Welcome to Friday Night Bites, your weekly roundup of local food and drink news and events. Have a tip for us? Email food@indyweek.com.

NEWS

Slingshot Coffee Co. Launches Coffee Sodas
Raleigh’s Slingshot Coffee Co. announced the opening of a new thirteen-thousand-square-foot production facility in downtown Raleigh’s Anchorlight complex, and with it, the roll-out of its new line of coffee sodas. The black cherry cola and citrus vanilla cream flavors were inspired by co-owners Jenny and Jonathan Bonchak’s favorite fountain drinks. Each is crafted using certified organic and Kosher, directly traded coffee, sweetened with fruit juice and natural cane sugar. Slingshot Coffee Sodas will hit store shelves in the Southeast this month and will retail for $2.99.

Durham Food Hall Reveals Vendors
The Durham Food Hall, one of four Triangle food halls opening this year, is slated to open in early winter 2018 in Durham’s Central Park District. The fifteen-thousand-square-foot space on the first floor of Liberty Warehouse will house two bars, two private event spaces, and ten vendors, including tacos from Ex-Voto Cocina Nixtamal, Neopolitan pizza from Napoli Pizza & Gelato, North Carolina oysters from Locals Seafood Market and Oyster Bar, and dessert flights from Afters. So far, nine vendors have been confirmed; the tenth stall will be a rotating six-month pop-up vendor.

Taco Bell Cantina Comes to Raleigh
Taco Bella Cantina, Taco Bell’s upscale fast-food-plus-booze concept, has officially opened on Hillsborough Street. Expect to find Taco Bell staples alongside shareable plates and nacho fries, all of which you can wash down with boozy slushies and craft beer. Surprisingly, it doesn’t suck as bad as you might think.

EVENTS

Tacopalooza Food Truck Rodeo and Competition
 The RDU Mobile Food Association (RDUMFA) will host its second annual Tacopalooza food truck rodeo and competition on Sunday, August 19 at Knightdale Station from noon to 4:00 p.m. Twelve food trucks, including Poblanos Tacos, Holy Mole, Tacos Las Gringas, and La Republica, will vie for “Best Taco” bragging rights. Admission is free; attendees purchase tacos directly from each food truck and vote for their favorite to crown the People’s Choice winner. If you can’t get enough tacos, sign up for the taco-eating contest onsite ($10 to enter); whoever eats the most tacos in three minutes gets a trophy and a $50 gift certificate to spend at any RDUMFA truck.

Eat Well, Reduce Waste at DUFFestival
Bull City Burger and Brewery and Pompieri Pizza announced the first Durham’s Underutilized Food Festival, or DUFFestival, which will take place on Sunday, August 26 from noon to 4:00 p.m. on the restaurants’ shared patio. The idea was born out of a staff trip to a local farm where farmers had food they couldn’t sell due to its appearance or the lack of a market for it. Instead of letting small “fingerling”-size sweet potatoes and pasture-raised pork spare ribs go to waste, BCBB rescued the food to prepare and serve at DUFFestival. Ribs, sides, and sweet potatoes will be sold for $10 per pound; beverages, including a sweet potato RyePA brewed for the event ($6 a pint), will be sold separately. Click here to RSVP. For the full menu, visit BCBB’s Facebook event page.

Dinner in the Meadow Benefits Small Farms
The fifth annual Dinner In the Meadow benefit will take place on Sunday, September 9 at Meadow Lane Farm. Triangle and regional chefs will prepare a farm-to-table feast, and all proceeds benefit the Leonard-Mobley Small Farm Fund, which provides grants to support small farms. Confirmed Triangle talent includes Serge Flacoz-Vigne of Saint Jacques, who will prepare haricot d’agneau, a French dish of spiced lamb with sautéed green beans; Sean Fowler of Mandolin, who will make Moroccan spiced roasted lamb flatbread with sweet potato hummus; and Kevin Goller of Pompieri, who will serve vegetarian lasagna with butternut squash ragu and handmade mozzarella. Buy tickets here.

BITE OF THE WEEK

If my Instagram feed is any indication, my summer diet consists of a steady rotation of ice cream and pie (my previous Bite of the Week entries support this). In a quest to sate my weekly ice cream craving (excluding the weekend, no judgments, please), I stopped by Two Rooster‘s newest location, currently in pop-up mode in its permanent space inside Person Street Plaza. This being my first Two Roosters experience, I asked for way too many samples before choosing a flavor from both “The Regulars” (Blackberry Hibiscus) and “The Guests” sides of the menu. “The Guests” is a monthly roster of flavors united around a themed collaboration—August’s is bakeries (fair warning, baked treats are my fall-winter weakness). I loved Union Special Bread’s Buttered Croissant & Blueberry Jam and was tempted by Boulted Bread’s Chocolate Brownie & Fudge, but the flavor that really got me was Southern Sugar Bakery’s Sea Salt Chip Cookie Dough. It’s like the cookie dough of my youth all grown up. Two Roosters’ vanilla base is amply studded with glorious chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough flecked with sea salt. I must have it again. And I’ve got just two weeks (and weekends!) to do it.