xpress, Cafe Prost, Porchetta, MaMa Duke’s, and Simply Bliss Cupcakes) there will also be live music. Get all the details here. 

• And speaking of food truck events, the Emily K Center at 904 W. Chapel Hill Street over in Durham will host a food truck rodeo on Saturday, October 6th from 5-8 p.m. The event will feature live music and most of the trucks (6) from The Cookery. Get all the details here.  

• Tomorrow (Sept. 29th) is St. Ann Catholic Church's fifth annual International Food Festival in Clayton from 11:30 to 6:30 pm. Nineteen countries will be represented in the food prepared by the church's parishioners, and at $3 a plate, you simply can’t beat it. There also will be live international music and children's games. The church is located at 4057 U.S. 70 Business West in Clayton. For the menus and music schedule, go here. 

• On Saturday, October 6th, Neomonde Café & Market in North Raleigh will host a Fall Festival from 10:30 in the morning until 9 p.m. The event will feature events all day, including cooking classes. Get all the details on their Facebook page here.

• Also on October 6th, the Western Wake Farmers Market is again hosting their annual Chili Cook-Off . Anyone interested in entering can do so by simply showing up with your concoction by 9 am. The Western Wake Farmers Market is located at 1225 Morrisville Carpenter Road in Cary. Get more details here. 

• And speaking of chili cook-offs, Fuquay-Varina Downtown is hosting their 10th annual Downtown Chili Cook-off on Saturday, October 27th. If you are interested in the cooking challenge and showing the public what kind of Chili you are famous for creating, simply enter the event by downloading the rules and entry form here. The Chili Cook-Off entry deadline is October 19th at 5 pm.  

• Dock to Door Seafood and The Wine Feed are proud to host a family-friendly seafood and wine festival - Hook + Vine on Sunday, October 14th at 4 p.m.  It is a celebration of North Carolina seafood and complementary wines. The event will feature the cooking of Mandolin, PoshNosh, Battistella's, and Sarah Cecilia Good Food Co. Get all the details on their Facebook event page here. 

• Ever wanted to see how coffee is made? Raleigh coffee roasting company Larry's Beans has announced the next date for its popular factory tour: Saturday, October 27 from 11:30 to 2:30. On the tour, you'll get to check out the place where the Larry's staff roasts all the beans and also see many of the factory's eco-friendly features. Sign up by e-mailing them with the # of people in group, contact name, and phone number. Don't wait because they're limiting it to the first 100 people! Visit their Facebook page for more information.  

• It is time to get one the area’s largest and most popular foodie events on your calendar. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this. The N&O’s Andrea Weigl has this on her “can’t miss” list and you’ll want it on your list as well. The Terra Vita Food & Wine Event is being held over 3 days and will feature 4 different events culminating with the “headline act” being the Grand Tasting on the Green on Saturday, November 3rd from 1-4:30 p.m. Get ALL the details here. 

• Another not-to-miss event is an event put on by the Lucy Daniels Center called Expressions. This event will be hosted by The Umstead Hotel and Spa on November 9, 2012 and will feature the Umstead’s executive chef Scott Crawford, pastry chef Daniel Benjamin, and two guest chefs. Sponsorships and individual tickets for Expressions are available now. Visit there here or call 919-677-1400 to learn more.

Friday Fun Food Facts - September 21, 2012

Triangle Restaurant News

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

•  What fun we had last Friday. We threw out a random promotion awarding people with a $10 Starbucks gift card for orders placed on Friday for delivery the following week (think Pumpkin Spice Latte!). Well, congratulations to Drew, Liz, Ana-Liza, Meredith, Karen, Paul, Michayla and Nancy! Gift cards are "in the mail!" Who wants to do it again? Let's do it! All orders placed TODAY for next week will receive a $10 Starbucks gift card good for at least 2 Pumpkin Spice Lattes! Order NOW!

• After much delay, Vine Sushi & Thai, next to Whole Foods and Ben & Jerry's over in Bull City Market in Durham, opened this week. It is in the space previously occupied by Cillias. Thanks to the folks over at the Ninth Street Blog for this tip. 

• Popular blog Carpe Durham announced this week that Pizzeria Toro is looking at an early October opening for their pizza concept, which will be located at 101 E. Chapel Hill Street in the Five Points area in downtown Durham. Check them out on Facebook here or their regular website here.   

• Fast on the heels of the announcement that Yard House in North Hills will be opening Sunday, October 14, we are hearing rumors that Charlotte's popular Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar will be opening a location in the CapTrust Tower in North Hills, sometime in the spring of 2013. It will be next to World of Beer and Yard House. We can't 100% confirm this and we've been fooled before (rumors that they were coming to Cameron Village), but what we do know is that they would love to be in Raleigh. We'll keep an eye on it. Check them out here. 

• Durhamites are going to have to wait a couple more weeks for the opening of the next WhichWich Superior Sandwiches location. Speaking with owner Ted Barringer this week, the opening date has been pushed back a couple of weeks to October 12th. We'll continue to keep an eye on it. It will be here before you know it.

• Over in Chapel Hill, The Daily Tar Heel is reporting this week that Eddie Williams, owner of both Time-Out Restaurant and Time-Out Sports Bar, is going mobile. Look for a mobile version of the 35-year-old institution to hit the streets in the next couple of months. Something tells me that is going to be wildly successful!

• And in the category of the most un-exciting restaurant news of the week...the News & Observer is reporting this morning that in downtown Raleigh a Subway is going into the former Port City Java space on Fayetteville Street at the intersection with West Martin Street. Really? What is one of the liveliest intersections in downtown Raleigh, and we get the 23,337th location of Subway. Yawn.

• Downtown Durham's Mateo Bar de Tapas announced this week that they are now open for lunch Tuesday through Friday. The restaurant, owned by Chef Matt Kelly, opened in early August. Get all the details here. 

• We got a tweet this week from Lee Langston notifying us that Asuka Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar in Morrisville is currently closed with "Under Renovation" signs up. We'll take a look into this and see when we can expect them to reopen and what the renovations are. Stay tuned.

• Tomorrow is the Bull City Burger & Brewery's 2nd annual Octoberfest Street Party from 4-11 pm. They are closing down Parrish Street in downtown Durham to host live music, food, beverages and family fun. Get all the details here. 

• The Chef's Academy is hosting its second annual Triangle Chef Showdown - an intense cooking competition between four local and well-known chefs, next Thursday, Sept. 27 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at its Morrisville campus, located at 2001 Carrington Mill Blvd. The 2012 contestants include Chef Keith Rhodes (Catch in Wilmington), Chef Scott Schabot (Ruckus Pizza, Pasta and Spirits), Chef Ryan Payne (The Weathervane at Southern Season) and Chef John Mannino (Mannino's in Virginia Beach). Sign up to attend here.

• Mark your calendar for St. Ann Catholic Church's fifth annual International Food Festival in Clayton on September 29th from 11:30 to 6:30 pm. Nineteen countries will be represented in the food prepared by the church's parishioners, and at $3 a plate, you simply can't beat it.. There also will be live international music and children's games. The church is located at 4057 U.S. 70 Business West in Clayton. For the menus and music schedule, go here.

• The Western Wake Farmers Market is again hosting their annual Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, October 6th. Anyone interested in entering can do so by simply showing up with your concoction by 9 am. The Western Wake Farmers Market is located at 1225 Morrisville Carpenter Road in Cary. Get more details here.

• Apparently October can be loosely translated to mean "special dinners" here in the Triangle. The N&O's Andrea Weigl noted these upcoming dinners: Durham's Rue Cler restaurant is partnering with Green Button Farm to offer a "nose-to-tail" dinner at 5:30 Oct. 7. The six-course meal costs $60. For a reservation, go online here. 

• Raleigh's Mandolin restaurant is offering a dinner with renowned wine importer and author Charles Neal. The seven-course meal with wine pairings costs $79 per person. For a reservation, call 919-322-0365. More details here.

• And Chapel Hill's La Residence restaurant is offering a six-course dinner with Aveniu Brands wine pairings at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 24. The meal costs $65 per person. To make a reservation, call 919-967-2506. More details here.

• It is time to get one the area's largest and most popular foodie events on your calendar. Trust me, you don't want to miss this. The N&O's Andrea Weigl has this on her "can't miss" list and you'll want it on your list as well. The Terra Vita Food Wine Event is being held over 3 days and will feature 4 different events culminating with the "headline act" being the Grand Tasting on the Green on Saturday, November 3rd from 1-4:30 p.m. Get ALL the details here. 

• Listen up NC State fans (or just foodies in general). Go ahead and mark your calendar for the Red & White Food & Beverage Festival on Thursday, November 1 from 6-10 p.m. It will be held at The State Club located on NC State's Centennial Campus. The cost is $25 for State Club members; $30 for Alumni Association members and $35 for Carolina and ECU fans, uh, I mean general admission. And use promotional code "trifoodguy" and they'll knock $5 off your ticket!! Get all the details and a full listing of restaurants and beverage companies here as well as order your tickets.

Friday Fun Food Facts - September 14, 2012

Triangle Restaurant News

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

•  We begin with a shameless (but fun) promotion for Triangle Food Guy. Who else can’t stop thinking about Pumpkin Spice Lattes? How do you get one...or two? It’s simple. Anyone that places an order through our site today for delivery next week will get a $10 Starbucks gift card. Pretty simple, huh? Can you say TWO Pumpkin Spice Lattes please!?! Order today and enjoy your Pumpkin Spice Lattes next week! If you’ve never used us, now’s a great time to try. See what others are saying about us.

• According to the Durham Herald-Sun, the Refectory Café is now open: at 2726 Chapel Hill Blvd. Those on Duke’s campus will be familiar with the café, but now that is has moved off campus, more will be able to enjoy their “slow food, fast.” Congrats to Laura Hall on the opening. Get more information here.

• According to the local blog New Raleigh, Raleigh will be home to the first location of Taco Taco Café outside of San Antonio. While an exact location is not known yet, we do know it won’t be their last Triangle area location. They have plans to open additional Triangle locations about every 18 months after the Raleigh location opens in Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham. Get a sneak peek at it here.

• Thanks to a tip from reader Joe Roney, we learned this week that West Raleigh will soon be home to a Latin American grill called Guascaca touted as an arepa and salsa grill. It will be located on Lake Boone Trail in the same development as WhichWich and Buffalo Brothers. We don’t have any further details at this point. We will keep you posted.

• And speaking of WhichWich, we learned this week that the newest location of WhichWich has opened in Cameron Village, just around the corner from The Flying Biscuit in the former Quizno’s location. Also, look for the fifth Triangle location of WhichWich to open in Durham next month.

• If you’ve ever been to a pig pickin’ up in the Rolesville area, there is no doubt you’ve enjoyed JD’s BBQ Catering. Well, last month they opened a storefront grill called JD’s Grill and Backyard BBQ and it is located at 400 Southtown Circle in the heart of Rolesville. Stop by and pay them a visit. Here's a link to their Facebook site.

• We learned this week that The GrEAT Mongolian Grill in Cary has closed. For a while, signs noted that it was closed for renovations, but now all the restaurant signs are down and a “For Lease” sign is now up. It was located at 243 Grande Heights Dr.

• Local blogger Johanna Kramer has published a very cool book on the local dining scene called The Food Lovers' Guide to Raleigh, Durham & Chapel Hill. She will host a book launch this Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. at G2B Gastro Pub in Durham. If you’d like to attend, you can RSVP here. You can also check out other book signing events at her website here. Well done Johanna!

• This Saturday and Sunday is the 7th annual Eastern Triangle Farm Tour. The public can visit 23 farms from Moncure to Lewisburg between 1-5 p.m. each day. The farm tour costs $25 per car in advance. For information on getting your tickets, go here.

• Don’t forget that this weekend is the 31st annual Greek Festival in Raleigh. Head on over to the NC State Fairgrounds Exposition Center to enjoy food, pastries, live music, dancing and the marketplace. The event runs 5-10 on Friday, 11 until 10 pm on Saturday and 11 until 6 on Sunday. Get more details here.

• Make plans now for Bull City Burger & Brewery’s 2nd annual Octoberfest Street Party on Saturday, September 22nd from 4-11 pm. They are closing down Parrish Street in downtown Durham to host live music, food, beverages and family fun. Get all the details here.

• The Chef’s Academy is hosting its second annual Triangle Chef Showdown - an intense cooking competition between four local and well-known chefs, on Thursday, September 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on its Morrisville campus, located at 2001 Carrington Mill Blvd. The 2012 contestants include Chef Keith Rhodes (Catch in Wilmington), Chef Scott Schabot (Ruckus Pizza, Pasta and Spirits), Chef Ryan Payne (The Weathervane at Southern Season) and Chef John Mannino (Mannino’s in Virginia Beach). Sign up to attend here.

• Mark your calendar for St. Ann Catholic Church's fifth annual International Food Festival in Clayton on September 29th from 11:30 to 6:30 pm. Nineteen countries will be represented in the food prepared by the church's parishioners, and at $3 a plate, you simply can’t beat it. There also will be live international music and children's games. The church is located at 4057 U.S. 70 Business West in Clayton. For the menus and music schedule, go here.

• The Western Wake Farmers Market is again hosting their annual Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, October 6th. Anyone interested in entering can do so by simply showing up with your concoction by 9 am. The Western Wake Farmers Market is located at 1225 Morrisville Carpenter Road in Cary. Get more details here.

• Listen up NC State fans (or just foodies in general). Go ahead and mark your calendar for the Red & White Food & Beverage Festival on Thursday, November 1 from 6-10 p.m. It will be held at The State Club located on NC State’s Centennial Campus. The cost is $25 for State Club members; $30 for Alumni Association members and $35 for Carolina and ECU fans, uh, I mean general admission. And use promotional code “trifoodguy” and they’ll knock $5 off your ticket!! Get all the details and a full listing of restaurants and beverage companies here as well as order your tickets.

• And we close with a well deserved kudos to Andrea Weigl and everyone down at the News & Observer for being recognized with 2nd place finish by the Association of Food Journalists for Best Food Coverage for a publication with circulation of 135,000 or less. Should have been first in our humble, but correct, opinion! Kudos Andrea! Get all the details here.

Friday Fun Food Facts - September 7, 2012

Triangle Restaurant News

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

•  I begin with a big shout out to my buddy Gregory Ng, the "frozen food master" at Freezer Burns, for hosting a 24-hour telethon for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina beginning tonight at 6 p.m. and running until 6 p.m. tomorrow. Visit the site to see all the excitement and opportunities for you to support a great cause. Thanks Greg for all you are doing to fight hunger right here in our own back yard.

• It is official, this past Wednesday downtown Raleigh swung open the doors to the much anticipated Bida Monda, a Laotian restaurant and bar. It is located at 222 South Blount Street, which you'll recognize as the former location of the Duck & Dumpling and then Fai Thai. Check out their website here.   

• Also in downtown Raleigh, Greg Hatem’s The Raleigh Times has expanded. The expansion into the former Brass Grill location has added 100 additional seats on both the first and second floors. Additional expansion calls for an enlarged kitchen, a roof-top patio that seats 30 and a pick-up window. Get all the details here.

• The Herald-Sun is reporting that chef Ricky Moore is opening a small seafood “joint” called Saltbox in Durham later this month. The “joint” will more likely resemble a “permanent” food truck stand, as there is no seating (outdoor seating is in the plans). It will be located 608 N. Mangum Street in the former Big Daddy’s Grill location.

• Also in downtown Durham, I stopped by Ninth Street Bakery last week and got an update on the outdoor patio that is in the works there. Owner Frank Ferrell will have the patio open in time for the Durham Arts Council’s Centerfest Arts Festival September 15th and 16th. Look for an expanded café menu and lots of outdoor events in the new space. Check them out here. 

• The News & Observer is reporting a couple of new restaurant openings this morning. Tarbouch, a new Greek and Middle Eastern restaurant, has opened at 5645 Creedmoor Rd., next to Harmony Farms in Raleigh. And Cappallo’s Pizza has opened at 2462 Walnut St., near the PetSmart. It is an Italian fast food restaurant.

• Thanks to reader Jason Klaitman, we learned this week that Camos Brothers Pizza has returned to Chapel Hill, this time on East Franklin Street in the strip mall tucked in behind Staples (in the former Quizno’s location). Excited to have Camos Brothers back in Chapel Hill. Check out their Facebook page here.

• And speaking of Chapel Hill, we learned this week that the third Triangle location of Tobacco Road Sports Café is shooting for an opening during the first week of October. We’ll keep an eye on it and let you know as we get closer. Check them out here. 

• Raleigh has a new food truck according to the N&O. The North Raleigh location of Red, Hot & Blue rolled out a new set of wheels this week, initially serving lunch. Look for them to expand into dinner hours in October. Keep up with the truck on their Facebook page here. 

• Last week we reported that Le Mussell’s in Apex had closed. This week we are excited to let you know that the business was sold to Katherine Ward from The Corner Tavern & Grill in Cary. She will be opening up very soon, hopefully so as to not miss too many more football weekends! We will keep you posted.

• We also learned this week that there are a number of restaurants for sale for anyone interested in getting into the business. The Rose Garden is for sale in North Raleigh on Creedmoor Rd. (same shopping center as Dos Taquitos). Also, Klara’s Restaurant in downtown Cary is for sale, as they are set to open their new location in the former Frazier’s on Hillsborough St any day now. Drop me a note if you are interested.

• Over in Durham, Carolina Brewery will team up with Piedmont to offer a beer dinner on Friday September 14th. This is a great way to sample great food paired with great beer. The cost is $45 for 3 courses and 4 beers. They will also have other beer dinners with Fullsteam Brewery (Sept. 19th) and Foothills Brewery (Sept. 24th). Get more information on all their beer dinners on their website here. 

• The Cookery will host the grand opening of their new event space - the Front Room - on Saturday, September 15th from noon until 3 p.m. The opening will serve as a fundraiser benefiting the DCRC's emergency shelter and will feature cuisine from Rue Cler's Aaron Benjamin as well as many of the food trucks that utilize The Cookery's shared kitchen space (think Chirba Chirba Dumplings, Monuts Donuts, The Parlour, Pie Pushers, Sympathy for the Deli, and Triangle Raw Foods). There will also be wine and beer tastings featuring The Clever Vine, Bull City Burger and Brewery, Fullsteam, Lonerider Brewing Company, and Triangle Brewing Company. Congrats to Rochelle Johnson and Nick Hawthorne-Johnson.

• Go ahead and mark your calendars for the 7th annual Eastern Triangle Farm Tour which will be held on September 15 and 16. The public can visit 23 farms from Moncure to Lewisburg between 1-5 p.m. each day. The event happens rain or shine. The farm tour costs $25 per car in advance. Tickets can be purchased online here or at Harmony Farms store in Raleigh or Whole Foods stores throughout the Triangle. 

• Once a year Raleigh goes to Greece for the weekend! Mark you calendars for September 14-16 and head on over to the NC State Fairgrounds Exposition Center for the 31st Annual Greek Festival of Raleigh. Enjoy food, pastries, live music, dancing and the marketplace. The event runs 5-10 on Friday, 11 until 10 pm on Saturday and 11 until 6 on Sunday. Get more details here.  

• Make plans now for Bull City Burger & Brewery's 2nd annual Octoberfest Street Party on Saturday, September 22nd from 4-11 pm. They are closing down Parrish Street in downtown Durham to host live music, food, beverages and family fun. Get all the details here. 

• The Western Wake Farmers Market is again hosting their annual Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, October 6th. Anyone interested in entering can do so by simply showing up with your concoction by 9 am. The Western Wake Farmers Market is located at 1225 Morrisville Carpenter Road in Cary. Get more details here.

• And finally, you NC State fans (or just foodies in general) should mark your calendar for the Red & White Food & Beverage Festival on Thursday, November 1 from 6-10 p.m. It will be held at The State Club located on NC State's Centennial Campus. The cost is $25 for State Club members; $30 for Alumni Association members and $35 for Carolina and ECU fans, uh, I mean general admission. And use promotional code “trifoodguy” and they’ll knock $5 off your ticket!!  Get all the details and a full listing of restaurants and beverage companies here as well as order your tickets.