Foodie news: Mitch's Tavern is back, plus lobster rolls and taco news (May 13, 2022)
It is happening this weekend. After two years, Hillsborough Street’s legendary watering hole, Mitch’s Tavern, will welcome patrons again.
Van Alston and Chris Post, the team behind MoJoe’s Burger Joint, Slim’s and Zenith Raleigh, have teamed up with Mitch Hazouri and will handle the day-to-day operations. Located directly across from N.C. State University at 2426 Hillsborough St., the 47-year-old tavern is a favorite of N.C. State fans and was featured in the 1988 film Bull Durham.
The spot will be pretty much like everyone remembers, with about 80% of the menu making the return, according to the Triangle Business Journal. The paper also noted that the space below Mitch’s, known as as The College Grill or Red’s (which has been closed for nearly 50 years) is in pristine condition and will be rented out for parties and events. Best to follow them on Facebook for when they officially just “open the doors” and you can again ascend the 25 stairs leading up to a big part of Raleigh’s history.
Wake County Restaurant News
Thanks to a tip from friends Julie and Kenan Barnes, we learned that Chubby’s Tacos is in soft-open mode in their newest Raleigh location in the Sutton Square shopping center at 6325 Falls of Neuse Road. They opened on Thursday. This is their third Triangle-area location, with one in Durham’s Woodcroft shopping center and one in Raleigh’s Lake Boone shopping center. They also have a location in Myrtle Beach. Congrats to Rudy Theale on this latest chapter of Chubby’s!
On Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh, the team behind The Cortez announced that they will be debuting a second floor cocktail bar and music garden curated by the Cortez team and in collaboration with their favorite local musicians, entertainers and DJs. No word on a timeline for the opening of the upstairs space, so best to follow them on social media here for pending announcements.
Blogger NC Triangle Dining shared the news that Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls will be opening up their newest location in Waverly Place in Cary on May 26. The Triangle’s original location is in North Hills.
Also in Raleigh, RalToday shared an update. Warm cookie delivery company Tiff’s Treats is set to open June 4 in the Village District. To celebrate its grand opening, the shop is giving away one dozen cookies to all new subscribers. Sign up for free cookies here.
The RalToday folks also shared that the Charlotte-based chain Clean Juice is now open across from Pure Barre in North Hills (4421 Six Forks Road, Suite 103). The organic juice bar softly opened this week.
In north Raleigh, reader Don Hazelwood shared that Pollo Campero is coming to the old Burger King spot at the corner of Litchford and Harps Mill in Litchford Village. No word on an open date. Campero has two locations already in North Carolina, both in the Charlotte area.
Down in Garner, the newest location of Dunkin’ opened this week at 101 Commerce Parkway featuring the brand’s next generation design.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention an all-new “foodie” podcast hitting the airwaves today at 5 p.m. The legendary Kitty Kinnin‘s Sound Palate will air with none other than Van Eure of the Angus Barn. Van will share the history of The Barn, behind-the-scenes stories and some personal antics with Kitty. As many of you know, Kitty has been a staple of the local music scene for many years, so she will have Van pair The Barn with a special song. Tune in to wherever you get your podcasts. You can catch Kitty on 96.1 BBB Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News
Big news out of Durham this week as the folks over at Lula & Sadie’s in the Durham Food Hall announced that May 22 will be their last day of their two-year run in that space. But their success and popularity presented them with the opportunity to grow into a much larger space as they will be moving into the historic Davis Baking Company building in the Lakewood neighborhood (2022 Chapel Hill Road).
Their plans are to open in the new space by mid to late June. But, be sure to get by the Durham Food Hall right up until May 22 before you have to take a short break from their southern yumminess (the wife and I did so two nights ago) while they prepare the new space.
Over in Chapel Hill, the News & Observer reported that the founders of Cook Out purchased the property at 450 S. Elliott Road, where a Burger King now operates, and could soon become Orange County’s second Cook Out location. Additionally, because the current building has a drive-thru, the conversion would allow for Cook Out’s popular drive-thru option. Burger King confirmed that location will be closing.
Closings/Cancelations
Learned this week that Saturday, May 21 will be Carrburritos last day at the Boxyard in RTP. With this pandemic world of staffing and supply shortages, they are choosing to focus their resources on their original location in Carrboro…which is great news!
Food Trucks
OK, pay attention. Some changes to the Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo 2022 schedule. The are just two dates for 2022 rodeos and they are as follows – June 12 and Sept. 25. The rodeo is set up on downtown Raleigh’s Fayetteville Street featuring a half mile of food trucks and restaurants spread out over 10 city blocks.
The remaining Durham Central Park Food Truck Rodeo 2022 schedule is as follows: June 5, Sept. 4 and Oct. 30. Mark your calendars.
Looking to find your favorite food truck (or stalking them and simply don’t want to have to admit it)? We understand. Find them on Street Food Finder.
Events
The newly relocated and expanded Raleigh Wine Shop will officially celebrate its grand opening and 11th anniversary sale and celebration this weekend, Friday, May 13 through Sunday, May 15. This exciting weekend will feature wall-to-wall free tastings with samples of wine, by-the-glass specials, a sneak peek into its upcoming in-house food program featuring hand-cut charcuterie and artisanal cheeses and its deepest deals of the year on its hand-selected honestly made wines, plus other deals throughout the store.
Celebrate American Craft Beer Day in downtown Pittsboro this Saturday, May 14 as they host the next edition of their Pittsboro Pub Crawl from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Nine participating bars are offering craft beer and other drink specials and you are invited to roam the streets and try a few. Make plans to be there. Get all the details on the specials being offered and their shuttle service.
RalToday reminded us that Bowstring Pizza and Brewyard is hosting a Spring Music Fest this Saturday, May 14 from 2-10 p.m. Join the Brewyard for a night of shopping from local vendors, sipping on cocktails and cold brews, and music performed by N.C. bands. Get all the details and tickets here.
Experience the flavors, sounds, and traditions of Greece at the annual at the Taste Of Greece Festival taking place this weekend, May 14 and 15 (11 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days), at St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Durham. Enjoy delicious Greek food and pastries, a Greek taverna and cafe, traditional music, folk dance performances, shopping, video travelogues of Greece, church tours and kids’ activities. Admission and parking are free and the event is rain or shine. Get all the details here.
The Heirloom Fish Fry is happening again this Sunday, May 15 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Heirloom will be serving Carolina catfish fried Taiwanese-style with Laotian papaya salad-inspired slaw and fries seasoned in Taiwanese salt and pepper. All draft beers are $5. To take advantage of this opportunity you must pre-order the fish fry here.
The folks at Bites of Bull City shared the great news that The Glass Jug’s third annual Hops & Blues Fest returns this year on Saturday, May 21 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Glass Jug Beer Lab’s RTP location (5410 N.C. 55). Note: the event is capped at 250 people, so get your tickets early. The $45 ticket price gets attendees unlimited samples from the best IPA and hop-forward beer makers in the area along with live music from some of the best local blues musicians: Brett Chambers & The Usual Suspects and The Pheobees. Along with The Glass Jug, other brewery reps on site include Aslin, Resident Culture, New Anthem, Wilmington, Commonwealth, Triple Crossing, Funguys, Durty Bull, Wooden Robot, Grimm, Equilibrium, and Southern Grist. Get tickets here.
The second annual Bubbles and Brisket is scheduled for Saturday, June 4 from 2 to 6 p.m. at Smoky Hollow in downtown Raleigh. The event is a collaboration of chefs, pit-masters, wine producers, sommeliers and brewers, pairing sparkling bubbles with a variety of cooking techniques and side dishes that feature everyone’s favorite: brisket. Early Bird Tickets on sale for the month of April are $65/person. On May 1 tickets are $75/person. Get all the details and tickets here.
After a two-year hiatus, Dinner in the Meadow will return as attendees will be gathering in the meadow again on Sunday, Sept. 11th from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The dinner sells out each year, so you are encouraged to get your tickets early. Get all the details here.
Like beer? Excellent. Visit Raleigh has established a Raleigh Beer Trail that gives you a passport to get stamped at the 30+ breweries in the Raleigh area, from Wake Forest to Raleigh to Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina. Once you’ve filled up your passport with stamps, you send it in to receive prizes. Nothing like being rewarded for drinking! But as always, please drink responsibly. Get the details here.
And yesterday Crave Hot Dogs & Barbecue on Oberlin Road hosted a very successful “sip and paint” event with another planned for July. But coming up on May 24 they begin hosting Trivia Tuesdays (which will occur every other week). Best to tune into their social media for dates and times of all their events.
Food Bank Corner
Stamp Out Hunger is coming up on May 14, where residents across the U.S. are encouraged to leave a bag of food next to their mailbox for the United States Postal Service to pick up throughout the day. During the day, mail carriers unload thousands of pounds of food to their local post office. This is where we need your help! In hopes to help take some of the extra work off the various post offices in the Raleigh/Durham areas, the Food Bank is recruiting volunteers to assist postal workers. Tasks will include helping with unloading food off trucks and placing donated items into bins to be brought back to our branches. Volunteers are asked to help at the local post office as opposed to the Food Bank branches. If you can volunteer, visit their sign-up site here. #NoOneGoesHungry
Sean Lennard, a Raleigh native, has been around the Triangle food scene for...well, a long time, but professionally since 2002 with the the Triangle Food Blog, formerly known as Friday Fun Food Facts, in 2008. You can find his blog here. And you don't have to wait until Friday for updates as you can follow Sean throughout the week on Facebook and Twitter.
