{"id":773,"date":"2018-05-18T08:38:47","date_gmt":"2018-05-18T12:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=773"},"modified":"2018-05-18T08:46:58","modified_gmt":"2018-05-18T12:46:58","slug":"friday-fun-food-facts-may-18-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=773","title":{"rendered":"Friday Fun Food Facts &#8211; May 18, 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>NC Sugar Rush<\/strong>. Got your attention? Sign me up! Seriously, check this out. Its Raleigh&#8217;s first all-dessert food truck rodeo, taking place <strong>Memorial Day weekend, Sunday, May 27th<\/strong> from <strong>1-5pm<\/strong> in downtown <strong>Raleigh&#8217;s City Market<\/strong>. More than <strong>20 local dessert vendors<\/strong> will be there to serve you. Enjoy a dessert bouquet like no other featuring ice cream, Italian ice, pies, cakes, cupcakes, cheesecake, popcorn, cotton candy, beignets, donuts and much more. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ncsugarrush\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details on their Facebook event page 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>This is something that will make you happy. We first told you about this back in April, 2017, but got word this week that <strong>Happy + Hale<\/strong> will open on <strong>June 5<\/strong> in <strong>North Hills <\/strong>at the new Park Central apartment tower building. They are known for their fresh juice, salads and smoothies. This will be their third Triangle-area location (downtown Raleigh and Ninth Street in Durham). <a href=\"http:\/\/www.happyandhale.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check them out here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And this will make many in North Raleigh (and around the Triangle) sad. Reader <strong>Alice Avery<\/strong> brought it to our attention that <strong>Las Margaritas<\/strong> in the Six Forks Station shopping center had posted on their Facebook page that &#8220;after 25 years of proudly serving our loyal patrons, <strong>Las Margaritas<\/strong> is looking for a new owner.&#8221; It goes on to suggest that their last day is June 30. So you have two choices: get by before June 30&#8230;or buy it! <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lasmargaritasraleigh.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check them out here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>We first told you about this in January, but <strong>Sam Ruby<\/strong> updated us that <strong>Cocula Mexican Restaurant<\/strong>, that replaced the <strong>Tripps<\/strong> at <strong>Garner Station,<\/strong> is now open at 1428 Garner Station Blvd., just south of downtown Raleigh. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/coculamex\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details on their Facebook page here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>And finally an overdue shout out to my friends over at <strong>Ole Time BBQ<\/strong> on Raleigh&#8217;s Hillsborough Street (on the way into Cary). They just celebrated 25 years of serving up some of the area&#8217;s best que. Congrats to <strong>Jerry<\/strong> and <strong>Charlotte<\/strong> and the entire team! <a href=\"http:\/\/www.oletimebarbecue.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check out OTB 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>Reader <strong>Abhijeet Chaudhari<\/strong> notified us that a new Indian restaurant called <strong>Thali<\/strong> has opened in Durham\/RTP at 5311 S. Miami Blvd. in Durham. Apparently they opened back on May 4<sup>th<\/sup>. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thalirtp.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get familiar with them here<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li>And beer is food, amirite? Well, <strong>House of Hops<\/strong> has announced May (likely the very end of May) for the opening of their next location, this one in <strong>Chatham Park<\/strong> in Pittsoboro &#8211; right next to <strong>The Root Cellar<\/strong> and sharing an outside eating\/drinking patio\/space. This will be a great place to unwind in the evening. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houseofhopsnc.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get familiar with them here<\/b><\/span><\/a>. Thanks to <strong>Neha Shah<\/strong> with the <strong>Pittsboro-Siler City Convention and Visitors Bureau<\/strong> for that update.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Closings<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>This is a hard one to write, especially for someone born and bred here in Raleigh. The <strong>Baskins-Robbins<\/strong> ice cream shop in <strong>Cameron Village<\/strong> closed this past Wednesday, after serving up scoops for over 50 years!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>One of our readers, <strong>Kari<\/strong>, pointed out that the Cary location of <strong>Macaroni Grill<\/strong> has closed (apparently back in January). A quick search indicates there is only one <strong>Macaroni Grill<\/strong> left in the Triangle (<strong>Triangle Towne Center<\/strong>). And only one of two in the entire state.<\/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 this month. 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 <strong>RDU Mobile Food Association<\/strong> announced that the <strong>Carrboro Food Fest<\/strong> is <strong>THIS Sunday, May 20<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong> at the <strong>Carrboro&#8217;s Farmer&#8217;s Market<\/strong> and will feature at least 10 food trucks, music and family fun from 12-4 p.m. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/2132190333467189\/\"><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><strong>NC Sugar Rush<\/strong>. Sign me up! Seriously, check this out. Its Raleigh&#8217;s first all-dessert food truck rodeo, taking place <strong>Memorial Day weekend, Sunday, May 27th from 1-5pm<\/strong> in downtown <strong>Raleigh&#8217;s City Market<\/strong>. More than <strong>20 local dessert vendors<\/strong> will be there to serve you. Come and enjoy a dessert bouquet like no other featuring ice cream, Italian ice, pies, cakes, cupcakes, cheesecake, popcorn, cotton candy, beignets, donuts and much more. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ncsugarrush\"><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><strong>Sunday, June 24<\/strong><sup><strong>t<\/strong>h<\/sup> is the date for the next <strong>Wake Forest Food Truck Rodeo<\/strong> being held from 12-4 at the <strong>Over the Falls<\/strong> shopping center located at 405 S. Brooks St. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/451053461993178\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Check out their Facebook events page here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/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 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 weekend, <strong>May 18-20th, <\/strong>will welcome the 2018 version of the <strong>Got To Be NC Festival<\/strong> at the <strong>N.C. State Fairgrounds<\/strong>. The annual event is sort of a mini N.C. State Fair with rides, animals, N.C. food and beverages, demonstrations, games and more. But here&#8217;s the great part about it: It&#8217;s free! There is no fee for either parking or admission. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gottobencfestival.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/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>Also on <strong>May 19<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong> is the <strong>Durham Blues &amp; Brews Festival<\/strong>. What started as a rockin&#8217; good time has become a Durham tradition, filled with music, food, and outstanding craft beer! This isn&#8217;t a Beer Fest with music, or a Blues Fest with beer. It&#8217;s a\u00a0<em>new<\/em>\u00a0type of event offering great Blues music and\u00a0<em>only\u00a0<\/em>North Carolina craft beers. The brewers will be on site to tell you about their breweries and beers. Serving\u00a0full 12 oz. pours for you to enjoy while learning about their beers, and listening to great blues bands. Proceeds from the festival benefit local Durham charities and programs, including the <strong>Exchange Family Center<\/strong>, a Durham-based non-profit agency dedicated to preventing child abuse. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.durhambluesandbrewsfestival.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details and tickets here<\/b><\/span><\/a>. Use code<strong> &#8220;TFB5&#8221; to get $5 off<\/strong>!<\/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>Also on <strong>June 3<sup>rd<\/sup><\/strong>, <strong>PORCH<\/strong>, an all-volunteer, grassroots nonprofit organization that distributes food to hundreds of at-risk families in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, will host its first-ever <strong>PORCHfest<\/strong> from 5-8pm on the Lawn at <strong>Southern Village<\/strong>. The free event will feature rhythm-and-blues band Too Much Fun, along with goodies available from <strong>Al&#8217;s Burger Shack<\/strong>, <strong>Maple View Farms<\/strong>, and <strong>Carolina Brewery<\/strong>, as well as several <strong>Southern Village<\/strong>-located businesses including <strong>Pazzo<\/strong> &#8211; with proceeds benefiting <strong>PORCH&#8217;s<\/strong> fresh food program. <a href=\"https:\/\/chapelhill.porchcommunities.org\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the details here<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>On <strong>June 11<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong>, <strong>Mandolin<\/strong> chef <strong>Sean Fowler<\/strong> welcomes author <strong>Debbie Moose<\/strong>, an award-winning journalist and author of many cookbooks, for a dinner celebrating the debut of her newest book, <strong>&#8220;Carolina Catch,&#8221;<\/strong> a 96-recipe cookbook highlighting North Carolina seafood. Joining <strong>Fowler<\/strong> for this summer celebration of NC seafood and NC beer are <strong>Ryan Speckman<\/strong> and <strong>Lin Peterson<\/strong> from <strong>Locals Seafood Market &amp; Oyster Bar<\/strong>, <strong>Ricky Moore<\/strong> of <strong>Saltbox Seafood<\/strong>, <strong>Nate Garyantes<\/strong> of <strong>Mateo bar de tapas<\/strong>, and <strong>Jake Wood<\/strong> of <strong>18 Seaboard<\/strong> for a 5-course, beer-paired dinner featuring seasonal beers from <strong>Bond Brothers Beer Company<\/strong>, <strong>Fullsteam Brewery<\/strong>, <strong>Brewery Bhavana<\/strong> and more. Guests will hear from author <strong>Debbie Moose<\/strong> as well as from the talented chefs, organizations and brewers, and may purchase signed books at the dinner. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit <strong>NC Catch<\/strong>, the organization committed to strengthening the state&#8217;s seafood economy through promotion and education. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/carolina-catch-nc-seafood-and-beer-dinner-tickets-46131708181\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Tickets for the $75 dinner may be purchased 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<ul>\n<li>And finally, listen up chefs! The <strong>NCRLA Chef Showdown<\/strong> is an annual statewide culinary competition sponsored by the <strong>NC Department of Ag<\/strong>. It&#8217;s a culinary competition open to chefs (savory and pastry) across the state. There are three regional semi-finalist rounds (New Bern May 22, Hickory June 4 and Raleigh, June 25) that will result in a final competition on <strong>Monday, Aug 27<\/strong> in Charlotte.\u00a0The final event is in conjunction with the first night of the industry&#8217;s Restaurant &amp; Hotel Expo. Chefs can apply to compete now &#8211; May 9. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncrla.org\/chefshowdown\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>Get all the information you need 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>May<\/strong> is <strong>Older Americans Month<\/strong>. Although food insecurity affects people of all ages, seniors are particularly vulnerable. The folks at the <strong>Food Bank of Eastern and Central North Carolina<\/strong> know that reaching seniors with nutritious, dependable sources of food leads to amazing outcomes for families and communities. They have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FoodBankCENC\/videos\/10156299277704054\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>fresh video here<\/b><\/span><\/a>, as well as <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.foodbankcenc.org\/wordpress\/csfp-seniors-nutritious-food\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b>a blog post here<\/b><\/span><\/a> that highlights how they are working to solve senior hunger. <strong>#SolveSeniorHunger<\/strong><\/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 NC Sugar Rush. Got your attention? Sign me up! Seriously, check this out. Its Raleigh&#8217;s first all-dessert food truck rodeo, taking &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/?p=773\">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-773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773","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=773"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":779,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773\/revisions\/779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trianglefoodblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}