Friday Fun Food Facts – October 10, 2014

Triangle Restaurant News

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

It is an annual event that everyone (kids and adults) looks forward to – the North Carolina State Fair (coming up October 16-26). And one of the highlights each year is not just the rows and rows of food stands, but what will be deep fried this year! Well, the News & Observer’s Andrea Weigl has all the details here for you, including deep fried barbecue, bananas Foster and mini cupcakes.

Eschelon Experiences announced that its newest restaurant, Faire, in Raleigh’s Cameron Village is opening on October 13th. Faire, a midcentury-modern steak and seafood restaurant marks Eschelon Experiences‘ fifth restaurant in the Triangle area. You can check them out here.

Got word this week that the first b.good location in North Carolina will open on October 18th in North Hills (the Midtown Park side). They tout themselves as fast-food made by people, not factories. Check out their local Facebook page here.

The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that the owners of The Goat Bar on Western Blvd. will be opening The Medlin, a neighborhood bar, on Medlin Drive in Raleigh later this month. It is located off Dixie Trail in the same shopping center as Crowley’s. Check their Facebook page here.

Over in Cary, David McCreary (aka Lunch Boy Says) tipped me off to the fact that a new restaurant is coming to downtown Cary later this year. It is called Crosstown Pub & Grill and you can find out about it here on their Facebook page.

The Triangle Business Journal is also reporting that Sweet Traditions by LeAne, a popular local food truck featuring cupcakes, custom-order cakes and other baked goods, will be opening a brick-and-mortar location later this month at 12516 Capital Blvd. in Raleigh. Get all the details here.

The News & Observer reported today that Drew Moore, owner of Venable Rotisserie Bistro in Carrboro, opened B-Side Lounge last night next door to his restaurant in Carr Mill Mall. The two restaurants will share a kitchen, but B-Side will focus on small plates. Check them out here.

WRAL is reporting that the popular food truck OnlyBurger has officially opened its second brick-and-mortar location in Durham. This location is at the American Tobacco Campus. Check them out here.

Just down the street from American Tobacco Campus, the Triangle Business Journal revealed this week that the new 21c Museum Hotel opening in downtown Durham in February will have its own high-style restaurant called Counting House. It will be under the direction of executive chef Josh Munchel, who comes to us from Cincinnati. Get a peek at the hotel here.

Over in Durham near the Streets at Southpoint (out in front of Target) I noticed that Penn Station Subs signs have gone up on the corner spot previously occupied by Momoyama Sushi. We don’t have an open date yet.

Got word from reader Cindi Stevens that the Hwy. 55 Burgers location on Falls of the Neuse Road in Raleigh next to Red Hot & Blue has closed.

The final Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo of the year will be held this Sunday, October 12th from 1 – 6 p.m. on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh. Think ½ mile of food trucks and restaurants spread out over 11 city blocks! Get all the details here.

And if you like to run and you like food trucks (or if you run because you love food trucks) you won’t want to miss the 2nd Annual Bull City Race Fest and Food Truck Rodeo scheduled for Sunday, October 19th. Register for the race and get all the details here.

And check this out…I mean, Czech this out. A new food truck, called Czech This Out, made its first appearances last weekend at the Wide Open Blue Grass Festival in downtown Raleigh. Check out their website here or follow them on Twitter here.

Hibernian Co. and Napper Tandy’s announced a new outdoor festival in downtown Raleigh’s Glenwood South district. The Raleigh Oyster Fest will be held tomorrow (October 11) from noon until 11 pm. The festival will be held in the parking lot of the Creamery building between North St. and Glenwood Ave and is a free-entry event, open to the public. Get all the details here.

For the 19th year in a row, the World Beer Festival will be held in Durham this Saturday (Oct. 11) in the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The festival, produced by All About Beer Magazine, has reduced tickets available by 35 percent and raised the price to relieve crowding. General admission tickets are $55 and include a tasting glass to sample from over 200 international beers. VIP tickets are $70 and offer a private air-conditioned hospitality area with private bathrooms and a bonus selection of beers. Get all the details here.

This is wild. On Sunday October 12th, The Oxford is hosting a five course Wild Game + Beer dinner. What better way to celebrate fall than to enjoy tender frog legs, savory rabbit and southern fried quail, while sipping on some of the best local brews from Fortnight Brewing Company. Check out the full menu and purchase tickets here.

Kudos to Andrea Weigl, the News & Observer and Walter Magazine for pulling this event off. Called “At The Table With Walter” this event will feature four of the area’s most amazing female chefs – Ashley Christensen of Poole’s Diner in Raleigh, Phoebe Lawless of Scratch Bakery in Durham, Andrea Reusing of Lantern in Chapel Hill and Vivian Howard of Chef & the Farmer in Kinston, N.C. it will be an evening of appetizers prepared by each of the four chefs, drinks and a panel discussion at CAM in downtown Raleigh. Tickets range from $75-$100 depending upon whether you come to the VIP event that starts at 5 p.m. or get reserved seating. Get all the details here.

And hold the date for an annual event held by The Ronald McDonald House over in Chapel Hill that features over two dozen of the triangle’s finest restaurants – A Tasteful Affair will be held on Sunday, October 26th in The Blue Zone at UNC’s Kenan Stadium. Get all the details here.

This year’s 12th Annual Downtown Chili Cook-off will be held on Depot Street in historic downtown Fuquay-Varina on Saturday, November 1. But the deadline to enter a team or the cook-off is this Saturday. Get all the details here.

And got word that the 3rd Annual Red & White Food and Beverage Festival will be held on Tuesday November 4th at The State Club from 6-9pm. And for our readers, receive $5 off admission by entering promo code “foodguy” when you purchase tickets here.

The next big event for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is the Food Lion Hunger Relief Day at the State Fair on Thursday, October 23! Food Lion Hunger Relief Day is one of the largest one-day canned-food drives in the state. Here’s how it works: Bringfive cans of Food Lion brand food to the State Fair on Thursday, October 23, and you get in for free (and a good feeling that you helped some folks in need)!

Get all the details here.