{"id":749,"date":"2018-03-23T08:29:29","date_gmt":"2018-03-23T12:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=749"},"modified":"2018-03-23T08:29:29","modified_gmt":"2018-03-23T12:29:29","slug":"friday-fun-food-facts-march-23-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=749","title":{"rendered":"Friday Fun Food Facts &#8211; March 23, 2018"},"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><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>One month after the <strong>Old Havana Sandwich Shop<\/strong> in Durham ended a seven-year run, the husband and wife team of <strong>Roberto Copa Matos<\/strong> and <strong>Elizabeth Turnbull<\/strong> will open the farm-to-table Cuban restaurant\u00a0<strong>Copa<\/strong>\u00a0today at 107 West Main Street in the larger, renovated former <strong>Revolution<\/strong> spot. <strong>Copa<\/strong> will start with lunch service this week, adding dinner and brunch in a week or so. The lunch menu is the <strong>Old Havana<\/strong> you may be familiar with, but the dinner menu is where <strong>Copa<\/strong> separates itself from <strong>Old Havana<\/strong>, with a menu comprised largely of tapas and small plates. <a href=\"https:\/\/copadurham.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get to know 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>Just outside of Raleigh up in Franklin County, an email from <strong>Russ Vollmer<\/strong> of the <strong>Vollmer Farm<\/strong> indicated that he and his wife <strong>Vanessa<\/strong> are going to open a restaurant, a true farm to table restaurant, right on their farm in Bunn this fall. Called <strong>Rustic Root<\/strong>, it will tap into local farmers (including <strong>Russ<\/strong>) to source their menu and <strong>Vanessa&#8217;s<\/strong> background in the restaurant business. Stay in touch with their efforts and progress <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rusticrootsbunn.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>on their website here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>In Raleigh, reader <strong>Morgan Hinch-Wood<\/strong> notified us that there is a sign up for a <strong>Mega Pizza<\/strong> in the old <strong>Marco&#8217;s<\/strong> location at 9101 Leesville Road in the Food Lion shopping center. Not much of an online presence, so we will have to ask <strong>Morgan<\/strong> to keep an eye on this for us.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Over in Cary, saw in <strong>Offline Raleigh + Durham<\/strong> that <strong>Milk Lab<\/strong> has opened at 6418 Tryon Road serving up &#8216;rolled&#8217; Thai ice cream with unlimited toppings and organic milk tea. Not much on their website yet, but you can get <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/milklabcafe\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>all the details on their Facebook page here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Remember last week we told you that last weekend was the last chance to get by <strong>German Grille<\/strong> before they were closing their doors? Well, <strong>WRAL<\/strong> learned that they realized they needed a bit more time to say goodbye to their customers. To that end, they will be open limited hours over the next 3-4 weekends and continue offering brats, schnitzel and beer. They will also be selling off some of their German d\u00e9cor. Best course of action is to make reservations through <a href=\"http:\/\/germangrille.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>their website here<\/b><\/span><\/a> and keep up with their plans to wind down <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/German-Grille-559692047416884\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>on their Facebook page here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Down in Apex, reader <strong>Chris Creighton<\/strong> noticed a sign this week hanging outside the old <strong>Perkins<\/strong> restaurant on US 64 for a <strong>Ciudad Mexico<\/strong> coming soon. No word yet on a time-frame. Stay tuned amigos!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And finally, a couple of Saturday celebrations to attend tomorrow &#8211; <strong>Saturday, March 24<\/strong>. <strong>Escazu Chocolates<\/strong> will celebrate their <strong>10<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary<\/strong> all day on Saturday with free birthday cake for all (while it lasts). They are located at 936 N. Blount Street in downtown Raleigh. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escazuchocolates.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details on their website here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Also, <strong>Chronic Tacos<\/strong> will hold their grand opening celebration tomorrow at 9424 Falls of the Neuse Road featuring live music, an eating contest, lots of giveaways and an appearance by <strong>Wee Man<\/strong>. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chronictacos.com\/raleigh\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details 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>The wait is over. This past Wednesday saw the opening of <strong>East Durham Bake Shop<\/strong> at 406 South Driver Street. They specialize in handmade seasonally inspired pastries that can be paired with house-made soups and salads alongside locally roasted espresso beverages and organic teas.\u00a0And of course their flaky, buttery, handmade sweet and savory pies. <a href=\"http:\/\/eastdurhambakeshop.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check them out here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Also in Durham, <strong>Glenn Gillen<\/strong> notified me that <strong>Urel&#8217;s Jamaica House<\/strong> is now open in the <strong>Hope Valley Shopping Center<\/strong> at 3825 S Roxboro Street. You can learn more about them on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/urelsjamaicahouse919\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>their Facebook page here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Closings<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Learned through the <strong>News &amp; Observer<\/strong>, just after <strong>Greg Cox<\/strong> had reviewed and given them a very favorable 3 \u00bd stars, that <strong>Just Cookin&#8217;<\/strong> in Garner has closed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Reader <strong>Chris Creighton<\/strong> informed us that <strong>TGI Fridays<\/strong> in Cary on Kildaire &amp; Tryon has closed. That leaves just one in Raleigh and one in Garner for our market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Creighton also informed us that the <strong>Applebee&#8217;s<\/strong> at the corner of Gorman and Hillsborough Street in Raleigh has closed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Food Trucks<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The next <strong>Wake Forest Food Truck Rodeo<\/strong> will be held on <strong>Sunday, April 8th<\/strong> from 12-4 at the <strong>Over the Falls<\/strong> shopping center located at 405 S. Brooks St. If you can&#8217;t make that, future rodeo dates are <strong>June 24th<\/strong> and <strong>October 28<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wakeforestfoodtruckrodeo\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check in with them on Facebook here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Knightdale Food Truck Thursdays<\/strong> will be back in full swing come <strong>April 19th<\/strong>. Trucks will be on hand for lunch and dinner each Thursday at the <strong>Knightdale Station Park<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.knightdalenc.gov\/departments\/parks-recreation-and-cultural-programs\/festivals-and-events\/food-truck-thursdays\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get a full schedule and truck listing on their website here<\/b><\/span><\/a>. Thanks to <strong>Mark Ginsberg<\/strong> for the heads up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The dates have been set for the <strong>Durham Central Park Food Truck Rodeo<\/strong> and <strong>Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeos<\/strong>. Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/durhamcentralpark.org\/events\/food-truck-rodeo-info\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Durham here<\/b><\/span><\/a> and <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Raleigh here<\/b><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Art Sheppard, the <a href=\"https:\/\/wanderingsheppard.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Wandering Sheppard<\/b><\/span><\/a>, noted that the date has been set for the next edition of <strong>Rodeo on Rosemary<\/strong> over in Chapel Hill. This year it will take place on <strong>April 22<\/strong> at 12 noon featuring 15 of the best trucks in the Triangle. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/740822039458710\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details on their Facebook event page here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Two great sites to keep up with your favorite food trucks. <strong>Street Food Finder<\/strong> is one &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/streetfoodfinder.com\/c\/nc\/raleigh\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>find it here<\/b><\/span><\/a>. And another, aptly named, is <strong>Roaming Hunger<\/strong> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/roaminghunger.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>find it here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Events<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Indy<\/strong> brought it to our attention that the <strong>Bull City Vegan Challenge<\/strong> will return to Durham for the fifth time in April (<strong>kicks off April 1<\/strong>), with chefs at ten downtown meat-centric restaurants creating specialty plant-based dishes that their menus will carry throughout the month, culminating in a competition decided by diners&#8217; votes. This year&#8217;s participants, all full-service restaurants, are:\u00a0<strong>Dos Perros<\/strong>, <strong>Parizade<\/strong>, <strong>Pompieri<\/strong>, <strong>M Kokko<\/strong>, <strong>Juju<\/strong>, <strong>Guglhupf<\/strong>, <strong>Counting House<\/strong>, <strong>Jack Tar Diner<\/strong>, <strong>Unscripted<\/strong>, and <strong>Grub<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/182977808958867\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Visit their Facebook event page here<\/b><\/span><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Durham Magazine<\/strong>, <strong>Chapel Hill Magazine<\/strong> and <strong>Chatham Magazine<\/strong> return with their popular culinary event, <strong>Taste<\/strong> to take place <strong>April 18-22<\/strong> highlighting the culinary talents along the Durham\/Chapel Hill corridor. The event will feature over 30 of the area&#8217;s top chefs at four unique events throughout the week. <a href=\"http:\/\/tastetheevent.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Keep up with the latest and get tickets here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Third Annual Big Biscuit Showdown<\/strong> will be held <strong>Thursday, April 26<\/strong> from 6-9pm at <strong>The Rickhouse<\/strong> in Downtown Durham. This unique food competition features teams comprised of <strong>Rise Biscuits &amp; Donuts<\/strong> chefs and a local brewery or beverage company. Each <strong>Rise<\/strong> chef will prepare a special biscuit and donut with inventive toppings and fillings that will be paired with a local craft-made beverage. Tickets are $50 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/third-annual-big-biscuit-showdown-tickets-43407643430\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>available in advance here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Want to enjoy food perfectly paired with some of the areas best brews amongst lions and tigers and bears&#8230;oh my? Well, maybe not bears, but lynxes and lemurs? Get tickets to the <strong>Conservators Center&#8217;s Lions, Tigers and Beer<\/strong> event to be held on <strong>May 8<\/strong> 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.\u00a0All proceeds from the event go to the <strong>Animal Care Fund<\/strong> at the <strong>Conservators Center<\/strong>.\u00a0But hurry, only 80 tickets will be sold &#8211; $100 each or two for $180. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservatorscenter.org\/visit\/special\/lionstigersbeer\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get them here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0Tickets have gone on sale for<strong> Thrive NC<\/strong> set to take place at downtown Raleigh&#8217;s <strong>City Market<\/strong> on <strong>May 10-11<\/strong>. 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. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gothrivenc.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Keep up with the details as they unfold here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And the 2018 version of <strong>Farm to Fork<\/strong> expanded to three events over several seasons and tickets to all three just went on sale. The fun begins with the first event on <strong>June 3<\/strong>, the perennial favorite <strong>Farm to Fork Picnic<\/strong>, where the area&#8217;s best farmers and chefs are paired. Then on <strong>September 16<\/strong> they&#8217;ll host a pop-up dinner featuring <strong>Jacob Boehm<\/strong> of <strong>Snap Pea Underground &amp; Catering<\/strong>. And the series will conclude on <strong>December 6th<\/strong> with <strong>John T. Edge<\/strong> and a celebration of Southern food on Chapel Hill&#8217;s <strong>Lavender Oak Farm<\/strong>. You can buy ticket to each individual event, or all three. <a href=\"http:\/\/farmtoforknc.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get tickets and all the details on their site here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The 2018 version of <strong>Chefs for Change<\/strong>, 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 <strong>Charlie Deal<\/strong> on March 12 and <strong>Scott Howell<\/strong> on May 14) have <em>sold out<\/em>. And if last year is any indication, the next two dinners will sell out quickly. The <strong>July 9th<\/strong> event features <strong>Phoebe Lawless<\/strong> (<strong>The Lakewood<\/strong> and <strong>Scratch<\/strong>) and the <strong>September 10<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong> event features <strong>Gocciolina&#8217;s Aaron Benjamin<\/strong>. Each night the chef will serve three or more courses at a ticketed dinner with the proceeds benefiting <strong>Families Moving Forward<\/strong>. The dinners are held at the <strong>Rickhouse<\/strong> and limited to 125 people. <a href=\"https:\/\/fmfnc.org\/chefsforchange\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details and tickets here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Food Bank Corner<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Sadly, <b><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.foodbankcenc.org\/wordpress\/10-things-learned-eating-470ish-per-day\/\">this article<\/a><\/b> by <strong>Matt Kupac<\/strong> is one of the best reminders of what many folks in our community are faced with every day &#8211; having to put food on the table with just $4.70. The <strong>Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)<\/strong>, formerly known as food stamps, is a federal program providing support to low-income, low asset people facing extreme food insecurity. Matt took the challenge to eat on $4.70 per day and here is what he experienced. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.foodbankcenc.org\/site\/PageServer?pagename=FBCENCHome\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Please support the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina<\/b><\/span><\/a> and their efforts right here in our community.<\/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 \u00a0One month after the Old Havana Sandwich Shop in Durham ended a seven-year run, the husband and wife team of Roberto &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=749\">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-749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749","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=749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}