Friday Fun Food Facts – November 13, 2015

Triangle Restaurant News

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

You’ve been waiting patiently for it. And we all know what an effort it is to host and cook for Thanksgiving. So why not leave the cooking (and cleaning) to any one of dozens of restaurants that will be open Thanksgiving Day? Check out the News & Observer’s list of Triangle area restaurants that will be open on turkey day! Better get your reservation in now!

But what if you still want to host, but simply don’t want to do all the cooking? Or at least not the turkey. Well, Raleigh’s Q Shack at North Hills will take care of that for you. Everything from the turkey to all the sides you want. Trust me, I’ve been doing this at the Lennard residence for two years now and it is great! Get all the details here on ordering your turkey and/or sides and make your Thanksgiving much more enjoyable this year!

The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that Vita Vite (Italian for “life” and “vine”), a new wine bar that doubles as a gallery for local and regional artists, is coming to downtown Raleigh’s Warehouse District. Owner Lindsay Rice is targeting a Nov. 21 opening in the remodeled space at 313 W. Hargett St. that was formerly a nightclub. Check them out on Facebook. Cool looking space.

We’ve been talking about this for weeks now, but today is the grand opening of more. kitchen and bar, the latest offering from the JMR Kitchens restaurant group that also operates Taste and The Oak. more. is located at 116 N. West Street in downtown Raleigh. They open to the public today, November 13th, at 5 p.m. Check them out here.

Up in north Raleigh, WRAL shared that Rise Biscuits & Donuts will open its second franchise location this Saturday, November 14th at 7am. in the Sutton Square shopping center at 6325 Falls of Neuse Rd. According to the press release, free donuts will be given away from 12-2 today (Nov. 13). Keep up with all the activities surrounding their opening on their Facebook page here.

Also in north Raleigh, the Triangle Business Journal shared this week that a new retail shopping center, called Olive Park, will soon break ground at the corner of Litchford Road and Falls of the Neuse Road. It will be anchored by a Sprouts specialty grocery store, but will also be home to the area’s third Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar restaurant and the area’s fourth location of City Barbecue. Stay tuned.

The News & Observer reported this week that Young Kim opened Oiso Sushi & Korean last week in Cary’s Maynard Crossing shopping center. Prior to opening Oiso, Kim worked in some well known sushi establishments across the Triangle – Mura, Sono, Asuka, Yuri and Oishii. In addition to sushi, the kitchen turns out a modest selection of Japanese and Korean dishes. He doesn’t have a website yet, but you can read the write-up in the News & Observer here.

And over in Cary, saw on a Yelp message board that a new location of Randy’s Pizza will open at 941 N. Harrison Avenue where the former Michelangelo’s Pizza used to be. No word yet on a timeline. Check out Randy’s here.

Also in Cary, the area’s latest rendition of Chick-fil-A is set to open next week on November 19th at Parkside Town Commons shopping center according to the Triangle Business Journal. A one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A products will be given to each of the first 100 eligible adults 18 and older who are in line when the doors open at 6 a.m. on Nov. 19.

And finally, look to Cary if you want to try the newest offering in the Triangle-area’s growing international palate. Got word this week that Rayana Adams was recently approved by the Town of Cary to establish PieMe and sell her South African treats. She is selling original South African savory pies, sausage rolls, and samosas. She is selling the foods as frozen and prepared, and is also considering catering. Check her out here.

Thanks to a tip from our Twitter friend BurgeoningBaker, we learned that the brick and mortar location of American Meltdown has opened in the food court at The Streets at Southpoint Mall in Durham. Joining Porchetta, they become the second food truck to open at the mall. Check them out here.

The transition is complete. This past week the former Merlion in Chapel Hill’s Southern Village reopened as Rasa Malaysia. I haven’t been yet, but was a big fan of Merlion, and can’t wait to check it out. We have been unable to find anything online. Will just have to go “old school” and visit!

Clouds Brewing, currently located at 126 N. West Street in downtown Raleigh, is on its way to opening a second location, this one in Durham’s Brightleaf Square. They are listed on the Brightleaf Square site map and their Twitter account says they will open in the Spring of 2016. If you are not familiar with Clouds, it is a bar and restaurant focused on craft beer and has technology that allows you to pour your own beer, and pay by the ounce! Check out their website here. Thanks to Dave Scocca for the tip on this!

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 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.

Over in Durham, the Refectory Cafe has put together a six-course dinner (including a glass of wine) for a flat $45 that will delight your tastebuds for this Saturday, November 14th. Contact the cafe for more details.

Expressions V. A Celebration of Food and Art will bring together philanthropists, food and wine enthusiasts and lovers of the arts. The annual event will be held on Friday, November 20 at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, N.C., and will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Lucy Daniels Center. The featured artist for this year’s event is Beverly McIver. Get all the details and learn who the guest chefs are this year here.

No child or family should go hungry during the holidays… and with your help, they won’t! That’s the power of your giving when you contribute to the Food Bank’s Online Holiday Meals Drive. $35 will feed a child for two months. $120 will provide enough food to sustain a family through the winter months. $210 will provide more than 1,000 piping hot holiday meals to local families. Every dollar donated provides five meals! Help them reach the goal of providing 2.4 million meals before December 31 and ensure that no one goes hungry this holiday season…Donate Now!