Triangle Foodie News: Bar Louie opens in Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. — Triangle restaurant news...that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler.

Downtown Durham's newest hotel, The Durham Hotel (located at 315 E. Chapel Hill Street), announced this week that "the Rooftop" is officially open. With food and drinks by James Beard-award winning chef Andrea Reusing, the restaurant, garden patio and rooftop bar offer one-of-a-kind perspectives of the city.

This is pretty big news. Local food blogger David McCreary (aka Lunch Boy Says) informed me that Amedeo's Italian Restaurant owner David Harris will open Amedeo's Pizza at Beaver Creek shopping center in Apex in October, 2015. We will keep an eye on an exact opening date.

In case you were under a rock, the 2nd location of Big Ed's has opened in north Raleigh's Quail Corners shopping center. The restaurant seats 180 people and has lots of parking; sounds like a win-win for Raleigh!

Over in Morrisville, saw in the News & Observer that Bawarchi Biryani Point Indian Cuisine (9601 Chapel Hill Road) has opened simultaneously with an Indian supermarket called Spices Hut in the Park Place shopping center.

Also in Morrisville, we will have one more Indian option by the end of the month, if all goes according to plan. Look for Masala Wrap, at 9825-F Chapel Hill Road. The counter service restaurant will offer a selection of wraps, salads and rice bowls with an East-West fusion twist that partner Kunal Prikh says will be an entirely new concept for the Triangle.

And if that is not enough Indian cuisine for you, the News & Observer also reported that Nazara Indian Bistro (which we first told you about back in June) is opening soon at 1945 High House Road in Cary. Friends Mangal Singh and Shatman Singh are the owners. They are shooting for an Aug. 17 opening (pending inspections). Stay tuned.

While reading Leo Suarez's blog The Raleigh Connoisseur, I was reminded that now that the Charter Square building is open on downtown Raleigh's Fayetteville Street, we need to start trying to figure out what G. Patel and Eschelon Experiences will bring us in the space they have leased on the ground floor of that building. Hmmmmm. Any guesses? In the meantime, check out Eshelon Experiences.

Got word this week through Yelp that The Belgian-Filippo's, a Belgian eatery and beer bar, is scheduled to open Aug. 13 in the former Quality Grocery space at 701 E. Lane Street in downtown Raleigh.

We've been talking about this for what seems like months now, but we have an official opening date for MOD Pizza in Raleigh - Tuesday, Aug. 18. And the coolest thing? One hundred percent of sales on that day will be donated to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

We told you about this last month, but Nashers Sandwich House has now officially opened at 10630 Durant Road in north Raleigh, in the space formerly occupied by Butcher Block American Grill.

And out in Brier Creek, the Triangle Business Journal reported that the area's first location of Bar Louie has opened and will be celebrating their opening through August 9th. Founded in Chicago in 1990, Bar Louie features 34 signature martinis, mojitos and margaritas, as well as appetizers, flatbreads, salads, burgers and sandwiches. There are 20 beers on tap and 20 wines by the glass.

Also in Brier Creek, we got word from friends Whitney and Eric vonHaam that Maggie Moo's has gone local - with a new name, new look, new flavors, and a whole lot of homemade goodness! It is now called Mixx (btw, Maggie Moo's no longer has any locations in North Carolina).

Over in Morrisville, got word from reader Nancy O'Melia that there is a new sign up at the corner of Airport Blvd and the old Morrisville Outlet mall at the location of the former Scholtzsky's that a Los Tres Magueyes is coming soon. We'll keep an eye on it. Thanks Nancy!

Over in Apex, reader Michelle Fleer tipped us off to the fact that Rudino's in Apex has closed and that a sign is up announcing that Rookie's Sports Park is coming into that spot. We will keep an eye on it.

John Huisman (aka Triangle Explorer) tweeted this week that Gray Squirrel Coffee Company is now open in Carrboro inside the Yester Years Brewery at 300 E. Main Street.

Got word from a reader that a new Guatemalan restaurant has opened over in Durham in the Oak Creek Village shopping center (4600 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd.) called El Chapin. Looks like the real deal!

We first told you in May of this year about Luna, a restaurant focused on South American cuisine coming to 112 W. Main St. in Durham. And we just saw on the blog Bites of Bull City that chef/owner Shawn Stokes plans to open before the end of this month.

And we learned from the Triangle Business Journal and the Herald Sun that Beyu Caffee in downtown Durham is moving two doors down, from 335 W. Main St. to 341 W. Main St. The move is planned for January 2016, according to reports.

The Knightdale Food Truck Rodeo will take place tomorrow (Aug. 8) from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Knightdale Station Park. Look for 9 trucks to be on hand.

And then on Sunday (Aug. 9), plan your evening dining with the next Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo that runs from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Fayetteville Street (and surrounding streets). That's 11 city blocks of food trucks and restaurants for your dining pleasure. Get the truck lineup and all the details here.

But if you can't make it to either of those this weekend (or perhaps you can), plan on heading over to Durham Labor Day Weekend (Sept.6) for their huge food truck rodeo at Durham Central Park. This one will be from noon until 4 p.m.

This is kind of cool. The new management of the Berkeley Cafe (Lisa Lewis, Alex Little and Shonna Greenwell) announced that they will be hosting "Takeover Tuesdays" where they will "hand over" the Berkeley to a food truck operator to take their shot at running a "brick and mortar" location. The fun starts this Tuesday (Aug. 11) with Sol Tacos offering their southern influenced gourmet tacos. The fun continues through August.

Make plans to head over to Sassool in north Raleigh on Saturday, Aug. 8 (8/8) as Cecilia "Sassool" Saleh turns 88! Mounir, one of the Saleh brothers that brought us Neomonde, renamed his location after his mother last Mother's Day. Saturday's lunch will feature live music; dinner service will include specials such as lamb kebobs, complementary birthday cake and 88-cent baklava. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation in recognition of Cecilia's enduring good health as a breast cancer survivor. Also note that Mounir has plans to open a second location of Sassool this fall in Cary!

Tickets are on sale now for one of the biggest foodie events around - the TerraVita Food & Drink Festival, which will be held in Chapel Hill Oct. 8-10. It simply can't be missed.

Tickets are on sale now for Beericana, a craft beer and music festival in Holly Springs on Sept.12. Beericana is in its second year and all signs point to it being even better than last year. The festival will feature over 60 breweries from across the state and beyond, more food trucks than last year with at least 20 trucks. General admission tickets are $45 and VIP tickets are $75.

Speaking of beer, join the brewers of Wake County at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh on Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. ($30; $25 for members) for a one-of-a-kind evening of beer and science. At the sampling session, a dozen brewers will offer unique creations fitting the museum's natural science focus. Sit in on discussions about fermentation, flavors and the engineering of beer. Get all the details here. Thanks to Deborah Copeland for the tip on this event.

Go ahead and mark your calendar for Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week, which will be held Aug. 17-23. It has expanded this year to include lunch menus and a Do-It-Yourself Progressive Dinner option. This option will encourage patrons to visit a different restaurant for each course on a tantalizing tour of downtown dining. Participating dining establishments will offer three-course prix fixe dinners for either $20 or $30 per person, $5 or $10 lunch menus, and/or a special appetizer, entrée, or dessert for the Progressive Dinner option, depending on the venue.

Midtown Grille executive chef Benjamin Harris came to Raleigh from Charleston, South Carolina. So the recent events there hit pretty close to home. So on Sunday, Aug. 23 he will host a chef collaboration event called North Cooks South to raise money for the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. Joining Harris will be Charleston’s Daniel Doyle (Poogan’s Porch), Charlotte’s Chris Coleman (The Asbury/Dunhill Hotel) and Raleigh’s Scott James (executive sous chef at The Angus Barn). The $150 dinner is limited to 100 people.

A new pop-up dining series to watch out for: The Familiar Supper Club will hold its first event on Aug. 10 at Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill. The club, started by chefs John Childers and Evan Sheridan, is focusing on celebrating North Carolina's bounty. The first event is titled "Sweet Corn and Swine." A portion of proceeds will benefit local nonprofit Abundance NC. Tickets are $80 each.

You'll want to go ahead and mark your calendar for the 2nd Annual Triangle Oktoberfest coming to Cary's Koka Booth Amphitheatre on Oct. 3-4. There will be some great authentic German fare as well as some amazing breweries.

And if you are into eating healthier, you might want to go ahead and get this event on your calendar - the 2015 Triangle Vegfest which will be held at Moore Square and City Market in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, Oct. 17 from noon until 5 p.m.

Great news from the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina - We are delighted to share that the final results are in and, thanks to you, we've met the goal of providing 3.2 million meals through our Stop Summer Hunger food and funds drive Your generosity, along with an outpouring of support from compassionate folks just like you, ensured that children had meals and families had groceries for the past several weeks and will continue to receive the support they need until school resumes again. Thank you for helping to provide relief to those we serve, thank you for your partnership, and thank you for your kind support. We are truly grateful!