Friday Fun Food Facts – March 6, 2015

Triangle Restaurant News

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

Battle of the Blues & BBQ – Here is the friendly wager, all to benefit the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. Yours truly and Tom Meyer (eventual loser an d owner of The Q-Shack North Hills) have a friendly wager on the upcoming UNC vs. Duke basketball game on March 7th. Tom is a Duke alumnus and Sean is a UNC alumnus (although was born and bred in Raleigh and has a soft spot in his heart for the Wolfpack). Should Duke win, Sean will have to sport a Duke Jersey and have his picture taken holding a sign that says, “I Like Mike.” To commemorate the win, The Q-Shack will create a Duke sandwich and 10% of all sandwich sales in March will be donated to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern Carolina. The sandwich: The BB1K – NC Tri Tip with an onion aioli, NC hoop cheese and a hot pepper relish. Should UNC win, Tom will have to sport a UNC Jersey and have his picture taken holding a sign that says, “Roy Is My Boy.” To commemorate the win, The Q-Shack will create a UNC sandwich and 10% of all sandwich sales in March will be donated to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern Carolina. The sandwich: The Roy Boy – NC Pork Belly Sandwich with sauteed collards and NC hoop cheese. View all the details here. Go Heels!

After a week of “soft openings” New Raleigh is reporting that Pho Pho Pho Noodle Kitchen + Bar is opening today (please check first). Pho Pho is the creation of Sushi Blues Café’s Quy Duong. It is located in the 510 Building on Glenwood South and will feature traditional Vietnamese dishes. Get all the details here.

Niall Hanley’s (i.e. Hibernian Pubs) next venture is getting closer to fruition according to the News & Observer. Raleigh Beer Garden, located at 614 Glenwood Avenue, is on schedule to open in the April/May timeline. Not much to look at on the website yet, but it is coming.

Also in downtown Raleigh, the upstairs part of Centro Mexican Restaurant, called Gallo Pelon Mezcaleria, will open this month! No word yet on an official date, but stay tuned. The upstairs will provide more space to accommodate their busy lunch, private events, and other special gatherings. The upstairs will also host Gallo Pelón, NC’s first mezcaleria. Keep up with them on Facebook here.

Rebecca Calhoun updated us on the opening of El Cerro Mexican Bar & Grill in North Raleigh’s Falls Village shopping center.

This is kind of vague, but equally exciting. New Raleigh reported this week that a yet-to-be-named wine and coffee shop is coming to Raleigh’s Hillsborough Street in the former LocoPop’s location next to David’s Dumpling & Noodle Bar. We’ll keep an eye on it.

Cary’s Chatham Square Shopping Center is getting two new dining options according to the News & Observer’s Greg Cox. Taqueria La Herradura will feature tacos made with house-made corn tortillas and your choice of ten fillings. Also, Tibetan Restaurant will open as soon as possible offering a menu made up mostly of familiar Chinese and Indo-Chinese fare. We’ll keep an eye on these.

Got word from one of my readers that Koffee Kafe has opened a “grab and go” coffee and café in Cary’s train station. Obviously convenient for travelers, but also anyone in the area. Check them out on Facebook here.

Reader Graciela Reynoso tipped me off to the fact that Cary is now home to Koko’s Italian Kitchen at 8306 Chapel Hill Road. They are serving up classic Italian dishes and gourmet pizzas. Check them out here.

And speaking of Italian, Clayton is also home to a new Italian restaurant called La Cucina Italiana featuring pizza, pasta and subs at 110 Flowers Crossroads Way. Check them out here.

The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that CalaVela, an empanada and tequila bar in downtown Raleigh, has opened a second location in Carrboro at 370 E. Main Street (Hampton Inn building). Check them out here.

The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership announced this week that Roots Bakery Bistro & Bar has opened at 161 East Franklin Street in the former Top This! Café location. You can check them out on Facebook here.

Chapel Hill’s Franklin Street is now home to another hot dog joint according to the Triangle Business Journal. Following the lead of Sup Dogs, Trolley Stop Hot Dogs opened this past week at 306 W. Franklin Street. Check them out here on Facebook.

And over in Durham, the Herald Sun is reporting that Locopops, at 2600 Hillsborough Road, has reopened for spring with hours from 2 to 7 p.m. New expanded hours will be announced soon.

Friend David McCreary informed me that Mesa Fresca Diner at 775 Center Street in Apex has closed its doors.

Vincent’s on Creedmoor Road in Raleigh has closed in anticipation of the opening of Vincent’s BigBoom, a joint venture between Vincent Barresi and Christopher Bender. Big Boom will open in the 510 Building on Glenwood South.

Food Truck Rodeo’s are back!!!! This Sunday (March 8th) is the Spring Food Truck Rodeo at Durham’s Central Park. Here are all the details.

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 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.

The third annual Bull City Food & Beer Experience, an indoor food and beer festival at the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, is this 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.

The much-hyped Snap Pea Underground dinner series is coming to Raleigh, March 13th and 14th. The menu is a surprise and the location is kept secret until 36 hours before the event. These dinners will be located somewhere close to the Museum of Art. Cost is $68. Register and get all the details 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! But even better than that, the wager will benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Get all the details on the inaugural Battle of the Blues & BBQ right here. And may the best “blue” team win!