Friday Fun Food Facts – February 20, 2015

Triangle Restaurant News

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

If you need another reminder of what a great culinary mecca we live in, look no further than the latest list of restaurant and chef semifinalists put out annually from the James Beard Foundation. This year’s list includes five from the Triangle (six if we adopt Kinston)! (and for those keeping score at home, 0 for Charlotte and the Triad….just sayin’) Check out the complete list here. Looking forward to the announcement of the finalists on March 24th and the winners on May 4.

A huge shout out and congratulations to Arthur Gordon and the 40th anniversary of his restaurant – Irregardless Café. What started 40 years ago as a way to get some “experience” has turned into one of Raleigh’s greatest traditions. If you haven’t been before, make it happen (you can thank me later). Very well done Mr. Gordon! Check them out here.

I received a Twitter tip this week from Robert Williams that the Steak ‘n Shake has opened at 5900 Duraleigh Road in the Duraleigh Commons shopping center in the former KFC sport. Thanks Robert!

My buddy John Huisman (aka Triangle Explorer) tells me that a new El Tapatio is in the works in Wakefield next to Sergio’s Pizza. No other details are available at this time, but I know John will keep us updated – thanks John!

I was informed this week (second hand, I swear) that the Hooters in Raleigh at 4206 Old Wake Forest Road has recently completed some…”enhancements” of sorts. Including additional outdoor seating, more comfortable interior seating, and state-of-the-art audio visual packages. Oh, and they still serve great food. Check it out here.

Got word that Camos Brothers Pizza has opened in Fuquay-Varina at 2916 N. Main Street. They also have locations in Raleigh and Cary. Get all the details here.

The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that CaRibb Cuisine & Bar is opening this spring in the Lowe’s Foods-anchored shopping center just east of Carmax off Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. The actual address is 8111 Rowlock Way. As you might guess, the restaurant will feature Caribbean food. Check out their Facebook page here.

The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that Blue Coffee Café, formerly at 202 Corcoran Street, will open on Tuesday in their new location in the North Carolina Mutual Insurance building at 411 W. Chapel Hill Street. Check them out here.

Got the official word this week that the New Zealand-inspired gastro pub and burger restaurant, Burger Bach (pronounced “batch”), will open a third location on March 9th in the Erwin Mill community in Durham at 737 Ninth Street. Get all the details here.

Congratulations to our friends over at Acme Restaurant in downtown Carrboro as they celebrate 17 years of foodie bliss. The will host a wine dinner next week – February 26th – featuring Josh DeLoach of Hook & Ladder Vineyards in Sonoma County. The wine dinner will start at 6:30 and is $60 per person. Reservations are required by phone at 919.929.2263. Get all the details here.

This came as a surprise to many, but renowned pitmaster Ed Mitchell has closed his restaurant, Ed Mitchell’s Que, at Durham’s American Tobacco Campus.

I also learned this week from my friend Denise Metzger that Gigi’s Cupcakes on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill has closed. A thanks to The Daily Tar Heel for that information.

Here’s a little something to get us through the dreary cold winter months…the schedule for the 2015 Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo Series. Check it out here and mark your calendars.

And we are just a few weeks away from the Spring Food Truck Rodeo at Durham’s Central Park. Get March 8th on your calendar. Here are all the details.

And not to be outdone by the bigger cities, Cary is jumping on the food truck rodeo bandwagon with their very own Chatham Street Chowdowns (they win hands down on the name!) scheduled for 2015. The first one is scheduled for April 19th. Feeling left out Chapel Hill? Get all the details and the full schedule here.

This is pretty cool. The Carolina Inn over in Chapel Hill is celebrating their 90th anniversary on Saturday, February 28th. They will host a Commemorative Chefs’ Event beginning at 6:30 with a four-course wine-pairing dinner celebrating the cuisine of their executive chefs through the years including Brian Stapleton, Jimmy Reale and current executive chef James Clark. Cost is $90 per person. Get tickets and all the details here.

Thanks to a tip from Kitty Kinnin, I learned that Locals Seafood is holding their inaugural Winter Seafood Jubilee which is a series of NC winter seafood-centric events. The final two are coming up next week at Oakleaf and Carolina Crossroads at The Carolina Inn. Get all the details here.

The next Taste event put on by Durham Magazine & Chapel Hill Magazine is Saturday, March 7th from noon until 3 and will be a BBQ & Beer Tour…by bus! The 3-hour tour takes you to three barbecue spots, each paired with local brews. Tickets are $65 per person. Get all the details and tickets here.

Mark your calendar for the third annual Bull City Food & Beer Experience, an indoor food and beer festival at the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham on Sunday, March 8 from 4 – 8 p.m. The event pairs local food showcasing 30 Durham restaurants with unbelievable beer from 30 premier craft / import breweries. Get all the details and your tickets here.

March Madness is almost upon us and the UNC v. Duke rivalry is hotter than ever. So how does food tie into this? Good question. Tom Meyer, owner of The Q Shack at North Hills is a Duke grad. And yours truly is a UNC grad (but I grew up in Raleigh and have a soft spot in my heart for the Wolfpack). Anyway, Tom and I have come up with a friendly wager on the next UNC v. Duke basketball game (March 7th). The winner will have a “special” sandwich featured at The Q Shack for the month of March. And the loser will have to don the other team’s colors and say nice things about the other team’s coach! And even better than that, the wager will benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Get all the details on the inaugural Hoop Cheese Challenge right here. And may the best “blue” team win!