News
Sidetrack Brewpub: a Brewery Back in Downtown this Spring
Sidetrack Brewpub is all about potential. Across Boylan from Bloomsbury Estates a quiet building has sat for the past years; in the window a sign on an easel reading “Sidetrack Brewpub.” Owner Andrew Leager is an architect and woodworker who has worked on many local projects, including the Cameron Village Public Library.
Upscale Neomonde’s Spin-off Coming Downtown
As reported previously as gossip, a Neomonde’s spin-off will be coming to the corner of Hargett and Wilmington in the Helig-Levine building. This project marks the beginning of a partnership between the Saleh family and Greg Hatem. The proposed restaurant will be Lebanese cuisine and largely based on the partner’s upcoming planning trip to Lebanon in March. Diners can expect upscale Lebanese food, a step up from what is served at Neomonde’s. The restaurant will fill the 6,000 foot space and spill over into a courtyard. This is Hatem’s fifth restaurant project. He says this one has been in discussion for five years. Neomonde’s is also expanding across the triangle and there are discussions of a North Raleigh location.
The Pit Opens for Lunch
Ed Mitchell’s Pit is the newest restaurant in Raleigh’s Warehouse District. It opened just after Thanksgiving week and has received mostly positive reviews since. This week it added new hours to the menu, ones for the downtown lunch crowd. The lunch menu is a variation on the dinner theme, but with a bit lower prices.
Fancy A Pint: Landmark Tavern To Open in Raleigh
Irish pubs. Downtown Raleigh has a handful of restaurants/bars that attach this “slogan” to the end of their name, but are they “public houses” in the true sense of the word? Most of them are massive, serve pseudo-Irish food, and are more like mazes than the shotgun bar space that most authentic Irish pubs are known for in Ireland and the UK. The James Joyce in Durham is one of the few spaces in the Triangle that actually resembles a true Irish pub (clientele: career drinkers, locals and raconteurs), but then again it is owned by an Irish lad. The newly finished Smoking Times is another such bar. Historically, the public House is synonymous with neighborhood bar and Raleigh needs more of these. When The Landmark Tavern opens today, Raleigh may gain just that, a big city pub with the small town atmosphere. More Info Below the Fold
The George plus The Mint equals CREAM
The song starts: Cash, Rules, Everything, Around, Me, C.R.E.A.M. get the money dollar, dollar bill y’all. From my understanding, rappers Raekwon and Method Man from The Wu Tang Clan weren’t referring to Raleigh in the y’all part of that lyric. But, looking at the names of a few new restaurants and bars in downtown, you’d assume that cash did rule everything around here.
Raleigh Brewery Tours and Beer Sampling
Two local breweries, Big Boss Brewing Company in Raleigh and The Carolina Brewing Company in Holly Springs are giving tours of their facilities and beer samplings on Saturday.
Ashley Christensen’s Poole’s: Open Thursday
Update: Now opening ThursdayWednesday Thursday will mark the highly anticipated reopening of Poole’s. The longtime diner has seen several iterations in the last years, but this latest incarnation is one built on the kind of experience and market sensitivity that almost assures its success. Ashley Christensen, most notable for her tenure and evolution of Vin, has constructed a diner that will appeal to the longtime Poole’s customer as well as a much larger audience. More on Poole’s below the Fold
Nana’s Chophouse Switches to Ed Mitchell’s Pit
Everything but the Squeal. Some may squirm at hearing this phrase, but the newest restaurant to open in The Warehouse District has the phrase in large script on its menu and are dedicated to it in their BBQ. The Pit opened its doors last night for dinner in what used to be Nana’s Chophouse. Nana’s closed just over a week ago, all the signage on the front was taken down (side signage still remains) and a new sign hangs above the front door stating: The Pit: Authentic Barbeque, Whole Hog, Pit-Cooked, Ed Mitchell Pitmaster. For many folks who have lived in Eastern North Carolina for more than a few years, the name Ed Mitchell may be synonymous with the word BBQ. More on The Pit Below the Fold
North Carolina State Fair Day One: Sights and Flavors
Day One of the North Carolina State Fair. Most would call Friday the first day of the State Fair, but to more and more folks each year in Raleigh, Thursday is the official grounds opening, at least for lunch. A couple of years ago, the grounds of the state fair were mostly empty at lunch on Thursday, but it has become a ritual it seems to travel to the west end of Hillsborough Street at lunch on the Thursday for a quick bite before the fair kicks off. See more of the first day of “Seriously Twisted Fun” Here
Waraji Sushi / Dewey’s Bakery coming to Downtown Raleigh
If you live downtown and are tired of your sushi, dessert and sports bar options, which I know you are, you are now in luck with new locations on each front having already opened or opening soon in the area. More Raleigh restaurant news below the fold
Students, Late Night Drunks, Enraged at Gumby’s Closing
In what was apparently a surprise, Gumby’s, Hillsborough Street’s budget pizza delivery has been closed after scoring a 60.5 on its most recent inspection. Gumby’s is best known for 4 dollar pizzas with a grease topping and a side of ranch dressing. Many State graduates fondly remember the searing heartburn of cheap liquor combined with the pizza product. WRAL brought out the fear mongering 5 on your side with a block of text that sums it all up: The most serious violation cited by the inspector was food-temperature concerns. The inspector noted a lot of cheese, chicken wings and other food was being left at potentially dangerous temperatures.
Dos Taquitos Opens Downtown Location
David and I had a chance on Friday to pop in for a preview lunch at the newest, and soon to be trendiest, lunch spot in downtown Raleigh: Dos Taquitos Centro Click for photos, more detail and the lunch menu.
