Friday Fun Food Facts – April 27, 2018

Triangle Restaurant News

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

Featured Restaurant News

• A new deli snuck in under our radar over in Durham. Thanks to the folks over at Taste Carolina, we now know that Cure Delicatessen & Cafe has opened over off Highway 54 near the intersection with Fayetteville Road (245 Hwy. 54 to be exact). The chef and proprietor is Matt Butler who had stints at Ruth’s Chris, Watts Grocery and The Great Room at Top of the Hill. They specialize in house cured, roasted and smoked meats for breakfast and lunch. Check them out here.

Wake County Restaurant News

• Last week we told you about Bu.ku in Wake Forest opening last Friday. This week WRAL shared the news that the lease in the original downtown location (ground floor of the Red Hat building) was due to end this month, but has been extended through the beginning of next year. And, yes, they are actively seeking a downtown location to move into when this lease extension is up. So if you know of anything…Thanks to reader Elizabeth Allen who originally brought this to our attention. Stay in touch with Bu.ku here.

• Also in downtown Raleigh, saw on the ITB Insider that Cold Off The Press has opened at 416 W. South Street offering you optimum nutrition through nutritionally dense whole-foods products – like cold-pressed organic juices, coconut based bowls, smoothies, coffee, powersnacks and specialty beverages. Check them out here.

• Over off Wake Forest Road, in what is now being referred to as Midtown East (near Trader Joe’s), the developer of the Wegman’s site announced some of the other tenants on the way, including two restaurants. Maple Street Biscuit Company, a Florida restaurant chain, was one. And Cava, a Mediterranean restaurant from Washington, D.C. On a side note, Cava will also be going into Village Plaza shopping center in Chapel Hill. Get familiar with Maple Street Biscuit Company here and Cava here.

• Looks like the Buffalo Brothers Pizza & Wing Co. soft opening on April 27 over in Cary’s Salt Box Village has been delayed until May 5. Stay tuned and keep up with Buffalo Brothers here.

• Over in Morrisville, reader Prashant Pai notified us that he saw signage for Hi Poke going up next to Alpaca at 9575 Chapel Hill Road in the Park Place shopping center. We couldn’t find a definitive web presence, but we will keep an eye on it.

• And up in Wake Forest, saw on Twitter this week that the latest edition of Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers is coming to 11708 Retail Drive, near the intersection of Hwy. 98 and Capital Blvd. No word yet on an exact open date. Get familiar with Freddy’s here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News

• Looks like Chapel Hill is not going to be outdone by food halls in surrounding cities. Chapel Hill is on board to open Blue Dogwood Public Market later this spring / early summer just off Franklin Street. The venue will host 12 permanent food vendors. Keep up with their latest and their pending opening by visiting their website here.

• Also in Chapel Hill, saw in the Daily Tar Heel that Frutta Bowls recently opened on April 14 at 140 W. Franklin Street, dishing out a variety of smoothies and bowls. Get familiar with them here.

Closings

• None to report. Keep eating local, folks!

Food Trucks

• The Knightdale Food Truck Thursdays went back into full swing this month. Trucks will be on hand for lunch and dinner each Thursday at the Knightdale Station Park. Get a full schedule and truck listing on their website here. Thanks to Mark Ginsberg for the heads up.

• The dates have been set for the Durham Central Park Food Truck Rodeo and Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeos. Check out Durham here and Raleigh here. The first Raleigh rodeo is the first weekend in May (i.e. next weekend) on Sunday, May 6th.

• Two great sites to keep up with your favorite food trucks. Street Food Finder is one – find it here. And another, aptly named, is Roaming Hunger – find it here.

Events

• North Carolina’s largest craft beer festival, Brewgaloo Beer Festival, returns to downtown Raleigh THIS Friday and Saturday, April 27 and 28th. The weekend kicks off TONIGHT with the Friday Night Block Party from 6-10 p.m. Tickets to the block party are $45 (all you can sample!), but my readers can get them for $35 using the code “IKnowTheBrewer”. Get all the details and purchase tickets here.

• This Saturday, April 28^th from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. is the 25^th Annual Spring Daze Festival at Bond Park in Cary. It features over 170 North Carolina artists, entertainment on four stages, delicious festival food, and Cary’s annual Earth Day Celebration. But what’s most important to us is the food, so here is a link to the food portion of the day.

• May 5^th is the date for West Cary’s very own Fest in the West, a festival featuring food, beer, crafts, music and a kids’ zone. It will take place from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the USA Baseball Training Complex at 7445 Green Hope School Road. Get all the details here.

• This will be a cool experience. Chef/owner Sean Fowler of Mandolin in Raleigh will host a dinner on his family’s farm (truly farm to table) on May 6 at 5:30pm. Guests will enjoy a farm-guided tour during cocktail hour, with hors d’oeuvres, followed by a wine-paired family-style meal featuring eggs and produce from his chicken coops and surrounding gardens at his childhood home at Mandolin Farm. Get familiar with the farm here.

• Want to enjoy food perfectly paired with some of the areas best brews amongst lions and tigers and bears…oh my? Well, maybe not bears, but lynxes and lemurs? Get tickets to the Conservators Center’s Lions, Tigers and Beer event to be held on May 4 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The event will feature six food and beer pairings from local chefs and breweries, as well as a walking tour. All proceeds from the event go to the Animal Care Fund at the Conservators Center. But hurry, only 80 tickets will be sold – $100 each or two for $180. Get them here.

•  Tickets have gone on sale for Thrive NC set to take place at downtown Raleigh’s City Market on May 10-11. All ticket sale proceeds will be donated to North Carolina nonprofits that address issues related to food insecurity. Attendees will help determine which nonprofits receive funding from ticket sales. The two-day event will highlight the fact that 1.5 million people in the state struggle to buy affordable and fresh foods. A highlight of the event will be a two-day food festival featuring top chefs from 50 North Carolina restaurants serving food and drink samples against a backdrop of live music each night. Keep up with the details as they unfold here.

• Beer and Bacon Fest. May 19^th. Cary. Not much else needs to be said. Check it out here.

• And the 2018 version of Farm to Fork expanded to three events over several seasons and tickets to all three just went on sale. The fun begins with the first event on June 3, the perennial favorite Farm to Fork Picnic, where the area’s best farmers and chefs are paired. Then on September 16 they’ll host a pop-up dinner featuring Jacob Boehm of Snap Pea Underground & Catering. And the series will conclude on December 6th with John T. Edge and a celebration of Southern food on Chapel Hill’s Lavender Oak Farm. You can buy ticket to each individual event, or all three. Get tickets and all the details on their site here.

• The 2018 version of Chefs for Change, a fundraising dinner series that pairs the burgeoning Durham food scene with the needs of families experiencing homelessness, is well underway. The first two events (featuring Charlie Deal on March 12 and Scott Howell on May 14) have sold out. And if last year is any indication, the next two dinners will sell out quickly. The July 9th event features Phoebe Lawless (The Lakewood and Scratch) and the September 10^th event features Gocciolina’s Aaron Benjamin. Each night the chef will serve three or more courses at a ticketed dinner with the proceeds benefiting Families Moving Forward. The dinners are held at the Rickhouse and limited to 125 people. Get all the details and tickets here.

Food Bank Corner

• Double Your Impact! Right now, you can make twice the difference for children and families facing hunger. Friends of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina will match every gift – up to $66,000 – until April 30.  For every $10 you give, the Food Bank can provide 100 meals! Donate now!