Time for another installment of Triangle Foodie Happenings! These are events coming up in the next week that I wish I could make, but hopefully you can! We really do have a ridiculous amount of foodie fun options in this area.
Spanish Wine Dinner with Laurence Vuelta at Jujube! 4/30, 7 pm, $47. Jujube's wine dinners are my favorite in the area, and they are usually pretty affordable, which is always a plus for a food blogger like me. Charlie Deal, Jujube and Dos Perros's chef/owner, hit some highlights of the wines and menu, describing it thusly, "When we sat down and started tasting through them [the wines], I thought it might be fun to put together a Spanish-inspired menu using Asian touches, which should be really fun for me to make and really tasty for you to eat. If I had to pick a star in the line-up, it would be the refined and effusive Terras Gauda Albarino. ... Minerally, briny, but so lush and supple, all at once. In honor of its Basque origin, we thought we’d serve it with a few pintxos, just like they might in Donastia. Well, they might if someone was working out of an Asian cupboard .Bookending the meal are a bright and lovely Cava from Gran Bach (paired with what I think is going to be an exquisite croqueta of local ham) and a friendly, yet regal Priorat, paired, as I think it should be with roasted lamb."
Here's the dinner menu:
JohnstonCounty country ham croqueta with Asian pear coulis -Gran Bach Cava Brut NV
Pintxos platter of friend anchovy with almond-chile sauce and radicchio-mizuna “ramo” with Chinese olive aioli -Terras Gauda Albarino Abadia de San Campio 2012
Grilled quail with peanut sauce and cucumber salad -Raimat Tempranillo 2008
Shiitakes a la Plancha -Vina Zaca Rioja 2008
Roasted lamb with grilled onion-mixed grain salad, and yogurt sauce -Scala dei Negre Priorat 2011
Reservations can be made at 919.960.0555.
Taste Carolina Tours Artisan Series! Next one is 4/30, 6 pm, $45. Taste Carolina is in the midst of a series of events focusing on local food producers, farmers, and chefs, and the next one is coming up on Tuesday! The series is intended as a package deal, but two events have already passed us by. The good news is that there are four more coming, and you can still buy package deals for the remaining ones if you'd like. Single event tickets go on sale the week of the event. This time around it's Cackalacky Hot Sauce, Fullsteam Brewery, Pie Pushers, American Meltdown, and The Parlour: An Amalgamation. The event is described as follows, "Beer, hot sauce, food trucks, and ice cream? Perfect! Learn about these five local companies while enjoying food and drink. The evening will begin with a tour of Fullsteam's Brewery and a beer tasting. Over dinner prepared by Pie Pushers, American Meltdown, and the Parlour (with off-the-menu items) and featuring Cackalacky products, we'll talk with owners and operators of the businesses collaborating on this event. Arrive at Fullsteam at 6pm sharp. Dinner will take place inside the brewery."
Upcoming events will focus on TOPO Distillery and the Crunkleton, several of Durham's taquerias, and Two Chicks Farms and Panciuto. For tickets or more information, head here
Derby Day at Washington Duke! 5/4, 11:30 am to 12:00 am. Washington Duke is hosting a variety of events to celebrate the Kentucky Derby this Saturday. They are having special brunch, tea, and dinner menus, and you can watch the race over three courses if you'd like. Most intriguing to me are the special cocktails of the day: Kentucky Derby: Mint Juleps, Belmont Stakes: Black-eyed Susan, and the Preakness Stakes: White Carnation. There's also a Derby Day hat contest! Click on the image for the complete details. As the brochure describes it, "Join us for Derby Day at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club’s Fairview Dining Room and Bull Durham Bar while watching the early show coverage, race and post show coverage on the big screens with winning Derby Day cocktail and food specials."
Straw Valley Cafe's Farmers' Market! Thursdays, 4 pm to 6:30 pm. Last week, Straw Valley Cafe started hosting a farmer's market in the parking lot in front of their cafe and Once and Again. That means you should actually be able to see it from 15-501, which is helpful for this notoriously hard to find, but amazing once you get there, cafe. Who doesn't want another option for fresh produce in the area? Straw Valley says, "Come by to help support your local businesses and farmers and grab a snack or drink from the cafe or bar!" Their Facebook page is the best place to get more info.
