by Kate Turgeon Watson | Aug 21, 2015 | Eat, September 2015
If you’re tired of your regular food truck haunts, find your favorite food truck. We rounded up a few of our faves here.
Big Mike’s BBQ
#BigMikesBBQ, @bigmikesbbqnc
Tues. 9/1, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. NC Farm Bureau, 5301 Glenwood Ave.
Wed. 9/9, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Advanced Auto, 2635 E. Millbrook Rd.
Fri. 9/18, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Capitol Broadcasting, 2619 Western Blvd.
Mac-Ur-Roni
@MacUrRoniRDU
Tues. 9/15, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Trinity Place, 1201 Edward Mills Rd.
Wed. 9/23, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. North Park Rodeo, 4800 Falls of Neuse Rd.
Th. 9/24, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Forum Food Truck Rodeo
American Meltdown
#GrilledCheese, @AmericanMLTDWN
Tues. 9/1, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Hobbs Property, 343 E. Six Forks Rd.
Tues. 9/8, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Capitol Broadcasting, 2619 Western Blvd.
Fri. 9/18, 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. NCSU Centennial Campus Lunch, 920 Main Campus Dr.
Th. 9/24, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. The Forum Food Truck Rodeo, 8512 Six Forks Rd.
Tues. 9/29, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Highwoods Tower II, 3201 Beechleaf Ct.
Barone Meatball Company
@baronemeatball
Tues. 9/2, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. 4800 Falls of Neuse Rd.
Fri. 9/4, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. One Renaissance, 3301 Benson Dr.
Mon. 9/7, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Northchase at Midtown, 6601 Six Forks Rd.
Wed. 9/9, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Brier Creek, 8045 Arco Corporate Dr.
Wed. 9/23, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Brier Creek, 8045 Arco Corporate Dr
by Kate Turgeon Watson | Aug 21, 2015 | Eat, September 2015
Raleigh’s first 100-percent gluten-free restaurant, Fresh Levant will open this month at Lafayette Village. The name Levant comes from a region on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean sea.
“Our food will reflect the flavor of Levant Mediterranean food,” says owner Anita Khalek. “We’ll dispel the notion that gluten-free means no breads; we’ll have fresh baked breads and pastries available daily.”
Khalek is quick to add Fresh Levant isn’t just for someone on a restricted diet but for anyone who enjoys eating delicious and healthy food, although the all-natural component is bound to resonate.
“Everything will be organic and non-GMO as well,” says Khalek.
Fresh Levant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as beer and wine.
freshlevant.com
by Kate Turgeon Watson | Aug 21, 2015 | Eat, Events, September 2015
If you’ve heard of “Chickenwire,” consider yourself a foodie in the know. It’s one of Raleigh’s best-kept secrets.
The venues are unique: a garden supply store, a warehouse, a farm. But you won’t know exactly where you’re going ‘til the last minute.
Chickenwire has held six dinner events in the last 11 months and usually sells out within 48 hours of each announcement. The most recent event in July featured 20 chefs and just as many farmers and partners, including five breweries.
“There’s been a movement toward pop-up and there’s also been a movement in the secret supper club area,” Dawn Stachler says. With her chef husband Regan, she started Chickenwire in the Raleigh area and owns the Little Hen restaurant in Apex.
Here’s how it works
If you’re a ticketholder, you’ll know the theme of the dinner as well as the chefs who will cook for you—maybe Sean Fowler of Mandolin and John Childers of Herons, to name a few.
Twenty-four hours before the event, you’ll receive an email with the exact location and menu. General admission is $85; between 60 and 100 tickets are sold. At press time, the fall event had not been scheduled, but the events are announced quickly and sell out fast so check chickenwirenc.com frequently or subscribe to receive emails.
Why?
It’s all about the novelty and the food and drink. For chefs, it’s about networking that’s unforced and a gathering that’s cooperative rather than competitive. It’s also an opportunity for chefs to be creative with burners and grills because most of the settings don’t have a kitchen, Stachler says.
“The chefs are really good at being versatile . . . you don’t need a fancy kitchen to produce fancy foods,” she says, adding that themes are open to chefs’ interpretations. “People are united by the theme, [but] no one is ever sacrificing [taste] just to meet a concept. It’s always solid, good food.”
In good company
The Triangle isn’t alone. Asheville is known for its Blind Pig events, and Charlotte is home to the Cheshire Dinner Society.
According to Eventbrite, a global marketplace where people can find and create events, the pop-up dinner experience was the fastest-growing food-and-drink trend of 2014, with 82 percent growth.
The popularity of pop-ups and secret suppers has been attributed to non-restaurant locations, amusing themes (think wild boar and mushrooms at a “Wild Thing” dinner) and the thrill of both the locale announcement and meeting new, like-minded adult diners.
by Kate Turgeon Watson | Aug 20, 2015 | Eat, September 2015
Guy walks into a bar. Guy orders a Moscow mule. Guy leaves his ID at the bar?
No joke.
Before you get your lime into a twist, here’s why: some copper mugs have a history of “walking away.” That’s nice-speak for stolen. But . . . back to “our guy.” His choices are to enjoy the vodka-based adult beverage in a plain, clear glass or opt for the copper mug and leave an ID behind as collateral.
It’s not just Raleigh spots, such as the Station at Person Street, with missing mugs. Within the last two years the Dallas Observer, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe and Seattle Times all reported thefts of the $20 copper mugs.
Why is a mug the go-to cup for the vodka, lime juice, ginger beer cocktail?
According to the Copper Development Association, a not-for-profit association of the copper industry, it all began in the 1940s as a business strategy. John Martin, who had recently bought the rights to Smirnoff, wanted to sell more vodka. He visited a friend—Jack Morgan— who wanted to sell cases of his ginger beer, which were sitting in his restaurant’s basement. A third person, whom some say was a Russian woman, wanted to unload copper mugs. As CDA tells it: the three combined their losses. And the drink, with its signature mug, imprinted with a kicking mule, became legendary.
Here’s to hoping the “walking away” doesn’t become legendary, too. Cheers!
