Saddle up, Raleigh, because Boulevards’ newest album Electric Cowboy: Born in Carolina Mud drops on Feb. 11. Born and raised in the City of Oaks, Boulevards (aka Jamil Rashad) took inspiration for his new album from Blaxploitation films and Western cowboy movies he grew up watching. And since “there were so many white cowboys and white superheroes but there wasn’t a ton of attention on Black superheroes,” he says he “wanted to make that type of figure and music around that whole idea of an electric cowboy born in Carolina mud.”
Rather than the banjos and fiddles that first come to mind when you think of Western music, the tracks on Electric Cowboy (co-produced by Blake Rhein of Durand Jones & The Indications and Colin Croom of Twin Peaks) feature beautiful melodies, funky beats, lively instrumentation and a psychedelic vibe—plus features from Nikki Lane, Macie Stewart from the band OHMME and Adrian Quesada of Black Pumas.
“I feel like this record is going to make an impact, not just on music and beyond, but obviously in Raleigh, and I feel like people will finally start taking Boulevards seriously—not just as a performer, but also as a songwriter and an artist,” he says. “A storm’s brewing. … We’re really excited about this record—it’s hopefully gonna make a lot of noise.” Hey, you heard it here first. boulevards.band
UNC Rex Healthcare tapped its Patient and Family Advisory Council to advise on its new cancer center in Raleigh.
Who knows a hospital—and all its treatments, services and equipment—better than its patients? So when UNC Rex Healthcare was designing its new cancer center in Raleigh, they tapped its Patient and Family Advisory Council—a group developed in 2017 whose goal is to improve cancer care at UNC Rex Cancer Center—to advise on the patient experience and design features of the new building, which is opening on March 1.
As part of UNC Rex’s commitment to patient and family engagement, the PFAC—made up of roughly 80% former patients (of multiple ages and diagnoses) and 20% actively engaged friends and family members, as well as caregivers and a primary care physician—went on Gemba walks, in which they’d walk through UNC Rex locations and assess the appearance of the facility; talk to patients to get feedback; and gauge other aspects of the hospital in terms of operations, equipment, etc.
While actually forming a council is not atypical, “we’re using a council in the way that we have to actually go into the clinics to walk around with our patients to see the delivery of care,” says Dr. Susan Moore, president of UNC Rex Physicians, medical oncologist and associate professor, “which I think is a little more of a unique approach, and honestly where we got the richest information.”
Noting its significance in meeting patient needs, “I think [the council] is critical,” she adds, “because they see things differently than we do. We need them to tell us what we’re doing well and where we can improve. … in every single way I think that they can help us become better.”
The council inspired a lot of the choices made for the new UNC Rex Cancer Center. For one, members of the PFAC did not want individual infusion rooms where they’d be sitting in a room all alone for up to eight hours, but rather an infusion bay with half-walls between the chairs so that patients have a little bit of a separation but still have that ability to feel connected to others. These infusion bays are in contrast to the national standard of individual infusion rooms, so clearly those hospitals did not take the time to talk to their patients about what they really wanted, Moore says.
Sharon Delaney McCloud, director of Corporate Communications at UNC Health and a member of the PFAC, says the council also got to test-drive the chemotherapy infusion chairs themselves, as well as help choose tiles and paint colors that would be used throughout the building.
“It’s one thing to have a group that meets; it’s another thing to listen to that group,” says Moore. “You can check a box, but is it meaningful? Is the work you’re asking them to do meaningful, and are you truly incorporating that feedback? And I think that we are.”
Echoes PFAC member Kristie Kaufman-Rollen, “I’m not sure if all hospitals have that kind of council, but I think it makes a major impact that we actually go in and talk to people. I think having that Patient and Family Advisory Council is just a complete asset to the cancer center.”
There’s also a living room right when you walk into the cancer center, which features a fireplace, piano and a beautiful textile piece representing the warmth of oncology care—and some days you might find a furry friend sitting in there as well as part of UNC Rex’s Fur Friends program. Thanks to the PFAC, they also did away with iPad check-ins, as many older patients had trouble using them, and instead every patient will be greeted and checked-in by a real person.
“Every single detail was considered, and it just makes the whole experience more than world-class,” says McCloud. “Clearly what we’re doing is caring for the patient at its heart.”
And if all of these state-of-the-art patient-centered features weren’t enough to provide hope to UNC Rex patients, the new cancer center will also be located at the corner of Hopeful Drive and Blue Ridge Road. “It’s very exciting to have a new space that’ll be sort of our hallmark spot for growing oncology into the future,” says Emmeline Madsen, director of Cancer Support & Specialty Services, which includes the PFAC. “We want this building to be a longstanding place of warmth and care that people can think of in a very positive way.”
What is it about the dead of winter that makes us crave frozen drinks…?! Keepin’ us chill is The Slush, a frozen daiquiri lounge offering both nonalcoholic and alcoholic slushees made with a variety of spirits (plus optional floaters!) in the heart of downtown Durham. Transport yourself to the tropics with a colorful, fruity boozy frozen bev; then mark the occasion with The Slush’s ’Gram-worthy backdrop—great for snapping the perfect selfie. And on weekends, stick around for live DJs and rotating food trucks. @theslushdurham
2. Sauce’d
Wilmington
Get sauced—in more ways than one!—at downtown Wilmington’s new cocktail and fry bar (arguably the most genius concept we’ve ever heard of). Sip your way through the unique handcrafted (and ’Grammable!) cocktails while you dip four styles of french fries in 12 different sauces—think banana ketchup, cilantro lime aioli and sriracha mayo—either from the velvet stool-lined bar or out on the patio overlooking the Cape Fear River. Name a better duo than fries and cocktails—we’ll wait. saucedwilmington.com
3. Remedy Room/Rubies on Five Points
Durham
Downtown Durham’s new Remedy Room and Rubies on Five Points gives you a two-for-one choose-your-own-adventure night of entertainment. Located in the former two-story Criterion space in the Five Points District, Remedy Room offers drinks and shared plates on the first floor, while Rubies on Five Points features live music and DJs—with a focus on local artists—on the second floor. Owner Shawn Stokes (also the chef/owner of Luna Rotisserie) assures fans of Criterion that the old-school vibe of the downstairs will remain—with a new and improved refreshing aesthetic that makes for the perfect night out. remedyroomnc.com, rubiesnc.com
4. Pimiento Tea Room
Holly Springs
Pinkies up! Teatime gets a boozy upgrade at Pimiento Tea Room, an eclectic modern-day teahouse offering tea-infused cocktails and elevated tea sandwiches. Not your grandma’s classic cucumber and cream cheese-filled tea sandwiches, these bad boys rotate weekly and are piled high with anything from chickpea salad to hot dog frittatas (!) to roasted sweet potatoes. Essentially, you’ll need a fork and knife to eat them. Located in the refurbished 1840-built Brown-Holloway House, Pimiento Tea Room’s antique furnishings and vintage touches round out the teahouse experience and make you feel as if you’re sipping tea with the royals. pimientotearoom.com
5. THE ONE NINE
Cary
Say hello to your new favorite neighborhood bar and grill. The One Nine, which recently opened in Preston Corners, is a comfortable space for local sports enthusiasts, the afterwork crowd and anyone looking to wind down (or up!) from a round of golf at nearby Prestonwood Country Club—or just enjoy a beer after a long day. A concept by Raleigh-famous sports fans and foodies the Amra brothers (hey, Tobacco Road Sports Cafe!), The One Nine name pays homage to the Amras’ late father, a Marine who served in the 1st Battalion 9th Marines for three tours in Vietnam. oneninebar.com
Score Big Delicious Southern dips and spreads come Super Bowl Sunday—and every day.
Whether or not you actually care about football, we can all agree that the best part of any Super Bowl party is the dips. And this year, you’re gonna wanna up your spread game with Big Delicious Southern dips and spreads, which include fan-fave—and total crowd-pleaser—Carolina Sausage Dip; Original Hot ’Cue Dip (made with pit-cooked pulled pork, Eastern NC vinegar-based barbecue sauce and corn); and Pineapple & Country Ham Spread (aka the perfect sweet and savory spread to round out a delicious dip frenzy).
Serving as the calm before the score, NC State alum Jim Millican’s Big Delicious—born at the beginning of 2019—won QVC’s 2021 The Big Find competition… and with it punched his ticket to foodie fame. (Airing in September 2021, his dips segment reached 90 million households across the country!) Big Delicious was also the 2021 blue-ribbon winner of NC Specialty Foods Association’s product competition in the deli/dairy category. So, winner-winner dippin’ dinner?
And not to be outshined by game day eats like wings and pizza, Millican’s Big Delicious dips and spreads are “hearty and tasty,” he says, adding, “We’re not simply a spice pack or soup mix stirred into sour cream. We’re the real deal. When I made the recipes, I made sure to make something substantial—in other words, something I would like to eat.”
WEB EXCLUSIVE Outdoor diners and drinkers rejoice!
If you’re outdoorsy in that you like drinking on patios, your outdoor imbibing sesh just got a huge upgrade. Enter the City of Raleigh’s new outdoor seating regulations that allow for (more) “streeteries” to be implemented at DTR bars and restaurants beyond the pandemic. (Can we get a cheers?!)
You’ve likely already tossed back a brew or two on a streetery—which converts on-street parking spaces to provide more outdoor seating for patrons—in the past two-plus years (Crank Arm, Irregardless Cafe and The Raleigh Times are just a few local businesses that added one to their patios during the pandemic), but now you’ll see them cropping up at more and more at sip and sup spots around town thanks to a $500,000 grant from the American Rescue Plan.
And before any DTR parking rants start… hear us out (and, TBH, we rec an Uber for that spirits sesh anyway). While streeteries may take away from local businesses’ parking spots, they will ultimately help locally owned Raleigh restaurants and bars thrive—so a chicken and egg situation, if you will. According to Crank Arm owner Adam Eckhardt in a November 2021 interview with Spectrum News 1, the streeteries helped gain a lot of positive feedback from customers and helped his business survive during the worst of COVID.
But streeteries aren’t the only thing sticking around. Raleigh City Council also just approved an ordinance to codify temporary curbside pickup zones into the City Code—meaning, whether you like it or not, they’re here to stay. A result of DRA’s Public Realm Study, the now-permanent curbside pickup zones provide customers of local businesses a safe spot to park their vehicles and pickup takeout orders, which have remained a prominent option for a lot of local restaurants—and for Raleighites who enjoy cozying up on their couches with a good, local meal. (Again, yes, street parking takes the backseat—but without that spot to pull up in DTR how often were you really considering takeout…)
So whether you dig dining or drinking outside or pref easy no-fuss pullup to grab that to-go box in your PJs to nosh on at home, Downtown Raleigh has plenty of ops for how and where you want to eat and drink.
