Friday Fun Food Facts – September 18, 2015

• Homero Real informed me that he is now operating a new food truck here in the Triangle called Grandotes Taco Grill. They offer authentic Mexican tacos with high quality meats, homemade tortillas and salsas, and their own fresh waters. You can check them out on Facebook here.

• John Huisman (aka Triangle Explorer) informed me about the fact that every Thursday from September through November, the Town of Knightdale is hosting “Food Truck Thursdays” with a new food truck scheduled each week. The weekly truck will be parked at Knightdale Station Park near the amphitheater each Thursday from 11am to 2pm. Check out the schedule here.

• For a listing of ALL food truck events, head over to Art’s page, The Wandering Sheppard on all things food truck related here.

Events

• Tickets have gone on sale for one of the biggest foodie events around – the TerraVita Food & Drink Festival, which will be held in Chapel Hill October 8-10. It simply can’t be missed. Get details on all the events around this festival here.

• Oyster lovers listen up. For the third year, Dean’s Seafood Grill & Bar, located at 1080 Darrington Drive in Cary, will host Dean’s Oystoberfest, an event featuring hard-to-find oysters and beer specials. Every day from Sept. 18-27, the restaurant will feature 50-cent house oysters, five to eight featured oysters, and 14 draft beers, plus a free Oystoberfest t-shirt for anyone purchasing a dozen specialty oysters and two featured beers. Get all the details here.

• One of my kids’ favorite events each year is the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science’s Bugfest which will be held this year on Saturday, September 19th. And one of their favorite parts of this event is Cafe Insecta where the brave can sample buggy dishes prepared by local chefs. Yummmm!?!?! Get all the details here.

• Felicia Perry-Trujillo sent word over that Kim Hunter of Kimbap Cafe and Brent Hopkins of Empire Food Group are doing a pop up supper club dinner in Nash Square on September 20th. You can see the full menu, get all the details and purchase tickets here.

• Abundance NC’s 8th annual Pepper Festival will be from 3-7 p.m. on September 27th in Briar Chapel, located between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro. More than two dozen chefs will be serving samples of dishes made with locally-grown peppers. Chefs include chefs Angela Salamanca of Raleigh’s Centro, Colin Bedford of Fearrington Inn in Pittsboro, Marshall Smith of Glasshalfull in Carrboro, Jason Smith of 18 Seaboard in Raleigh, and John Childers of The Umstead Hotel in Cary. Tickets are $20-$30 in advance, $35 at the door. Get a full list of the chefs and all the details here.

• It is that time of the year again for the Southern Ideal Home Show at the NC State Fairgrounds. This year it will be held Sept. 25 – 27 and it will again feature their popular Brews and Bites event each day which highlights food and drinks from local restaurants, breweries and wineries. Lots of great choices and giveaways each day. Get all the details here.

• The Carolina RailHawks will be hosting the 4th Annual RailHawks Homebrew Soktoberfest on Saturday, September 26th. The pre-game festivities will begin at 5:30 pm at WakeMed Soccer Park and will run until 7:15 pm, followed by the RailHawks NASL match against Ottawa Fury FC. Soktoberfest is the RailHawks take on a German Oktoberfest, but with a focus on local craft and home brewers. A combination of German-themed food samples and traditional North Carolina fare, live music presented by ReverbNation, local craft beer, and homebrewed beer. Get more details here.

• Academy Street Bistro and TOPO Distillery are partnering to host a cocktail party to benefit the Interfaith Food Shuttle on October 1st at 5:30 p.m. Attendees will enjoy four different cocktails, each with a different aged spirit from TOPO and heavy hors d’oeuvres. The cost is $20 per person. Make reservations by calling 919-377-0509. More details here.

• On Sunday, October 4th from 1-4 p.m., the guys behind the soon-to-open Picnic in Durham (Wyatt Dickson and Ben Adams) will be joined by Texas (and soon to be South Carolina) pit-master John Lewis on Green Button Farm for a Sunday afternoon picnic. This is an opportunity to get up close and personal with these barbecue legends! In addition to the whole hog and beef brisket, they’ll also serve up seasonal sides, alongside chilled wine & beer from Wine Authorities, Ponysaurus and Fullsteam. Get all tickets and all the information here.

• You’ll want to go ahead and mark your calendar for the 2nd Annual Triangle Oktoberfest coming to Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre on October 3rd and 4th. There will be some great authentic German fare as well as some amazing breweries. Get all the details here.

• The town of Holly Springs is holding their 6th Annual Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, October 10th at the Holly Springs Farmers Market from 9 – 12:30 p.m. This is a wonderful community event, where both amateurs and professionals compete for both the judges’ approval as well as their fellow citizens with the People’s Choice award. Get all the details here.

• And if you are into eating healthier, you might want to go ahead and get this event on your calendar – the 2015 Triangle Vegfest which will be held at Moore Square and City Market in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, October 17th from noon until 5 p.m. Get all the details here.

• While you’re at it, make sure you mark your calendar for Saturday October 17th (4-8 p.m.) for Knightdale’s “Drafts & Carafe’s” Festival. This  event will also be held at the Knightdale Station Park and feature local wineries, breweries, vendors selling beer/wine related crafts/artwork, music and food trucks.

• The Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series, a single-elimination tournament highlighting the best of the Carolina’s food, agriculture and culinary talent, is gearing up for its Battle of Champions series in which five top regional chefs will battle it out to take home the coveted annual championship title. Foodies from the Carolinas and beyond are invited to attend the four live dinner events Oct. 28 to 31 in Raleigh, savoring the full-service, six-course meals and serving as judges. Tickets to these interactive battles go on sale Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. here and are guaranteed to sell out quickly.