Triangle Foodie News: Lantern owner opens restaurant at The Durham Hotel

RALEIGH, N.C. —

Featured News

Good things do come to those who wait...and wait. Last Friday, business partners John Holmes and Chef Scott Crawford opened the doors to Standard Foods - a 5,500 square foot restaurant and grocery in downtown Raleigh in the Person Street Plaza. Most of you will remember Crawford from his days at Herons. And the initial reviews are that it was well worth the wait! Get by and check it out.

How can we not start out our conversation today without talking about the upcoming N.C. State Fair (Oct. 15-25) in Raleigh. And more specifically, their Weekday Lunch Card. Here’s how it works. Enter Gate 9 (Trinity Road) or Gate 1 (Hillsborough Street) and purchase a $10 Lunch Card. You can do so weekdays beginning at 11:30 a.m. And as long as you exit by 1:30 p.m. (that’s 2 hours of good eats), you get your $10 back. Cash only.

Fans of Bali Hai (you’ll remember a fire closed the Raleigh location on Wake Forest Road) will be excited to know that a location in Garner opened last week next to the Lowe’s Hardware at the 70/401 split. And while they don’t have a website, they do have a “Fans of Bali-Hai” on Facebook (I want one of those!). Thanks to Kevin Fallon and Shannon Elderdice for the tip.

Over in Raleigh, near the intersection of Glenwood Avenue and Millbrook (6904 Glenwood Ave. to be exact), a new coffee shop opened about a month ago called Torch. They are open Monday - Friday from 7 a.m. until noon (although they seem to open for additional hours as well). Thanks to WRAL reader Erin Lunsford for the heads up.

The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that the Stanhope student housing building at 3001 Hillsborough Street will house a Pieology, a fast-casual pizzeria group that is looking to open in the spring of 2016. It will also be home to the Triangle’s fourth location of Smoothie King which is projected to open in December. This is also the same building that IHOP will relocate to next spring.

The Triangle Business Journal also reported this week that the new Chick-fil-A restaurant building that's under construction in front of the Lake Boone Shopping Center in west Raleigh is wrapping up the final details and will open to the public on Oct. 14. All the usual opening day fanfare will surround this opening as well.

And in Cary, there’s a new dessert in town - Smallcakes, A Cupcakery has opened a store in Parkside Town Commons. Smallcakes Cary will be showcasing their award-winning treats at their Grand Opening on Saturday, Oct., 17 and will feature an all-day 4 cupcakes-for-$10 deal, face painting, a photo booth, giveaways, and more.

The News & Observer reported that The Durham Hotel (315 E. Chapel Hill Street) announced that its highly anticipated restaurant run by Chef Andrea Reusing of Lantern in Chapel Hill was open. The restaurant is in the main lounge, which is in addition to the rooftop bar. The food at The Durham is a marked departure from the contemporary Asian menu at Lantern with a focus on classic American and American regional flavors. For now, the restaurant is open for dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Hours will expand to include dinner nightly on Nov. 1, with plans to add lunch and Sunday brunch down the road.

The Triangle Business Journal reported this morning that Crepe Traditions, a new cafe featuring savory and sweet "artisan crepes," is now open at 140 W. Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.

After over a year of brewing in the unique nanobrewery housed above The Cookery’s Front Room entrance, the Ponysaurus Brewing Co. brewery and taproom is opening its garage doors at 219 Hood Street. A Grand Opening celebration, featuring food trucks, live music, and local breweries will take place on Oct. 24 from 4 to 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. I love their tagline, "The beer beer would drink if beer could drink beer."

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.

The 30th annual International Festival of Raleigh will take place Oct. 9 through Oct. 11 at the Raleigh Convention Center. The event features food from 27 different cultures and countries and a biergarten with cask beer tastings. Get all the details and purchase tickets in advance here. Use promo code “WRAL15” and get $2 off adult ticket purchase.

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 Root Cellar Cafe & Catering announced that their fourth annual Porkapalooza will be held this year on Oct. 23 at 6:30 p.m. The dinner will feature nine courses celebrating local pork: wood-fired suckling pigs; five-spice, beer-braised pork belly slider with pickled ginger; fried ravioli stuffed with Southern-style BBQ pork and macaroni and cheese, country-fried pork tenderloin pumpkin biscuit slider with bacon mayo and apple slaw, and more. The cost is $55 per person, including beer or wine pairing.

Chickenwire is holding their next “pop-up” dinner on Sunday, Oct. 25 in Raleigh (exact location is a secret until just before the event). This dinner has an Oktoberfest theme where you’ll grab your complimentary beer stein at the door, and enjoy German-inspired foods - passed hors d'oeuvres, a carving station and a smorgasbord featuring sausages and other culinary surprises. $90 gets you unlimited food and 2 drinks. Get your tickets and see a complete list of all the chefs and collaborators involved here. Thanks to Felicia Perry-Trujillo for the tip on this event.

The town of Garner will hold their second Downtown Garner Trick or Eat Food Truck Rodeo on Oct. 25 from 12-5 on Main Street. They’ll have 14 food trucks, 3 craft brewers, and some activities for children. You can find more details here or on their Facebook event page here.

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 are on sale now.

And finally, this event isn’t until November, but I’m here to tell you if you wait much longer you won’t be able to get a ticket. Acme Restaurant in downtown Carrboro will host its 3rd Annual Salt and Smoke event on Sunday, Nov. 8. They describe it as “oysters and barbecue, music and friends."

Also on Nov. 8, another pop-up dinner is being held by the folks over at The Familiar Supper Club over in Durham. The dinner is at 6:30 p.m. The theme is Pumpk(hen) and will feature all that is bountiful in North Carolina in the fall. Join chefs John Childers, Evan Sheridan and Greg Gettles. Cost is $80. Get tickets and all the details here. Thanks to Felicia Perry-Trujillo for the tip on this event.

And thanks to a tip from Felicia Perry-Trujillo, we learned that The Wine Feed is partnering with Stop Hunger Now and Green Button Farm to bring you Pork & Vine - a pork and wine festival. On Nov. 8, from 12-4 p.m. our 5 restaurant partners will be preparing their pork-inspired dishes in small plates for you to enjoy - all of the pork is provided by Green Button Farm, a humane, certified organic, non-GMO farm. Each small plate will have a sample of wine to match that will be specifically chosen by The Wine Feed. The cost ranges from $40-$50.

Expressions V. A Celebration of Food and Art will bring together philanthropists, food and wine enthusiasts and lovers of the arts. The annual event will be held on Friday, November 20 at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, N.C., and will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Lucy Daniels Center. The featured artist for this year’s event is Beverly McIver. Get all the details and learn who the guest chefs are this year here.

If you are heading out to the World Beer Festival this weekend (Saturday, Oct. 10) at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, be sure to bring along a couple of cans of food or a little extra cash to donate to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Volunteers will be at the gates to accept your donations