Top Chef Texas finalist Lindsay Autry (pictured at right) is coming to Cary to cook a special dinner on Sept. 7.

Autry will cook with her former co-worker, Steven Devereaux Greene, the executive chef at An New World Cuisine in Cary.

Autry and Greene worked together in Charleston, S.C. and Greenville, S.C. Autry most recently worked as an executive chef at one of James Beard-award-winning chef Michelle Bernstein's restaurants in Florida. Autry, a Fayetteville native, was a contestant on Top Chef Texas.

The five-course meal with wine pairings will cost $125 per person, not including tax or gratuity. The menu includes:

• Amberjack crudo with celery salad, toasted soy, radish and ceviche vinaigrette.
• Butternut squash soup with lamb dumpling, pomegranate puree and curried crème fraiche.
• Grilled octopus with crispy bread, caper leaf remoulade and charred chickpeas.
• Berkshire pork loin and belly with Okinawan yam, romanesco sauce and cassia caramel.
• And for dessert, heirloom apple tart with wild huckleberry jam, sesame-walnuts and maple ice cream.

Dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. Reservations are required. Call 919-677-9229.

(photo credit: photographer Alissa Dragun)
 

Go HERE to read his review of this new Italian place in Waverly Place.

The American Legion Baseball playoffs begin Thursday across Eastern North Carolina with eight Triangle-area teams in action. The first-round best-of-three series continue through Saturday. All games start at 7 p.m. unless noted.

The Area I West Division first-round match-ups are:

(1) Raleigh Post 1 (12-5) vs. (4) Pittsboro (3-9)
(2) Apex Post 124 (9-5) vs. (3) Durham Post 7 (8-10)
(1) Johnston County Post 71 (16-4) vs. (4) Creedmoor (3-10) - Thursday at Smithfield-Selma High (7:30); Friday at South Granville; Saturday at Smithfield-Selma High
(3) Garner Post 232 (19-8) vs. (2) Cary Post 67 (8-9) - Friday at Cary High; Saturday at Garner; Sunday (if necessary) at Garner

View Triangle Expressway in a larger map

The second leg of the Triangle Expressway will open Aug. 2, extending the state's first modern toll road south from Research Triangle Park to U.S. 64 in western Wake County.

At the same time, an existing leg of the 540 Outer Loop will lose its toll-free status. (7/10/12 update: See today's Road Worrier column with reader comments and TriEx toll rates.)

I'll be reporting on this Monday.  Do you expect to drive on this new leg of TriEx?  If so, I would like to hear from you.  Please email me with your name and workday contact info, so I can catch up with you on Monday.

The first leg of TriEx opened in January (red on the attached map), extending NC 147 south from Interstate 40 through Research Triangle Park to the 540 Outer Loop.

The second new leg (blue on the map) will extend the 540 Outer Loop south from N.C. 55 to U.S. 64 in Apex.  The third leg (purple on the map), now under construction, opens in December.  It will reach farther south to N.C. 55 at Holly Springs.  Off ramps are marked on this map with yellow icons.

Also in August, the N.C. Turnpike Authority will start collecting tolls on an established section of NC 540 (green on the map) between N.C. 54 and N.C. 55.  This road was built separately, but state and federal officials agreed to make it part of the toll road as a means of connecting what otherwise would be two separate tollroads:  Triangle Parkway through RTP (red) and the road once known as the Western Wake Expressway (blue and purple).

Many RTP commuters who squeeze through Apex on NC 55 every morning will welcome TriEx as an Apex bypass.

Brian Ceccarelli and his lawyers advanced a big step toward victory over Cary and its red-light camera program this week when a Wake Superior Court judge certified their lawsuit as a class action, adding thousands of drivers as candidates for refunds of their $50 red-light-running tickets (see today's story with reader comments) if Cary eventually loses the case. The class action designation may give Cary a new incentive to settle out of court.

Meanwhile this week, the House of Representatives breathed life into legislation that would outlaw red-light cameras in the only four remaining cities that use them: Raleigh, Cary, Knightdale and Wilmington. The Senate approved it in April 2011, but the House shelved it.

The bill sponsor, Republican Sen. Don East of Pilot Mountain, is a former Winston-Salem police officer who argues that drivers should be able to cross-examine the officer who gives them a traffic ticket.

“You ought to be able to say, ‘Officer, are you right sure that light was red?’” East said last year during floor debate.  His legislation would not merely bar towns from using red-light cameras -- it would make it a misdemeanor for anyone to use them.

The House revived his bill this week and sent it to the Appropriations Committee. Ceccarelli's lawyer, Republican Paul Stam of Apex, serves as the House majority leader.

East's argument could carry new weight this year, as Cary deals with a separate problem involving a camera that cranked out 31 undeserved tickets at one intersection before the malfunction was discovered.

Go HERE to read Greg's review about this new restaurant in downtown Cary.

Two McDonald's restaurants in the Triangle are hosting coupon swaps today, June 21. So sorry for the short notice!

The swaps will be held at the following McDonald's from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.:

• 3508 Millbrook Road in Raleigh
• 1830 Walnut Street in Cary

After a trial run in the spring, both restaurants have decided to hold the swaps on the third Thursday of every month.

If you've never attended a coupon swap, I highly recommend it. It's a great way to gather extra coupons for the products your family regularly uses.

To participate, simply gather your unwanted clipped coupons, put them in an envelope and bring them to exchange with others. Envelopes are typically passed around the table until everyone has had the chance to look through all the envelopes.

For those of you interested in saving money on clothes without sacrificing fashion, there's a new place to hunt for one-of-a-kind bargains.

My Girlfriend's Closet, already a popular resale destination in downtown Apex, has opened a new shop in downtown Cary.

My Girlfriend's Closet Boutique opened today (Thursday) in an 1,800-square-foot space at 100 Parkthrough St., said Lois Cozart, who owns both shops, along with a small retail space in Wilmington.

Krave Restaurant and Lounge, a new late-night spot in Raleigh's Glenwood South area, will celebrate its grand opening at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The restaurant, which opened at 510 Glenwood Ave. in the former Red Room location, is offering an iPad-based menu of small plates. (Go HERE to see the menu.) The restaurant is open Tuesday-Saturday starting at 5 p.m. The full menu is offered until 4 a.m. on the weekends. Late-night, it becomes more of a lounge atmosphere with deejays.

Here's a little about the owners from the press release:

Michael Rattenni, chairman of Triumph Group Management, an operations and management service company dedicated to fitness and hospitality, has partnered with entrepreneur, Daniel Lovenheim, CEO of Twilight Entertainment Company, who has more than a decade of experience owning and operating hospitality venues.

UPDATE: Rattenni's business parter in Triumph Group Management is Scott Higginbotham, who helped open Unwine'd in Cary. (HERE is a post I wrote earlier about that wine bar.) Rattenni is the owner of all three Rapid Fitness gyms in Raleigh, including a new location downtown.

Whole Foods in Cary is hosting its beer and barbecue festival from 3-6 p.m. Saturday.

You can purchase seven beer tasting tickets for $5 or pay $10 for unlimited beer tasting. Barbecue plates with pulled pork, coleslaw and a roll cost $7 each. Proceeds benefit the Western Wake Farmers' Market.

Some participating breweries include Aviator Brewing Co., Carolina Brewing Co., Lone Rider Brewing Co., Foggy Ridge Cider, Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery, Foothills Brewing, Red Oak Brewery.

The Whole Foods in Cary is at 102 New Waverly Place. For more information, call 919-816-8830