Washed-up Morrisville outlet mall to get Chinese makeover (via WRAL)

The first jazz composer to win the Pulitzer Prize in music, New Orleans native Wynton Marsalis also was the first artist to win jazz and classical Grammy Awards in the same year. His Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) features 15 of jazz music’s leading soloists, drawing from an extensive repertoire including the masterworks of Ellington, Mingus, Coltrane and other great jazz composers, and original compositions by Mr. Marsalis, Benny Carter, Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, Joe Lovano, Marcus Roberts, Geri Allen, Christian McBride and others. “Extraordinarily versatile…”

– Los Angeles Times

It appears that general public tickets are not available yet. Information should appear on the CPA page as they are made available.

Durham and Bill Cosby have always had a special relationship. Readers may recall that Russell and Anna Huxtable, Cosby’s fictional parents on the show “Cosby”, met in Durham before moving to Philadelphia and then New Jersey. Cosby last performed in Durham during March of 2009.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow (8/5) at 10am at Ticketmaster outlets.

Can we just decline the month of August? This fall is shaping up to be an incredible buffet of live music in the area. If you’re on the fence about this one, go. Evan Dando seems laid back, but is actually a fantastic live performer.

DURHAM’S NEWEST CULINARY INCUBATOR IS NOW OPEN

The Cookery, a commercial kitchen for rent by the hour, is open for business

May 16, 2011 — The Cookery, a professional food production facility located on West Chapel Hill Street, passed it’s final inspections on Thursday and is now opening it’s doors to members.

In order to use the facility, a membership to The Cookery is required.  Food entrepreneurs seeking membership can apply online at www.durhamcookery.com.  Once accepted as an official member, The Cookery staff assists in the processes required by the Durham County Health Department, and members can begin cooking.

“We are very excited to welcome our new members,” said Nick Hawthorne-Johnson, owner of The Cookery.  “Since we began accepting membership applications on April 19th, we have had a broad range of applicants with innovative ideas for the food industry.  I am eager to see what they create for the Durham food scene.”

The kitchen, which will be open to it’s members 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is equipped with a full professional catering kitchen, four full size commercial convection ovens, 40 and 80 qt. floor mixers, secure storage space in the walk-in cooler and reach-in freezers, food truck cleaning and stocking terminals, and a variety of other food production equipment, as well as personal lockers.  Pricing, which includes monthly and hourly rates with discounts for regular users and nighttime hours, is listed on The Cookery’s website.

For more information about The Cookery, visit www.DurhamCookery.com.

This is a fantastic idea that can help centralize and standardize the production of food truck food. It still doesn’t completely quell concerns about food truck sanitation. Even if a food truck owner uses the facility, how does the Department of Health evaluate the cooks’ grooming, holding temperatures, storage procedures, etc. 

The incubator’s About page does nothing to alleviate the problem, either. Why is a guy standing there blowing cigar smoke on a raw piece of salmon? Doesn’t he know this isn’t the proper method for preparing smoked salmon? Is he going to wash that left hand before handling the cigar within it and putting the cigar back into his mouth? (Don’t forget that “24-hour bugs”, almost exclusively, are actually varying degrees of food poisoning.) I am pulling for the creative food truck vendors, but they still need to present more answers about their role with the public health.

Can you say “lipstick on a pig”? First of all, I don’t understand architects’ fascination with pulling rainwater back into buildings. This is a design that has failed time and time again. Secondly, what in the world are we doing dropping a dime into this facility for anything other than tearing it down? The terminal was originally supposed to be a hangar, and got a last minute upfit for short-term terminal space. Renovating this terminal is another step in the airport authority’s history of blowing money hundreds of millions of dollars at a time. There is a reason that people love airports like TPA, they are designed well and handle future growth well.

[Renderings at TBJ]

A few years ago Alexander opened a small sandwich shop in Chapel Hill called “Sandwhich”. The restaurant was tucked way behind what used to be Pyewacket in a space that ultimately didn’t make economic sense. Recently, however, they moved to the restaurant space to the left of McDonalds on Franklin Street, and the rest is history.

Sandwhich is so popular now, it is having a difficult time meeting lunchtime demand. The secret is apparently out about this wonderful food. My favorite item is the turkey sandwich. It contains turkey, excellent tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, and harissa (spicy chili) mayonnaise on sourdough bread. The makes a great sandwich, however Sandwhich adds a twist to make this a Home Run. Before assembly each slice of homemade bread is lightly buttered and grilled on one face. That face becomes the inner face of the sandwich and big surprise to the diner.

The Rotisserie Chicken Salad sandwich is also excellent. IT sits on whole wheat bread. Also worth trying is the Outrageous BLT. Sandwhich’s potato chips are also not to be missed.

Sandwhich has a wide assortment of drinks, however their soft drinks are canned and are presented in an only moderately chilled refrigerator. Another disappointment with Sandwhich is the price. While they are putting much more efffort into their sandwiches than, say, Subway, it still is cost prohibitive for many to seek a $14 lunch very often. Apparently this isn’t a problem for many people, though, as the line runs out the door for lunch on weekdays.

Alexander could easily expand this concept into Raleigh. Places like the old Johnson’s Pharmacy, The open restaurant space in Oberlin Court, or a storefront along Hillsborough Street near Second Empire would all do well. Until then we’ll just have to keep this as a Road Trip Recommendation from gogoraleigh.

The completed project now designates the new terminal with two concourses, C and D (map), though they are technically on the same hallway. The gates that opened in 2008 are on the C concourse, and the gates opening now are on the D concourse. Airports have now gone to new nomenclature with terminals numbered and their concourses distinctly designated with letters.

Terminal 2 is now the host of Air Canada (D5, D9), American Airlines and American Eagle (C17- C18, C20-C25), Continental and Continental Express (D1, D3, D6), Delta and Delta Connection (C1, C3, C7, C9, C14, C15), Frontier (C25), United and United Express (D5, D9), and US Airways and US Airways Express (D10-D13). The following airlines remain in Terminal 1, the one that should have been replaced: AirTran, JetBlue, and Southwest Airlines.

In May 2010, the RDU Airport Authority voted to spend an extra $500,000 in order to accelerate construction so the project could be completed before next week’s NHL All-Star game. Let’s hope that all of the media, tourist, and athletes all arrive in Terminal 2.

The terminal is gorgeous. It is the “first major airport to be constructed with wooden struts”, but those really only encompass the fascinating roof. Much stone is used to compliment the wooden tones in the ceiling, and the attention to detail is impressive. While the overall idea was conveyed with Phase I of the building, the true scale of the roof and use of light could not be appreciated until now. Whether it is with carefully placed artwork, mosaic patterns in the terrazzo flooring, or bag hooks at the bathroom sinks, an impressive number of details were considered in constructing the building.

There was one unfortunate oversight, however: the choice of glass for the ticketing area’s South Wall. Apparently the glass did not filter enough light, so an enourmous curtain was created to tone the intensity of the sunlight that hits this wall most of the day. While the giant white curtain is dramatic, it will likely be dirty and unsightly in a few years.

Terminal 2 will truly be an impressive gateway for visitors and prospective business clients who enter this terminal. For those who do not arrive via the terminal, the building will certainly find its place among citizens’ driving tours for out-of-towners (unlike another award-winning facility that recently opened). Hopefully the airport authority can make necessary changes to Terminal 1 in order to bring it up to Terminal 2′s high standards.

If you are interested in visiting the terminal, be sure to park in the “Hourly 2″ parking area. The entrance bays are to the far left in the deck’s entrance plaza. Parking is $1/hr. You will not be able to access the concourses without a plane ticket, but the atrium and baggage claim areas can still be appreciated by casual visitors.

• SOUTH – Take Highway 64 West out of Cary to Farrington Point Road. Turn right and proceed for a few miles where you will bear left as the road becomes Mt. Carmel Church Road. Pass Governor’s Club’s entrance until you reach the next traffic light, 15-501 sound of town. Turn right to proceed into Chapel Hill or turn left to proceed to the Southern Village Tar Heel Express bus stop.
• NORTH – Take Highway 70 West to Durham and get on I-85 West. After Mile marker 174, take 15-501 South and follow it into Chapel Hill. There is a Tar Heel Express option at University Mall, near Dillards.
• MIDDLE – There are a few options to wind your way into Chapel Hill. If you are in the middle of Raleigh, take I-40 to I-540 South. Proceed until the road ends at Highway 55. Turn Right and then immediately turn left onto OKelly Chapel Road. It will end at 751 where you will turn right. Two lefts later turn onto Stagecoach Road. At its end, turn left onto Farrington Road. Follow it as it becomes Barbee Chapel Road. The next traffic light is Hwy 54, where you’ll turn left. If you want to take the Tar Heel Express bus, take the next left onto Friday Center Drive.

With all of these routes, it takes about 50 minutes to get from Cameron Village to the Tar Heel Expresses mentioned. This is in contrast to the 35 minutes it normally takes on a non-gameday without traffic problems. If you don’t have a place to park reserved for you, your best bet is to go to one of the Tar Heel Express locations and ride the bus to the stadium-side UNC Belltower. (Note that postgame departure points are in front of Fetzer gym, which is 1 block east of the belltower pregame dropoff points).

When traveling over, be sure to use WRAL’s traffic cams linked on their website, and follow my updates on Twitter.

OFFICIAL DOT STATEMENT ABOUT I-40 ROAD WORK

Raleigh on Ice  will offer families and visitors the opportunity to skate at chopping centers:

• November 20 through January 2 at North Hills Commons. The event opens during North Hills’ annual Christmas tree lighting event.
• November 14 thru December 10 at Brier Creek Commons
• December 13 thru December 26 at Triangle Town Center

Winterfest returns to downtown Raleigh

• Real ice rink
• Opening at Winterfest’s grand opening, Saturday, December 4
• Dates, hours, prices, and policies are still unannounced

Nations Restaurant News today has an article reviewing the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s call to evaluate food trucks in the same way brick-and-mortar restaurants are evaluated. While the trucks are popular, there are serious health concerns associated with this model. I’ve asked friends if they know exactly in which bathtub that salsa was made, and it isn’t an esoteric question. The bacteria don’t care what delivery method is used, and they will aggregate in any condition right for them. This includes the perfectly legal restaurant-prepared sandwiches that sit in thermal coolers for longer than 2 hours at sporting events and concerts.

A second issue with the sanitation grade problem is ‘”fairness”. Why should brick and mortar restaurants to have to comply to government regulations that mobile competition can ignore? A slightly different bent on the fairness issue is also the focus of in an excellent article today by Carolina Journal’s Sarah Barrows. She interviewed Raleigh City Councilor Mary Ann Baldwin and asked why food trucks are not allowed downtown. The primary guiding principle for the ban has nothing to do with sanitation, but rather protectionism for brick-and-mortar restaurants. There are even regulations (outlined in the article) for pushcarts that are designed to protect restaurants.

Another article today, by the the John Locke Foundation, questions the government’s role in barring the entrepreneurial spirit of these mobile restaurants. It even cites agreement by Wellspring Grocery founder Lex Alexander. His intention is to revive an empty lot where a movie theater once sat by bringing in a collection of food trucks. The Chapel Hill Town Council, holding a similar stance to Raleigh, won’t allow such an ad hoc food court.

Food trucks have unlocked an apparent gap in the consumer market. Their flexibility and variety make them a huge draw, so much so that they have become a threat to the traditional restaurant model. A consumer can go to a big box store and eat a variety of foods now, and the vendors can adjust their schedules to the kinetic demands of the market. However government regulations so not seem to comply with the demands and needs of the consumer, and should be reviewed as the market for new food options evolves.