DOWNTOWN RALEIGH FIREWORKS!!

Another FIRST for Raleigh.  For the first time, the Fourth of July Fireworks will be held downtown on Fayetteville Street.  There is a HUGE FREE event beginning at 12Noon downtown with all sorts of activities, music, and food.
Check out the link for more information:  www.raleighconvention.com/works/

If you are driving in from outside Raleigh and don't feel like driving back late at night, book a room with us at the Oakwood Inn Bed & Breakfast.  We are only a 20 minute walk from the downtown activities,

Plan ahead and book now, check out our website for availability:  www.oakwoodinnbb.com.
GO ONLINE TO GET BEST RATES!

Gary

TriangleTransit - Taking The Bus To Work

Well, it was one week on Thursday that I began taking the bus to work at Duke University Medical Center,  Fabulous!  That is the best word to describe the experience thus far.  I walk 15-20minutes in the morning to the bus stop on Wilmington and Martin (near the Busy Bee restaurant).  Get on the bus with my GoPass.  Take a seat in a spacious, air-conditioned bus with free Wi-Fi that makes four additional stops before my stop at Duke South.  In the morning it takes me about 10 minutes longer to get to work, in the evening about 20  minutes.  BIG DEAL!

It was cost me $52 per month to park at Duke and take a shuttle bus to my office.  It was costing me about $45-$50 per week in gas.  The cost to get a monthly Pass for the bus is $85; however, my employer, like many, is picking up the tab to ease the severe parking issues at Duke.  It cost me nothing, only to walk and wait for a bus ride.  Do the math!

Besides, I need the 15-20 minute walk twice daily walk for exercise.  At work the walking is a washout, same with the bus as when I drove a car.   I don't even have to pay for my exercise opportunity like many people who belong to a gym!

The ride is comfortable.  The buses are 95% on time; give or take 5 minutes.  The drivers are helpful and nice!  The passengers welcomed me to they "club".  Some are even entertaining... like a sitcom!  You can get some work done on your laptop, read a book (or Kindle), or sleep like I did for about 30 minutes on the ride home.  Oh yeah, I forgot.... starting in July some of the bus routes will allow the buses to travel on the highway shoulders if the traffic is too congested and not moving.

THE TRIANGLE BUS SERVICE IS ONE OF THE BEST KEPT SECRETS!  From what I read the ridership has doubled over the past couple of years.... and I can see why.  With the price of gas you can save enough money on gas and wear and tear on your care to give you a nice little raise.

I'm not sure if all of our bus services in the city are the same as the TriangleTransit, like the CAT, but if they are, Raleigh and the surrounding areas on the road to success with public transportation.

Check out the TriangleTransit website for more information:  http://triangletransit.org/about/

Gary

"IRON CHEF" TYPE COMPETITION IN RALEIGH THIS SUMMER

Fire in the Triangle Competition

Sixteen local chefs will be competing in the first Fire in the Triangle dining competition this summer.   

Using a bracket system like that in sports, it pits chefs against one another in "Iron Chef-style" battles with a twist – the audience/diners get to eat and vote! Their votes make up 70 % of the total score, with the judges' panel only counting for 30 percent. 

Diners will not know which chefs made which dishes.  Emcee Jimmy Crippen said diners are urged not to try to figure out which chefs made each of the six dishes.  "Just vote your palate," Crippen suggested. 

Voting will also be easy. Diners can scan a QR code and vote on their smartphones. Paper and pencil voting will be available for those who don't have a smartphone.

The format is simple: Chefs arrive at the restaurant, 1705 Prime, which is located at 705 E. Millbrook Road in Raleigh at Noon the day of the competition.  This is the site for all battles. 

They find out the secret ingredient and must get to work with their two assistants to create three courses featuring that ingredient. They all have access to the same pantry and the same ingredients. They are also prohibited from making anything from their restaurants. 

Their menus are due by 3:30 p.m. and diners start arriving at 6:30 p.m. Dinner is served at 7 p.m. 

This sounds like a wonderful dining experience for anyone who enjoys food and showcases many of the excellent chefs we have in the Triangle.  There are many more great chefs that are not competing!

Tickets for all first round battles are $49 per person.  The price EXCLUDES BEVERAGE, TAX AND TIP.

Tickets can be purchased at http://www.competitiondining.com/events/fire-in-the-triangle

It a single-elimination contest with the winner being crowned on July 31. 

First round match-ups: 

June 11: Shane Ingram (Four Square) vs. Adam Jones (Twisted Fork)

June 12: Adam Rose (Il Palio) vs. Josh Decarolis (Jujube)

June 13: Ryan Payne (Weathervane) vs. Chris Harris (Fork and Barrel)

June 18: Scott James (Midtown Grille) vs. Matthew Hannon (Ashten's)

June 19: John Childers (Herons at Umstead) vs. Chad McIntyre (Market)

June 20: Reto Von Weissenfluh (Mia Francesca) vs. Serge Falcoz-Vigne (518 West)

June 25: Michael Lee (Sono) vs. Dean Wendel (Flights)

June 26: Christopher Hill (The Oxford) vs. Jimmy Reale (The Carolina Inn)

Fire in the Triangle is part of the Got to Be NC Competition dining series. The winner from the Triangle will go on to the "final four" to compete against the winners of the Fire on the Rock, Fire on the Dock and Fire in the Triad competitions.  These two competitions were held earlier this year and the winners from The Rock and Dock have been selected.  The Triad competition is coming up in August and September.  More information on that one as it becomes available.

The last chef standing wins $2,000 and the coveted red chef’s jacket. The runner-up will get $500.

Dock winner Andy Hopper of Chefs 105 in Morehead City said some of the secret ingredients he had to deal with during his battles were strawberry moonshine, grits, Johnston County hams, pasta and quail. 

That doesn't sound too unusual for me, but I'm not picky.  If you happen to be in the Raleigh area, the restaurant is only about 20 to 25 minutes from the Oakwood Inn Bed & Breakfast.  Rent a room, stay the night, and have a wonderful dining experience that is unique and different.  What a nice little gift for your spouse, friend, partner, or significant other.  


A NIGHT AWAY AND A NIGHT OUT!!  Check us out at www.oakwoodinnbb.com.

Gary 

Tea Rooms in North Carolina

Here is a website that has a fairly large list of Tea rooms in North Carolina.
At the Oakwood Inn Bed & Breakfast we offer a tea for a minimum of 10 people.  We generally do birthdays, showers, pre-wedding parties, etc.

Call Doris at the Oakwood Inn and discuss a custom menu with a variety of teas to choose from.  Great time for all who come.  Victoria Home as the setting.

Here is the tea website:  http://www.teaguide.net/tearoomsnorthcarolina.htm

NC Museum of Art presents Word Up: the Intersection of Text and Image

New Exhibit coming.  Stay at the Oakwood Inn B & B which is only 15 minutes away form museum.
Book a night or two with us:  www.oakwoodinnbb.com for lowest online rate, or call 919-832-9712

July 22, 2012–January 20, 2013

North Carolina Gallery

In an era increasingly dominated by mass media and characterized by a constant barrage of information, text has taken on significance as both a conveyor and inhibitor of meaning, particularly when combined with visual resources. Featuring nearly 30 paintings and drawings, including some that have never been exhibited, Word Up: the Intersection of Text and Image highlights the work of six contemporary North Carolina artists with a common denominator in their oeuvres: the use of text in two-dimensional art. Word Up will feature work from Mathew Curran, Lincoln Penn Hancock, Nathaniel Lancaster, Shaun Richards, Gabriel Shaffer, and Derek Toomes.