{"id":686,"date":"2017-12-08T08:12:23","date_gmt":"2017-12-08T13:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=686"},"modified":"2017-12-08T08:16:29","modified_gmt":"2017-12-08T13:16:29","slug":"friday-fun-food-facts-december-8-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=686","title":{"rendered":"Friday Fun Food Facts &#8211; December 8, 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>\u00a0I\u2019ve been telling you folks for years that we are blessed with some amazing dining options here in the Triangle. But if you won\u2019t listen to me (I understand, I wouldn\u2019t either) please take note of the two <strong>HUGE<\/strong> feathers we received this week in our collective cap. First up was the news that the food blog <strong>Eater<\/strong> named Raleigh\u2019s <strong>Ashley Christensen<\/strong> as their <strong>Chef of the Year<\/strong>! And if that wasn\u2019t enough news for one week, <strong>Forbes<\/strong> included Raleigh\u2019s <strong>Brewery Bhavana<\/strong> on their <strong>Top 10 Coolest Places to Eat<\/strong>&#8230;in the world! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eater.com\/2017\/12\/5\/16726232\/ashley-christensen-chef-of-the-year-eater-awards-2017\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check out the Eater article here<\/b><\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/annabel\/2017\/12\/03\/the-10-coolest-places-to-eat-in-2018\/#62a69ee47e88\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>the Forbes article 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>And if that is not enough <strong>Ashley Christensen<\/strong> news, we send out a quick congratulatory note to <strong>Ashley<\/strong> wishing her a happy 10th anniversary of <strong>Poole\u2019s Diner<\/strong> coming up on December 17th. Kudos <strong>Ashley<\/strong>! <a href=\"http:\/\/ac-restaurants.com\/pooles\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check out Poole&#8217;s here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The big news out of downtown Raleigh this week is that <strong>Weaver Street Market<\/strong>, a popular co-op food market founded in Carrboro nearly thirty years ago, will be opening at <strong>The Dillon<\/strong> in Raleigh\u2019s <strong>warehouse district<\/strong> in late Summer 2018. While I normally don\u2019t cover grocery store news, I have enjoyed some great meals over the years at the other <strong>Weaver Street<\/strong> locations (and was employed at the Carrboro location during my college years!). <a href=\"http:\/\/www.weaverstreetmarket.coop\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get familiar with Weaver Street here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>ITB Insider<\/strong> and <strong>News &amp; Observer<\/strong> both reported this week that after closing <strong>Cafe Lucarne<\/strong> in March in <strong>City Market<\/strong>, the owners of<strong> Royale<\/strong> have re-opened a new concept in the same location as simply <strong>Lucarne<\/strong>. Co-owner <strong>Jesse Bardyn<\/strong> said the new <strong>Lucarne<\/strong> will focus on small plates to snack on while imbibing on cocktails, wine and beer. The new chef is <strong>Bobby McFarland<\/strong>, who was previously the chef de cuisine at <strong>Royale<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lucarneraleigh\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Keep up with them on instagram here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And keeping the <strong>Wahlburger\u2019s<\/strong> vigil alive, reader <strong>Jeff Gimondo<\/strong> notified us this week that a sign now hangs outside their \u201ccoming soon\u201d location in downtown Raleigh. And their latest Facebook posting in late November was a \u201cnow hiring\u201d post. Any day now&#8230;.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Wahlburgers-Raleigh-108609189599399\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Keep up with them on their Facebook page here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Over on HIllsborough Street in Raleigh, the <strong>ITB Insider<\/strong> reported that <strong>Penn Station East Coast Subs<\/strong> will soon be serving their signature sandwiches from the ground floor of the <strong>Stanhope<\/strong> at 3001 Hillsborough Street. Permits for the interior completion of the space were issued last week. They already have locations in Cary, Durham, Morrisville and Raleigh. Get familiar with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.penn-station.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Penn Station here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Over in downtown Cary, we first told you about this in May, but it looks like we are very close to the opening of the <strong>Postmaster Restaurant and Bar<\/strong> at the corner of E. Cedar St. and North Walker Street. Looks like this weekend they have a soft-opening that is invitation only, with the possibility of it opening to the public next week. <strong>Postmaster<\/strong> is the creation of <strong>Tyler Watt<\/strong> who also owns and operates <strong>Pharmacy Bottle &amp; Beverage<\/strong> just a block away. Keep up with it all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/postmasternc\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>on their Facebook page here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>WRAL<\/strong> shared the news this week that that <strong>California Tortilla<\/strong>, fast-casual Mexican-inspired restaurant, will soon expand into North Carolina for the first time after inking a deal in Raleigh. <strong>California Tortilla<\/strong> is currently looking for retail locations in the Triangle and hoping to open in late 2018. <a href=\"http:\/\/californiatortilla.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get familiar with them here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>We told you about this back on <strong>October 6th<\/strong>, but it became official recently that <strong>Rocky Top Catering<\/strong> sold <strong>Twisted Fork<\/strong> in Raleigh and <strong>Dean\u2019s Kitchen+Bar<\/strong> in Cary to <strong>Darryl Cook<\/strong> (wonder if he will change it to Darryl&#8217;s&#8230;) of \u00a0<strong>Cook Hospitality Group<\/strong>. <strong>Cook<\/strong> formerly managed <strong>Empire Eats<\/strong> restaurants. <strong>Rocky Top<\/strong> will open a new catering kitchen in 2018 and will focus on their catering and event venues. <a href=\"http:\/\/deanskitchenandbar.com\/about-deans\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check out Dean&#8217;s here<\/b><\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/thetwistedfork.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Twisted Fork here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Durham, Orange &amp; Chatham Restaurant News<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Wine Feed<\/strong><b>,<\/b> a Raleigh-based wine bar and shop, is opening a second location in downtown Durham at 305 S. Roxboro Street. Opening in early 2018, it will feature an indoor and outdoor wine bar and lounge area that offers wines by the glass, tasting flights and snacks for pairing with wine. An expanded retail wine section will also offer a diverse selection of wines to take home. The adjoining event space, <strong>Pine &amp; Poplar<\/strong>, will accommodate up to 125 people for wedding receptions, corporate functions or private gatherings. The Wine Feed will be located next to <strong>Bull City Ciderworks<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/thewinefeed.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check them out here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Closings<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Got word from readers <strong>Sharon <\/strong>and<strong> Todd Dawson<\/strong> that the North Raleigh location of <strong>Chubby Tacos<\/strong> at <strong>Falls River Town Center<\/strong> has closed after a seven-year run.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And <strong>John Huisman<\/strong>, aka <strong>Triangle Explorer<\/strong>, noted on Twitter that the coffee trailer in Carrboro called <strong>Tin Cup Joe<\/strong> is closing up shop at the end of December. Last call for those Dr. Pepper lattes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Food Trucks<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>So if you love food trucks and are looking for a good cause to support this time of year, do I have the opportunity for you. <strong>Carly Erickson<\/strong> is in the middle of a <strong>Kickstarter<\/strong> campaign (halfway there!) to fund the next phase of her <strong>Boro Beverage<\/strong> business &#8211; a \u201cbeverage camper\u201d that will allow her to mobilize her dream of bringing healthy drinks to the Triangle. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/1840723191\/boro-beverage-craft-kombucha-and-shrubs-goes-mobil\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Consider helping her Kickstarter campaign here<\/b><\/span><\/a>. Thanks to <strong>Julie Albert<\/strong> for bringing this to our attention!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Or if you are thinking you want a career change in 2018, how about owning and operating a food truck? Right now you can purchase the <strong>Mac-Ur-Roni food trailer<\/strong> (a turnkey purchase) for just $55k (an additional $20k if you want the truck to pull it). Say goodbye to that boring 9-5 desk job crunching numbers for the man. <a href=\"https:\/\/raleigh.craigslist.org\/bfs\/d\/turnkey-food-truck-business\/6406983922.html\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check it out here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>So, with the cold months upon us there simply aren&#8217;t many &#8220;official&#8221; food truck rodeos happening. So, you will have to act like a squirrel and really work to find your food trucks for the next several months. Here are a couple of online resources to help you do just that (please note, this is not an endorsement of any of these sites, just an effort to help my readers find their favorite trucks). <strong>Street Food Finder<\/strong> is one, <b><a href=\"https:\/\/streetfoodfinder.com\/c\/nc\/raleigh\">check them out here<\/a><\/b>. And another is aptly named <strong>Roaming Hunger<\/strong> and you can <a href=\"https:\/\/roaminghunger.com\/food-trucks\/nc\/raleigh-durham\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>find them here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Events<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The new <strong>WRAL.com Voters&#8217; Choice Awards<\/strong> voting is under way now <strong>through December 17<\/strong>. The awards allow you to vote for your favorite North Carolina people, places and businesses, from the mountains to the coast. <a href=\"http:\/\/contests.wral.com\/2017-Voters-Choice-Awards\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Vote here<\/b><\/span><\/a>. And while you are there, if you love my blog I would be greatly honored if you&#8217;d throw a vote my way for <strong>Best Blogger! \ud83d\ude42<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Families for a Change<\/strong> will hold their <strong>Chefs for a Change Dessert Gala<\/strong> tonight, <strong>December 8th<\/strong> from 7-10 p.m. at the <strong>Rickhouse in Durham<\/strong>. In addition to celebrating their extremely successful inaugural year, they will be announcing the 2018 chef line-up at 9 p.m. If you want to make it tonight, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tickettailor.com\/checkout\/view-event\/id\/128818\/chk\/4b8e\/ref\/website_widget\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>get your tickets here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>3rd Annual Bull City Holiday Food &amp; Wine Soir\u00e9e<\/strong> will take place again this year at the <strong>Rickhouse in Durham<\/strong> on Sunday, <strong>December 10th<\/strong> from 1 to 5 pm. \u00a0It is a food and beverage-centric pop-up holiday market with over 25 local NC producers. \u00a0This year pick up your stocking stuffers, Secret Santa gifts and holiday treats all in one place while you support local businesses.<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/2017-bull-city-holiday-food-wine-soiree-tickets-40808080066?aff=ebdssbcitybrowse\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> <b>Get all the details here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And here is a great event to kick off your 2018&#8230; Can you say sausage!?! Durham&#8217;s first <strong>Sausagefest<\/strong> invites meat-lovers to taste and stock your fridge with locally crafted sausages from your favorite restaurants and butcher shops! VIP tickets include early entry from noon &#8211; 1pm with passed appetizers, T-shirt and an exclusive sausage making demo. General Admission entry from 1 &#8211; 4pm. Sausages of all kinds will be available for take home from <strong>First Hand Foods<\/strong>, <strong>Left Bank Butchery<\/strong> and more. Restaurants providing bites to include <strong>Gocciolina<\/strong>, <strong>Dashi<\/strong>, <strong>The Root Cellar<\/strong>, <strong>Black Twig Cider House<\/strong> and more. \u00a0VIP tickets (Noon &#8211; 1pm) are $45; General Admission (1-4 p.m.) are $25.<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ticketbase.com\/events\/sausagefest\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> <b>Get all the details and tickets here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Also, the dates for the <strong>Lucy Daniels Center<\/strong> 2018 version of their popular <strong>Cooking for a Classic<\/strong> have been set. This year\u2019s event consists of three rounds and eight chefs vying to win a <strong>restored \u201949 truck<\/strong>. It is gorgeous! The first round kicks off on Monday, <strong>January 22<\/strong> and continues through the week. The semifinals are the following week and the final showdown will be on Wednesday, <strong>February 7th<\/strong>. This year\u2019s competing chefs are <strong>Trey Cleveland<\/strong> of <strong>Top of the Hill<\/strong>, Chapel Hill; <strong>Matt Hannon<\/strong> of <strong>Ironwood Caf<\/strong>\u00e9, Southern Pines; <strong>Jonathan Ballard<\/strong> of <strong>Dean\u2019s Kitchen and Bar<\/strong>, Cary; <strong>James Patterson<\/strong>, <strong>McConnell Golf Dining<\/strong>; <strong>Troy Stauffer<\/strong>, <strong>City Club Raleigh<\/strong>; <strong>Aaron Matyac<\/strong>, <strong>Whiskey Kitchen<\/strong>, Raleigh; <strong>Dean Thompson<\/strong>, <strong>Raleigh Renaissance Hotel<\/strong>; and <strong>Nick Fay<\/strong>, <strong>Coquette<\/strong>, Raleigh.<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lucydanielscenter.org\/special-events\/cooking-for-a-classic\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> <b>Get a peek at the truck and all the details here<\/b><\/span><\/a>. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Food Bank Corner<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>No child or family should go hungry during the holidays&#8230; and with your help, they won&#8217;t! That&#8217;s the power of your giving when you share a meal from your table to theirs. Help reach the goal of <b>2.5 million meals before December 31!<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>A gift of <b>$35<\/b> will feed a child for two<b>FOUR <\/b>months<\/li>\n<li>A gift of <b>$85<\/b> will provide groceries to an elderly couple for over two<b>FOUR <\/b>months<\/li>\n<li>A gift of <b>$120<\/b> will provide enough food to sustain a family<b>TWO FAMILIES<\/b> through the winter months<\/li>\n<li>A gift of <b>$210<\/b> will provide more than 1,000<b>2,000<\/b> piping hot holiday meals to local familiesAnd your gift goes even further this winter. To help make sure our neighbors have enough to eat, friends of the <strong>Food Bank<\/strong> have generously agreed to <b>match donations, up to $56,000, now through December 31st. <\/b>Help ensure that no one goes hungry this holiday season&#8230;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.foodbankcenc.org\/site\/PageServer?pagename=holidaymeals\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Share a meal today<\/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 \u00a0I\u2019ve been telling you folks for years that we are blessed with some amazing dining options here in the Triangle. But &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=686\">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-686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686","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=686"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":691,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686\/revisions\/691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}