Shut up, liver—you’re fine. It’s Drinko de Mayo, and you’re in for a Mexcellent day thanks to festive celebrations going on around town. Rock out with your guac (and margs) out!
Dos Taquitos
Tequila bad vibe—just take a shot. And where better than at this locally famed Dos Taquitos, where CDM is nacho average holiday. The North Raleigh staple’s annual street party returns May 5 with drink specials, a food truck, prizes, live music, street performers and face painting. The margs start flowin’ at noon, so make sure you call out sick from work—er, use up a vacation day. Worth it! dostaquitosraleigh.com
Salt & Lime Cabo Grill
As Drake famously says, “you can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning,” so head to Salt & Lime when the doors open at 11am for an all-day fiesta feat. tacos, tequila, beers, margs and giveaways. Just pace yourself—the party goes until 10pm. saltandlimecabo.com
Gonza Tacos y Tequila
If drinking too many margs is liable tequil-ya, we’ll take that risk. And where better to make pour decisions than Gonza. All locations will be opening early at 4pm, with face painting (Leadmine location) and DJs. The party ends when the tequila runs out… gonzatacosytequila.com
Sports & Social Cary
$12 nachos. $5 margs. $25 buckets of Corona. Literally what more could you ask for?! With these daylong specials—plus live entertainment, games and giveaways—Sports & Social‘s Fiesta de Mayo celebration is going to be one for the books. Ay caramba! sportsandsocial.com
Driftwood Cantina
It’s fiesta time! Driftwood is revealing its newly covered patio with a community party (the best way to do it, natch) that will consist of face painting, an outdoor bar serving up Modelo Especial and frozen margs and and outdoor grill with delish birria tacos. Come hungry! driftwoodcantina.com
a’Verde Cocina + Tequila Library
Get ready to throw down as a’Verde is not only celebrating Cinco de Mayo, but its one-year anniversary (!)—so you know it’s gonna be a party. The festivities will be taking place all day long, and include food and drink features, games, and surprise prizes—but be sure to swing by from 6 to 9pm for swag, festive cocktails, tacos, a DJ and tequila shots for those 21+. Ring that bell! averdecary.com
Place your bets on one of these local Kentucky Derby parties.
Off to the races! The 149th renewal of “the greatest two minutes in sports” takes place May 6—and with it comes a host of Derby parties around Raleigh. Don your best and biggest hats and your finest bow ties and claim your horse(s). Let the horseplay commence!
Watts & Ward Fete the 149th run for the roses with big hats, bow ties, mint juleps, authentic food—plus live tunes from Keenan McKenzie & The Riffers feat. Laura Windley, with special guest Xara Wilde. Expect surprises throughout the event, with prizes for best big hat for the ladies and best dapper for the men. May the biggest hat win! @wattsandward
Dram & Draught We’re not horsin’ around—Derby bets and bourbon drinks are the name of the game at Dram’s annual Derby watch party, this year taking place at allsix locations and starting at noon (talk about a pregame!). The celebration includes drink specials, a hat contest, giveaways and more. See ya at the finish line. @dramanddraught
Tap Yard Tap in with your best Derby hat/’fit and bets on your fave horses for a chance to tap out with prizes at this ultimate Kentucky Derby Garden Party celebrating the biggest horse racing event of the year. Also on tap: mint juleps, classic cocktails, live music and other activities—because while the race may only be two minutes, the fun will keep going all day long. @tapyardraleigh
Sports & Social/PBR Cary/AVA Rooftop Bar And they’re off…! The classiest party in the Triangle comes with all your Derby day faves, from Kentucky hot brown sandwiches to mint juleps to cornhole tournaments to a $500 cash prize for the best hat. Go all out by purchasing a Winner’s Circle VIP Admission + Cornhole ticket to gain access to AVA’s Derby Days buffet and entertainment only available on the rooftop. Swanky!
**CANCELLED**
STIR Get down and Derby at this twofer Kentucky Derby and Woodford Private Barrel release party where the Woodford mint juleps will be flowing—along with hors d’oeuvres and specialty oysters. There’ll also be prizes doled to guests with the best hat and best outfit, natch, and each partygoer will receive a curated gift bag to take home. … Everyone wins! @stirraleighnc
Get down with your bad self at these live music bars in Downtown Raleigh.
Tunes and booze? Name a better duo—we’ll wait.If barhopping for live music is your, well, jam (!), you’re gonna wanna bop Downtown each weekend to bop with a drink in hand. Get the party started in the afternoon—then sway your way into the night. Here, your guide to groovin’ and boozin’ in DTR.
WRAL’s Elizabeth Gardner’s dream of having a whitewater park in Raleigh may soon come true.
If WRAL meteorologist and avid whitewater kayaker Elizabeth Gardner has her way, Raleigh City Council will move forward on a transformative 80-acre park with whitewater features as early as this summer. Despite the 20-year quest, Gardner finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel—the project was included in the Raleigh Parks Bond approved last November and could paddle on the scene and be complete in as little as five years.
Gardner first dreamt up the idea in 2001 when visiting Clear Creek Whitewater Park in Golden, Colorado (a suburb of Denver), with her husband. “We were like, ‘Wow, this is the coolest thing ever. We must have one here!’” As soon as she returned to Raleigh, she started asking questions about how to make a whitewater park a reality. … But it proved to be not such an easy feat (see the full timeline to the right).
Naturally, the Neuse River—specifically the portion near Falls Lake Dam—proved to be the perfect place for the park, dubbed Neuse River Park. While kayakers, tubers and the like can utilize that part of the river as it is now, the problem is with access, Gardner maintains. Due to erosion from the different flows of water released from the dam, there’s currently a lack of access points to load into the river.
A Deep Dive Into History: In 1978, the Army Corps of Engineers, who are responsible for building most of the dams in the country, and Wake County got together and drew up a plan for a whitewater park in Raleigh—which would’ve been only the second in the world. “Nobody’s around that knows why they didn’t build it,” says Gardner. “It was going to be paid for by the Army Corps.” In 1998, if Raleigh had gotten the bid for the Pan American Games, the Neuse River would’ve been outfitted for the whitewater competition.
This project would change that, creating at least two access points for kayakers to get in and out of the water and surf through three different rapids. (Fun fact: According to Gardner, the City of Raleigh is also working on a blueway—think a greenway but for water—and in order to get the distinction there must be a certain number of accesses along the river.)
The main priority, Gardner emphasizes, is to get people into the river. With the Neuse being so far from Downtown, at times it doesn’t feel like Raleigh even has a river, but it does. And, soon, it’ll attract residents and visitors of all ages, interests and backgrounds. And not just kayakers.
Previously nicknamed Falls Whitewater Park, they ultimately went with Neuse River Park—as Gardner realized as she was visiting parks across the country —“yeah, there were some whitewater kayakers—but there were a lot more people who were tubing, boogie boarding, swimming and just hanging out on the rocks having a picnic,” she says. “So we decided we would take ‘whitewater’ out of the name because it’s really going to be more like an old-fashioned swimming hole.”
In addition to the river features, the project will also encompass an 80-acre park. What will go there will depend on the master plan—and public input—but she foresees anything from ziplines and ropes courses to an amphitheater to a brewpub overlooking the water. Add to that the greenway trail that already flows alongside the river and connects to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, nearby Forest Ridge Park and Wilkerson Nature Preserve, and you have an “incredible adventure destination,” as Gardner calls it.
Between the master plan, permitting and construction, it could still be about four years before Neuse River Park comes to fruition. “I think if we had it built in five years, I’d be ecstatic,” says Gardner. But it looks to be promising, and with all the park has to offer, it would be a big win for the city. Case in point: Clear Creek Whitewater Park claims $2 million a year in economic impact.
“The point of this park is that everybody can use it,” Gardner emphasizes—from swimmers and fishermen to boogie boarders and tubers to picnickers to those simply walking or riding by on the greenway looking to cool down on a hot day. Think of it like a free outdoor playground for both kids and adults—a place where residents and visitors alike can realign with nature and escape from the city for a while. And that, we’d argue, is something definitely worth pursuing.
20-Year Timeline For The Park
2003: Gardner put together a committee and had a company provide a preliminary drawing and cost estimate for the park. The project received funding from the Parks Bond and interlocal fund. The city ultimately decided there wasn’t enough money to build the park.
2012: $150K from the funds is used for a feasibility study. The project was approved by City Council, but not funded.
2019: Raleigh started organizing another Parks Bond. The Parks Advisory Board loved the project and initially put it at the top of the list.
2020: The pandemic halted the project once again.
2022: Another Parks Bond passes, and Neuse River Park ends up on the list of parks that would be funded by the bond, with $11 million dedicated to the project.
2023: This summer, City Council will decide which projects will be built with the first round of funding.
’Tis the season for Vinnie’s sought-after honeysuckle ice cream.
They say a smell has the ability to transport you to a different time—eliciting fond memories from the past. A scent-imental experience, if you will. So when Vinnie’s Steakhouse & Tavern chef/GM Tom Armstrong came upon a honeysuckle patch while walking his dog near Chavis Park in 2011, he was immediately transported to his halcyon days of youth, scouring for honeysuckles in the woods for those prized drops of nectar—what would become the star ingredient for his now-famed seasonal ice cream at Vinnie’s.
“It just had this effect I’ve only experienced a couple times in my life, where a smell or a taste or even a song on the radio hits you in a way that’s almost as close to time travel as you get,” Armstrong recalls.
Sweet Inspiration
Armstrong visited Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill a couple of years prior to try Bill Smith’s honeysuckle sorbet (the longtime treasured cafe has since shuttered temporarily). “It was a unique thing,” says Armstrong, “and what really got my attention was the fact he goes out and picks the honeysuckle himself. I thought that was a cool thing he does… and maybe one day I’d have the time to [recreate it].”
Fast-forward to spring 2011, and after stumbling on that blossoming honeysuckle patch, Armstrong put together a kit to collect the sweet blooms. Not wanting to copy Smith’s sorbet, the chef decided to try his hand at a honeysuckle ice cream.
“It took some trial and error, but once I got it right, I knew I was onto something really special,” says the sweet cream visionary. “I was so excited about it. Anybody that came in [to Vinnie’s], I was like you gotta try this ice cream.”
The Scoop
Armstrong does his honeysuckle-hunting research by simply riding his bike on the greenway (yes, for real). Some of his top spots include Shelley Lake and Lake Lynn, but he changes it up yearly. “I have to move around a little bit,” says the honeysuckle hunter. “That makes it a little more fun for me. Every year it’s like a quest.”
For peak freshness, he always avoids areas with a lot of car exhaust or sprayed pesticides. And, like with most things, there’s minor risk involved. “Every year I get poison ivy,” he laughs, “but it’s worth it.”
On an average morning, he’ll pick about 8 quarts worth of flowers. No small feat! After collecting the most brightly colored yellow blooms Mother Earth has to offer, Armstrong takes the honeysuckles back to the restaurant and lays them all out on a pan, picking out any leaves and other foreign objects.
He then places them in a big bucket and crushes them with a wooden spoon, covers the honeysuckles with heavy cream, and lets them sit for two to three days. The key is to use equal parts flowers to heavy cream, he notes.
Double the Syrup
Serving up spring in a bowl for over a decade now, Armstrong scoops his highly anticipated creamy concoction at Vinnie’s with strawberry shortcake made from ripe local strawberries (natch), topped with a homemade honeysuckle syrup. For those feeling extra sweet, the dessert pairs perfectly with the bartender’s honeysuckle cocktail—also utilizing that housemade syrup.
Make Your Own
Every year, as soon as guests get that first whiff of honeysuckle in the air, they immediately start calling Vinnie’s to see when that delish honeysuckle ice cream will hit the menu. “For two or three weeks, I just go kind of crazy with it and make as much as I can to keep up with demand,” says Armstrong. Clearly, it won’t last long, so you better stock up while you can—or try to make it at home with the recipe below (!).
(Davies Photography)
Honeysuckle Ice Cream (makes just over 1 quart)
1 qt. honeysuckle flowers (preferably golden yellow ones)
1 qt. heavy cream
12 egg yolks
1 1/3 cups sugar
Spread flowers on a sheet pan and remove any leaves or twigs.
Place flowers in a container (at least 2 quarts) and mash vigorously with a wooden spoon.
Cover with heavy cream; refrigerate; and let sit for at least two days.
Strain flowers from the cream, pressing on the flowers with a ladle or spoon. Place cream in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar.
When the cream begins to simmer, remove from heat and slowly whisk into the egg/sugar mixture.
Return the mixture to the stovetop.
Using a rubber spatula, stir the mixture over high heat, scraping the bottom of the pan constantly.
The custard will start to thicken as it gets hot. Once it reaches 180 F, remove from heat; strain through a fine-mesh strainer; and cool completely.
Process in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s operating instructions.
