Friday Favorites on Monday. Late, late, late.
1. Smitten Kitchen’s Deb Perelman. I’ve been reading Smitten Kitchen since I first started reading blogs & it is one of the very few from back then that I still read to this day. Deb recently published The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook & her book tour brought her to a bookstore nearby where she talked about rifling through Ina Garten’s cabinets & signed my cookbook!
2. The Bull City Food & Beer Experience. This was an awesome event with 30+ breweries & 20+ Durham restaurants, featuring the owners of Sierra Nevada, New Belgium & Oskar Blues as keynote speakers, all in one fabulous evening at DPAC. Some highlights of the night were the cauliflower puree from Toast, the sliced on the spot jamón from Mateo Tapas, & preview sips of the latest New Belgium release, Rampant IPA. For full details on the event, click on over to Raleigh Beer Guys.
3. Raleigh Beer Guys. My husband & our friend, Mike, recently launched this site on all things beer. They’re keeping up to date on the most recent craft beer releases & what’s going on in the North Carolina craft beer community. Check out their page & follow them on Twitter so you can stay on top of things too!
4. Poole’s Diner. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that our very first visit to Poole’s Diner was just this past week. Chef Ashley Christensen has been working her magic at this renovated luncheonette for years, earning herself a James Beard nomination in the process. Our meal was worthy of every bit of the hype. Our table ordered fried oysters, pimento cheese, avocado salad, scallops with cauliflower puree, short ribs, macaroni au gratin & brussels sprouts all to share & left completely stuffed & happy.
5. Trophy Brewing. Trophy is the latest addition to the Raleigh beer scene, opening just over a week ago & we hesitate to even tell you about it because we want to drink all their delicious beers ourselves. Chris & Woody (from Busy Bee) & head brewer Les have done an absolutely phenomenal job with the nano brewery…every beer thus far has been fantastic & I really, honestly mean that. Right now, there’s just beer, but pizza & a patio are coming soon.
