Early in his career, Ryan Conklin used to ditch his logo-emblazoned chef’s jacket before walking into a grocery store or business where the company name might be recognized. “I didn’t want people knowing I worked in a hospital kitchen,” says Conklin, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who landed his first executive chef […]
Jill Warren Lucas
Bio: Jill Warren Lucas is a freelance food writer and project manager for INDY Week's Finder: Guide to Wake County.Link: http://eatingmywords-jwl.blogspot.comTwitter: http://twitter.com/jwlucasnc
Posted inArt
America’s got talent—but what about Wake Forest? Find out in a new talent competition
HOW TO ENTER Submit a YouTube link of your short (less than five minutes) video to [email protected] by midnight March 31 and you could win an opening slot in one of the first five of the Six Sundays in Spring concerts, running April 27 to June 1 at E. Carroll Joyner Park Amphitheater (701 Harris […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Carolina Crossroads to undergo major renovation this summer
Carolina Crossroads restaurant, a bastion of formal dining at the Carolina Inn, will undergo a major renovation that will increase its seating capacity and make the “overall look and feel comfortable, open and more casual,” according to Area General Manager Mark Sherburne. Sherburne made the surprise announcement Saturday during a swanky 90th anniversary dinner event. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Carolina Crossroads celebrating 90th year with commemorative chef’s dinner
When Executive Chef James Clark took over the kitchen at Carolina Crossroads three years ago, he surprised some regulars by replacing the upscale fish long featured in signature dishes with lesser-known sustainable species. It took courage then to print words such as grunt and jolthead porgy on the famously elegant menu, but now it’s the […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Culinary historian aims to bring overdue recognition to black White House chefs
Adrian Miller wrote the definitive book on American soul food and was a credential-carrying member of the Clinton White House. You might think that with such credibility it would be easy for him to interview African-American chefs working in the White House kitchen. You’d be wrong. “My requests all have been denied,” says Miller, who […]
Posted inCulture
Film screening: Durham’s role in civil rights struggle documented in Counter Histories
Counter Histories: Durham’s Royal Ice Cream Sit-InsFlyleaf Books Tuesday, April 7, 7 p.m.Update: This event was rescheduled from February because of weather. Because of the 1960 Greensboro sit-in that forced Woolworth’s to set aside its policy of racial discrimination in the South, most people know that North Carolina figures prominently in the civil-rights timeline. Fewer […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Small Italian eatery Gocciolina creates a stir in Durham
Gocciolina 3314 Guess Road, Durham 919-973-4089 www.gocciolina.com Hours: 5:30–10 p.m., Tuesday–Saturday The CLOSED sign was on the door at Gocciolina, Aaron Benjamin’s little Italian restaurant in an unassuming plaza on Guess Road, but the phone was ringing nonstop on a recent Monday afternoon. Intermittently, a cell phone in the chef-owner’s pocket would also jangle. With […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Piedmont pop-up to feature Chef Justin Burdett
Durham’s Piedmont will set aside its menu on Tuesday when it becomes a pop-up to showcase the talents of Chef Justin Burdett. Most recently of the acclaimed Ruka’s Table in Highlands, North Carolina, which closed in January, Burdett is renowned for a dynamic style that deploys modern cuisine inspired by Southern traditions with exquisite technique. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Daniel Benjamin provides extraordinary, everyday indulgences at lucettegrace
lucettegrace235 S. Salisbury St., Raleigh 919-307-4950 www.lucettegrace.com Hours: Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m.–7 p.m.; Friday–Saturday, 8 a.m.–9 p.m. Daniel Benjamin grew up in a small town in Indiana where the fanciest dessert was an éclair from Dunkin’ Donuts. It was huge, crusted with chocolate and stuffed with processed kreme. It reeked with the unmistakable taste of regret. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
All Joe Kwon wants for Christmas is a rock star kitchen
Joe Kwon has been a very good boy this year. The cellist for the Avett Brothers has only one request of Santa and he’s really hoping the big man will come through. “I just want to cook in my new kitchen,” sighs Kwon, who hopes he and his fiancé will move into the home they […]