by Kate Turgeon Watson | Oct 28, 2015 | Eat, November 2015
Here’s where a few of our favorite food trucks will be this month!
King’s Authentic Philly Cheesesteak
Sun. 11/1, 12 – 8 p.m.
Compass Rose Brewery
3201 Northside Dr. #101
Tues. 11/17, 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
N.C. Housing Finance, 3508 Bush St.
Sun. 11/22, 12 – 8 p.m.
Compass Rose Brewery
3201 Northside Dr.
D’Burritos
@DBurritos
Thurs. 11/5, 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
N.C. Department of Health
and Human Services, 5605 Six Forks Rd.
Fri. 11/13, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Concord Hotels, 11410 Common Oaks Dr.
Sun. 11/22, 12 – 5 p.m.
Ornamenta, 509 N. West St.
The Humble Pig
@thehumblepig
Tues. 11/3, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Highwoods Tower II,
3201 Beeechleaf Ct.
Thurs. 11/5, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Smoketree Tower,
3100 Smoketree Ct.
Sat. 11/14, 1 – 4 p.m.
Big Boss Brewery, 1249 Wicker Dr.
Wed. 11/18, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
4800 Falls of Neuse Rd. (Mini Rodeo)
Wed. 11/25, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Northchase at Midtown
6601 Six Forks Rd.
Stuft Gourmet Baked Potatoes
@_STUFT
Tues. 11/3, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
State Crime Lab, 121 E. Tryon Rd.
Thurs. 11/5, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
SECU, 3101 Wake Forest Rd.
Tues. 11/10, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
N.C. Housing Finance, 3508 Bush St.
Wed. 11/18, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Brier Creek Eats,
8051 Arco Corporate Dr.
Not Just Icing Cupcakery
@NotJustIcing
Wed. 11/4, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Highwoods Tower II, 3201 Beechleaf Ct.
by Kate Turgeon Watson | Oct 28, 2015 | Eat, November 2015
North Carolina has a rich history of peanut farming. Wade Ellison, admittedly, doesn’t know much of it. A Washington state native, he moved to Tarboro, N.C. 19 years ago. It wasn’t long before a farmer friend gave him some still-on-the-vine, green peanuts. Ellison had no idea what to do with them.
Today’s a different story. Ellison is boiling well enough to feed large parties.
His top tips for boiling peanuts?
1. Start with green peanuts if possible. Keep them in a cool, dark place, wash and cook within a week of picking. If green peanuts aren’t available, raw (dry) peanuts are a close second and work well if they’re soaked in water overnight to put moisture back in.
2. Once peanuts are in the pot (or turkey fryer if you’re Ellison and dealing with 25 pounds), boil for about an hour and a half in salt water, he says. (He uses rock salt.) Don’t get carried away adding salt as they cook. Instead, boil for about 1.5 hours or to desired tenderness. Then turn the heat off and let ‘em sit, soaking up the salty water. Keep sampling the peanuts until they reach desired salt level. (It could take up to 3 hours.)
Taste test
“You know, they’re not good if you don’t open ‘em up and get squirted half the time,” he laughs. “They’re kind of juicy. That’s what you want. Soaking is the key to that.”
Serve ‘em: If you don’t serve them hot, cold rinse before you store. You can refrigerate for a few days or freeze for up to six months in freezer bags. Later, heat them up in salted water and serve for the big game! For a group of 10, you’ll need about five pounds of peanuts. And still look to boil for time mentioned above; cook time is the same no matter the quantity.
by Kate Turgeon Watson | Sep 29, 2015 | Eat, October 2015
Barbecue fans
Check out these early October eats during the World of Bluegrass Street Festival:
Friday, October 2, 5-9 p.m.
N.C. Barbecue Experience Dinner with Matthew Register of Southern Smoke at Cabarrus Crossroads
Saturday, October 3, 11 a.m-until
Championship barbecue sandwiches for sale, benefiting Inter-Faith Food Shuttle at Cabarrus Crossroads
Saturday, October 3, 5-9 p.m.
N.C. Barbecue Experience Dinner with Linwood Parker of White Swan at Cabarrus Crossroads
by Kate Turgeon Watson | Sep 24, 2015 | Eat, October 2015
You’ve got one hour. Why waste time staring down the office microwave as a frozen meal goes round and round? Circle food trucks instead! Raleigh Magazine rounded up a few of the most popular Raleigh food trucks. Don’t see your favorite truck? Email us at [email protected]. (For an October listing with dinner times, visit raleighmag.com.)
Cousins Maine Lobster
@CMLobsterRAL
Sat. 10/3, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Greenway Club at Falls River
Wed. 10/7, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
3201 Beechleaf Ct. Highwoods,
Tower Two
Fri. 10/30, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Blue Ridge Road, The Atrium
Valentino’s
(meatballs & NY eats)
@ValentinoTruck
Fri. 10/2, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Common Oaks Lunch, 11410 Common Oaks Dr.
Wed. 10/7, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Six Forks Lunch, 4700 Homewood Ct.
Th. 10/22, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
N.C. Education Lottery,
2100 Yonkers Rd.
Soomsoom Pita Pockets
@SoomsoomPita
Fri. 10/30, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Trinity Place, 1201 Edwards Mill Rd.
Philly’s Cheesesteaks
Mon. 10/5, 10/12, 10/19, 10/26,
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Qualcomm, 8041 Arco Corporation Dr.
PhoNomenal Dumpling Truck
@PhoNomDumplings
Th. 10/29, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Trinity Place, 1201 Edwards Mill Rd.
Even more food trucks! It’s the Food Truck Rodeo!
It’s a foodie’s dream: 50 food trucks covering 11 city blocks.
Bring friends and an appetite.
Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo
Fayetteville Street
Sun. 10/11, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Dates and times subject to change.
And, in food truck news . . .
Last month, after being presented with a petition signed by 1,600 Raleigh residents, the City Council voted unanimously to allow food trucks to operate in some mixed-use neighborhoods, including:
• Brier Creek
• Five Points
• Mordecai
by Kate Turgeon Watson | Sep 24, 2015 | Eat, October 2015
Are those 21-and-up celebrating? Do they love the taste? Are they just too busy to commit to a cocktail? Or is it a “look- what-I-can-do” situation? There’s no elegant answer. But we came close at Fox Liquor Bar. “It kind of brings everybody together for a second . . . drinking the same drink,” Matt Coleman, general manager, says about a group shot.
Not surprising: Some folks are looking for tipsy at a fast clip. (We trust that they’re looking for an Uber, too.)
So, we’ve scoured the local nightlife scene to find some of the best shots at Raleigh bars. For sippers, shooters and even “I-would-never” onlookers, here’s a glimpse at what’s happening in some tiny glasses around town.
WHISKEY SMASH (pictured above)
It starts with two lemon wedges, a dash of simple syrup and mint simple syrup. Up next: fresh mint sprigs smacked for flavor and muddled in the shaker. Finally: Bulleit Bourbon; otherwise known as “frontier whiskey.” What hits you first? The lemon flavor, says Raleigh Times bartender Cameron Burns says. “And you should get little mint pieces in there, too, if I did it right,” he laughs. “The simple syrup cuts the bourbon. You can taste the bourbon, but you don’t get that bite.”
JACK HONEY
There’s music, the clank-clank of air hockey and patrons in baseball caps. Inside Boxcar Arcade on West Davie Street, there are also shot specials such as the caramel-ly Jack Honey on Saturdays. Suggested chaser? Coca-Cola. (P.S. Any purchase on a Monday gets you two free game tokens.)
3. FERNET-BRANCA (in the picture below the Fernet-Branca is on the left, the Raspberry Daiquiri on the right)
Often ordered with a beer, the Fernet-Branca shot is known in restaurant culture as a “bartender’s handshake,” Fox Liquor Bar manager Matt Coleman says. “If I was in New York and they found out I was a cocktail bartender, they’d probably send a shot of Fernet-Branca.”
4. RASPBERRY DAIQUIRI
Fresh lime juice, simple syrup, white Rum, muddled raspberries and bitters make this Fox Liquor Bar shot. It’s shaken with Kold-Draft ice, strained into a shot glass and served with a fresh raspberry. No chaser.
5. BISON BOMB
This $25 dollar, multi-step shot is the thing. And it’s happening, albeit less frequently than a Miller Lite, at the Bison on Whitaker Mill Road. Ask the barkeep for a Bison Bomb, and he’ll start building with a one-ounce Fireball shot. In another glass: grenadine, more Fireball and Sprite. And in another one-ounce shot glass: Jameson Irish Whiskey and Bailey’s Irish Cream. In still another glass: four ounces of Guinness. Finally, it’s a pitcher with 8.5 ounces of Red Bull and a shot of vodka. (We know. You and your stomach barely made it through the written description, right?)
The pitcher, two glasses and two shot glasses are stacked together in Jenga-like fashion.
“I’ve seen people ages 21 to 88 try this . . . it’s a novelty,” manager Scott Alexander says.
The order of events:
1. Pick up fireball (which sends the Jameson mixture into the Guinness) and consume;
2. Slide grenadine mixture into the Red Bull in pitcher;
3. Drink Guinness mixture;
4. Then, have what’s in the pitcher.
