Friday Fun Food Facts – November 5, 2021

Now through November 14th the Downtown Raleigh Alliance is hosting the 2021 Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week. This is a great time to support all your favorite places—and discover new ones. During the week, restaurants offer lunch and dinner specials and/or 3 course prix-fixe options. The challenges of the past year and a half have greatly impacted the restaurant community, so let’s continue to show love and support for our downtown restaurants. Visit their event site here. See a complete list of participating restaurants here.

Wake County Restaurant News

This week the Flying Mayan moved into their new location in Morrisville in the former Famous Toastery spot, just down from Guasaca (9928 Chapel Hill Road, Morrrisville to be exact). This follows on the news of the closing of their Original Flying Burrito spot on Grove Barton Road in Raleigh (closed last month) and the closing of their downtown Raleigh Flying Mayan location. Stop by and check them out and give them a warm welcome.

The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that the rooftop lounge The Willard (at the new AC Hotel on Glenwood Avenue in downtown Raleigh) opened on Wednesday, and apparently the view is pretty cool. According to the TBJ, they have a craft cocktail program to go with a Spanish and Mediterranean menu. The hotel brought on Craig Spitzer and his Early Bird Night Owl team to manage The Willard. It is the same group that owns and manages The Mayton Hotel in Cary and The Durham Hotel. Check out the view and get to know them here.

The folks over at RalToday brought it to our attention that getting up in the morning is totally worth it when you find out that Iris Coffee Lab in Glenwood South has added Flip Side Donuts to their menu six days a week. Flip Side just opened this year in Cary and apparently (as you will see) have a good thing going. Get by their location in Cary or by Iris Coffee Lab to check them out.

Guess what today is? Yep, today is the day that Thanksgiving pre-orders begin at Boulted Bread in downtown Raleigh (614 W South Street). Can you say Buttermilk Muscadine Pie….or Pumpkin Pie…or assorted pastries…or freshly baked bread? Make Boulted part of your Thanksgiving tradition beginning this year! Check out their Thanksgiving offerings here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News

Things continue to heat up out at Boxyard RTP in the middle of Research Triangle Park (900 Park Offices Drive) with the pending opening of Fullsteam Brewery. According to multiple social media posts it looks like they will “officially” be open Thursday, November 18th. But keep your eyes peeled (and follow them on Instagram) for some sneak peak pourings. And did I mention they will have square pizza…with a nod to Teddy Diggs from Coronato Pizza for his guidance on that. Check out Fullsteam’s Boxyard site here.

You scream, I scream, we all scream for Mister Softee ice cream…or something like that. The folks over at Bites of Bull City shared the news that Durham now has a Mister Softee ice cream truck. Not familiar with Mister Softee? Well, they were first established in Philadelphia in 1956 and they are now the largest franchiser of soft ice cream trucks in the United States with over 625 trucks and over 350 franchise dealers operating in 18 states. Follow/find the one in Durham via their Instagram site here.

Closings / Cancellations

Food Trucks

Thanks to a post on the Chapel Hill Carrboro Foodies Facebook page, we saw that on November 21st the Chapel Hill Community Arts & Culture and Chapel Hill Parks & Recreation will host the first-ever THANKS + GIVING FOOD TRUCK RODEO from 12 – 4 pm at Legion Road. There will be about 15 food trucks, about 15 local non-profits, a DJ, and good community vibes. Get ready to give, grub, and be grateful! Get all the details here.

Looking to find your favorite food truck (or stalking them and simply don’t want to have to admit it)? We understand. Find them on Street Food Finder here.

Events

Voting is open in the WRAL Voters’ Choice Awards, presented by M&F Bank. Finalists have been announced in over 130 categories. Vote now on for the Triangle’s best businesses through Nov. 21. There is an entire section on Food & Drink, so vote for your favorites!

The Downtown Raleigh Alliance is hosting their Dine Out First Friday event, tonight, Friday, November 5 from 7-10 pm in the Warehouse District just outside of Morgan Street Food Hall down to Union Station Plaza. It is a monthly celebration of arts and culture where they will have live music by DJ Luxe Posh, live painting demos by Zero Period, a writing activity with Red Bud Writing Group and a Driveway Drag Show from 9-9:30pm. Beer, wine and hot beverages will be available for purchase. And lots of great eating establishments in and around that area. Check it out here.

After having to cancel the 2019 and 2020 events, the Town of Cary will hold Fest in the West this Saturday, November 6th from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The event will take place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex and will feature food and beer vendors, entertainment, a kids’ zone as well as arts and crafts. Get all the details here.

The folks at Empire Eats have some great Thanksgiving options in store for you. First up, Sitti and Gravy are both offering Thanksgiving take-out packages. Check out Sitti here and Gravy here. And The Pit (both Raleigh and Durham locations) are serving their traditional family-style Thanksgiving dinner again this year available for dine-in or takeout. Check out The Pit’s offerings here.

Food Bank Corner

Cheers to an easy way to support the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, as they continue serving an 11% higher need, due to COVID-19. Island Brands USA is a premium beer brand with a mission to bring better, cleaner beer to the world. By downloading their new Loyalty app, Island Passport, you can select the Food Bank and they’ll donate $10 when you redeem 800 points in their App. For more information, visit them here.

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