Triangle Foodie News: Carolina Inn's Crossroads reopens with new menu

RALEIGH, N.C. —

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There is a new kid in town over in Chapel Hill. Well, sort of. The Carolina Inn's decorated restaurant just underwent its first major renovation in two decades. The former Carolina Crossroads Restaurant reopens today with a new name (Crossroads Chapel Hill Restaurant), a new menu, new design and more seating. Chef James Clark said they wanted to make the restaurant a little more casual. The menu reflects that with a special bar menu that features dishes like a shrimp po boy. The dinner menu offers up pork belly mac and cheese, fried chicken and trout. Expect the menu to change seasonally. Also, the Sunday brunch buffet is gone. Instead, there will be a salad and hot bar offered, in addition to a menu of entrees to choose from.

Got word from franchisee Brad Barbour that he is bringing Shuckin' Shack Oyster Bar, a closely-held seafood concept out of Carolina Beach, to Cary's Preston Corners in the old Caribou Coffee location in late October. The concept will be uniquely Cary with strong coastal ties serving nothing but the freshest of the fresh seafood and craft beer and cocktails.

Just a reminder that Shorty's Famous Hot Dogs in Wake Forest is currently undergoing some renovations and is closed this week. They are shooting to be open again Monday, Sept. 21.

Randy's Pizza is 20 years old! Stop by your favorite location on Saturday, Sept. 19 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.and enjoy pizza prices from 1995! The following Randy's Pizza locations will be participating in the celebration: Alexander Village Shopping Center, Hope Valley Road, Lake Boone Shopping Center, Martin Luther King Pkwy, McCrimmon Corners Shopping Center and Shops at Northgate. Get all the details.

The Urban Food Group's latest venture, Lucia Bar Italiano, is set to open in the old Pop's Trattoria location in downtown Durham's West Village on Sept. 22 according to my friends over at Bites of Bull City.

The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that Durham's newest distillery, which crafts gin and liqueur, will officially open its doors for public tours and tastings Oct. 1. Durham Distillery, owned by Melissa and Lee Katrincic, will sell three varieties of their premium gin as well as three varieties of flavored liqueurs. Tours cost $10 and will be offered most Thursdays and Fridays starting at 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and Saturdays at 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Got word this week from a friend that PieBird over in Raleigh has closed. The IndyWeek is reporting the same, but alludes to the fact that it might be temporary. But for now, it is closed. We will keep an eye on it.

Also in Raleigh, we have learned from the News & Observer's Andrea Weigl that Glenwood South's Bigboom has closed their doors.

Homero Real informed me that he is now operating a new food truck here in the Triangle called Grandotes Taco Grill. They offer authentic Mexican tacos with high quality meats, homemade tortillas and salsas, and their own fresh waters.

Also, John Huisman (aka Triangle Explorer) informed me about the fact that every Thursday from September through November, the Town of Knightdale is hosting "Food Truck Thursdays" with a new food truck scheduled each week. The weekly truck will be parked at Knightdale Station Park near the amphitheater each Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For a listing of ALL food truck events, head over to Art Sheppard's page, The Wandering Sheppard on all things food truck related here.

Tickets have gone on sale for one of the biggest foodie events around - the TerraVita Food & Drink Festival, which will be held in Chapel Hill Oct. 8-10. It simply can't be missed.

Oyster lovers listen up. For the third year, Dean's Seafood Grill & Bar, located at 1080 Darrington Drive in Cary, will host Dean's Oystoberfest, an event featuring hard-to-find oysters and beer specials. Every day from Sept. 18-27, the restaurant will feature 50-cent house oysters, five to eight featured oysters, and 14 draft beers, plus a free Oystoberfest t-shirt for anyone purchasing a dozen specialty oysters and two featured beers.

One of my kids’ favorite events each year is the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science’s Bugfest which will be held this year on Saturday, September 19th. And one of their favorite parts of this event is Cafe Insecta where the brave can sample buggy dishes prepared by local chefs. Yummmm!?!?! Get all the details here.

Felicia Perry-Trujillo sent word over that Kim Hunter of Kimbap Cafe and Brent Hopkins of Empire Food Group are doing a pop up supper club dinner in Nash Square on Sept. 20.

Abundance NC's 8th annual Pepper Festival will be from 3-7 p.m. on Sept. 27 in Briar Chapel, located between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro. More than two dozen chefs will be serving samples of dishes made with locally-grown peppers. Chefs include chefs Angela Salamanca of Raleigh's Centro, Colin Bedford of Fearrington Inn in Pittsboro, Marshall Smith of Glasshalfull in Carrboro, Jason Smith of 18 Seaboard in Raleigh and John Childers of The Umstead Hotel in Cary. Tickets are $20-$30 in advance, $35 at the door.

It is that time of the year again for the Southern Ideal Home Show at the NC State Fairgrounds. This year it will be held Sept. 25 - 27 and it will again feature their popular Brews and Bites event each day which highlights food and drinks from local restaurants, breweries and wineries. Lots of great choices and giveaways each day.

The Carolina RailHawks will be hosting the 4th Annual RailHawks Homebrew Soktoberfest on Saturday, Sept. 26. The pre-game festivities will begin at 5:30 pm at WakeMed Soccer Park and will run until 7:15 pm, followed by the RailHawks NASL match against Ottawa Fury FC. Soktoberfest is the RailHawks take on a German Oktoberfest, but with a focus on local craft and home brewers. A combination of German-themed food samples and traditional North Carolina fare, live music presented by ReverbNation, local craft beer, and homebrewed beer.

Academy Street Bistro and TOPO Distillery are partnering to host a cocktail party to benefit the Interfaith Food Shuttle on October 1st at 5:30 p.m. Attendees will enjoy four different cocktails, each with a different aged spirit from TOPO and heavy hors d'oeuvres. The cost is $20 per person. Make reservations by calling 919-377-0509.

On Sunday, Oct. 4 from 1-4 p.m., the guys behind the soon-to-open Picnic in Durham (Wyatt Dickson and Ben Adams) will be joined by Texas (and soon to be South Carolina) pit-master John Lewis on Green Button Farm for a Sunday afternoon picnic. This is an opportunity to get up close and personal with these barbecue legends! In addition to the whole hog and beef brisket, they’ll also serve up seasonal sides, alongside chilled wine & beer from Wine Authorities, Ponysaurus and Fullsteam.

You’ll want to go ahead and mark your calendar for the 2nd Annual Triangle Oktoberfest coming to Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre on October 3rd and 4th. There will be some great authentic German fare as well as some amazing breweries.

The town of Holly Springs is holding their 6th Annual Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Holly Springs Farmers Market from 9 - 12:30 p.m. This is a wonderful community event, where both amateurs and professionals compete for both the judges’ approval as well as their fellow citizens with the People’s Choice award.

And if you are into eating healthier, you might want to go ahead and get this event on your calendar - the 2015 Triangle Vegfest which will be held at Moore Square and City Market in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, Oct. 17 from noon until 5 p.m.

While you’re at it, make sure you mark your calendar for Saturday, Oct. 17 (4-8 p.m.) for Knightdale's Drafts & Crafts Festival. This event will be held at the Knightdale Station Park and feature local wineries, breweries, vendors selling beer/wine related crafts/artwork, music and food trucks.

The Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series, a single-elimination tournament highlighting the best of the Carolina's food, agriculture and culinary talent, is gearing up for its Battle of Champions series in which five top regional chefs will battle it out to take home the coveted annual championship title. Foodies from the Carolinas and beyond are invited to attend the four live dinner events Oct. 28 to 31 in Raleigh, savoring the full-service, six-course meals and serving as judges. Tickets to these interactive battles go on sale Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. and are guaranteed to sell out quickly.

Congratulations to Gregory Ng and a whole cast of staff, amazing volunteers and extremely generous donors that raised over $45,000 (providing over 225,000 meals) during last Friday's #FoodBank24 New Media Telethon! Talk about people making a difference in our community! And as Greg wrote on his blog after the event - Do something. Compassion is no longer enough. Read his thoughts here.