Friday Fun Food Facts - February 15, 2013

Triangle Restaurant News

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

Featured Restaurant News

•  As you know, Durham and Asheville are in the running for Southern Living Magazine’s Tastiest Town in the South competition. To lobby for your vote, Chef Shane Ingram will host a dinner at Four Square on February 24th with chefs from Asheville and Durham. In addition to several chefs from Asheville, Ingram will be joined by Justin Rakes, Scott Martin and Matt Kelly. The six-course meal will begin at 7 pm and tckets are $75, not including tax and tip. Wine pairings will be available. Reservations can be made on the Open Table website or by phone at 919-401-9877. And vote for Durham now! You have until February 28th.

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

• Speaking of Justin Rakes and Scott Martin, we have all but confirmed they are moving forward to introduce a new concept over in Durham that will be called Salted Pig. No other word at this point on a location or timeline. But we’ll keep an eye on it. Love the name! 

• The Herald-Sun filled in a couple of missing pieces regarding the next Denny’s location in the Hope Valley Commons shopping center at the intersection of Hwy. 54 and 751 in Durham. First, we now know it is set to open in April. Additionally, the same franchisee plans to open a second location on 15-501 near Interstate 40. No timeline yet on that one as they are just beginning the site work.

• Thanks to a tip from reader Glenn Gillen who passed along that Café Renaissance has opened on Highway 55 across from NCCU. It is located where El Shaddai used to be. Not much on their website at this point. Thanks for the tip Glenn!  

• Over in Chapel Hill, Bean Traders has moved out of their location in Meadowmont’s Harris Teeter and has moved in a few doors down shacking up in the Lickity Split location. And as one would suspect, and we have now confirmed, Harris Teeter will add a Starbucks to that location. No timeline yet on when that will open.

• And speaking of Chapel Hill, a huge shoutout to Sutton’s Drug Store that celebrates its 90th birthday this year. It is truly a Chapel Hill institution and one of my favorite places to grab a bite to eat on Franklin Street. A special thanks to John Woodard Jr. for keeping this institution alive and kicking! Wish them a happy birthday on their Facebook page! 

Wake County Restaurant News 

• The anticipation is over! Go ahead and mark your calendar for the newest addition to Glenwood South - Dos Taquitos Xoco. It will officially open next Monday (February 18th) thanks to a tip from Carey Kidd. Check them out on Facebook here.

• We also got word this week thanks to an article in the Triangle Business Journal, that Kim Hunter will open Kimbap in Raleigh’s Seaboard Station on March 1st. Congrats to Kim and her team and we look forward to that opening. Look for more information on her website here.

• Got a tip from explorer extraordinaire John Huismann (aka Triangle Explorer) that a new Italian restaurant opened in North Raleigh yesterday called DeMarcos Bar & Restaurant. It is in the spot formally occupied by Anthony's Touch of Italy, which replaced a Cinelli's that closed a few years back, in the Bedford Subdivision. Check out their website here and their Facebook page here. 

• “Two is better than one.” “Double your pleasure.” You pick the phrase that best applies to Chef Bill La’s latest venture. Within his existing restaurant in Cary, The Chefs of India, he has opened a second concept called Bill-La’s Pollo a la Brasa where he is serving up Peruvian rotisserie-roasted chicken alongside their regular Indian fare. Thanks to the N&O’s Greg Cox for this tip. Check out both restaurants here and here.  

• If you’ve been over to Raleigh’s Centennial Campus recently you’ll be impressed with all the growth and new development that is going on over there. But we’re a little biased toward food and the Triangle Business Journal turned us onto the fact that in August they will open On the Oval Culinary Creations which will feature four “micro” restaurants. The four concepts will be: Cold Fusion (deli); Fahrenheit (pizza); Flashpoint (Asian-style); and Newton’s Grill & Diner (traditional grill). Read the article here.  

Closings 

• We learned this week that the Bryan Center location of Joe Van Gogh over on Duke’s campus will temporarily close from March 1st through the first week in June to accommodate ongoing renovations. 

Events 

• If you screwed up and forgot Valentine’s Day, here’s a chance to redeem yourself. Durham’s Piedmont Restaurant is hosting an Elemental Chocolate Dinner this Sunday, February 17th at 6:30 pm.  It's a deal at just $30 for 4 awesome chocolate filled courses! To get more information or to make a reservation, go here. 

• The inaugural Bull City Food & Beverage Experience will be held on February 24th at the Durham Performing Arts Center. The event will feature unlimited food and beer tastings from 20 Durham restaurants and 50 different beers. The cost is $75 (plus processing fees). Get all the details here.

• The seventh annual Empty Bowls event to benefit Urban Ministries of Durham will be held on Thursday, March 7th from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Purchase your tickets here.

• Thanks to a tip in the Herald-Sun, we learned that Durham will have its first Louisiana seafood festival when the Bayou Festival Tour comes to town on April 20. It will be held from noon to 8 p.m. at the CCB Plaza downtown. The festival is slated to include seafood, beer and beer samples. And it will return again, to Raleigh, on October 5th. Get all the details here. 

• Hold the date for the annual Wake Tech Culinary Arts Showcase which will be held this year on April 30th from 4-7 p.m. at the Raleigh Convention Center. Get all the initial details here.

Shameless Plug

  

And finally, an appeal from me. Each year the Independent Weekly publishes a "Best of the Triangle" issue of everything you can imagine. It truly is a great resource. That said, if you like what you read here, I would be humbled if you would take a moment to vote for us for Best Local Blog in the Triangle (it is all the way on the last page). It really would mean a lot to me. Also, while you are there, you could also vote us Best Person To Follow on Twitter, and if you use us for your catering, Best Caterer. It really is a fun survey/poll to complete. Thanks in advance for your time.