We can’t watch sports in person quite yet but watching them at The Cardinal, beer and hot dog in hand, seems like the next best thing. On weekends and evenings, the popular Peace Street bar and hot dog grill sets up a giant inflatable screen and stadium-style bleachers in its back parking lot so Raleighites can come out and enjoy a football game (or a fight or a movie) in a place that’s not their house. The Cardinal will host the outdoor screenings, weather permitting, until the pandemic blows over as a fun way for folks to feel like they’re at the game with friends.
WEB EXCLUSIVE The November issue of Raleigh Magazine will be on stands around town and delivered to your doors and mailboxes in just a few days! If you can’t wait until then, here’s a quick look at some of the stories we have in store.
Raleigh’s Newest District?
Publix | Photo by RDP3 Photography
The area at the northern end of downtown, west of Capital Boulevard, east of Glenwood and centered around Peace Street, has long been more of a thoroughfare into and out of downtown rather than a destination of its own right. Now, with downtown’s first large grocery store chain, the future site of a greenway-connected park and the city’s tallest tower, Smoky Hollow, its almost like a new downtown district unto itself. We break down what’s in the works for Raleigh’s northern gateway.
Holiday Hosting
The Longleaf Hotel | Photo by Tyler Northrup Photography
Stressed about family coming into town during Thanksgiving? The easiest solution is to put them up in one of Raleigh’s hip hotels and show them around the city. We explore four “home bases,” each surrounded by popular restaurants, shops and attractions that will keep your guests busy during the long weekend.
Grace Under Pressure
Sunny Gerhart | Photo by Forrest Mason
St. Roch has kept its doors open seven days a week while chef and owner Sunny Gerhart, as composed as one can be during a pandemic, navigates an ever-changing world. He’s done takeout, contributed meals to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, held special events with fellow local chefs, reopened his dining room and is soon launching St. Roch Pantry, a line of specialy items fit for holiday entertaining season—all in a state of grace.
Turkey… Like A Chef
Take everything you know about traditionally cooking a Thanksgiving turkey and erase it from you memory. Local chef Bobby McFarland says the proper way to cook a turkey is by spatchcocking it—a poultry-specific term for butterflying—and dry-brining it the day before. In this piece, he provides readers with all the necessary tips and tricks for making the best home-cooked Thanksgiving turkey yet.
WEB EXCLUSIVE For those who dislike beer, cider is the next best thing. Like alcoholic apple juice, it’s on the sweeter side, comes in a variety of flavors and is easy to drink. North Carolina Cider Week (October 22 – 25) celebrates innovative ciders and cideries throughout the state, from Asheville to Charlotte to right here in the Triangle. For this year’s NC Cider Week, eight North Carolina cideries will be featuring each others’ ciders in a special Cider Week flight, allowing cider fans to try unique varieties from out of town. Here’s where to get cider in Raleigh and throughout the Triangle during Cider Week and beyond.
Along with the NC Cider Week flight, Botanist and Barrel will also be featuring a flight of their own ciders, including their newest release “Love Over Hate”. On Saturday they will also have live music from Jacob Morris and food from Bo’s Kitchen food truck, while on Sunday El Jefecito food truck will be on premise.
Bull City Ciderworks is another local cidery participating in the special NC Cider Week flight with ciders from GoodRoad CiderWorks in Charlotte, Red Clay Ciderworks also in Charlotte, Urban Orchard Cider Co. in Asheville and a cider of their own. They’ll also have $5 core ciders available all week long.
Trophy’s Maywood location currently has Shacksbury Dry Cider available. It’s produced and canned by Shacksbury Cider in Vermont and is made with bittersweet Dabinett apples.
Flying Saucer isn’t called an “emporium” for nothing. Their menu boasts a ton of ciders from all over the state and the country, including Original Sin‘s Black Widow cider made in New York, Blake’s El Chavo habanero and mango cider made in Michigan and Stem Ciders‘ raspberry cider made in Denver.
Bond Brothers also sells a few cans of Stem Ciders in their online store. The Colorado-based cidery opened a location in Durham called the Northern Spy but unfortunately closed it earlier this year. Luckily, Bond Brothers still has their off-dry, lavender and hibiscus session ciders available.
This Pittsboro cidery is hosting a sip and meet with five Piedmont cider makers on October 24 from 2 to 5 p.m. You’ll get five full-sized cider bottles, glasses, stoppers and an opener to create your own tasting, and the cidermakers will be on hand for questions. Pre-order by TODAY!
Calling all pumpkin lovers! Clouds Raleigh location is currently featuring Red Clay Ciderworks’ Chai Jacked, a chai tea pumpkin cider, on tap. It’s a seasonal treasure!
Cyclists have an easier, safer way to get around downtown Raleigh this fall, with the city’s newly opened Downtown North-South Greenway Connector. The city’s first separated bike lanes are located on West Street and Harrington Street and will connect to two future proposed greenways. The lanes also connect independently to downtown Raleigh destinations including the newly opened Publix, Weaver Street Market and many local restaurants, shops and bars in Glenwood South and in the Warehouse District.
The lanes take cyclists out of vehicle traffic and give them an independent place to ride, while FlexPosts between the lanes and the street provide further distance between cyclists and cars. Green markings signal to drivers that they need to stop and look for bicyclists as they’re coming out of driveways or making turns.
Additional separated bike lanes are coming to Lineberry Drive, Crabtree Boulevard and Morgan Street this fall.
WEB EXCLUSIVE Picking pumpkins is a fall rite of passage. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how skilled in carving you may be, when pumpkins show up outside of your go-to grocery store, you know it’s that time of year again. This season, we urge you to support local farmers by getting your pumpkins from a local pumpkin patch or farm. They’ll usually host fun fall activities to go along with pumpkin picking that make for a full day of entertainment for the whole family. Check out our list of pumpkin patches in the area, then let the creative carving commence!
Venture out Monday through Sunday for pumpkins, produce, ice cream and colorful mums. They also have fresh baked goods for sale all year around—you’ll regret going home without their cinnamon bread or pound cake!
Phillips Farms is the perfect place to spend a cool fall day. During the fall, they feature a pumpkin patch, corn maze, tube swing, haunted farm and other attractions and activities.
The farmers market has a plethora of pumpkins available from farmers located all over the state. You can find almost any size, color and type of pumpkin you could possibly want—even those that are meant solely for baking. Pumpkin pie anyone?
Although they’re most known for their amazing corn maze—it’s the first and longest running corn maze in North Carolina—Ken’s also boasts a pumpkin patch, rope maze, rubber duck races, a corn tunnel and a whole lot more.
Every year, Shepherd’s Way Farms sets up a giant pumpkin stand in North Hills with a variety of pumpkins—and mums!—available. Their standard round, orange pumpkins are ideal for carving!
There’s fun for the whole family at Naylor Family Farm. Pick a pumpkin, make your way through the 10-acre giant corn maze, pet farm animals at the petting zoo and let your kiddos loose in the kids play area. The only hard part is getting them to go home!
Since 2012 this family-owned farm has been selling pumpkins during the fall season. Along with the basic carving pumpkins, they also sell heirloom pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks and hay bales.
