Friday Fun Food Facts – December 5, 2014

Triangle Restaurant News

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

Daniel Benjamin’s much-anticipated contemporary patisserie/bakery Lucettegrace has opened at 235 S. Salisbury Street in downtown Raleigh. Their tag line probably says it best – a starting point for your day, an escape in the middle, and a reward at the end. Make the effort to stop by sometime soon. Get your mouth watering by checking them out here.

In the event that you were under a rock somewhere, Asheville’s Tupelo Honey Café opened this past Monday in the 401 Oberlin Apartments complex adjacent to Cameron Village. This place is amazing. Everything from the decor and artwork to the drinks and entrees are simply amazing. These first two weeks, they will only be open for dinner. Lunch hours begin on December 15th. Check them out here.

Night Kitchen Bakehouse & Café, which recently opened in downtown Raleigh’s Seaboard Station, will launch an expanded menu on December 16th which will include sandwiches on house-baked breads, quiche by the slice, salads and a soup of the day. Check them out here.

Got word this week that Smashburger is gearing up to open its second Triangle location, this one in Raleigh, on Wednesday, Dec. 17 in the Shops at Falls Village – 6679 Falls of Neuse Rd. Get all the details here.

In Cary, the News & Observer has reported that locals have two more Indian restaurants to enjoy. Biryani Maxx has opened at 590-102 E. Chatham St. in Cary. Check them out here. And less than a block away, Sri Meneekshi Bhavan has opened at 740 E. Chatham St. Check them out here.

Andy Magowan, owner of Durham’s Geer Street Garden, has teamed up again with Andy Perno and opened an Italian restaurant called The Boot. It is located on University Drive in the former Local Yogurt space, across from Nana’s. They are open for dinner now, but beginning on December 10th, they will open for lunch. Check them out here.

Over near Chapel Hill, I saw this week that Figs and Honey has opened in the Chatham Downs Shopping Center (Harris Teeter) on 15-501 just across the county line in Chatham County. It is owned by the husband and wife team of Heba Salama and Ed Brantley. Check out their menu here.

The News & Observer reported that Charlie Deal, who owns Dos Perros in Durham and Jujube in Chapel Hill, will be opening a new “Asian tapas restaurant” called Juju on Durham’s Ninth Street by mid-December. It will be in the former location of George’s Garage at 737 Ninth Street. Check them out here.

According to the Herald Sun, Latin American restaurant Gonza Tacos y Tequila, which has locations in Raleigh and Wake Forest, will be opening a Durham location next month at 604 Fernway Ave. The location previously housed the restaurant 604 West Village. Check them out here.

The Triangle Business Journal confirmed this week that City Barbecue, which opened its first North Carolina location in Cary earlier this year, will be expanding into Durham. They have purchased an out-parcel on Highway 54 in front of the Kroger-anchored shopping center, between McDonald’s and Ruby Tuesday. No word yet on an open date.

And over in Chapel Hill at East 54, The Egg & I breakfast andlLunch restaurant is swinging open their doors next Monday, December 8th. They open at 6 a.m., so get there early if you like! Get all the details here.

Also in Chapel Hill, on a recent drive down Franklin Street I noticed that Jasmin Bistro, a Mediterranean restaurant with four locations in the Triangle (all in Wake County), is opening at the corner of Columbia and Franklin Streets in the former location of Qdoba. Look for an opening sometime this Spring. Check them out here.

Reader Mark Ginsberg informed me that Maximillian’s Pizza Kitchen on Chapel Hill Road in Cary has closed. He did note that Maximillian Bar & Grill (next door) is still open.

The food truck website Mobile Cuisine is holding a national contest to identify America’s best dessert food truck. In the running is our very own Not Just Icing. Let’s show them our support! Currently, they are just a few hundred votes out of first place. Let’s help them win! Vote here. And as they say, vote early and often!

Thanks to Kathleen Donnelly, I was reminded that the 12th annual Gingerbread Benefit for Triangle Family Services will take place this Sunday, December 7th at the Umstead Hotel & Spa in Cary. The day begins with a Gingerbread Sneak Preview (at 11:30) and culminates with the Evening Gingerbread Benefit at 6:30, and lots in between for children and the entire family. Get all the details here.

This will get you in the holiday spirit. Saw in the News & Observer that Mandolin restaurant in Raleigh is hosting a Santa brunch from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Dec. 20. Children can listen to Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus read “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” enjoy gingerbread cookies and share their last-minute lists. Meanwhile, parents can enjoy a brunch with country ham eggs Benedict, figgy pudding and a bloody mary. Reservations are recommended. A portion of the proceeds will go to The Methodist Home for Children. Get all the details here.

And our friends over at Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours have lined up some great holiday-inspired tastings over the coming weeks. Get all the details, the schedule and gift certificates here.

The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina is in the middle of their Holiday Meals Drive and they need your help to reach their goal of raising $435,000 online before December 31, which would be enough to provide 2.17 million meals! Folks can donate, make a gift in honor of a friend or family member or host a holiday fundraiser. Perhaps your company can join in on this extremely worthy cause. Get all the details here.