{"id":755,"date":"2018-04-20T08:05:51","date_gmt":"2018-04-20T12:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=755"},"modified":"2018-04-20T08:05:51","modified_gmt":"2018-04-20T12:05:51","slug":"friday-fun-food-facts-april-20-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=755","title":{"rendered":"Friday Fun Food Facts &#8211; April 20, 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>Up in Wake Forest, <strong>John Huisman<\/strong>, aka <a href=\"https:\/\/triangleexplorer.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Triangle Explorer<\/b><\/span><\/a>, notified us via Twitter that the <strong>Bu.ku<\/strong> in Wake Forest opens today, <strong>April 20<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong>. This first weekend of service will be via reservation only. <strong>Bu.ku&#8217;s<\/strong> original location is in downtown Raleigh and they have a sister restaurant, <strong>So.Ca,<\/strong> in Raleigh&#8217;s <strong>Cameron Village<\/strong>. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bukuraleigh.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get familiar with Bu.ku 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>Last week we told you that <strong>Buffalo Brothers Pizza &amp; Wing Co.<\/strong> is moving into the former <strong>Outback Steakhouse<\/strong> location in <strong>Saltbox Village<\/strong>. This week we learned that they are looking at an opening as early as next month, with a soft opening on <strong>April 27<\/strong>. Stay tuned and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buffbrothers.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>keep up with Buffalo Brothers here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>In downtown Raleigh, at 222 Glenwood Avenue, the folks over at <strong>NC Triangle Dining<\/strong> noted via Twitter that <strong>Tapworks<\/strong>, a 50-tap, self pour joint is scheduled to open this summer. Don&#8217;t know about food, but&#8230;50 taps&#8230;.Love their tag line &#8211; life is too short to wait on a bartender!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Out in <strong>Brier Creek<\/strong>, got word from reader <strong>Jeanette Hauser<\/strong> that <strong>Panera Bread<\/strong> is moving from their current location, across Glenwood into the former <strong>Johnny Carino&#8217;s<\/strong> spot. A drive-thru will be added. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.panerabread.com\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check out Panera here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Also in <strong>Brier Creek<\/strong>, a quick update that it is looking like early May for the opening of the latest location of <strong>Alpaca Peruvian Charcoal Chicken<\/strong>. Stay tuned, but <a href=\"http:\/\/www.alpacachicken.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>check them out here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes &amp; Fries<\/strong> opened their 94<sup>th<\/sup> location in North Carolina (8<sup>th<\/sup>in the Triangle area) this past week at 8440 Louisburg Road in Raleigh. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hwy55.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check them out here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Up in North Raleigh, got word from reader <strong>Brian Hammill<\/strong> that <strong>Taziki&#8217;s Mediterranean Grill<\/strong> is opening in the old <strong>Pickled Onion<\/strong> space in <strong>Bent Tree Plaza<\/strong> at 7901 Falls of Neuse Road. This will be their third Triangle location (two in Cary) and first in Raleigh. <a href=\"http:\/\/tazikiscafe.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check them out here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Over in Cary, things just got a lot sweeter. <strong>Mithai Indian Cafe<\/strong>, a dessert bar and cafe in Cary&#8217;s <strong>Chatham Square<\/strong> shopping center recently changed ownership and they are known for their locally made, artisan Indian confection. They pride themselves on the fact that they craft and sell Indian confections made the old-school way, with integrity and quality ingredients. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mithaius.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get familiar with them here<\/b><\/span><\/a>, and then swing by the shop at 744 E. Chatham Street.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Durham, Orange &amp; Chatham Restaurant News<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Carrboro&#8217;s <strong>YesterYear Brewery<\/strong> truly lived up to its name and is now a distant memory. The owners brought in new partners, a new experience, added a kitchen and reopened under a new name &#8211; <strong>Vecino Brewing Co.<\/strong> Celebrating their grand opening May 4-6 (they are already open), they will brew and serve award-winning craft beer and offer elevated taproom fare using local ingredients. They are located at 300 East Main Street next to <strong>Cat&#8217;s Cradle<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/vecinobrewing.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get familiar with the newness here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Over in Chapel Hill, got a quick update from the folks at <strong>MidiCi Neopolitan Pizza<\/strong> that they are looking at June opening at the corner of Franklin Street and Columbia Street. Time to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mymidici.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>get familiar with them here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Last week we told you about the closing of <strong>Finch&#8217;s<\/strong> in Durham. We got a little more information on the shop coming into that space thanks to founder <strong>Brad Bankos<\/strong>. It will be called <strong>EastCut Sandwich Shop<\/strong> and they are targeting a mid-July soft opening. You can <a href=\"https:\/\/eastcutsandwich.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>sign up for their latest news as well as find links to their Instagram and Facebook pages 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>Got word from reader <strong>Jeanette Hauser<\/strong> that <strong>O&#8217;Charley&#8217;s<\/strong> in <strong>Brier Creek<\/strong> will close on July 1.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Food Trucks<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Knightdale Food Truck Thursdays<\/strong> went back into full swing last week<strong>\u00a0<\/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 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.downtownraleighfoodtruckrodeo.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Raleigh here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Two food truck rodeo&#8217;s in Chapel Hill on this weekend! <strong>Saturday, April 21<\/strong> will be T<strong>able&#8217;s Food Truck Rodeo<\/strong> at Orange United Methodist Church on MLK Blvd. from 3-7 p.m. And on <strong>Sunday, April 22<\/strong> at noon is the <strong>Rodeo on Rosemary<\/strong> featuring 15 of the best trucks in the Triangle. Get all the details on their Facebook event page <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tablenc.org\/table-food-truck-rodeo\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>here for Table<\/b><\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/740822039458710\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>here for the Rodeo on Rosemary<\/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>This Saturday, <strong>April 21<sup>st<\/sup><\/strong> from noon until 6 p.m. is the <strong>10<sup>th<\/sup> annual &#8216;Cuegrass Festival<\/strong> in downtown Raleigh in the<strong> Warehouse District<\/strong> (Harrington &amp; Davie Streets) near <strong>The Pit<\/strong>. The event features the region&#8217;s finest pitmasters gathering for this daylong event where Eastern North Carolina-style barbecue is king. In addition to the delicious eats, guests can sample from a selection of local beers and enjoy toe-tappin&#8217; bluegrass music. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/10th-annual-north-carolina-cuegrass-festival-tickets-43410660454\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details 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>North Carolina&#8217;s largest craft beer festival, <strong>Brewgaloo Beer Festival<\/strong>, returns to downtown Raleigh <strong>April 27 and 28th<\/strong>. The weekend kicks off with the <strong>Friday Night Block Party<\/strong> 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 <strong>&#8220;IKnowTheBrewer&#8221;<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/shoplocalraleigh.org\/brewgaloo\/brewgaloo-block-party\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details and purchase tickets here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>May 5<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong> is the date for West Cary&#8217;s very own <strong>Fest in the West<\/strong>, a festival featuring food, beer, crafts, music and a kids&#8217; zone. It will take place from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the <strong>USA Baseball Training Complex<\/strong> at 7445 Green Hope School Road. <a href=\"http:\/\/festinthewest.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>This will be a cool experience. Chef\/owner <strong>Sean Fowler<\/strong> of <strong>Mandolin<\/strong> in Raleigh will host a dinner on his family&#8217;s farm (truly farm to table) on <strong>May 6<\/strong> at 5:30pm. Guests will enjoy a farm-guided tour during cocktail hour, with hors d&#8217;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 <strong>Mandolin Farm<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/offlineraleighdurham\/videos\/1595447387217453\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get familiar with the farm 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\/\"><b>Get them here<\/b><\/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><strong>Beer and Bacon Fest<\/strong>. <strong>May 19<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong>. Cary. Not much else needs to be said. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/522026324813158\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check it out 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><strong>Double Your Impact!<\/strong> Right now, you can make twice the difference for children and families facing hunger. Friends of the <strong>Food Bank of Central &amp; Eastern North Carolina<\/strong> will match every gift &#8211; up to $66,000 &#8211; <strong>until April 30<\/strong>. \u00a0For every $10 you give, the Food Bank can provide 100 meals! <a href=\"https:\/\/secure2.convio.net\/fbnc\/site\/Donation2?df_id=10922&amp;mfc_pref=T&amp;10922.donation=form1&amp;multiply=10&amp;s_src=sma&amp;s_subsrc=fbcenc\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Donate now<\/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 Up in Wake Forest, John Huisman, aka Triangle Explorer, notified us via Twitter that the Bu.ku in Wake Forest opens today, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=755\">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-755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/755","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=755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/755\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}