Friday Fun Food Facts - March 15, 2013

Triangle Restaurant News

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

Featured Restaurant News

•  Each year the Independent Weekly publishes a "Best of the Triangle" listing 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 (enter Triangle Food Guy). 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. Thanks in advance for your time.
    
   

Wake County Restaurant News 

• You heard it here first last week, but we’ve got a few more details we can now share with you regarding the new dining option coming into downtown Raleigh’s Marbles Kids Museum. The new dining concept will be called Pogo and is the latest concept to be rolled out by Tom Meyer, who also owns The Q Shack in Raleigh, as well as Greens (Chapel Hill) and Sprout Café (Durham). Get more details here. Look for them to open some time in June.

• This past Wednesday saw the opening of Lime Fresh Mexican Grill in Morrisville’s Park West Village development. The restaurant also announced that it will open a Chapel Hill location in the newly constructed 140 West Franklin Street development on April 10th. Get all the details here. 

• We got word this week that there is a Moe’s Southwest Grill coming to Apex. It will be going in at Haddon Hall Commons, next to Sweet Spoons, in the same spot where Mambo Italiano was. No word yet on an open date, but we’ll keep an eye on it. 

• Saw an “Open Now” sign for Carolina Wing Company which took over the Buffalo’s Café location in Stonehenge Shopping Center in Raleigh.

• Up in Wake Forest, thanks to a tip from reader Joe Roney and confirmed by Triangle Explorer John Huisman, we learned that the old Chicago pizza joint that was in front of the Wake Forest Walmart is being turned into sports pub that will be called My Place. No indication as of yet as to an open date.

• And both John and Joe also noticed that in the same shopping center the former Stake and Shake building is undergoing major structural renovations for what appears to be another restaurant, but no indications yet of what it will be. We’ll ask John & Joe to keep an eye on that. Thanks guys!

• The folks over at Larry's Beans are having another Comparative Coffee Cupping Event at their bean plant in Raleigh on Thursday March 21st from 6:30-8pm. This looks to be a smaller event than last time (limited to 25 people) featuring coffee from Bolivia roasted at 6 different roast degrees and compared side by side. The registration ($10) includes pizza from the Klausie's pizza truck. Thanks to John Huisman, aka Triangle Explorer, for this tip. Get more information here and register here.

• Fork & Barrel executive chef Chris Harris informed me this week that they have brought on Miguel Cuevas who was the former kitchen manager/chef at Gonza Taco y Tequila. Mark your calendar for every Tuesday as they take their Taco Tuesday to a whole new level. Get all the details here.

• And if you are over in Cary this weekend, don’t forget that Dean’s Seafood Grill & Bar begins their Sunday brunch service this weekend. Stop by and enjoy a bite to eat. Get all the details here. 

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

• Thanks to a tip from our friends over at Ninth Street Watch, we learned that the Shops at Erwin Mill developer (i.e. new Harris Teeter) will include a Tijuana Flats. They had previously announced a Jimmy Johns and a Subway, according to site plans. 

• We got a little more detail this week on the development going in next to Patterson Place and across from New Hope Commons (real close to 15-501 and 40) thanks to the Herald-Sun. The food joints there will include a PDQ, a Chipotle Mexican Grill, Breugger’s Bagels and the next location for Denny’s. We’ll continue to watch all of this as it comes out of the ground.

• Thanks to an anonymous tip on our blog, we learned that it appears as if the folks behind Extravagant Fare Catering are planning to open a restaurant called Bull City Diner at 3314 Guess Road in Durham that will serve southern-style breakfast all day (well, until 2 pm). No word yet on an open date, but you can see their menu here and visit the Extravagant Fare site here. 

• Northgate Mall got another addition to their food court this week with the opening of Micky’s Chicken and Fish. It is owned by Sadiq Kassamali who also owns Northgate’s CinnaMonster. The establishment features farm-raised chicken and sustainable seafood options cooked daily. Check them out here. 

• Over in Chapel Hill, we learned this week that the corner spot of the Harris Teeter in Meadowmont, which used to house Bean Traders, will open on March 31 as Starbucks. This marks the 6 millionth location of Starbucks (ok, that is an exaggeration, but I didn’t feel like looking it up).

• According to the Herald-Sun, Pelican’s SnoBalls, which serves shaved ice in 100 different flavors, opened their first location in Durham last May on Roxboro Street, and have plans to open their second location on April 1 at 606 Fayetteville Street. Find out more about Pelican's SnoBalls here.

• And if that is not enough yummy goodness coming out of Durham, the brick and mortar location of The Parlour is just weeks away from opening according to the Herald-Sun. Co-owner Yani Mazuz says the location, which previously housed the production kitchen for Locopops, will be at 117 Market Street. Their truck is also back out on the streets after taking a winter hiatus. Keep up with everything here.

Closings  

• None to report - yea!

Food Trucks 

• And looking ahead a little, Durham Foodie Johanna Kramer turned us onto the news that the Fairview Garden Center in Raleigh will host a series of Food Truck Rodeos called "Flora and Food Trucks Series".  The first will be held on Saturday, March 30, followed by two more on April 20 and May 11. Each event will feature 4-5 food trucks. Fairview is located at 8224 Holly Springs Road in Raleigh. Get all the details here.  

Events

• The downtown Raleigh location of the Hibernian Pub is not back yet, but they will be hosting a St. Paddy's Day Block Party (on North Street) on March 16th featuring food trucks (we’ve heard Chirba Chirba Dumpling, Baguettaboutit and American Meltdown), cold beer and entertainment. Get all the details here.

• The folks over at Raleigh's Q Shack and Big Boss Brewing have teamed up for an event that is no joke. On April Fools Day (April 1st) they will host a Beer Dinner featuring seven beers and a four-course dinner at Big Boss Brewing. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Get all the details here.

• Spring is in the air, which means it is getting closer to one of my favorite events of the year - the 18th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour. Get ready to load up the car with your family and/or all your friends and spend the weekend touring our local farms. Mark your calendar now for April 27th and 28th. 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. 

• 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 at 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.

• The annual event that celebrates locally brewed craft beer, Brewgaloo, will take place this year on April 27th on downtown Raleigh City Plaza. The event will feature local breweries and food trucks (what else could a person want?). Get all the details on their Faceook page here.

• The Morrisville Chamber of Commerce recently announced a food and arts festival that will be held along Town Hall Drive on May 18th from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Called East Meets West, the event will feature Morrisville-area restaurants, music, performances and a variety of visual arts. Get it on your calendar and get all the details here.

• The 2013 version of Farm to Fork will take place on Sunday, June 9th. The annual picnic celebrates local food and local farms. Get all the details here.