Triangle Foodie News: Carroll's Kitchen grand opening next week

RALEIGH, N.C. —

Featured Restaurant News

We are excited to share with you that Carroll’s Kitchen is holding their grand opening in downtown Raleigh next Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 11 a.m. They had several “soft opening” days this past week, and are on a staff retreat today (Friday) and will resume normal hours Monday (Sept. 26) They are located at 19 East Martin St.

And we can’t help but remind you about the upcoming N.C. State Fair - Oct. 13-23 and their “Eat Lunch at the Fair” deal. Here’s how it works. Come to Gate 9 (only, Trinity Road) after 11:30 a.m. on weekdays (not weekends), pay $10 (cash only) for a lunch card to get in, get your “grub on” at any fair vendor, and exit out the same gate by 1:30 p.m. (surely you can do this in two hours), and you get your $10 cash back.

More details on a new sushi restaurant coming to the Troy Mezze space in downtown Raleigh’s City Market. Working to open City Market Sushi in November, Korean brothers Jin Ho Chang and Shawn Chang are not new to the restaurant scene, having owned restaurants in Greensboro and Raleigh and a food truck, according to Raleigh Agenda.

Bare Bones, the latest concept out of Eschelon Experiences, will open Friday (Sept. 23) at 5 p.m. Bare Bones will be a new ribs, burger and beer restaurant on Raleigh’s Fayetteville Street in the former Zinda spot.

Scott Crawford’s new restaurant, Crawford and Son, is on schedule to open in late October at 618 N. Person St.

Chihua Grill in south Raleigh has opened at 421 Chapanoke Road.

The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that Metro Diner, a popular Florida restaurant chain that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, has signed a deal to open the first of multiple restaurants planned for North Carolina at the Sutton Square shopping center in North Raleigh (former Aladdin’s Eatery location).

WRAL reported this week that Mission Valley’s Dalat (under new ownership) is looking to reopen on Monday, Sept. 26. Call them first (919-832-7449) before you head over.

Continuing with some of the chef changes we mentioned last week, we learned (thanks to Jo Smith) that chef Marshall Smith has left Glasshalful in Carrboro and re-joined Dean Ogan at Dean’s Seafood Grill in Cary.

Down in Holly Springs we got word that Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers has opened their third Triangle-area location at 221 Grand Hill Place in the Holly Springs Towne Center.

CrossTies Barbecue, the latest restaurant from chef-owner Andrew Moore who owns Venable Rotisserie Bistro, will open at 5:30 p.m. tonight (Friday) in the former Southern Rail location in downtown Carrboro.

Excited to announce that Alberello Cafe & Market, the new Italian restaurant owned by Brendan and Leslie Cox, owners of Oakleaf in Pittsboro, is having their soft opening tonight, Friday, Sept. 23 from 5-8 p.m. Regular hours (11 a.m. – 8 p.m.) begin Saturday. They are located right at the 15-501 entrance to Briar Chapel, just south of Chapel Hill.

Also in Chatham County, Neha Shah with the Pittsboro-Siler City CVB pointed out the owners of Fig & Honey have listed it for sale on Instagram.

Friend Glenn Gillen brought it to my attention that The Coffee Element on Highway 54 in Durham has closed.

Got word that the San Lorenzo Italian Bistro & Bar at 411 Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh has closed.

You don’t want to miss this event! Relish Cafe & Bar is holding a charity Mac and Cheese Throwdown and Bartender Showdown benefiting the Hope Center at Pullen on Saturday October 1st from 6pm to 11pm. Visit the website to get all the details and ticket information.

Raleigh is going to have their very own vegan cook-off between Sept.12 and Oct. 1. The Oak City Vegan Challenge will feature six restaurants offering special vegan dishes that diners can cast votes for their favorites. The event is modeled after the Bull City Vegan Challenge, which has been extremely successful over in Durham.

The folks over at Bittersweet have teamed up with the women from Pho-Nomenal Dumplings for a five-course Sunday dinner of comfort food with an Asian twist on Sunday, Sept. 25. Five courses, including dessert from Bittersweet, each with a wine or cocktail pairing for $60. Two seatings at 5:30 and 8:00 p.m. $60. Call 919.977.3829 to order tickets.

The Third Annual Triangle Oktoberfest will take place at Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre on September 23 and 24. Enjoy family-friendly activities such as music from the Little German Band, dancing, traditional Bavarian food and fare, wiener dog races, “Rock-toberfest” concerts by Four Founders and West Street Band, children’s play area and prizes for German attire. Children 16 and younger are free. Friday tickets: $15 in advance, or $20 at the door. Saturday tickets: $20 in advance, or $25 at the door.

Tickets to TerraVita are now on sale. And you better jump fast, as many of these events will sell out soon. Trust me. If you aren’t familiar with TerraVita, it is arguably the premier “foodie event” in the southeast, and it will take place September 28 through October 1 right here in Chapel Hill. In a nutshell, it is a multi-day celebration that brings together top chefs, food artisans, sommeliers, baristas, brewers, educators, distillers, cookbook authors and industry luminaries from across the Southeast to celebrate culinary excellence and sustainability in food and drink.

The 9th Annual Pepperfest taking place Sunday, Oct. 2 from 2-7 p.m. at Brier Chapel in Chatham County. The event features super delicious pepper-themed dishes and beverages, live music and children’s activities. It's a great outdoor event for this time of the year.

The Root Cellar Cafe & Catering in Chapel Hill is holding its fifth annual Porkapalooza on Friday, Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m. The event will feature 12 small plate courses celebrating local pork, including roasted suckling pigs; beer cheese fondue with local sausages; fried green tomatoes topped with pimento cheese, beer-braised crispy pork belly and tomato jam; poutine with sweet potato fries, Seven Springs country gravy and Ashe County cheese; and bacon marshmallow s’mores. The dinner also includes Fullsteam beer pairings. Save $10 by ordering tickets by August 31.

Jennifer Noble Kelly sent me information this week about PICNIC, North Carolina’s newest whole hog barbecue joint, and its farm partner, Green Button Farm, hosting their inaugural NC Barbecue Revival at the farm this fall, October 28-30. The three-day weekend will be chock full of classes, discussions, feasts and pig pickins’.

And on Nov. 6, the folks over at Acme will bring back the fourth edition of Salt and Smoke Festival to beautiful Rock Quarry Farm on Highway 54 just outside of Carrboro. This is becoming quite the event, as more than 500 people attended last year. Get all the details and ticket information here.

Also on Nov. 6, the folks over at Chickenwire announced their latest pop-up dinner which will be held, at a secret outdoor venue to be revealed later, and will feature 8 area chefs with offerings utilizing “fire, grill and smoke.” VIP tickets get you in an hour early. Get all the details, including a listing of participating chefs, and tickets here.

September is Hunger Action Month and as part of that, the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina held their annual 24 Hour #FoodBank24 to raise money and awarenes. Because of your generosity, they were able to raise enough funds to provide 99,293 mealsfor those dealing with food insecurity in our community! Unfortunately, the need in our community continues, and we need to keep the donations coming.