Friday Fun Food Facts - April 12, 2013

Triangle Restaurant News

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

Featured Restaurant News

• Alright folks. This is your last chance - voting closes out next Monday. But don't just do it because we are asking you to, do it for all of your favorites - everything - in the Triangle. This is a tremendous resource for everyone in the Triangle and is a true reflection of the community's perspective - but only if you take the time to vote. And if you are so inclined, we'd be grateful for your vote as the Best Local Blog. If you have a moment, please take an opportunity to give us a nod in that category - it is very much appreciated. Voting ends Monday, April 15, so vote now!
    
   

Wake County Restaurant News 

• April 15th is a day we are all looking forward to, right? Well it is if you are like me and have been patiently waiting on the opening of Cowfish! We reported it last week, but it was "officially" confirmed early this morning that Cowfish will open in North Hills (Captrust Building) next Monday. Get all the details here.

• As of this writing (early on Friday morning) we are expecting The OC Bar & Grill in Raleigh's Oberlin Court to open their doors today. They haven't officially confirmed that through Facebook, so you'll want to check it here before you go. The OC is located on Oberlin Road and will be much more than just a bar. Get all the details here on their website.

• So a couple of interesting tweets this week from Raleigh's Ashley Christensen. The first noteworthy tweet allows us to announce that the Wilmoore Café which she recently purchased (and is currently renovating) will re-open as Joule Coffee. It will be located at 233 S. Wilmington Street. No official open date, but they are hiring, so we are getting close. Keep up with all of Christensen's concepts here.

• The second confirmed what we told you weeks ago, and that is they have stopped serving their Sunday brunch at Poole's Diner, but they will now be open 7 nights a week serving dinner. They other news is that the word on the street is you'll be able to enjoy some of those Sunday brunch goodies at Joule Coffee when they open. Get all the details on Poole's here.

• And finally, back in early February we told you that we had heard rumors of a new French bistro and event space being created by Christensen. Well a tweet this week pretty much confirmed that that is indeed in the works referring to the space on Salisbury Street as "our next project." As always, we'll continue to monitor it.

• Out in RTP, we got a press release from our friends at Chatham Hill Winery that they are moving to a new location after 14 years at the Gateway Center near RDU. After May 4th their entire operation will be at 8245 Chapel Hill Road in Cary. To help celebrate, they are holding a Moving unWine-d party tonight (April 12th) from 5:30 - 9 pm with music and food from Captain Ponchos. There is a $5 cover charge. The winery will be closed from April 22 to May 3. They are planning to reopen at the new location on May 4. Get all the details here. 

• Also out in RTP, we got word from Mike DePersia of National Restaurant Properties that Rudino's RTP location was sold last week to Morley Muralidhar who intends to carry on the Rudino's concept.

• And over in Holly Springs, DePersia also notified us that All Aboard Pizzeria in the Southpark Village shopping center in Holly Springs was sold to JP LaRussa. LaRussa hails from the San Francisco Bay area and will bring his Chicago deep dish recipe along with plans to change the name to Acme Pizza Company.  

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

• I love this story. What happens when you combine love with what you love to do? Well, if you ask Katie & Justin Meddis the obvious answer is that you open a butcher and pastry shop in one location! And that is exactly what these two lovebirds are doing over in the Brightleaf Square District in Durham with the anticipated opening of Rose's Meat Market and Sweet Shop. And you can help to see it come to fruition by supporting their Kickstarter campaign or by attending their Kickstarter party on April 28th. Get all the details here.

• And staying in Durham, we got a little snippet of a detail from the N&O's Andrea Weigl this week. She apparently ran into Empire Eats' Greg Hatem and got word that The Pit location in Durham (Fullsteam Brewery building) will open this July. Getting closer!

• Lime Fresh Mexican Grill did open their doors this past Wednesday (April 10th) on Chapel Hill's West Franklin Street in the new 140 West development. This marks their third Triangle area location. Learn more about Lime here.  

Closings  

• Got a bit of bad news coming out of Cary this week when good friend Keri McCauley tipped me off to the fact that the Caribou Coffee at 4214 NW Cary Parkway (Preston Corners) would be closing their doors next Monday. Apparently this is part of a larger company move that is shuttering 80 locations total. According to the Triangle Business Journal, the location at Triangle Town Center will also close. 

Food Trucks 

• This is interesting. A couple of posts down you'll see info on the upcoming Raleigh Food Truck Rodeos coming our way. Well, in "preparation" for those, they are holding a Flash Mob Food Truck Rodeo tonight (April 12) from 6-9 p.m. in the Mordecai Historic Park in downtown Raleigh. Look for Captain Poncho's Taco, Hibachi Xpress, Philly's Cheesesteaks, LocoPops and Big Island Shaved Ice to be there. Stop by and get a "taste" of what is to come. Get all the details here.

• For those that like shopping and food trucks (or those of us that just like food trucks), Mebane is where you want to be this weekend as they will have food trucks, cooking demonstrations and activities for the kids. Check out all that is going on at Tanger Outlets this weekend here.

• The second food truck rodeo at Fairview Garden Center in Raleigh is just around the corner. It will be held on April 20 and followed by a third on 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.

• If you like food trucks and beer (stupid question, right?), mark your calendar for April 27 (3 - 9 p.m.) and plan on being in downtown Raleigh's city plaza for Brewgaloo - an event featuring 24 local craft beers, 12 food trucks (including Klausie's Pizza, Cafe' Prost, Baguettaboutit, Big Al's & Chirba Chirba, Lumpy's Ice Cream, Hibachi Xpress, Only Burger, American Meltdown, Sweet Stacey Cakes and more) and eight bands . Get all the details here.

• Can you say Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo? Can you say four dates? Can you envision food trucks lined up the length of 3 football fields down Fayetteville Street? Mark your calendars for May 12th, June 9th, August 11th and October 13th. On those dates, they'll start lining them up at the State Capital on Fayetteville Street (single file) and stretch out...forever! And, with electricity provided, no generators! Get all the details here. 

Events

• The Wolfpack Club is having their Third Annual BBQ Bowl at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday, April 20. The Wolfpack Club will host a weekend of activities that will culminate with a North Carolina Pork Council sanctioned cook-off and celebrity judging prior to the NC State Kay Yow Spring Football Game. Register your team, pre-order plates and get all the details here. 

• The Raleigh Downtown Farmers Market will kick off its 4th season in downtown Raleigh's City Plaza on Wednesday, April 24 (10 a.m. - 2 p.m.) with a pig pickin' featuring authentic North Carolina barbecue from The Pit. Get all the details here.

• Thanks to a tip from my buddy John Huisman (aka Triangle Explorer) I learned that Larry's Beans is holding another free public tour of their facility on Saturday April 27th at 11 a.m. If you haven't been on one of these tours, it is well worth your time. While there you'll get to try some of their coffee, enjoy live music, sample beer from Big Boss and much more. Sign up before it fills up (it will)!

• 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.

• My good friend Lisa Englert turned me onto an upcoming event some of you may be interested in - the kick-off of the 4th Annual Herbfest weekend on Friday, May 3 at 7 p.m. by welcoming food and garden writers, Debbie Moose and Carol Stein. They will lead a discussion about how to cook what you grow and grow what you like to eat. Get all the details 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. 

Final Thoughts

• Our friends over at The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina need your help to secure a $45,000 grant from Walmart to provide funding for five of their Kids Cafe locations. If you're so inclined, please give them a much-needed vote here. You can vote once a day from now until April 30th. Thanks!

• And finally, I came across a fascinating article in Metro Magazine that highlights how "inter-connected" so many of our great chefs here in the Triangle are. If you consider yourself a true Triangle Foodie, you'll want to definitely give this a read. You'll be glad you did.