TRIANGLE FOOD BLOG

•  He has done it again. The News & Observer’s dining guru, Greg Cox, has put together his much-anticipated annual “Best Restaurants” list, including the Restaurant of the Year. Wanna know who it is? Read about it here in three, two…

Wake County Restaurant News 

• We are just weeks away from the re-opening of the Hibernian Pub at 311 Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. The new structure is absolutely gorgeous and looks to restore its position as the anchor of the Glenwood South district. Congrats to Niall Hanley and his team. Keep up with them on Facebook here and look there for the official open date, which should be in the middle of February.

• Just a reminder that The OAKZ restaurant on Glenwood South in Raleigh, which features American cuisine and is family owned and operated by Ira Freedman and Jaclyn Starritt, will swing open their doors to the general public beginning tonight (January 31) at 5 p.m. (dinner) and Saturday, February 1 (lunch and dinner). Check them out here.

• This isn’t exactly food (some would argue that it is), but the News & Observer reported this week that North Street Beer Station will open by March 1 at 521 W. North St. in the former Stitch space. They will focus on local and national craft beers, and plans to offer more than 700 types of bottled beer, 13 rotating taps, growler service and wine by the glass. They will not serve food but they are working with local restaurants to have menu items delivered. Keep up with their progress on their Facebook page here.

• WRAL reported last week that Britino’s, a full-service family sports restaurant, is now open in Wake Forest. It is located at 11200 Capital Boulevard. You can check them out here.

• WRAL and the News and Observer are reporting that Apex has a new Mexican restaurant. Ole Olea Tapas and Wine has opened in the Scotts Mill residential community. It is sharing a space with Town Side Café. The cafe operates during the day and Tapas takes over for lunch Tuesday through Friday. They offer dinner Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday brunch 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Check them out here.

• Kudos to Arthur Gordon and his continued commitment to constantly improving Irregardless Café (they celebrate their 40th anniversary next year). Gordon and his team just completed a renovation of the restaurant’s dining room. Be sure to stop by and check it out. Find out more here.

• And out in Holly Springs, the News & Observer reported this week that Zaxby’s, a chain that offers chicken sandwiches, wings and chicken fingers, has opened at 101 Grand Hill Place, next to Target. The restaurant is owned by San Diego Chargers strong safety Marcus Gilchrist.

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

• The Triangle Business Journal was the first to report this week that Chef-owner Charlie Deal will be opening his newest restaurant concept Juju at Durham’s new Shops at Erwin Mill on Ninth Street. They are looking at a July opening for the Asian fusion-style restaurant. Deal also owns Dos Perros in Durham and Jujube in Chapel Hill. In the meantime, check out Jujube here and Dos Perros here.

• Over in Durham there is a new place to get coffee (by day) and cocktails (by night) according to the Herald Sun. Intrepid Life Coffee & Spirits opened this past Saturday in downtown Durham at 106 W. Parrish St. Best of luck to owner Matt Victoriano. Check them out here.

• And speaking of coffee, the Herald Sun also reported this week that Pittsboro is now home to two new coffee shops. Blue Dot Coffee opened at 53 Hillsboro Street and another called Café Diem opened at 18 E. Salisbury St. Check Blue Dot out here on Facebook and Cafe Diem here.

Closings 

•  Spize Café posted on their Facebook page this week that they had closed their doors in downtown Raleigh after a four year run. Sorry to see them go, but best to them in their next chapter. It will be interesting to see who fills that spot. We’ll keep an eye on it.

• We learned last week that Unaabi Afghan Grill in Cary has closed their doors. But according to Sadiye Ersoy, Atlas Mediterranean Cuisine will be opening soon in that same spot. Thanks Sadiye for the update and for your very kind words about this blog!

Food Trucks 

• Feeling a little cabin fever with the snow and ice that won’t go away and the schools that will never seem to reopen!?! Well, the folks over at Carolina Ale House feel your pain and will be waiting for you tonight with their $3 pint special. Get out of the house and find a Carolina Ale House near you!

• We got word this week that beginning tomorrow (February 1) Piedmont Restaurant over in Durham will introduce Saturday and Sunday brunch service from10:30 to 2:30. View the complete menu here.

• This is kind of cool. Kimbap, a Korean restaurant in Seaboard Station and owned by chef Kim Hunter, is now offering a “Chef’s Tasting Menu” on the first Monday of each month. Starting next Monday (Feb. 3), the event features a prix-fixe menu of seven courses, with seasonal North Carolina food from seven area farmers. Reservations are required for the dinner and will be accepted for times between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. The cost is $60 per person, tax and gratuity not included. Get more details here.

• Looking for something to do next Thursday (February 6th) night? Head on over to Tasty Beverage in Raleigh where Ponysaurus, Durham’s newest nano-brewery, will be from 5:30 to 7:30 with kegs of Fig Saison, IPA, Biere de Garde, Videri Chocolate Stout and Reserve. Ponysaurus bottles will also be available. This is the first time the public will be able to try multiple Ponysaurus brews at one time. Get all the details here.

• The 3rd annual chef competition in Durham called the Bull City Vegan Challenge is back for the month of February. Six restaurants are competing to see who can dish up the most creative vegan entree and dessert for the entire month of February. Participating restaurants (one more to be announced) are Beyu Café, Dos Perros, Hummingbird Bakery, Parts & Labor (Motorco) and The Refectory Café. And you get to vote. Get all the details here.

• Looking for a unique and special way to spend Valentine’s this year? We’ve got the perfect idea for you. Well, really the folks over at Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours do. They are offering special Valentine’s Day tours in Raleigh. There are many different options and times available. Participating restaurants include: Sitti, Gravy, Centro, Calavera, Green Light, Chuck’s, Busy Bee, C Grace, 18 Seaboard, Escazu, Piebird, Tyler’s Taproom, Raleigh Wine Shop, Roast Grill, and Cold off the Press. Get all the details here.

• The Bull City Food & Beer Experience is back for its second year. This year’s event will be held at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) on March 9th at 4 p.m. The event pairs food from 30 Durham restaurants and unbelievable beer from 30 premier craft / import breweries. Tickets are $85.50. A limited number of exclusive VIP tickets are also available. Get all the details here.

• Here is an event you are definitely going to want to get on your calendar for 2014. Two words: Beer. Bacon. That’s right, a Beer and Bacon Festival is coming to Cary’s Booth Amphitheater featuring at least 75 craft beers and 10 varieties of bacon (did you know there were 10 varieties?). The event will be held on March 29 from noon until 6 p.m. Get all the details and ticket information here.

• Food, exercise and a good cause – that is a good thing, right? I guess. At any rate, registration is now open for the 10th Annual Krispy Kreme Challenge – run 2.5 miles, eat a dozen donuts, and run back. 8,000 people do it every year. Register here for the February 8th event (it is 80% full).

• And finally, the N&O’s Andrea Weigl tweeted this week that tickets are now on sale for the 2014 World Beer Festival event that will be held in Raleigh on Saturday, April 5th (the Durham 2014 date hasn’t been announced yet). Get all the details here.

Food Bank Corner   

• During the week of April 23-27, Durham Magazine and Chapel Hill Magazine will put on a festival of food and beverage events called TASTE, which will celebrate the vibrant Durham-Chapel Hill culinary scene. A portion of ticket sale proceeds from the signature event, the Grand TASTE Experience at DPAC on Thursday, April 24, will be donated to the Durham Branch of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. For more information, visit them here.

•  We got word this week that L’uva Enoteca, a rustic Italian kitchen in downtown Durham’s American Tobacco complex, has closed as they are relocating to a larger space. L’uva is the sister restaurant to Revolution, which is honoring all L’uva promotions and gift cards until they reopen. No word yet on where they are moving to. Keep an eye on it here.

Wake County Restaurant News 

•  We got the opening date this week from the folks over at The OAKZ restaurant on Glenwood South in Raleigh. The restaurant, which features American cuisine and is family owned and operated by Ira Freedman and Jaclyn Starritt, will swing open their doors to the general public beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, January 31 (dinner) and Saturday, February 1 (lunch and dinner). Check them out here.

• It was announced this week that North Raleigh’s Jubala Coffee will open a specialty café when HQ Raleigh moves to its new location in downtown Raleigh’s warehouse district. HQ Raleigh, an entrepreneurial incubator space, currently resides at 711 Hillsborough Street but will move to 310 S. Harrington Street in the coming months. Get all the details on the new partnership here.

• Triangle Business Journal was the first to report this week that Taco Mac Sports Grill of Atlanta will open its first location in the region at Cary’s Waverly Place. Taco Mac is known for their wings, burgers, tacos and craft beer and is expected to open this summer. Get a sneak peek at them here.   

• Also in Cary, my friend Tim Moore noticed that the old Circus Restaurant on East Chatham Street is being converted into a Subway. He noted that the sign is already up and appears to be days away from opening…but then again, this is Cary. We’ll keep an eye on it.

• Thanks to a tip from long-time friend Julie Liddle, Uncorked, a café and wine shop in North Raleigh, has been sold. Apparently they will be closed for a couple of weeks before reopening under new owners. We’ll keep an eye on it. Thanks Julie! Keep up with them here.

• Also in North Raleigh, got word from John Huisman (aka Triangle Explorer) that a new Mexican restaurant called El Tapatio is in the works in Wakefield next to Sergio’s Pizza. We’ll keep an eye on it for an opening date.

• And if you couldn’t get enough of Triangle Restaurant Week, then you’ll want to head on over to Bolt Bistro in downtown Raleigh as they are extending their $30 three course dinner deal for another week (January 28th through February 1st). Check out Bolt Bistro here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

•  For those who were eagerly anticipating the Valentine’s Day opening of Café Love over in Durham, we are about to break your heart. Due to details too complicated to go into here (but are detailed here), they are foregoing their plans to open the café. However, they will continue to focus on making the food they sell through their truck and different retail outlets throughout the Triangle. They will also do pop-up dinners and hold classes. So just a temporary blip in their plans, but still going strong.

• The Herald Sun is reporting that a pizza shop called Papa Nizio’s Pizza, Wings and Subs has opened in place of Big Cheese Pizza at 3405 Hillsborough Road in Durham. Check them out here.

• The Herald Sun also reported this week that the Copa Vida Coffee has opened at the Southpoint Crossing shopping center at the corner of Fayetteville Road and N.C. 54 in the former Starbucks location. The shop was previously located at Erwin Terrace on Erwin Road. Check them out here.

• A big congratulations goes out to Jonathan Bonchak, winner of last weekend’s Southeast Regional Brewers Cup. Bonchak is the regional sales manager for Counter Culture Coffee and was the returning champion from last year’s competition. Learn more about Counter Culture Coffee here.

• Thanks to a posting by BurgeoningFoodie on Chowhound, we learned that a place called Mediterranean Grill and Grocery has opened in the former Parkwood Library location in Southwest Durham at 5114 Revere Road. All we know about them is that they serve fresh Halaal meat, Indian spices, Mediterranean spices and freshly grilled Mediterranean food.

Closings 

• None to report!

Food Trucks 

• The 3rd annual chef competition in Durham called the Bull City Vegan Challenge is back for the month of February. Six restaurants are competing to see who can dish up the most creative vegan entree and dessert for the entire month of February. Participating restaurants (one more to be announced) are Beyu Café, Dos Perros, Hummingbird Bakery, Parts & Labor (Motorco) and The Refectory Café. And you get to vote. Get all the details here.

• Looking for a unique and special way to spend Valentine’s this year? We’ve got the perfect idea for you. Well, really the folks over at Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours do. They are offering special Valentine’s Day tours in Raleigh. There are many different options and times available. Participating restaurants include: Sitti, Gravy, Centro, Calavera, Green Light, Chuck’s, Busy Bee, C Grace, 18 Seaboard, Escazu, Piebird, Tyler’s Taproom, Raleigh Wine Shop, Roast Grill, and Cold off the Press. Get all the details here.

• The Bull City Food & Beer Experience is back for its second year. This year’s event will be held at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) on March 9th at 4 p.m. The event pairs food from 30 Durham restaurants and unbelievable beer from 30 premier craft / import breweries. Tickets are $85.50. A limited number of exclusive VIP tickets are also available. Get all the details here.

• Here is an event you are definitely going to want to get on your calendar for 2014. Two words: Beer. Bacon. That’s right, a Beer and Bacon Festival is coming to Cary’s Booth Amphitheater featuring at least 75 craft beers and 10 varieties of bacon (did you know there were 10 varieties?). The event will be held on March 29 from noon until 6 p.m. Get all the details and ticket information here.

Food Bank Corner   

• There is someone I would like you to meet. Her name is Kate. But chances are pretty good, you already know her. You see, in our area (just 34 counties) more than 560,000 people live at or below the poverty level: 191,000 are children. Read here to learn more about what the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina is doing to help those children. Do me a favor, and take the two minutes to watch the video. You’ll be glad you did.