{"id":630,"date":"2017-08-25T07:45:02","date_gmt":"2017-08-25T11:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=630"},"modified":"2017-08-25T07:48:39","modified_gmt":"2017-08-25T11:48:39","slug":"friday-fun-food-facts-august-24-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=630","title":{"rendered":"Friday Fun Food Facts &#8211; August 25, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Triangle Restaurant News<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Triangle restaurant news&#8230;that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Featured Restaurant News<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>So now we know what is going into the former <strong>McAlister\u2019s Deli<\/strong> space on East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. Saw on a <strong>Yelp<\/strong> message board that <strong>BonChon Chicken<\/strong>, the fast casual Korean fried chicken chain, is opening its first Triangle-area location at the 205 E. Franklin Street address. No word on a timeline. <a href=\"https:\/\/bonchon.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get familiar with them here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Wake County Restaurant News<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>According to the <strong>News &amp; Observer<\/strong>, <strong>Anthony Guerra<\/strong>, whose family owned <strong>Bella Mia<\/strong>, will open <strong>Oakwood Pizza Box<\/strong> at 610 N. Person St. (a few doors down from <strong>Crawford and Son<\/strong> where he works as the general manager). <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oakwoodpizzabox.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check them out here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Also in downtown Raleigh, several people pointed out to me this week that there is a sign in the window for <strong>\u201cKaiju\u201d<\/strong> in the space next to <strong>Oak City Meatball<\/strong> on E. Davie Street. Unfortunately, our online search didn\u2019t turn up any additional information. We\u2019re just going to have to be patient on this one. Stay tuned.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>John Huisman<\/strong>, aka <a href=\"https:\/\/triangleexplorer.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Triangle Explorer<\/b><\/span><\/a>, alerted me to the news that a <strong>Culver\u2019s<\/strong>, with their signature ButterBurgers and frozen custard, is now open in Wake Forest at 2819 Rogers Road next to the new Rite Aid drug store near <strong>The Factory<\/strong> sports and retail complex on Main Street. This is their Triangle-area debut, but likely won\u2019t be their only. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.culvers.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check them out here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Got word from reader <strong>Paul Prause<\/strong> that <strong>Pickled Onion Restaurant &amp; Bar<\/strong> will close its current location on Falls of the Neuse Road on August 27th and relocate to 10750 Wakefield Commons in Wakefield. Look for them to open in the new location in mid-September. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickled.bar\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Keep up with their move on their Facebook page here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And reader <strong>Jane Bell<\/strong> noticed construction activity at the former <strong>Lone Star Steakhouse<\/strong> location in the <strong>Townridge shopping center<\/strong> in Raleigh. No indication as of yet as to what is going in there.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Durham, Orange &amp; Chatham Restaurant News<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Johanna Kramer<\/strong> reported this week that after closing <strong>Alivia\u2019s Durham Bistro<\/strong> in June, owners <strong>Fergus Bradley<\/strong> and <strong>Jason Sholtz<\/strong> are teaming up with barbecue chef <strong>Brian Stinnett<\/strong> to open <strong>Maverick\u2019s Smokehouse and Taproom<\/strong> on West Main St. in September. <strong>Maverick\u2019s<\/strong> will offer slow smoked barbecue pork, beef brisket, ribs, chicken, turkey, sausage, fish and more. <a href=\"http:\/\/maverickssmokehouse.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Visit their website here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Got word from <strong>Cherith Andes<\/strong> that <strong>Babalu Tapas &amp; Tacos<\/strong> has set next Monday, <strong>August 28th<\/strong> as the opening date for their latest location in Chapel Hill\u2019s <strong>Eastgate Crossing<\/strong>. I\u2019m getting an early tasting tonight and super excited! This is the Triangle\u2019s first location and will feature latin-inspired taco and tapas dishes with a Southern twist. And I\u2019ve heard the drinks are pretty amazing as well. <a href=\"https:\/\/chapelhill.eatbabalu.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check them out here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Pie Hole<\/strong> in Durham, serving up sweet &amp; savory pies from scratch along with signature coffee &amp; drinks, will hold their grand opening on Labor Day weekend. They will be located at 810 Ninth Street. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thepieholela.com\/durham\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check them out here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>As if you needed another reason to get to <strong>Scott Howell\u2019s NanaSteak<\/strong> in downtown Durham, reader <strong>Sara Bill<\/strong> informed us that they will begin brunch service this Saturday. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nanasteak.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check out NanaSteak here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>This will make your mouth water. <strong>Merritt\u2019s Grill<\/strong> in Chapel Hill celebrates this month the <strong>25th anniversary<\/strong> of serving up their (now world famous) BLTs. Hard to believe it has been 25 years! And they will have events and activities all day tomorrow (<strong>Saturday, August 26th<\/strong>) from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merrittsblt.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check out Merritt&#8217;s here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Also in Chapel Hill, the <strong>Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership<\/strong> reported that <strong>Perennial Coffee &amp; Pastries<\/strong> is now open at 403 W. Franklin Street right next to the <strong>Cuban Revolution Express<\/strong>. The only online presence we could find was the partnership&#8217;s posting about it opening. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/downtownchapelhill\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Here it is<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Closings<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Learned from the folks over at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tastecarolina.net\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Taste Carolina<\/b><\/span><\/a> that after just six months, <strong>Wedgies<\/strong> at <strong>American Tobacco campus<\/strong>, has closed. You can still visit their original location in Southern Pines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Was sad to learn from reader <strong>Jeanette Hauser<\/strong> that the Morrisville location of <strong>Danny\u2019s BBQ<\/strong> has closed. That\u2019s the bad news. The good news is their Cary and RTP locations remain open.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Art Sheppard<\/strong>, aka <a href=\"https:\/\/wanderingsheppard.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>The Wandering Sheppard<\/b><\/span><\/a>, notified us this week that the brick-and-mortar location of <strong>Porchetta<\/strong> (at <strong>Streets at Southpoint<\/strong> food court) has closed. But you can still catch the truck all over the Triangle. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.porchettardu.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Keep up with them here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Several people, including <a href=\"https:\/\/wanderingsheppard.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>The Wandering Sheppard<\/b><\/span><\/a> himself (<strong>Art Sheppard<\/strong>) that the <strong>Bruegger\u2019s Bagels<\/strong> in <strong>Pleasant Valley<\/strong> has closed. Follows closely on the footsteps of the one that closed at <strong>North Hills<\/strong> just a few weeks back.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And reader <strong>Gloria Waters<\/strong> notified me this week that the <strong>Triangle Town Center<\/strong> location of <strong>California Pizza Kitchen<\/strong> closed. They still have locations in Durham at <strong>Streets at Southpoint<\/strong> as well as at RDU International Airport.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Food Trucks<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0The <strong>Lazy Days Festival<\/strong> in Cary has expanded to two days, <strong>August 26 &amp; 27. <\/strong>In addition to arts and crafts tents, it will feature more than 25 food vendors and trucks! It is not a party until a food truck rolls up! The entire festival is wonderful, but if you want to plan your food strategy before you go, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.townofcary.org\/recreation-enjoyment\/events\/festivals\/lazy-daze-arts-and-crafts-festival\/food-vendors\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>do so here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Art Sheppard<\/strong> notified me that Chapel Hill is bringing back the <strong>Rodeo on Rosemary<\/strong>. It will be held on <strong>November 5th<\/strong> from 12-4 (also same day as the <strong>Durham Rodeo<\/strong>&#8230;decisions, decisions). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/1378838658864001\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details on Facebook here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And the <strong>food truck rodeos<\/strong> in Durham and Raleigh are back in full swing. Durham&#8217;s next rodeo is September 3rd. Check out the <a href=\"http:\/\/durhamcentralpark.org\/events\/food-truck-rodeo-info\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Durham dates here<\/b><\/span><\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.downtownraleighfoodtruckrodeo.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Raleigh dates here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Events<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>How does beer and fresh produce sound? Count me in! The <strong>Chapel Hill Farmers&#8217; Market<\/strong> at <strong>University Place<\/strong> will hold their annual <strong>Brewfest<\/strong> on <strong>Saturday, August 26<\/strong> from 8 a.m. until noon. The event will feature brews from 11 different breweries. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/459546441076306\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check out their Facebook event page here<\/b><\/span><\/a> for all the details.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Underground Kitchen<\/strong> hosts its second pop up dinner in Raleigh on <strong>August 30<\/strong> at 7 p.m. Attendees will experience the great outdoors and a deliciously rustic, multi-course dinner in a wilderness-within- the-city locale. Virginia-based celebrity chef <strong>J. Ponder<\/strong> will pull out all the stops with a flavorsome exploration of aged meats, time-tested techniques, and truffle wine pairings! <a href=\"https:\/\/theundergroundkitchen.org\/upcoming-events\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details and purchase tickets here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>News &amp; Observer<\/strong> brought it to our attention that tickets for <strong>Beericana Craft Beer and Music Festival<\/strong> are on sale now. <strong>Beericana<\/strong> will take place again in Holly Springs on September 9th and will feature 70 breweries, 16 food trucks and thousands of beer lovers. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.beericana.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get ticket information and all the details here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>On Sunday, <strong>Sept. 10th<\/strong> from 2-5pm Raleigh&#8217;s <strong>Mandolin Restaurant<\/strong> will hold their second annual <strong>BBQ Fundraiser<\/strong> to benefit the <strong>Interfaith Food Shuttle<\/strong>. It will be held across the street from <strong>Mandolin<\/strong> at the corner of Fairview and Oberlin Road. They will have live music and lots of great food and drink prepared by chef <strong>Sean Fowler<\/strong> which has been donated by <strong>Cheney Bros.<\/strong> food distributors, <strong>Topo distillery<\/strong>, <strong>Locals Seafood<\/strong>, <strong>Videri Chocolate<\/strong>, <strong>Neuse River Brewing<\/strong>, <strong>Lynnwood Brewing<\/strong> and <strong>Mandolin Sauces<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/mandolin-sauces-bbq-fundraiser-to-benefit-interfaith-food-shuttle-tickets-36756727361\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get tickets and all the details here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Also on September 10th, the <strong>Leonard-Mobley Small Farm Fund<\/strong> will host their <strong>4th Annual Dinner in the Meadow<\/strong> benefit hosted by <strong>WUNC&#8217;s Frank Stasio<\/strong> and featuring dishes prepared by Triangle area and regional chefs. Held in Franklin County, the dinner is $100 per person. Visit their website to see the amazing list of chefs and menus. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dinnerinthemeadow.org\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details and tickets here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Join host chef <strong>Teddy Diggs<\/strong> of <strong>Il Palio at the Siena Hotel<\/strong> in Chapel Hill on Thursday, <strong>September 14th<\/strong> for <strong>Festa Italiana<\/strong>, a Friends of the James Beard Benefit Dinner. Cocktail hour begins at 6:00pm on the terrace with hors d&#8217;oeuvres, games of bocce and a silent auction. Dinner begins at 7:30pm in the <strong>Il Palio<\/strong> dining room and is followed by a live auction. Tickets are $185. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/festa-italiana-friends-of-james-beard-benefit-dinner-tickets-34895424153\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get your tickets and all the details here<\/b><\/span><\/a> &#8211; including the stellar lineup of chefs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Relish Craft Kichen &amp; Bourbon Bar<\/strong> will host their <strong>2nd Annual Mac &amp; Cheese Throwdown for Hope<\/strong> on Sunday, <strong>September 17th<\/strong> from 6-9 p.m.\u00a0at the event space at <strong>214 Martin<\/strong> in downtown Raleigh. Benefiting the <strong>Hope Center at Pullen<\/strong>, the event features chefs from around the Triangle showing off their &#8220;mac and cheese&#8221; talent. They will have a bartender competition as well. Tickets in advance are $25. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.relishraleigh.com\/throwdown-for-hope\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mix 101.5<\/strong> will host their <strong>Savor the Triangle<\/strong> event on Wednesday, <strong>September 20th<\/strong> to benefit the <strong>Inter-Faith Food Shuttle<\/strong>. It will be held from 6-9 p.m. at the <strong>Kerr Scott Building<\/strong> at the <strong>NC State Fairgrounds<\/strong>. Over 20 restaurants (so far) are participating. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wralfm.com\/SAVOR-THE-TRIANGLE\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get tickets and all the details here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Pittsboro&#8217;s annual <strong>PepperFest<\/strong> will be held on Sunday, <strong>September 24th<\/strong> this year at the Great Meadow in <strong>Briar Chapel<\/strong>. <strong>PepperFest<\/strong> is a celebration of \u00a0local food made by local chefs and food artisans featuring 40 different kinds of locally grown peppers prepared in hundreds of creative ways. <a href=\"http:\/\/pepperfestnc.org\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And on <strong>October 12th<\/strong>, the local chapter of the <strong>March of Dimes<\/strong> will bring back their <strong>Signature Chefs Auction<\/strong>. The gathering of talented chefs from around the Triangle will be held at <strong>The Garden on Millbrook<\/strong> beginning at 6:30 p.m. A full list of chefs will be released soon. <a href=\"https:\/\/signaturechefs.marchofdimes.org\/Event.aspx?EventId=19499\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details on their website here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Folks, listen up. I try to make it a habit not to tell people what to do (mainly because I don&#8217;t want them to tell me what to do, but I digress). Here is an exception. Go to this event! Trust me. And get your tickets <strong>EARLY<\/strong>! Speaking of which, tickets to the eighth annual <strong>TerraVita Food &amp; Drink Festival<\/strong> (@TerraVitaFest), scheduled for <strong>Oct. 18-21<\/strong> in and around Chapel Hill, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.terravitafest.com\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>are now on sale here<\/b><\/span><\/a>. It will sell out. Trust me!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Food Bank Corner<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>This is the <strong>LAST<\/strong> weekend for <strong>Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week<\/strong>. Participating restaurants will offer three-course prix fixe dinners for either $21 or $31 per person, depending on the venue (tax and tip not included). As a special amenity to downtown employees and other daytime downtown visitors, some restaurants will be offering $5 and $10 lunch specials during <strong>Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week<\/strong> only! And <strong>NEW THIS YEAR<\/strong>, they are partnering with the <strong>Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina<\/strong> to donate <strong>$1 from each Restaurant Week dinner sold<\/strong> to those in need! <a href=\"http:\/\/www.godowntownraleigh.com\/restaurant-week\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details here<\/b><\/span><\/a>!<\/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 So now we know what is going into the former McAlister\u2019s Deli space on East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. Saw &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=630\">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-630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630","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=630"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":632,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630\/revisions\/632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}