Friday Fun Food Facts – June 2, 2017

Triangle Restaurant News

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

Featured Restaurant News

  • Every year, on the first Friday in June (that is TODAY!), doughnut shops around the country take part in National Doughnut Day. Quite honestly, it should be a national holiday. Sadly, it isn’t. Fortunately the News & Observer has pulled together a roundup of deals at Triangle doughnut shops. Be prepared for crowds. Here’s the list.

Wake County Restaurant News

  • Closures, improvements and updates seem to be the “norm” along Raleigh’s Hillsborough Street. So it is with H-Street Kitchen as they recently closed for the summer allowing for them to “execute some changes.” They were short on details, but plan to re-open when the students return in the fall. Stay tuned as we will be watching for their re-opening and what “H-Street 2.0” will  bring. Keep up with them on Facebook here.
  • Saw on Facebook that The Cortez Seafood & Cocktail, slated to open 413 Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh in the former Cafe Helios spot, is closer to becoming a reality. They recently secured their health permit and are awaiting their liquor license. So….getting close. In the meantime, keep up with their progress and pending opening on their Facebook page here. Congratulations to Charlie Ibarra, chef Oscar Diaz and their entire team.
  • Reader Russ O’Melia noticed a Domino’s “coming soon” sign in a window in downtown Raleigh in the Edison Lofts building at 109 Davie Street next to Amorino. Check out Domino’s here.
  • Over in Apex, reader Chris Graham brought it to our attention that Glory Days Grill is coming to the Publix Point shopping center at 1413 Kelly Road. This will be the first North Carolina location for the chain which has locations all over Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Florida. Glory Days is a sports themed American Grill. Get familiar with them here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News

  • The folks over at Bites of Bull City notified us that acclaimed baker and pastry chef Phoebe Lawless opened her first full-service restaurant and bar, The Lakewood, on May 25. It is located in the former Davis Baking Co. building on Chapel Hill Road in the Tuscaloosa-Lakewood neighborhood. But she’s not slowing down. Next up, the second location of Scratch Bakery sometime in early July. Check out The Lakewood here and the second location of Scratch here.
  • The News & Observer reported that the Glass Jug bottle shop will become the Glass Jug Beer Lab this fall, with an on-site brewery, outdoor beer garden and expanded event space.The Glass Jug, which opened in September 2014 in Greenwood Commons shopping center on N.C. 55, will reopen in a new space a few doors down. The new 2,940-square foot space has a grassy backyard that will be used for outdoor seating and food trucks. Owners Katy and Chris Creech said they hope to open by September. They will close for a few weeks in late summer to accommodate the move, but a date hasn’t been set. Check them out here.
  • Also in Durham, Namu Restaurant and Coffee Bar, the collaborative effort between Bulkogi Truck & Bo’s Kitchen, is getting close to opening at 5420 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd. Facebook pictures this week showed finishing touches on the interior. Keep up with the latest on their Facebook page here.
  • We first told you about this back in October, but reader Jimmy Poole brought it to our attention that Built Custom Burger has opened in the food court at the Streets at Southpoint mall. The west-coast chain has another location under construction in Alston Place on Highway 55 in Cary. It’s like a Chipotle-type burger restaurant where you go down the line and order what you want for toppings as they cook the burger. Check them out here.
  • There is a little bit more room to enjoy a great cup of coffee in Chapel Hill thanks to the recent expansion of Coco Bean located at East 54 near Tobacco Road Cafe. They expanded into the space next door adding a comfy couch, tons more tables and plenty of outlets to plug-in to. Check them out here.
  • Marco’s Pizza is opening in the former Fig & Honey (and before that, Starbucks) location in Chatham County just outside of Chapel Hill on 15-501. The signs are up, but no word on an opening date. Check out Marco’s here.

Closings

  • Renee Luongo shared with us that NY Pizza in North Raleigh’s Falls Village shopping center closed.

Food Trucks

  • The big food truck news this week comes from Mattie Beason (think Mattie B’s and Black Twig Cider House) and his business partners who are building a “barn” called County Fare at 1920 Chapel Hill Road. The News & Observer noted that the concept will feature four food trucks parked next to the 150-seat barn with 200 additional outdoor seats. Basically a daily mini-food-truck rodeo. Beer, wine and cider, along with kid-friendly grub, will also be served.  Look for the project to be completed sometime between mid-fall and the end of the year. Get all the details here.
  • There will be a food truck rodeo over at Five Points in Raleigh to raise money for the new Kiwanis Park. It will take place on June 4th at Kiwanis Park (2525 Noble Road). The event is free, kid-friendly and open to the public. Get all the details here. Thanks to Jennifer Schrage for the heads up on this fun event.
  • The food truck events in Knightdale are cranking back up every Thursday through June and September through November, they will host a new truck at Knightdale Station Park for lunch and dinner. Just look for it from 11:30am to 1:30pm and 6pm to 8pm near the amphitheater (rain or shine – shelters are covered). Get all the details and schedule here.

Events

  •  The 10th anniversary Farm to Fork Picnic weekend is upon us, June 2-4 at Fearrington Village. It will celebrate the creative partnerships among Triangle farmers, chefs and culinary artisans. Pairings for the June 4 picnic, which has been dubbed “The Country’s Best All-You-Can-Eat Feast” by Bon Appetit, represent more than 70 farms and restaurants. For more information and to purchase tickets for any event, click here.
  • Triangle Restaurant Week is 10 years old! The week-long event, June 5-11, features restaurants that offer three-course menu options and fixed pricing. Pricing for the event is $15 for a 3-course lunch, and $20,$25, $30 or $35 for a 3-course dinner. It is a great way to check out places you haven’t been before. Get a full list of participating restaurants and all the details here.
  • The pop-up dinners hosted by the Raleigh Food Corridor celebrating local food and community in Raleigh continue on June 7th and 8th. These are small, intimate dinners and seats are limited. The June 7th dinner will be prepared by chefs Angela Salamanca of Centro and Ryan McGuire of the Chefs Academy. The dinner on the 8th will feature chef Patrick Cowden of Green Planet Catering and a five-course vegan dinner at Pharmacy Cafe. Get details and tickets now to both dinners by clicking here.
  • Childhood friend Gordon Brown and his wife Lisa have some amazing children – and daughter Meredith is no exception. The Broughton High School junior has taken it upon herself to organize a road race, The Food Shuttle Garden Gallop 5k, to raise money for the Food Shuttle’s Camden Street Learning Garden. The race is on Saturday, June 10. (Editor’s note: I’m running in it and am certain to eclipse Gordon’s time.) Read more about her efforts here in the News & Observer and register for the race here. Kudos Meredith!
  • The next Chefs for a Change dinner is coming up on June 19th. This dinner will feature chef/owner Seth Gross, chef Cece Lopez and chef Joe LaPorte from Pompieri Pizza and Bull City Burger and Brewery. Tickets are $75 and benefit Families Moving Forward. Get tickets and all the details (including future dinners on August 21, October 16th and December 8th) here.
  • La Farm’s Lionel Vatinet will host his fifth annual Bread Bakers Guild of America Open House at La Farm Bakery in Cary on June 24th from 3pm to 5pm. La Farm will offer behind-the-scene tours of the bakery, followed by a bread shaping demo, and an opportunity to see the bakers scoring and loading breads into and out of the hearth oven. La Farm Bakery is located at 4248 NW Cary Parkway. Get all the details here.
  • Folks, listen up. I try to make it a habit not to tell people what to do (mainly because I don’t want them to tell me what to do, but I digress). Here is an exception. Go to this event! Trust me. And get your tickets EARLY! Speaking of which, tickets to the eighth annual TerraVita Food & Drink Festival (@TerraVitaFest), scheduled for Oct. 18-21 in and around Chapel Hill, are now on sale here. It will sell out. Trust me!
  • The North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association will hold the second annual NC Chef Showdown on August 21 in Raleigh’s historic downtown City Market. Participating chefs will present a dish to a distinguished panel of six judges and will prepare sample-sized offerings for approximately 200 attendees. Attendees will determine the recipients of the “Peoples’ Choice” awards, while the judges will select the 2017 NCRLA Chef of the Year and the 2017 NCRLA Pastry Chef of the Year. Get all the details here.

Food Bank Corner

  • Nearly 300,000 children in the Food Bank’s 34 counties rely on the free and reduced-cost meals at school to get them through the day. For them, summertime doesn’t mean a fun-filled vacation. For them, no school means no meals. Stop Summer Hunger is the Food Bank’s annual initiative to provide additional food to feed these children and their families during this season of increased need. For example: A donation of $35 will feed a child for two months; A donation of $75 will feed a family of four for one month; and a donation of $150 will feed a family of four for two months. Help reach the goal of 3.4 million meals before July 31 and ensure that children will receive the daily, nutritious meals they need to grow healthy and strong! Click here to donate and find out more.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.