Friday Fun Food Facts - December 13, 2013

Triangle Restaurant News

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

Featured Restaurant News

•  We got a tip from the folks over at New Raleigh and confirmed that the Garland opened this past Wednesday! Located at 14 W. Martin Street in downtown Raleigh, the Garland has been working since the end of October on completing the transformation from window service to dining room service. Check them out here.    

Wake County Restaurant News 

• The News & Observer reported this morning that an American cuisine restaurant called The Oakz is coming to the 510 Glenwood South building in downtown Raleigh in mid-January. Ira Freedman and his daughter, Jaclyn Starritt, are behind the venture. The menu will have a variety of American dishes, including brick chicken, jambalaya pasta, shrimp and grits and bison burgers, along with stuffed pork and salmon. Check them out on Facebook here.

• We are still awaiting the opening of the much-anticipated Gringo A Go-Go over on Person Street. After rumors swirled that it might have opened this past weekend, we still wait on a few last minute details. Any day now... Keep up with the latest here.

• Our friends over at New Raleigh tweeted out this week that Indian Cuisine Kabab and Curry will replace Klara's (old Frazier's space) on Hillsborough Street. No other details are available at this point.

• If you were a fan of the Bavarian Brathaus over in Durham, you will be glad to know they will be opening a new German restaurant over in Cary called the German Grille. It will be located at 243 Grande Heights Dr. in the Harrison Pointe Shopping Center where the Great Mongolian Grill used to be. No final open date yet. Thanks to my friend Wendy Ransbury for this tip! 

• So the Caribou location over in Raleigh on Duraleigh Road (Olde Raleigh Shopping Center) is re-opening next week (December 20) and will now be a combined Bruegger's Bagels and Caribou Coffee spot.

• WRAL reported that Kiwi Café and Smoothies opened in the Wakefield area of north Raleigh. Offering breakfast and lunch along with their coffee, smoothies and fresh squeezed juices, Kiwi is located in a strip near Bruno's restaurant at 11211 Galleria Avenue. Check them out here.

• The North Hills area continues to roll out new dining options. This week WRAL reported that Another Broken Egg, with locations in Durham & Morrisville, will open near the Hyatt House area early next year. Check them out here. 

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

• Two Durham powerhouses are joining forces to bring Japanese cuisine and beverages to the downtown Durham area in the summer of 2014. Billy and Kelli Cotter from Toast along with Nick Hawthorne-Johnson and Rochelle Johnson from The Cookery will open Dashi, serving lunch, dinner and late night with a menu that will center on ramen noodle bowls and small plates. You can read a little more about it on The Cookery's Facebook page here. 

• Up in Hillsborough, downtown's Gulf Rim Café will close in January and will reopen the third week of January under the new name of La Place Louisiana Cookery. The Wooden Nickel's Matt Fox and Gulf Rim Café's Joe Tullos are teaming up on the new venture. They will continue to serve Louisiana and regional cuisine, and Tullos, who comes from La Place, La., also plans to add charcuterie and house-made sausages to the menu. In the meantime, pay a visit to Gulf Rim Cafe. 

• Over in Chapel Hill, Andrea Reusing announced the opening of the Lantern restaurant's Lantern Table -- a community kitchen / private party space adjacent to the restaurant that offers cooking classes as well as being available for private functions. Learn more here. 

• A little further down Franklin Street, it looks like the former location of Pepper's Pizza (may it rest in peace...amen) will have a new occupant come early 2014 according to the Daily Tar Heel. Sup Dogs, a staple on ECU's campus, will bring their 23 exotic Sup Dogs, 15 specialty Sup Burgers and a full bar stocked with draft and bottled beer, liquor and signature drinks to Chapel Hill's Franklin Street. Check them out here. 

• WRAL suggested that Bull City Burger and Brewery's sister-restaurant Pompieri Pizza might open before year's end. Pompieri, which will be located in the historic Fire Station # 1 across from Durham's city hall on Mangum Street, will serve wood-fired pizzas. Check them out here. 

Closings 

•  None! Keeping eating local, folks!   

Food Trucks 

• There will be a new truck rolling around the streets of the Triangle come next April - assuming they get a little help from you! Dump Pho King Truck is targeting an April launch, but they are still in the middle of a kickstarter campaign (through January 18). As you can guess from their name, they are Asian inspired and their staples will be dumplings and pho. Check them out here. 

Events 

• This Saturday (December 14th), the folks over at Guglhuph will host their 5th Annual German Christmas Market from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Enjoy great German treats and drinks while listening to local bands and viewing the work of 12 NC based artists. Kids activities as well. Admission is free. Get more information here.

• Congratulations to Neomonde Café & Market in North Raleigh as they celebrate their 2-year anniversary on Saturday, December 14th. As part of the celebration, they will have wine, bread and food sampling, live Christmas music and Middle Eastern music and will donate 5% of their proceeds to Note in the Pocket. They will also give out a FREE piece of walnut baklava to every customer with their purchase! Get all the latest here.

• And the Angus Barn is cooking up two very unique and special dining experiences this holiday season - a Christmas Dinner featuring the wines of the Biltmore House on December 23rd and a New Year's Eve celebration on December 31st. Get information on the Christmas Dinner here and the New Year's Eve Celebration here (early seating) and here (late seating).

• Looking for someone else to do the cooking (and it is great! I can vouch), the Raleigh Q Shack is offering locally raised, all natural fresh turkeys, sugar cured hams, chile rubbed beef brisket and meals ready to serve or packed for reheating. Complete meals start at $69.99 and include a choice of three sides, plus Q Shack hush puppy dressing with gravy, homemade cranberry sauce. Only need the bird? Smoked turkeys are $49.95 and chile rubbed briskets are only $59.95. Get all the details here.

• Or if you'd rather just head out to eat for Christmas, take a look at the list the News & Observer put together here.

• Here is an event you are definitely going to want to get on your calendar for 2014. Two words: Beer. Bacon. That's right, a Beer and Bacon Festival is coming to Cary's Booth Amphitheater featuring at least 75 craft beers and 10 varieties of bacon (did you know there were 10 varieties?). The event will be held on March 29 from noon until 6 p.m. Get all the details and ticket information here.   

Food Bank Corner   

• If you are looking for a truly meaningful way to make a direct impact on someone's life this holiday season, consider donating to the annual Holiday Food Drive being conducted by the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Their goal is $350,000, or 1.7 million meals before December 31st. Get all the details on how you can help here.