TRIANGLE FOOD BLOG

•  Alright Triangle, let’s do this. Today is the last day to vote! Our very own dessert truck Not Just Icing is in a national competition to crown America’s best dessert food truck. As of this writing, we are just a few hundred votes out of first place. Let’s make this happen! Stop what you are doing for just one minute, click here and vote for them. How cool would that be? Do it! Click here now!

Wake County Restaurant News

• It is out…the News & Observer’s listing of restaurants that are open on Christmas Day. As you might expect, reservations are highly recommended. Here is the list.

• And if you don’t feel like going out to eat, but don’t really want to spend all day in the kitchen, Raleigh’s Q-Shack is offering locally raised, all natural fresh turkeys, hams and brisket and meals packed for reheating. Pick-up is available in Raleigh and Durham. Get all the details here.

• Got a note this week from Kelly Trimyer that the Outer Bank’s much-anticipated Triangle edition of Duck Donuts is slated to open in Cary (100 Wrenn Drive) towards the middle of next week. At this point they are just waiting on some final inspections. Follow them on their Facebook page where they will announce their official opening day once it is known.

• The News & Observer reported this week that Steve Adams, owner of Peak City Grill in Apex, has teamed up with Franz Propst, longtime chef at the restaurant, to open The Blistered Pig Smokehouse just down the street in the historic Tobacco & Mule Exchange Building (225 N. Salem Street). Love their slogan, “We Only Smoke The Good Stuff” – and they note that all their meat products are direct from the farmer and all are North Carolina grown and processed. Check them out here.

• Got word hat 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.) in North Raleigh. Get all the details here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

• Monuts Donuts is officially open in their new location in Durham on Ninth Street in the old Magnola Grill spot (1002 Ninth Street to be exact). They are serving up hot donuts, Counter Culture espresso, bagels, biscuits and more! Get all the details here.

• According to the Herald-Sun, G2B Gastro Pub has reopened after adding a small-batch brewery and bringing on a new executive chef, Travis Robinson. Previously Robinson trained and gained experience at The Ritz-Carlton up and down the Eastern seaboard. Get a peek at some of the changes at their website here.

• Durham’s newest addition, The Boot (an Italian off-shoot of Geer Street Garden), has now opened their doors for lunch (they opened right around Thanksgiving for dinner). Anyway, check them out for lunch or dinner. The initial reviews are quite strong! They are located at 2501 University Drive. Check them out here.

Closings 

• We were sad to learn this week in the News & Observer that Pop’s, a 20-year-old institution in Durham, has closed their doors. But note that Pop’s Backdoor South, the pizzeria in Hope Valley Square, remains open.

Food Trucks 

Food Bank Corner   

• 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.

• 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.

Wake County Restaurant News

•  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.

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

• 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.

Closings 

• 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.

Food Trucks 

Food Bank Corner   

• 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.