{"id":551,"date":"2017-05-05T08:26:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T12:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=551"},"modified":"2017-05-05T08:26:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-05T12:26:00","slug":"friday-fun-food-facts-may-5-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=551","title":{"rendered":"Friday Fun Food Facts &#8211; May 5, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Triangle Restaurant News<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3>Triangle restaurant news&#8230;that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler.<\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Featured Restaurant News<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Got word from general manager <strong>Sean Umstead<\/strong> that <strong>St. Roch Fine Oysters + Bar<\/strong> opened this past Wednesday in the former <strong>Joule<\/strong> spot on S. Wilmington Street in downtown Raleigh. <strong>St. Roch<\/strong> embraces the spirit of their namesake New Orleans&#8217; neighborhood, where chef <strong>Sunny Gerhart&#8217;s<\/strong> family hails. They offer the finest oysters, clams and Carolina seafood they can find, prepare it with a nod to the crescent city and serve with energy and warmth. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strochraleigh.com\/\">Check them out here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Wake County Restaurant News<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>News &amp; Observer<\/strong> reported that <strong>MOFU Shoppe<\/strong>, the brick-and-mortar restaurant from <strong>Pho Nomenal Dumpling truck<\/strong>, is getting close to opening its new <strong>City Market<\/strong> restaurant in downtown Raleigh. To that end, they will hold a sneak peek <strong>Friday, May 12<\/strong>, starting at 5:30 p.m. when you&#8217;ll be able to go inside the store to see the progress. Visitors are asked to bring food for a canned food drive to benefit <strong>Haven House Services<\/strong>, a Raleigh nonprofit that provides a variety of services to at-risk youth and their families. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mofushoppe.com\/\">Check them out here<\/a><\/b><\/span>. (Still miss their original truck name &#8211; <strong>Dump Pho King truck<\/strong>&#8230;)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mama Jee Thai restaurant<\/strong> has opened just off Raleigh&#8217;s Hillsborough Street on Friendly Drive (near intersection with Dixie Trail). <strong>Mama Jee, Jeerawan Bessinger<\/strong>, was born in Thailand and is the chef and owner. Pay them a visit to truly taste the heart and soul of Thailand! <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/mamajeeraleigh.com\/\">Visit their site here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The folks over at <strong>New Raleigh<\/strong> tipped us off to the fact that <strong>Dos Taquitos Xoco<\/strong> on Glenwood South is changing its name to simply <strong>Xoco Raleigh<\/strong> with <strong>Niall Hanley<\/strong> as the sole owner. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.xocoraleigh.com\/\">Check them out here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Also getting in on the Cinco de Mayo fun, <strong>Gonza Tacos y Tequila<\/strong> opened their fifth location this past Wednesday &#8211; this location in Cary&#8217;s <strong>Waverly Place shopping center<\/strong>. Congratulations to <strong>Carlos Rodriguez<\/strong> and <strong>Gonza Salamanca<\/strong>, founders of the restaurant that creates a twist on the traditional Mexican restaurant with a rich Colombian influence and eclectic Dia de los Muertos theme. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gonzatacosytequila.com\/\">Check them out here<\/a><\/b><\/span> and for a listing of all their Cinco de Mayo activities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Saw in the <strong>ITB Insider<\/strong> this week <strong>Mellow Mushroom<\/strong> will open a second Raleigh location as site plans were filed last week for a new <strong>Brier Creek<\/strong> location at 9600 Brier Creek Parkway, near the Meadows at Brier Creek apartments. The restaurant will be housed in a new, 6,435 square-foot building. This will be the Triangle area&#8217;s 6th location. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/mellowmushroom.com\/\">Check them out here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0Also in the <strong>ITB Insider<\/strong> this week they revealed that North Raleigh residents will soon be able to enjoy the opening of a new kind of pizza delivery\/takeout joint called <strong>Toppers<\/strong>. It will be on Ronald Drive just off Wake Forest Road. Their website suggests that they set themselves apart through their &#8220;more &#8216;hipster&#8217; type menu offerings and culture.&#8221; No word yet on an open date. This will be their second Raleigh location, third in the Triangle. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.toppers.com\/\">Check out their website for yourself<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>News &amp; Observer<\/strong> reported this week that a new fast-casual restaurant with wood-grilled chicken and Caribbean-inspired recipes called <strong>Papaya Chicken &amp; Grill<\/strong> is set to open this month in <strong>Bent Tree Plaza<\/strong> on Falls of Neuse Road, near the intersection with Strickland Road. Owner <strong>Michael Burbage<\/strong> describes the restaurant as Caribbean and Latin with flavors inspired by travels to Costa Rica, Mexico, Jamaica and other tropical locales. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.papayachicken.com\/\">Get familiar with them here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Durham, Orange &amp; Chatham Restaurant News<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The newest location of <strong>Chopt<\/strong> is set to open next Wednesday, <strong>May 10th<\/strong> at <strong>Eastgate Crossing shopping center <\/strong>in Chapel Hill. <strong>Chopt<\/strong> combines seasonal ingredients from local purveyors with authentic flavors from around the world to create delicious salads that people crave. As is custom for each of their new restaurant openings, <strong>Chopt<\/strong> will celebrate the opening of the Chapel Hill store by hosting a <strong>Chopt Gives Day<\/strong> from 11 am &#8211; 1:30 pm &amp; again from 4 pm &#8211; 7:30 pm on <strong>May 9<\/strong>, where all customers who make a monetary donation to its charitable partners, <strong>Kitchen Patrol<\/strong> and <strong>Table<\/strong>, will receive a free salad. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/choptsalad.com\/\">Check out Chopt here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Closings<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>None to report. Keep eating local, folks!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Food Trucks<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The food truck events in <strong>Knightdale<\/strong> are cranking back up every Thursday through June and September through November, they will host a new truck at <strong>Knightdale Station Park<\/strong> for lunch and dinner. Just look for it from 11:30am to 1:30pm and 6pm to 8pm near the amphitheater (rain or shine &#8211; shelters are covered). <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.knightdalenc.gov\/index.aspx?page=745\">Get all the details and schedule here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And the <strong>food truck rodeos<\/strong> in Durham (just had one) and Raleigh (this Sunday!) are swinging back into full gear. Check out the <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/durhamcentralpark.org\/events\/food-truck-rodeo-info\/\">Durham dates here<\/a><\/b><\/span> and the <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.downtownraleighfoodtruckrodeo.com\/\">Raleigh dates here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Events<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0<strong>Bites of Bull City&#8217;s Amber Watson<\/strong> notified me that <strong>Tre Forni&#8217;s<\/strong> one year anniversary celebration is <strong>Saturday, May 6th<\/strong> from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. with pizza samples, raffle prizes, demos &amp; ingredients along with swag and samples from <strong>Ballast Point Brewery<\/strong>. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/1788417034712375\/\">Get all the details here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Blind Pig Supper Club<\/strong> in partnership with <strong>TerraVita Food &amp; Drink Festival<\/strong> brings you an incredible evening on <strong>May 7<\/strong> of amazing cuisine featuring eight chefs from across the state working together to create an eight-course meal. <strong>Eve of the Eighth<\/strong> will celebrate 2017 as the eighth year of the <strong>TerraVita Food &amp; Drink Festival<\/strong>. Our &#8220;8&#8221; theme will appear visually on the plate and in ingredient selection and sourcing. To see a list of those amazing 8 chefs and purchase tickets ($88), <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/the-blind-pig-terravita-food-and-drink-festival-present-eve-of-the-eighth-in-raleigh-nc-tickets-33184660212\">click here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Got word from <strong>Lisa Jeffries<\/strong> that the <strong>Raleigh Food &amp; Wine Festival<\/strong> has set their dates for this year as <strong>May 18-21, 2017<\/strong>. Go ahead and mark your calendar. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.raleighfoodandwine.com\/\">More details to follow here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Learned from <strong>Bites of Bull City&#8217;s Amber Watson<\/strong> that the <strong>Durham Blues and Brews Festival<\/strong> is back <strong>May 21st<\/strong> at <strong>Durham Central Park<\/strong>. Delicious NC craft brews, rockin&#8217; blues, food trucks and fun! Enjoy unlimited 12 oz. pours of 20 of the finest brews that North Carolina has to offer. Advance festival tickets are $40 or $50 on site. Designated driver tickets are $20. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.durhambluesandbrewsfestival.com\/\">Get all the details and tickets here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Black Twig Cider House, Mattie B&#8217;s Public House<\/strong> and the <strong>Rickhouse<\/strong> are bringing back <strong>Txakolifest<\/strong> on <strong>Sunday May 21st<\/strong> from 12 &#8211; 4 p.m. at the <strong>Rickhouse<\/strong>. <strong>Txakolifest<\/strong> is a celebration of Basque country&#8217;s finest white wines combined with Durham&#8217;s best food &#8211; the list of participating restaurants is impressive. Tickets are $75 ($100 VIP). <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.txakolifest.com\/\">Get all the details here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The restaurant and farm pairings for the <strong>2017 Farm to Fork Picnic<\/strong> were announced this week. The <strong>10th anniversary Farm to Fork Picnic Weekend<\/strong>, <strong>June 2-4<\/strong> at <strong>Fearrington Village<\/strong>, will celebrate creative partnerships among Triangle farmers, chefs and culinary artisans. Pairings for the June 4 picnic, which has been dubbed &#8220;The Country&#8217;s Best All-You-Can-Eat Feast&#8221; by <i><strong>Bon Appetit<\/strong><\/i>, represent more than 70 farms and restaurants. For more information and to purchase tickets for any event, <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/farmtoforknc.com\/\">visit them here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Listen up, the dates for <strong>TerraVita<\/strong> in Chapel Hill (one of the largest foodie events in the South) \u00a0have been released. Go ahead and mark your calendars, more details to follow in the coming weeks\/months. It will kick off on <strong>Wednesday, October 18<\/strong>, and end with the <strong>Grand Tasting on The Green<\/strong> on <strong>Saturday, October 21, 2017<\/strong>. <strong>TerraVita<\/strong> has grown from one tasting event into a four-day festival led by James Beard Foundation-nominated chefs, nationally-acclaimed cookbook authors, award-winning journalists and food artisans, winemakers, baristas, craft brewers and distillers. Tickets will go on sale in May. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.terravitafest.com\/\">Keep up with the latest here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Food Bank Corner<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Go ahead and start planning (get your kids involved) and join the National Association of Letter Carriers for the largest one-day food drive in the nation! <strong>Stamp Out Hunger<\/strong> takes place on <strong>Saturday, May 13th<\/strong>. Look out for a designated donation bag delivered to you by your letter carrier, fill it with your donation, and your letter carrier will pick it up on May 13! Or forget the hassle of a trip to the grocery store and &#8220;shop&#8221; their virtual food drive and maximize your donation times ten! <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.foodbankcenc.org\/site\/TR?px=1354491&amp;fr_id=1112&amp;pg=personal\">Get those details here<\/a><\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Triangle Restaurant News Triangle restaurant news&#8230;that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler. Featured Restaurant News Got word from general manager Sean Umstead that St. Roch Fine Oysters + Bar opened this past Wednesday in the former &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=551\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":552,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551\/revisions\/552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}