Featured Restaurant News
- The Got To Be NC Festival is this weekend, May 15-17, at the NC State Fairgrounds. Think of it as a miniature version of the NC State Fair featuring, as you might guess, everything North Carolina. I am biased, but the food and drinks are the biggest reason to go – there is the Carolina Pig Jig on Saturday, there will be a North Carolina Craft Beer Garden and there is the North Carolina Craft Cocktail Garden. Sign me up! Get all of the details, hours and vendors here. And if being at the fairgrounds gets you thinking about the NC State Fair, go ahead and mark your calendar for October 15-25 to get ready for your favorite creative deep-fried specialties (oh, and rides and crafts and stuff).
Wake County Restaurant News
- Up in Wake Forest, the News & Observer reported that Outback Steakhouse is set to open its eighth location in the Triangle, likely by this summer. It will open at 680 Richland Grove Avenue in the Grove 98 complex (think Wegmans) off N.C. Highway 98. They have seven locations in the region, including two in Raleigh with others in Cary, Clayton, Durham, Garner and Smithfield. Visit Outback here.
- We first told you about this back in September, but reader Jennifer Buchholz informed us that Cabo Mexican Cuisine up Brier Creek Commons (out in front of the Target) is in soft-open mode. It is brought to us by the Torres family, who own a handful of El Tapatio restaurants in the area. According to the Triangle Business Journal the interior design reflects the desert and ocean landscape of Cabo San Lucas — located at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula — utilizing raw materials like rock and granite. The menu features a wide range of dishes, from shrimp tacos to steak to ceviches. Visit Cabo on Instagram here.
- If you are down in Fuquay-Varina, your mornings just got over-easy with the recent opening of Early Bird Cafe at 736 N Main Street. Owner Tracy Gower created this concept for guests looking for a locally owned, grab-and-go breakfast option. And according to David McCreary, they will share space with existing restaurant Little Portugal, which only serves lunch and dinner. Best to follow along on Facebook here.
- And we close this section with a tribute to two amazing people that we lost this week. First, we said goodbye to Jerry Hart, founder of Ole Time Barbecue, who not only made great BBQ, but was one of the most giving people I’ve ever met. And I had to say goodbye to my amazing and beautiful mom, Sara Jane Morris, after a 10-year battle with Alzheimers. Best mom ever! Love you forever mom! May they both rest in peace, lives well lived.
Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News
- Over in Chapel Hill’s Timberline Shopping Center, reader Tim Rittenhouse notified us that Yodith’s Cakery, a dessert shop making custom desserts for any occasion, has opened a retail location. They are located at 1129 Weaver Dairy Road. Follow them on Instagram here.
, Closings
- Chris Creighton notified us that the Basslake Draft House in Holly Springs has closed after a 23 year run.
Food Trucks
- The Durham Central Park Food Truck Rodeo continues in 2026 on these remaining dates from noon to 4 p.m. – May 31 and September 27. At each event, you’ll find food and drink at over 30 food trucks as well as inflatables and family fun for all ages. The rodeos are hosted at Durham Central Park (500 Foster Street, Durham). Go ahead and mark your calendar for them. Get all the details here.
- Looking to find your favorite food truck (or stalking them and simply don’t want to have to admit it)? We understand. Find them on Street Food Finder here.
Events
- This Saturday, May 16, North Carolina Asian Americans Together and NCAAT in Action will host the fifth annual Common Roots Festival in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The free event is expected to draw one of its largest crowds yet – 1,500 attended last year- and will feature cultural performances, Asian food vendors (10 Asian food trucks and 40+ vendors), wellness workshops, art, music, and interactive activities throughout the day. Get all the details here.
- The Durham Greek Festival returns May 16-17 (Saturday, 11-8; Sunday 11-7), offering a weekend dedicated to Greek culture and tradition. Hosted at St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Durham, this rain-or-shine event is open to the public with free admission. Expect authentic Greek food and desserts; Greek wine and beer at the Taverna Marketplace with groceries and ceramics; Traditional music and folk dance; tours of the Byzantine-style church; and more. Get all the details here.
- Christopher Prieto, founder and pitmaster of Prime Barbecue, in partnership with the Town of Knightdale, announced the inaugural Pickin’ in the Park on Saturday, May 16, from 4 pm-7 pm at Knightdale Station Park. The event is a new annual BBQ festival celebrating the rich traditions of North Carolina barbecue and live music, all while giving back to the community. Expect good eats from Prime Barbecue, Sam Jones BBQ, Old Colony Smokehouse and Dampf Good BBQ. Proceeds will benefit the Raleigh Rescue Mission’s “The Garden,” which offers an immersive, holistic residential community for mothers, their children, and single women focusing on personal growth and job training to achieve self-sufficient, independent living. Get all the details here.
- The fourth annual Gettin’ Piggy With It returns to downtown Raleigh on May 17, bringing award-winning chefs and pitmasters from across the country together for a day of barbecue, community and philanthropy benefiting the Frankie Lemmon School. Tickets go on sale at noon Friday, March 20. The family-friendly event will take place from noon to 5 p.m. at Maywood Hall and Gardens (622 Maywood Ave., Raleigh) and will feature barbecue and other chef-driven bites, along with local beer and spirits, live music, games and more. The event is hosted by the Frankie Lemmon Foundation in partnership with Jake Wood of Lawrence Barbecue and Chris Powers of Trophy Brewing Co. VIP tickets are $200 per adult and includes early entry at noon. General admission tickets are $150 per adult with entry beginning at 1 p.m. Children ages 11 and under are admitted for free. Proceeds benefit Raleigh’s Frankie Lemmon School and Developmental Center, which provides accessible education and therapies to children with and without disabilities, often at little to no cost to families. Get tickets and all the details here.
- The third annual A Taste of Chatham will be held May 17th at 3 p.m. at the Historic Chatham Mills in Forest Hall. This event will offer tastes from numerous local restaurants and beverage vendors, music, and activities. This is a fundraiser to support the county Welcome Center, located across from the courthouse in downtown Pittsboro. It’s an event like no other, and you’ll want to be there! Get all the details (including tickets) on their event Facebook page here.
- The Downtown Cary Park along with the Cary Farmers Market is hosting a high-end dinner at the park on Sunday, May 24th called Gather: A Seasonal Supper. Tickets are $150 and guests will enjoy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails from Flour & Barrel and Side Door Cocktail Bar, a wood-fired main course by Jake Wood of Lawrence Barbecue, and breads and desserts by Christopher McLaurin of Lutra Bakery. All of this is set inside the beautiful Gathering House inside the park. Dietary restrictions and allergies can be accommodated. Get tickets and all the details here.
- Boatman Spirits Co has partnered with several Raleigh restaurants and bars to launch the Local Spirit Cocktail Competition, a series of friendly cocktail contests across downtown Raleigh designed to highlight North Carolina spirits. The next one will be at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 24 at Longleaf Swine. Beyond Boatman, the participating businesses include Mala Pata, William & Company, Transfer Co. Food Hall, Foundation and Longleaf Swine. The rules are simple: whoever is hosting the contest does not compete but gets to choose a local spirit that must be used in the cocktails and a unique house rule for that event. Five bartenders will compete, including Aaron Lambert of Boatman Spirits Co., Hope Levinson of Mala Pata, Doug Wheeler of Transfer Co Food Hall, Patrick Dunmire of Foundation and Nolan Ruhmke from William & Company. Visit Boatman here.
- On Sunday, May 31, chef Saif Rahman will welcome Aaron Salita and Conor Delaney of Crawford & Son to Peregrine for a Kamayan Dinner. If you are not familiar, it is a Filipino tradition where food is laid directly on banana leaves, shared without utensils, eaten together. This evening honors Salita’s Filipino heritage and the bond he shares with Rahman; two immigrants who have spent their lives in kitchens, who both speak the language of live fire and the joy of feeding people well. In the spirit of Kamayan, they have reimagined a tradition — the whole-roasted pig becomes a whole lamb on the spit, a bridge between Filipino communal feasting and Saif’s Muslim and South Asian roots. The $175 fee includes the feast as well as three beer/cocktails. Visit Peregrine here.
- Tickets are on sale now for the 2026 Dinner in the Meadow event on September 13th for a fundraiser that supports the Leonard-Mobley Small Farm Fund, a non-profit organization that helps small farms in North Carolina. Get tickets and all the details here.
Food Bank Corner
- For thousands of kids in central and eastern North Carolina, the last day of school won’t be the happy event you and I remember. There’s a quiet struggle going on in their homes. Their parents are trying to navigate low wages, high housing and medical costs, and rising food prices — amid cutbacks to federal food assistance. The end of school breakfast and lunch programs for the summer could bring them to a crisis point. More of our neighbors have already been turning to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina and our partner agencies lately. We expect those numbers to grow once school is out. Summer can be a tough time for kids facing food insecurity … but it doesn’t have to be, when we work together. Thank you for helping kids spend their vacation playing and growing! Make This a Hunger-Free Summer.
