Valentine’s Day once again is quickly approaching and if you’re looking to go out on the town now is the time to make those reservations. Like last year, I thought it would be helpful to make a list of Durham restaurant offerings for February 14. Menus when available are linked. This list is in no way complete and I will continue to add to it.

604 at West Village
$49.95 per person for four courses
Includes champagne toast and a red rose

Blu
$45 for three courses

Broad Street Café
Lots of stuff going on:
Periodic Tables: Durham’s Science Café at 7 PM, Subject: Speed Dating
Speaker: Karin Pfennig, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, UNC-Chapel Hill
Dinner will feature special food and beverages
Foothills Sexual Chocolate on tap
Champagne cocktails and champagne by the bottle

The Cookery
Valentine’s Day for Food Lovers workshop

Dos Perros
Special menu and drink specials

Durham Spirits Co.
Hosting several Valentine’s Day themed cooking classes:
Couple’s Aphrodisiacs 2/10
Sweets for your Sweet(tooth) 2/11
Cocktails are for Lovers 2/12

Foster’s Durham
Pick up Valentine’s Day dinner
$75 for three course dinner for two
All orders must be placed by Saturday, February 11th for pick-up on Tuesday, February 14 between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm

Four Square
$65 per person
Special menu

Gregoria’s Kitchen
$29.95 three course menu

Guglhupf
Special Valentine’s night performance with Dawn Michelle Williams on piano

King’s Daughters Inn
2/11 Sparkling Wine Tasting
Taste champagne, sparkling wine and Kings Daughters’ signature sweets
$18/person or $30/couple

L’uva
$35 for three courses
Special champagnes and bubbles

Piedmont
$45 for three courses

Revolution
2/13 Cocktails and Chocolate (two Valentine’s cocktails paired with truffles)
$45 per couple
2/14 Three course menu for $65 with a la carte selections available at the bar

Sitar Palace
Complimentary champagne or wine and chocolates with dinner specials

Taste Carolina Tour
A walking tour with stops at five locations in Durham
Includes dinner, cocktails, dessert, chocolate boxes

Washington Duke
$65 for five courses with chocolate-dipped strawberries to take home
Live piano music

Watts Grocery
$50 for three courses.

More low key options:

A box of goodies from Daisy Cakes

A collection of Big Spoon Roasters peanut butter

A collection of spices or a box of chocolates from Cocoa Cinnamon

Cheese plate from Reliable Cheese

A box of Monuts

A CSA from This & That Jam

Pick up some fresh oysters, scallops or your favorite seafood from Dock to Door at Fullsteam on 2/14.

A pie from Scratch

Non-edible option? You can adopt a lemur at the Duke Lemur Center in someone’s name.

Valentine’s Jazz at the Hayti Heritage Center, 15 for singles and $25 for couples

But for me – a giant glass of horchata, a plate of tacos at Super Taqueria and maybe a pint at Surf Club is the way to my heart.

January 21st is a big day for Motorco. During the day, it will play host to the second Luchadoras competition, Durham’s own women’s Mexican wrestling extravaganza. We’ve been told this time there will be even more wrestlers and a tag-team match. The beloved Captain Poncho’s Tacos truck will again be out front (order early) and bikeCOFFEE! will be there with a special Counter Culture Luchadores coffee and a La Luchadora Tabla (a slab of dark Mexican chocolate, cayenne, cacao nibs and Mexican coffee). It’s $5 at the door (free for children under 12) and all proceeds go toward the NC Dream Team. During the last match, kids were allowed to interact with the wrestlers, climb in the ring and learn a few basic moves. Doors open at 11 am and the action starts at noon.

Then later that evening, Motorco will also host Durham’s first food truck mash-up. KoKyu, Pie Pushers, Chirba Chirba and Farmhand Foods will team up to serve “mashups” of their normal offerings and Parlour ice cream will be featured in Motorco cocktails. The trucks will each be serving three different dishes and none of their regular menu items.

To avoid the craziness that sometimes arises with food truck rodeos, this will be a ticketed event. It’s $25 advance/$30 at the door for all you can eat. Doors open at 4 pm and food will be served at 6 pm. There will also be music in the Garage from London Dungeon, Gary B & The Notions, and JOLO.

We have been told that there will be 12 “mashed” items for consumption.

 What we’ve heard:

From Pie Pushers: a Farmhand Foods garlic knot (local Farmhand Foods Italian sausage, Farmhand Foods pimento cheese and Farmhand Foods fennel chowchow) and a mini calzone pocket filled with Chirba Chirba edamame, noodles and mushroom soy veggies

From KoKyu: 5 spice rubbed Farmhand Foods brisket TaKo, citrus BBQ sauce & herby/crunchy slaw

From Chirba Chirba: A Pie Pushers pizza dumpling with pepperoni, spinach, fresh mozz served over marinara

From Farmhand Foods: A grilled cheese sandwich filled with the toppings from Pie Pushers’ winter veggie pie

Drinks (must be purchased):

The Cold & Stormy: Gosling’s rum, Motorco’s homemade ginger beer and Parlour’s lime sorbet

Orange Mocha Frappuccino – milkshake w/ Vietnamese coffee ice cream, orange syrup, and Godiva liqueur

Drop by Motorco to buy advance tickets for the food truck mash-up (avoiding the service charge) or purchase them through Motorco’s site. Both of these events are sure to be fun. January 21st – another good day to be a Durhamite.

For more information, head over to Motorco’s site. To keep up with any new menu announcements search for hashtag #FTMU on twitter.

Sadly our favorite New Year’s tradition the Wusses are playing in Carrboro at the Cats Cradle this year. So that leaves us to look into other options for ringing in 2012 in the Bull City. As always this is not a complete list and we will continue to update.

Events/Parties:

Beyu Caffe New Year’s Eve
Bernie Petteway Trio
10pm $25 VIP seating, $15 standing

Bull McCabes New Year’s Eve
Can’t find anything on their site, but Bull McCabes always throws a great New Year’s Eve party. There are always tons of party favors, lots of fun folks and free champagne. In years past, McCabes’ party has had a costume theme.

Charlie’s
New Year’s Eve Party with Robert White playing.

Casbah New Year’s Eve
Peter Lamb and the Wolves and the Countdown Quartet are playing and there’s a free champagne toast at midnight. Fancy dress encouraged.
8pm doors. $15

Motorco’s The Final Countdown
My bet is on this one – it’s a Jeff and King event, there is going to be a time capsule and DJ’s Chocolate Thunder/Chris Corsello/Pancakes will be spinning tunes. Food trucks will be out front.
Starts at 9pm, $6 (will go up as date approaches)

Pinhook’s Balls Out NYE
The Pinhook and Durty Durham are teaming up for this event. The Pinhook’s quote about the event is pretty awesome: ” We are guaranteeing a sweaty, bumping, earth shaking and mind numbing New Years. It’s as cheap as we are. Come dance the night away.” Bonus: usually at midnight, the Pinhook folks drop the plastic owl that usually lives behind the bar. DJ’s Play Play, Yammy and Queen Plz.
Starts at 10pm

Papa Mojos Roadhouse
Mel Melton & the Wicked Mojos
Zydeco blues. Party favors & midnight champagne toast included.
9:30pm. $35.

The Bar Durham’s Fire and Ice New Year’s Eve
Dress to impress, party favors, toast at midnight.
Hors d’oeuvre from 8pm-10pm.
$10

The Tavern’s New Year’s Eve Party
DJ. Champagne toast at midnight.
10pm, no cover charge

Washington Duke Inn
A variety of events including dinner, a New Year’s Jazzin’ Eve, special room rate and New Year’s day brunch and tea.

Whiskey
New’s Years Eve in the Club Room. Details to come.

Restaurants:

Four Square Restaurant
Four courses for $85, including a glass of champagne.
5:30-9:30pm

Magnolia Grill
Open with regular menu.

Nana’s
Open for New Year’s Eve. Reservations may no longer be available as their site advises to call on December 1 for a reservation.

Parizade
New Year’s Eve early seatings 5-7pm.
Party begins at 9:15 with four course menu. $59 per person. Includes toast at midnight. Entertainment by Rendezvous.

Revolution
Two seatings
5:30-7:30pm three course menu, $65.
9-10pm five course menu with champagne, $85
Bar open all night with a la carte menu.

Vin Rouge
Offering full menu.

Watt’s Grocery
Open with regular menu as well as oysters and other specials.

Shop Independent Durham Week starts this Saturday, November 26. This now annual event is put on by Durham’s Sustain A Bull organization. Not just a clever tagline for bumper stickers and t-shirts, Sustain A Bull is Durham’s non-profit Independent Business Alliance – it’s local businesses teaming up to support the local economy.

According to Sustain a Bull’s site:
For every $100 you spend at a national chain, $13 stays in our community. Spend the same amount with an independent local business and you will be keeping $45 local–more than tripling the local economic benefits of your spending. Spend your $100 on-line and pretty much nothing stays here.

During Sustain a Bull’s Shop Independent Durham Week local businesses offer discounts, specials, etc. to entice Durhamites to keep their holiday shopping local. Find the full list of Shop Independent Durham Week deals on Sustain a Bull’s site.

Here are some examples of deals for food-focused shoppers:

Bountiful Backyards will be offering 50% off an initial consultation to design or install an edible landscape for folks in the greater Durham community.

Bull City Homebrew will be offering 20% off any equipment and recipe kit combinations.

Foster’s Market Durham will be raffling off a different item every day, and all entries will be entered for 1 grand prize of a week’s worth of prepared dinners for 2.

Guglhupf Bakery, Pâtisserie & Café will have three fun promotions including special offers from the bakery and a chance to win one of 10 ‘Golden Bull’ tickets.

Enjoy 15% off Joe Van Gogh’s artisan-roasted coffee beans.

Locopops will offer double stamps.

At Mad Hatters Bakeshop & Cafe get a free cupcake with any entree purchase after 4pm.

Nosh will be offering complimentary mini-desserts with any entree purchased after 3pm.

Triangle Raw Foodists will be offering $10 off any full weekly delivery order

Watts Grocery will offer 20% off bottles of wine and free hushpuppies or churros to those wearing Sustain-a-bull tee shirts.

Wine Authorities will offer 20% off a different item daily

Somewhat shockingly Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. In honor of the quickly approaching big feasting, this is a quick guide to special events and places in Durham from which you can order eats for the big day. This is by no means a complete list and I’ll continue to add to it. Feel free to leave comments with any events or specials around town that I’ve missed.

Durham Farmer’s Market
There is a pre-Thanksgiving Farmer’s Market on November 22
2:00-5:00 pm
http://www.durhamfarmersmarket.com/

Places to Eat:
Four Square
Thanksgiving day dinner
3pm-7:30pm
Three course meal.
$55 per person.
Menu

Washington Duke Inn
Traditional Thanksgiving day buffet
Seatings are at noon, 3pm and 6pm
Reservations: 919.493.6699
Menu description:
“A chef carving station with roast turkey and steamship of beef, an assortment of chilled seafood and salads and hot entrees, mouthwatering side dishes, an elegant display of seasonal desserts and more. Paul Holmes, locally acclaimed pianist, will play light classics on the Inn’s baby grand.”
Adults: $55, children 6-12 $27 and under 6 are free.

Parizade
Triangle Vegan Society Annual Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner
Note: Already sold out. Email TVS in case spots open up.
2011 marks the 18th year of this legendary vegan thanksgiving feast held at Parizade. This is the largest vegan thanksgiving dinner in the country. $23 for Triangle Vegan Society members and $26 for nonmembers. Children 5-10 are $7 and under 5 are free.
Menu

West 94th St. Pub
Opens at 7pm on Thanksgiving day

Places to Order:
Foster’s Market
A $99 thanksgiving take-out dinner for four and various other sides, entrees and desserts for pick up.
Includes an oven roasted turkey breast, cornbread, celery/sage stuffing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry orange relish, peter’s favorite rolls and pumpkin pie.
All orders must be placed no later than Monday, November 21st for pickup between 11:00 am – 6:00 pm on Wednesday, November 23rd.
Note: Foster’s Market will be closed on Thanksgiving day.

Reliable Cheese
Order form

Scratch Bakery
Order form

Bull City Burgers and Brewery
Order growlers for Thanksgiving pick-up

Cocoa Cinnamon
Homemade chocolates

Guglupf
Special Thanksgiving Bakery Items
Order form

Ninth Street Bakery
Stop in and order your Pumpkin, Pecan, Chocolate Chess, or Coconut Curry Pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving.

Next week the Kiwanis Club will host their annual pancake fundraiser in the Armory downtown. Piles of pancakes and sausage, chocolate milk in cartons, OJ in small paper cups – it’s a Durham tradition we try not to miss.

Tickets are $7 at the door, which buys you all the pancakes and sausage you can eat. The pancakes are light, fluffy and churned out by friendly Kiwanis Club members. The sausage is always from NC-based Neese’s. Whole and chocolate milk, OJ, coffee and sodas are also included.

There is a take-out option, but don’t do it. For one, you’ll miss out on the endless refills – but more importantly – you’ll miss out on the great community vibe of sitting at long communal tables, passing the syrup with the rest of Durham.

The Kiwanis Club Pancake fundraiser has been an annual event in Durham since 1961, raising over $325,000 for local charities. This year’s event is Monday, November 7 from 4-8pm and Tuesday, November 8 from 6:30am-8pm.

Note: Children under 6 eat free with paying adult.
Durham Armory
220 Foster St.
http://kctdurham.org/

Awesome tacos, elaborate masks, exaggerated high-flying wrestling moves, theatrical story lines and a coffee bike – what more could you want? Even better, you don’t have to stay up late for the spectacle that Luchadoras is sure to be.

Thrown by Durham’s ultimate party host King Kenney and local food writer Victoria Bouloubasis, Luchadoras will take place at Motorco Music Hall on November 19. The festivities will kick off at noon.

In honor of Mexico’s famed free wrestling matches, Lucadoras will be a three hour event featuring only female wrestlers competing in both one-on-one matches and tag-team events. Many of the costumes and masks will be made of recycled materials from the Scrap Exchange and all of the proceeds will go towards grassroots food justice efforts in Durham.

Important to note for Carpe Durham readers is the fact that Captain Ponchos Taco Truck, usually found at Al’s Garage in Carrboro, will make a rare Durham appearance. Captain Ponchos –  with their homemade tortilla shells, sweet al pastor and rich carne asada – is my favorite taco truck in the Triangle. Yep, I said it. Even without over-the-top wrestling, Captain Ponchos would make this a not-to-miss event.

Luchadoras
Noon-3pm, Saturday, November 19th.
Admission is $5 (free for children under 12 years of age).

Motorco
723 Rigsbee Avenue

http://motorcomusic.com/luchadoras

On October 15, teams will gather at Central Park in Durham to compete in a non-perishable food build-off.  That’s right, a build-off  (really it’s a food drive, but build-off just sounds more fun).

Fifteen teams have committed or will commit (there seem to still be open team spots if you’re interested) to collecting 500+ items of non-perishable food. Then, on the day of the food drive, these teams will compete to see who can build the best sculpture out of their collected food. Their creations will be judged by  Sherry DeVries of the Durham Arts Council, Adrian Brown of the Durham Chamber, Michael Hining of MHAworks and Craig Posey of Stewart Engineering. Frank Stasio of NPR will be the emcee.

Once the contest is over, all of the food will then be donated to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC. Pretty cool idea, right?

Even cooler is that on the day of the event, organizers will have live music (Brett Harris, Lizzy Ross Band, and LiLa), a fleet of seven food trucks to feed participants and onlookers (Pie Pushers, Will & Pops, Farmhand Foods, Slippin’ Sliders, Daisy Cakes, the Parlour and Local Yogurt) and three awesome breweries (Bull City Burger and Brewery, Fullsteam and Triangle Brewing).

There will also be pumpkin and face painting for the kids as well as door prizes. Find more information on the C.F.D. website.

Creative Food Drive
Saturday, October 15th 2-6pm
501 Foster St.
Durham NC 27701

Again, submissions will be donated to The Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC located on 708 Gilbert Street, Durham, NC.

This Sunday is the 4th Annual Pittsboro Pepper Festival. Not too far from Durham, the pepper festival is a lovely event with two Durham chefs and breweries participating. There’s good food, good tunes and good brews – what’s not to like?

Durham chefs and breweries participating:
Mez, Dos Perros, Fullsteam Brewery and Triangle Brewery

For a full list of chefs and breweries:
The Abundance Foundation

Proceeds from the festival go towards their work on “environmental education, food security and sustainable agriculture research at Piedmont Biofarm.”

Tickets are $25 until October 1st and $30 at the gate.

October 2nd from 4-7pm at the Briar Chapel community park
16 Windy Knoll Circle, Chapel Hill, Chatham County, NC

We posted the announcement of Durham Spirits Company’s Open House back in June, and since I went, I thought I’d share with you all more about the company and the space it’s operating in.
It’s a new venture by Katie Coleman, a chef and culinary instructor at The Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham with years of international training. She opened Durham Spirits Company to offer cooking and mixology classes, and I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the business. Right away I was struck by the amazing home that Katie’s renting to provide space for the classes. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and it’s a historic house in Old North Durham smack dab at the end of Elizabeth Street. Let’s take a little tour:
Front sitting room

The cute bar made of gorgeous wooden antiques where mixology classes are held. Katie, who was lovely and rightfully proud of her venture, said she was mainly focused on spirits that we can buy at the ABC stores, because what’s the fun of learning to shake up a cocktail only to have the liquor unavailable for us to purchase and experiment with? I’m signed up to take a classic gin cocktail course in August, which is a hole in my repertoire. There were a few small bar tables in the room as well.

The professional kitchen with lots of light and a breakfast nook off in the corner, where Katie’s mother was assisting with cookie decorations this afternoon.

The dining room, filled with deviled eggs, shredded pork tacos, green bean salad, and watermelon salad for the open house.



All the food messily thrown onto my plate—it was delicious. The grapefuit mojo sauce on the pork was especially tasty.

The best part of the house, by far, is the huge porch in the back, affording a beautiful view of kudzu wilderness and lots of space for lounging when the weather allows, which it luckily did this afternoon.


All in all, I had a great afternoon just talking with Katie and her crew of volunteers, most of whom were recruited by their love of Katie’s cooking. Courses coming up in July include tapas, making lunch from Farmer’s Market bounty (meeting at the Market to talk produce first), a rum tasting, Greek food, cooking with tomatoes, and summer brunch. Sign up here to take a class, and if you do, share with us the experience!

Durham Spirits Company
311 E. Trinity Avenue
Website
Single Classes run $49 to $59