Friday Fun Food Facts - January 11, 2013

Triangle Restaurant News

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

•  Chapel Hill is getting a new burger joint next Monday with the opening of Top This! in the former Jack Sprat location on East Franklin Street. Serving up custom burgers, roast beef sandwiches and much, much more, this will mark the Triangle's second location and will serve a lunch, dinner and late-night crowd. Congrats to Tom, Mike and the entire crew on their 2nd location. Check them out here. And be sure to visit their Raleigh location as well near Rex Hospital.

• We told you last week that Rocky Top's Rockwell's American Grill in Cary had closed and was being re-introduced as Dean's Seafood Grill & Bar. We got word this week that they are looking at a January 22 open. Keep up with them on Facebook here.  

• Downtown Raleigh's Wilmoore Café, located on Wilmington Street, has been sold to Ashley Christensen (who also owns Poole's Diner, Chuck's, Beasley's Chicken + Honey, and Fox Liquor Bar). The coffee house and café will close on January 18th, and will re-open after about 6 weeks of renovations with an expanded menu and hours. We'll keep an eye out for the opening, which will occur under a new name. I wonder if Ashley played a lot of Monopoly as a child??? Check them out here.  

• Speaking of expanded hours, we learned this week that the popular Morrisville deli, Pepper's Market, will be extending their hours to include dinner beginning next Monday, January 14th. Check out Pepper's Market here. 

• In a spot WRAL did on the revitalization of downtown Cary, we happened to catch a glimpse of a "coming soon" sign for Lawrence Coffee Bar coming to the two-story Jones-Foy house on Academy Street near the Cary Arts Center. This is the latest venture of Larry Larson, founder of Larry's Beans. Look for an opening sometime this winter. Check out Larry's Beans here. 

• Thanks to the Herald-Sun, we got word this week that a new dining option is coming to Pittsboro. Modern Life Deli & Drinks will open in the next week or two at 46 Sanford Road. They will serve bagels, coffee, soups, salads, and sandwiches, as well as items cooked in their wood-fired oven.

• And not far from Pittsboro on Hwy. 64 (near the intersection with Fearrington Road/Beaver Creek Road), I noticed recently that the Grill-N-Go is now open. The joint offers your typical drive-thru options - burgers, fries, onion rings, etc. An easy stop on your way to Jordan Lake or along the way to the zoo.

• We recently paid a visit to North Raleigh's PDQ (corner of Falls of Neuse and Spring Forest), a fast casual restaurant specializing in chicken tenders, salads, sandwiches, fresh cut fries and milkshakes, and learned that they will open their second Triangle location in Wake Forest on March 24th. And about two months after that they will open a location in Cary. Look for Fayetteville, Concord and Durham to follow after those. Check out PDQ here.  

• And speaking of North Raleigh, an anonymous tip left on our blog last week turned us onto the fact that the 7th Triangle location of Greek Fiesta has opened in the Falls Point Shopping Center (think Kohls and Harris Teeter). Check them out here.  

• In our "pending file" we are still awaiting the opening of Glenwood South's Dos Taquitos Xoco. Fiction Kitchen, the 100% vegetarian restaurant coming to downtown Raleigh's Dawson Street, is getting closer to coming off our pending list. We know they have had several "soft openings" to work out kinks, and according to their Facebook page, it is looking like early next week. Stay tuned. Check it out here.

• Others in our "pending file" include: Kipos, a Greek Taverna, coming to Chapel Hill's West Franklin Street. It is another concept by Giorgios Bakatsias...Waffle House on East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill is looking at a mid-February opening...Barberito's, a southwestern grill and cantina, will open in mid-February in Cary's Waverly Place (with a Raleigh location not too far behind) according to Leigh Benoliel, a retail commercial broker...and speaking of Waverly Place, Taziki's Medeiterranean Cafe will open the middle of this month, according to Benoliel...Taqueria del Sol is on the clock to open their 2nd location in the Triangle, with this one coming to Durham...Blend and Grind, a coffee, smoothie and juice bar which will be located in downtown Raleigh's Seaboard Station is looking at a February opening...Denny's is coming to Durham's Hope Valley Commons Shopping Center...Char-Grill in Clayton is working toward an August opening...Hibernian Pub North Raleigh in North Raleigh on Falls of the Neuse Road (former Duffy's location) could open any day now.

• Thanks to a heads-up from the N&O's Andrea Weigl, we learned that Nathalie Dupree, author of her latest cookbook, "Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking" is doing a lunch Wednesday, January 23rd at Fearrington's Granary Restaurant featuring dishes from her new cookbook. The lunch is at 1 p.m. and costs $75 for a four-course meal and a copy of the book. Get more details here. 

• Thanks to a tip from Sonja Foust, we learned that the Streets at Southpoint's Rockfish Seafood Grill has closed their doors. This follows not too long after the opening of Bonefish Grill, only a mile or so down the road.

• We also learned this week that Casalinga, an Italian Restaurant that has served the Triangle since 1995, closed their doors this week. They were located on Capital Blvd. in the mini-city shopping center. However, former long-time chef, Carlo Cappiello, left last year and owns and operates Casa San Carlo in the Falls Point Shopping Center in North Raleigh. Check him out here. 

• And according to one of our readers, Carole Walker, Buffalo's Café in Raleigh's Stonehenge Shopping Center has closed. She noted that a sign hints at a Carolina Wing Company coming soon to that location. We'll keep an eye on it. Thanks Carole!

• Triangle Restaurant Week returns the week of January 21st. The week-long culinary celebration at area restaurants is highlighted this year by the menu being presented by Chef Ryan Payne at The Weathervane in Chapel Hill's Southern Season. This past fall he won a statewide competition and will feature his winning dishes during the week. Thanks to the N&O's Andrea Weigl for that tip. Get all the details on all the participating restaurants and their menus here.

• And we close with a fun competition where everyone needs to cast a vote. Our very own Bull City, aka Durham, is up against some tough competition in Southern Living Magazine's latest contest to find the "Tastiest Town in the South" for 2013. We need to put Durham (and the entire Triangle) on the map ahead of Atlanta, Charleston, New Orleans, Miami, etc. Vote early and vote often! You have until February 28th.