The St. Albans at North Hills recently secured about $100 million in construction loans financing. The 6-story building will contain 410 apartments, “several pools”, a 48K square foot Harris Teeter, and about 52K square feet of retail. According to TBJ the complex will have a parking deck and a separate elevator that will take tenants to and from Harris Teeter. The apartment rents will start at $925 per month.

The complex is in all likelihood the building at the bottom of the photo featuring the scaled down North Hills East project. (scaled down when compared to the renderings on this page). The project was originally planned to be bigger, provided tax increment financing could be secured. (The TIF debate was a key topic with the Raleigh City Council last year, but ultimately did not receive support from many council members).

The N&O reported today the death of Edwin Flythe, founder of Flythe Cyclery on Peace Street. The store is one of the last-standing piece of old-Raleigh retail, and its German facade has always added to the character of downtown. Flythe Cyclery is now its third generation and is one of the few bike stores around with friendly, humble help.

Flythe battled prostate cancer for many years, but finally succumbed last week. He was 94.

Ordinarily a new McDonald’s is nothing to get too excited about. In fact, I believe the last time I ate a lunch or dinner at one was in 1986. However what’s interesting about the McDonald’s going into the Celebration at Six Forks shopping center is the site itself. As in…it’s terrible!

McDonald’s is usually known for its incredible site selection. Few of the stores actually close and one of the reasons is their ability to scout a site and pounce before everyone else does. In fact, some businesses simply save money and follow McDonald’s coattails when choosing a site.

Celebration at Six Forks is a 1980-born shopping center in a huge area of Raleigh that has gone a long time without a McDonald’s. Currently the nearest stores are the drive-thruless Falls Village store, the former McCafe store at Spring Forest/Falls of Neuse, the Six Forks/Wake Forest Road store, and the Millbrook/Glenwood Ave. store. Certainly a chain as large as McDonald’s would be interested in a stronger North Raleigh presence. This particular section of North Raleigh, though, was long-since pioneered by McDonalds’ chief competitors. There is a Wendy’s virtually across the street. A mile or so to the north, at what was once the six forks (hence the name), Hardees, Char-Grill, and Chick-Fil-A have all staked their claim.

Not only is McDonald’s late to the party, they picked a treacherous site formerly occupied by the free-standing Record Bar/Tracks store. Because the property is secured by a 15-foot retaining wall, it towers beyond effectiveness over Six Forks Road.

Ultimately I’m sure this McDonald’s store will do fine. However, it will be interesting to watch the chain built on its consistency overcome an inconsistent site selection.

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Currently under construction next to the Beltline at North Hills is the new Renaissance Hotel. The chain is a boutique line within the Marriott chain, and is a desperately needed addition to Raleigh’s underwhelming hotel portfolio. The hotel will likely open in early 2009, but already has two websites (corporate, local).

The rooms in the North Hills Renaissance will be outstanding. Each will have free wired and wireless high speed internet access, a 37″ high-def TV in the room (with jacks for accessory connectivity), a 15″ high def TV in the bathroom, refrigerator, safe, and 300 thread-count sheets. The hotel will have complimentary parking as well as 7,590 square feet of meeting space and a 5,430 square foot ballroom. Hotel guests will also have direct interior access to the adjacent Gold’s Gym Athletic Club, and to Natural Body Spa, a European-style day spa.

The exterior touches are coming together, and it appears that many of the Alexan’s features, such as window proportions, moldings, and colors, will be continued in the Renaissance. One welcome difference is the use of a textured, artificial stone. Hopefully the color selection and textures will prevent the complex from becoming a “beigemoth”. A material mockup of the exterior can be seen from the middle parking level of the old JCPenney deck.

Unconfirmed reports say that the penthouse level to this hotel will not only offer superior views of downtown, but will also feature short ceilings and countertops in an attempt to cater toward chic, wealthy dwarves. Word is that these rooms will actually carry no room charge, and will be referred to as the “Stayfree Mini-pads”.

The 2008 ASID Designer Showhouse opens today at 2611 and 2615 Rolston Drive. The show runs through June 1. Advance tickets are $15, Door $20, Run-of-Show $30. All proceeds go to Hospice of Wake County.

Charlie Goodnights will host Dave Attell on July 18 and 19 for 4 shows only. Tickets are on sale now.

From 10am to 2pm tomorrow, Triangle Mom2Mom will be sponsoring a party at Marbles Museum ($5 admission applies). There will be music by Trish Miller, Sandbox Band, Cotton the Clown, Food, and the site’s bloggers.

Saturday, May 1, marks the return of the Downtown Raleigh Home Tour. In its 4th year, the self-guided tour showcases the variety of housing options available in downtown, including historic properties, single-family homes, apartments, and condominiums. Information about projects both planned and under construction will also be available.

Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased in advance by cash or check at the Raleigh Urban Design Center at 133 Fayetteville Street. Children 12 and under are admitted free. Tickets also can be purchased the day of the event.

Presumably due to the weather, tonight’s beach music concert at North Hills will be rescheduled for a later date in the summer.

August 21 is the day when supreme coolness hits Cary’s Booth Amphitheater. G. Love and Special Sauce will be playing along with The John Butler Trio. Tickets are $27.50 advance, $29 day of show, and go on sale May 17 at 10am at Ticketmaster outlets. Lawn chairs and blankets are allowed.

The Booth Amphitheater will bring in three of the biggest acts of the 90’s. Collective Soul, Blues Traveler, and Live are coming on August 16.  Tickets are $60 reserved, $30 lawn, and go on sale May 9 at 10am. Lawn chairs and blankets are allowed, but the crowd will likely be SRO.

He’s free from The Wallflowers, and he’s coming to see us. On Friday, June 6, Jakob Dylan will play at the Lincoln Theatre.

During the past two summers, Dave Rose, Andy Martin, and the gang at Deep South Entertainment have put together bang-up series of free concerts in Moore Square known as Bud Light Downtown Live. This summer, seven concerts comprise the schedule:

• May 31 - The Wailers with Saunter, Pete and J, and Jive Mother Mary
• June 14 - Cravin Melon with Pete Francis (of Dispatch)
• June 28 - Carbon Leaf with Colourslide, Bill West & the Sunshine Kids
• July 12 - Alter Bridge with Tantric, The Ts, Kennebec, and Cori Yarckin
• July 26 - Old 97s
• August 9 - Brian Howe [of Bad Company (gen II)] with Jim Bianco
• August 23 - Puddle of Mudd with Eve 6, and Saving Abel

Ahhh Cinco de Mayo; the day where people like to focus on Mexico’s history, food, and drink. Welcome to my world. In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, I felt it would be appropriate to feature my favorite new Mexican hangout, Birrieria Jalisco. The name, quite simply, implies that the restaurant uses its Guadalajaran influence in serving birria, a delicious spice goat stew (Guadalajara is the State Capital of Jalisco in Mexico - map it). The restaurant is a spiffy, new, cozy retreat in the New Hope Church Road Wal-Mart parking lot, and is brought to us by the Los Tres Magueyes owner. Don’t be confused, however. This joint is the real deal.

In the time I’ve had to visit Birrieria Jalisco, I’ve been the only non-Hispanic person in the place. In fact, nothing on the menu is in English. The service is fast-casual. The fully-visible kitchen is spiffy, and the jukebox is loud. The food is the real hit, though.

What drew me toward the restaurant is the experience Dean at VarmintBites had. His excitement about the Birria (pronounced BEER-ee-uh) was understandably contagious. Set in a red pepper base, this goat stew is delicious, with just the right amount of pepper to keep you warm on a cold day. On the side is a fantastic little relish place featuring radishes, white onion, cilantro, and lime. I was excited later to find the relish plate is standard fare with all dishes.

Another fantastic entry in the Caldos (soups) menu is the Pozole, a hominy and pork stew. Surprisingly, the addition of lettuce to the soup made the taste of lettuce come alive in a way I’ve never experienced. Other soups on the menu are Caldo de Res (beef shank), Caldo Siete Mares (seafood), Pescado (fish), Camaron (shrimp), and Pollo (chicken).

These are big soups that would serve a couple well as an appetizer. For those moving on to entrees, figuring out where to go from here on the menu requires at least three levels of college Spanish, but the staff goes out of their way to help answer any questions to their fullest linguistic abilities.

We’ll keep it simple and move on to Tacos. The tacos are on soft tortillas, just like those served at Los Cuates, another neighborhood favorite. The fillers available include Carne Asada (steak), Al Pastor, Carnitas (pork), Chorizo, Tripa, Cabeza (cow head), and Lengua (tongue).

Most of these meats are standard taqueria fare, but the Al Pastor stands out. It is (from Wikipedia),”marinated during one or two days with a blend of different spices and herbs (such as adobo), and then slowly cooked on a vertical rotisserie called a Trompo (lit: spinning top), often with a pineapple on top. When ready, the meat is then thinly sliced off the spit with a large knife.” The Al Pastor is absolutely delicious, however I do not recommend a total dining commitment to the meat because it is quite greasy.

Sopes is the next logical step in the menu. Another favorite in Guadalajara, the sopes are (from Wikipedia) “made from a thickish, small circle of fried masa of ground maize soaked in lime (also used as the basis for tamales and tortillas) with pinched sides. This is then topped with refried beans and topped with crumbled cheese, onions, red or green sauce (salsa, made with chillies or tomatillos respectively) and acidified cream.” The filler meats are generally the same as with the tacos; same with the Gorditas and Tostadas.

The restaurant also has a nice selection of Tortas (mexican sandwiches). To be honest, venturing into the menu any more is going to take several visits for me.

It’s great to have so many new, different Mexican restaurants cropping up. Birrieria Jalisco offers some dishes we haven’t seen in other restaurants, in a very clean setting with a warm, inviting attitude. There are a few concerns that linger each time I visit, though. Though unrealistic, I have been trained through the years to expect chips and salsa while I wait for my entrees. These are not offered, though the entrees are actually very large. The other concern is the overall greasiness of the food. The Al Pastor, as previously mentioned, is far too greasy, but other meats and fried tortillas tended to be a little greasy, too. Most importantly, the jukebox is the loudest I’ve ever heard, and is a real distraction from the food or fellow diners.

Overall, though, I have no concerns about this restaurant. With the growing Hispanic population in that neighborhood, the demand for Birrieria Jalisco’s outstanding food makes the little birrieria’s future bright.

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A rumor I’ve heard from a few reliable sources is that Yancy’s will move its live music operations to the former Hideaway BBQ location on Capital Blvd (map it). Word is that the loud, live music is a problem for people living in some of The Hudson’s condo units.

If this is true, it’s sad because the Yancy’s people put a lot of money and energy into sound dampening and audio-visual gearing for the Hudson site. We’ll see how this one turns out.

According to Sue Stock’s column this morning, the Atlanta-based Flying Biscuit Cafe is coming to Cameron Village (presumably where Hold Your Own was). The Flying Biscuit is an awesome little sandwichy, breakfasty little joint that is not pretentious, and actually leans a little toward the granola side of things.

Raving Brands bought the neighborhood joint a couple of years ago and is beginning to turn these mothers out. Hopefully they will give us a better product this time around.

Not to be missed (in fact, we’ve planned Atlanta trips around this) are the Love Cakes.

Three black bean & cornmeal cakes, sauteed and topped with a tomatillo salsa, sour cream, feta cheese & spears of red onion.

We’ve actually made these at home and truly love them as a side dish to something like Ropa Vieja or something else Hispanic. Here’s the recipe.

The Flying Biscuit has five Atlanta area locations and one in Charlotte.

One of downtown’s projects we’ve all been anticipating for a while has a new name. The Sidetrack Brewpub, which has chronicled its creation on its website, got a cease-and-desist letter this week from a Chicago lawyer. Apparently someone has acquired a trademark on the word “Sidetrack”.

The new name will be The Boylan Bridge Brewpub, and the new website, under construction, will be boylanbridge.com.

Tomorrow marks the May edition of First Friday in downtown Raleigh. The event is really catching some momentum as more people realize how great it is to get out and poke around looking at art. To be honest, I want list all of the galleries’ showings here, but a full listing is already at downtownraleigh.com, so check theirs out and have a great First Friday!

Wilco is coming to Cary’s Booth Amphitheatre on August 8. The presale for tickets begins at 10:00am this morning. General public tickets go on sale Friday.

The article this morning by the News & Observer’s Jack Hagel mentions an early 2010 completion date for the Soleil Center. Work is currently being done on the supporting foundation for the 480-foot residential and hotel tower.