Friday Fun Food Facts – April 4, 2014

• I’m going to be a little bit selfish and steal the “featured news” section of this week’s edition. April is a huge month for us AND it is my birthday month – so my clients get ALL the presents. Throughout April every order placed through Triangle Food Guy earns you DOUBLE points in our Rewards Program. Not familiar with our Rewards Program? Check it out here. But basically it’s like a frequent flyers program, but for food/catering! Not using Triangle Food Guy for your office catering? What’s wrong with you? 🙂 Now, onto the restaurant news…

Wake County Restaurant News

• Got some crazy good news this week from the folks that already brought us DeMarco’s up in North Raleigh. They are in the process of opening DeMo’s Pizzeria & Deli coming to Glenwood South in the old Bada Bing site (222 Glenwood Avenue to be exact). Keep up with them on Facebook as they revamp the space getting it ready to sling you NY style pizza and deli sandwiches.

• The legendary Clyde Cooper’s BBQ is in the process of moving to their new home at 327 S. Wilmington St. As far as we know, they are still aiming to open on April 9th. In the meantime, visit Cooper’s here.

• City Barbecue has set April 12 at 11 a.m. as their grand opening in this market at 1305 Kildaire Farm Road in Cary. This is the first North Carolina location for the Ohio-based chain. Get more details here.

• Got word from our friends over at New Raleigh that a few downtown Raleigh joints are going to soon begin serving lunch. Five Star will start serving lunch on May 1st, with salads and sandwiches added to the menu. Also joining them in the lunch hour very soon will be Humble Pie as well as Jose & Sons.

• A posting on a Yelp message board turned us onto the fact that Inka Peruvian Restaurant closed and then re-opened on March 29th as Cariokos, a Peruvian style rotisserie chicken place. They are at 1601 Cross Link Road, which is off Rock Quarry Road in Raleigh in the Food Lion shopping center. Check them out here.

• Got word from John Huisman (aka Triangle Explorer) that Jet’s Pizza is getting closer to opening up their 4th Triangle area location, this one in the Trader Joe’s shopping center on Wake Forest Road in Raleigh next to BurgerFi. Check them out here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

• Exciting news for folks over in Durham. According to the Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh’s Eschelon Hospitality is rounding out restaurant row at the new Diamond View III building at American Tobacco Campus with a new concept that owner G Patel is calling Basan. It will be a sushi restaurant concept. Eschelon owns and operates four other restaurants in downtown Raleigh, Cameron Village and North Hills. Check them out here.

• And speaking of the Diamond View III building, WhichWich just opened this week in that location. This marks the 8th Triangle area location of the popular sandwich shop. Check them out here.

• Like everyone, we are excited that the Durham Bulls and the Carolina Mudcats are back in action. But we are more excited about the food scene at the games. WRAL’s Kathy Hanrahan did a great job of summarizing the new food options available now at the DBAP. Check it out here.

• Gregoria’s Cuban Steakhouse, which had their soft opening in January, will be hosting a grand opening with the entire community today (April 4) from 6 to 8 p.m. This after-work event will include free food, festive music and $2 drink specials and more. If you’d like to attend, simply email them here. Check out Gregoria’s here.

• The Herald Sun noted that on April 11th, the folks over at Straw Valley Food & Drink will hold a grand opening event for their Wine & Raw Bar from 6 to 11 p.m. The celebration is to launch their full menu and evening hours. Next up will be the launching of their patio beer garden. Stay tuned. Keep up with them here.

• You did it. One Restaurant’s Kim Floresca & Daniel Ryan were voted the SouthEast’s best new chefs in a contest conducted by Food & Wine. See the results here.

Closings 

• Just noticed on a Yelp message board that the Hwy. 55 Burgers and Shakes at 3504 Davis Drive in Morrisville has closed up shop.

• Reader Joel Marcus noted on our blog last week that Plaza Azteca restaurant (next to Carolina Ale House) in the Brier Creek area has closed. Sign says San Jose restaurant coming soon. We’ll keep an eye on it. Thanks Joel!

Food Trucks 

• The good folks over at Triangle Raw Foods will hold their first Café Love Pop-Up Dinner on Friday, May 2nd with a 7 p.m. seating. The cost is $30 per person and will feature a Mexican themed menu. Reservations for this dinner go live today (April 4th) at high noon. Book quickly, as this will sell out.

• If beer is your thing, then April is your month. The World Beer Festival in Raleigh is tomorrow (April 5th) with two sessions to purchase tickets for. The festival presents you with the opportunity to sample from over 250 craft and specialty beers from around the world – they just announced all the participants. Oh, and there is food to help soak it up a little. Get the list of participants and all the details here.

• Also in April is the 3rd annual Brewgaloo local beer festival on Saturday April 26th (2-10pm) in downtown Raleigh’s City Plaza. Brought to you by Shop Local Raleigh, Brewgaloo 2014 will feature more than 40 craft breweries from North Carolina, 30 local food trucks and live music. Get all the details here.

• On the evening of April 6th, downtown Raleigh’s Café Helios will be converted into a pop-up Japanese noodle restaurant called The Lucky. Matthew Bettinger and Zach Neuman’s concept is simple: A casual spot that offers counter-service of hot ramen noodles cooked in a pork-based broth. The Lucky is the first of six pop-up events, with each being its own entity. The next one will be at least a month after The Lucky. Everything begins at 7 p.m. and lasts until the noodles run out!

• Thanks for the heads up from Kristen Baughman about the next Noshup on April 9th from 6-8 p.m. at Royal India in Raleigh. For just $5 you get a sampling of their signature dishes and live music. Get all the details on their Facebook events page here.

• The Great Grapes! Wine & Food Festival will be held April 12th from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. at Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre. Get all the details here.

• One of my favorite annual events is coming up soon – April 26 & 27th to be exact. The 19th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour presented by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. Purchase tickets in advance and get more details here.

• The 2nd Annual East Meets West food and performance festival celebrating Morrisville’s diverse community will be on Saturday, May 17, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission to the festival is free, tickets will be available for purchase to buy food, beer and wine. Get all the details here.

• If good food and good movies is your thing, you’ll want to mark your calendar for Fridays in late May and June (May 23rd through June 27th) for a new series being put on in City Plaza in downtown Raleigh. In addition to the movies, there will be local/regional craft beer and food trucks. More details to follow.

Food Bank Corner   

• The Pit’s 6th Annual ‘Cuegrass Festival returns to Raleigh Saturday, April 26, with a jam-packed day full of great food and music, with all proceeds benefiting the Food Bank! Get all the details here.

Freebie!

• They’re doing it again. Thanks to a reminder from my friend Tim Moore, April 8th (from 12 – 8 p.m.) will be the 35th Annual Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shops around the country. Get all the details here.