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.