Foodie News: Plans for old Kaiju space revealed

RALEIGH, N.C. — Saw on a Twitter post from blogger EatRaleigh that the The Acorn at Oak City, a small plate and craft cocktail joint, and sister project of Oak City Meatball Shoppe and Calavera Empanadas and Tequila Bar, is on its way to 170 East Davie St. in the former Kaiju Bowl and Bao spot. WRAL reporter Emmy Victor got a photo of the progress happening outside. No word yet on a timeline, but keep up with them on Instagram.

Reader Hugh Autry shared the news from Raleigh (near Garner) that Yemen Kitchen is now open in the former Bruegger's location at 117 Small Pines Drive, across from Walmart. If you've never had the opportunity to try Yemeni cuisine, check them out.

Over in Cary got word that LemonShark Poké, a "fine-casual" premium poké concept known for serving top-quality locally-sourced ingredients, will opens its first North Carolina restaurant in Cary at Stone Creek Village (corner of Davis and High House) this Saturday, Feb. 23. This location is owned by Conner Dingman. They are in the former Daily Grind location.

Down in Holly Springs, got word from David McCreary that fast food seafood restaurant Skrimp Shack (no, I didn't spell that wrong) has opened in the former Hwy. 55 Burgers Shakes and Fries location at 7224 Alford Highway. They have locations up and down the East coast from Florida to Virginia.

Over in Durham, Amber Watson of Bites of Bull City shared that the next pop-up vendor at the American Tobacco Warehouse in Durham March 1-27 will be the Filipino cuisine from food truck operator The Bamboo Cookhouse.

Go ahead and mark down the dates for 2019 for the Durham Food Truck rodeos - they are: March 24, June 16, Sept. 1 and Nov. 3!

This Saturday, Feb. 23 Transfer Co. Food Hall will hold a Winter Seafood Jubilee, which is the grand opening of the newest Locals Seafood fresh fish market. They are celebrating with Locals Oyster Bar hosting a fish fry on the Transfer Co. Food Hall patio, with additional food and raw oysters available at the bar. The event is free and open to the public. Locals Oyster Bar will be serving fried seafood platters for $12, in addition to our raw bar and counter service menus.

Chatham OutReach Alliance (CORA) invites the public to the 9th Annual Chatham Empty Bowls Fundraiser on Sunday, Feb. 24 at Galloway Ridge at Fearrington in Pittsboro. Empty Bowls is an event designed to raise awareness and funds for our battle to end hunger in Chatham County.

An annual favorite — Cooking for a Classic 2019 — is just around the corner. The prize for 2019 is restored 1982 JEEP Scrambler. The First Round is Monday-Thursday, Feb. 25-28; Second Round is March 4 and 5; and the Finale is March 11. Tickets start at $75 for the First Round, $100 for the Second Round and $125 for the Finale. Venue is 1705 East in Raleigh. You can get all the details here and tickets here. Each evening features six plated courses. Round One features Teddy Diggs from Coronado vs. Ryan Grimm from Watersview; Matt Hannon from Ashton's vs. Bo Peterson from Primal Food & Spirits; Jake Wood from Plates Neighborhood Kitchen vs. Jonathan Blackley from Vidrio; and Andrew Smith from buku vs. Orlando Jinzo from The Leadmine. All proceeds benefit the Lucy Daniels Center's mental-health programs for children in the Triangle.

On Tuesday, March 5, participating restaurants are donating a percentage of sales to the Ronald McDonald House of Durham and Wake as part annual gala week. The proceeds from this evening will help to support children and their families who are facing a critical illness. View a (growing) list of participating restaurants here.

BBQ lovers should put March 9 on their calendar. That is the day of Jimbo’s Annual Backyard BBQ Competition up in Youngsville. Basically it is a 36 team BBQ competition run under a KCBS backyard style. For $20 attendees get to sample all entries and award a “People’s Choice” award to the best cue. In addition to the competition BBQ, they will have a couple food trucks, beer, wine, sodas and water. All proceeds this year will go to The Carolina Cavalry, a civilian disaster response organization. Find out more about Carolina Cavalry here.

Brewery Bhavana announced that they will host a Soft Beer Fest on Sunday, March 31 from 2 to 6 p.m. featuring beer and cider samples from Brewery Vivant, Civil Society, Fonta Flora, New Belgium, Oxbow, Shacksbury, Trve and Zillicoah Beer Co. The festival will be centered on soft and delicate beers, full of flowers, soft music, and friendly faces. The full beer and band lists are expected to be announced in the next two weeks. Only 300 tickets will be sold for the event. Those tickets, which are $70 each, go on sale online at noon on March 6. Your ticket covers unlimited pours, food and music.

Shop Local Raleigh’s annual craft beer festival, Brewgaloo, will take place April 26-27. Brewgaloo features craft breweries from North Carolina and partners with local food trucks, local vendors and local bands. Get tickets now and all the details on their website here.

Cary's 4th annual Fest in the West returns on Saturday, May 4 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. The event features old-fashioned contests (like pie eating!), artists, beer, food trucks (10) and live bands on multiple stages. (Rain date is May 5).

The return of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina's Thrive NC, is scheduled for May 9 -10 at City Market in downtown Raleigh. The inaugural event attracted thousands of members of the community to celebrate North Carolina's culinary roots, while also initiating critical conversations about food insecurity in our state. The highlight of the two-day event is the festival which will feature more than 60 of the area's best restaurants serving food and drink samples as well as live entertainment, including chef demonstrations and music. Tickets will go on sale Feb. 28.

The first Fork + Bottle Dinner of 2019. Join award-winning chef Thomas Card as he welcomes local favorites The Kast Brothers to Counting House and 21c Museum Hotel Durham. Alex Kast is the director of Chapel Hill Creamery and brother Max Kast of Broadbent Selections, Inc. is the only Master Sommelier in the Southeast. The night will start with a tour of our current exhibition, Portraying Power and Identity: A Global Perspective, followed by cocktail hour and dinner. Chef Card has designed a menu to pair with Chapel Hill Creamery selections and wine will be poured to accompany the meal. Tickets are $75 a person and a portion of every ticket sold will benefit the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.

Sean Lennard covers the Triangle food scene on his site Triangle Food Blog.