This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

Norberto Meccia, owner of the Argentinean restaurant Pampas in North Raleigh’s Lafayette Village, has closed the restaurant after just six months. Citing differences with the landlord, Meccia says he will explore options for a new location.

In the meantime, fans of Pampas’ Argentinean and Cuban fare can get their fix at his other restaurant, Oakwood Café (300 E. Edenton St.; 919-828-5994; oakwoodcaferaleigh.com) in downtown Raleigh. Meccia says that, contrary to earlier reports, he does not plan to sell that restaurant.

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.

This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

Sung Chung, a veteran chef whose 20-year career began in California and has locally included Asuka and Hayashi, has opened Kai Sushi & Sake Bar (7713 Lead Mine Road; 919-870-4923) in Greystone Village.

Chung has given the former Stella Mare space a complete makeover, transforming it from timeworn pizzeria into upscale-casual Japanese restaurant with an understated decor in earth tones.

The sushi offering covers all the bases, including a list of nearly 30 specialty rolls.
Sprinkled in among familiar names like Rainbow, Spider and Volcano, a handful of signature rolls inspired by raw fish traditions of other cultures set Kai’s list apart from the crowd. The Hawaiian Poke Tuna Roll, for instance, and the Peruvian Pearl - which gets a note of authenticity from a South American aji amarillo chile sauce.

Kai’s kitchen menu serves up a few surprises, too, among them a section dedicated to char-grilled robatayaki fare. Other alternatives to the usual tempura, teriyaki and bento routine include tuna hotpot, Korean bibimbap, and broiled-eel-and-grilled pineapple kabayaki.

The bar lives up to the restaurant’s second namesake specialty with a selection of half a dozen or so sakes, including at least one premium unfiltered bottling.
Kai Sushi & Sake Bar serves lunch Monday-Friday, and is open for dinner nightly.

The restaurant doesn’t have a website yet, but you can find it on Facebook.

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.

This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

A second location for Chocolate Boutique (3308 Village Market Place; 919-332-0960; mychocolateboutique.com) will open today, with Grand Opening festivities from 4-8 p.m. The original shop is in North Raleigh’s Lafayette Village.

Offering a wide assortment of truffles and other house-made confections, Chocolate Boutique hosts chocolate parties and caters weddings and special events.

The shop is is the newest entry in a lineup of restaurants and food shops clustered around the new cinema complex in Park West Village.

Which Wich and Lime Fresh Mexican Grill are already serving the before- and after-the-movie crowd. Scheduled to open in coming months are Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar, Firebirds Wood-Fired Grill and WG Kitchen and Bar - an Ohio-based chain offering wine shop, wine bar and bistro under one roof.

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.

This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

Mohamad Kahlout, owner of Petra Grill in North Raleigh, has opened Euro Café (2101 S. Main St.; 919-761-5002) in Wake Forest. His new restaurant is a departure from the kebabs and pita wraps that have made Petra Grill a popular lunch spot.

Think more along the lines of Panera, the chain that Kahlout says inspired Euro Café. “We bake our own breads and pastries, too,” says Kahlout. “But we’re local, and we use organic produce when we can.”

Panini with fillings such as spinach-artichoke and chicken-pesto wouldn’t look out of place on the menu board at a Panera. Nor would a roast beef asiago sandwich, though you’re not likely to get watercress on the chain version.

Entree salads and cavernous bowls of homemade soup round out the savory offering. To top it off, choose from an assortment of cookies, muffins and other pastries. Better yet, a first-rate pistachio baklava - another thing you won’t find at Panera.

Here’s yet another: breakfast. At Euro Café, you can start your day with a homemade bagel with cream cheese. Or pancakes, or a fritatta, or steel cut oats topped with pecans, honey and fruit. And wash it down with a coffee or espresso drink made with beans from LavAzza in Italy.

Euro Café is open Monday-Saturday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The restaurant doesn’t have a website yet, but you can find it on Facebook.

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.

This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

Veteran restaurateur and Vietnamese chef Quan Tran has opened Pho Super 9 (6401 Triangle Plantation Drive; 919-878-1599; phosuper9.com) near Triangle Town Center mall. The chef owned Pho 9N9 in Durham before selling it three years ago, and was a partner in Pho Cali before that.

Tran has given the old Hibachi Express space in Plantation Point Shopping Center a thorough makeover, transforming it into a casual contemporary setting with full table service and a granite bar where, pending permits, beer and wine will be served.

The main draw, not surprisingly, is the Vietnamese beef noodle soup that is the restaurant's namesake. But it's by no means the only attraction. A six-page menu offers a broad cross-section of the Vietnamese repertoire, making Pho Super 9 the chef's most ambitious venture yet.

Pho Super 9 is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant's website is still under construction, but you can find them on Facebook.

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.

Coming up this Saturday, Whole Foods stores in the Triangle will be handing out free eco-friendly cleaners in exchange for a conventional version from your cleaning cupboard.

In honor of Earth Day, the stores will be replacing your laundry detergent, dish liquid or all-purpose cleaner with a natural version from the GreenShield Organic line of products.

Your bottle can be new or nearly empty so if you've been contemplating a switch to green cleaning, this swap is a great way to try an organic product with no out-of-pocket expense.

The exchange runs from:

This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

Lafayette Village was built to look like a quaint European village, but the dining options at the North Raleigh shopping complex have taken on an increasingly international flavor. The newest addition to the roster is Sushi One (8470-100 Honeycutt Road; 919-615-3209), which adds a melange of Asian cuisines to a lineup that already included everything from French crêperie (Simply Crêpes) to Argentinean steakhouse (Pampas, which opened in December).

Owner/sushi chef Larry Yang, who has previously worked at Kanki and Sushi Love, describes the kitchen's offering as Asian fusion. "Other restaurants say they're Asian fusion," he says, "but they're really just Chinese and Japanese and Thai. We do real fusion."

Well, sort of. The menu does indeed include a few fusion creations, but for every Shinkai sea bass or Dynamite noodle there's a dozen or more traditional dishes. Teriyaki, chow fun, Thai curry - in short, pretty much anything you'd find at those other "fusion" restaurants - you'll find it here.

Naturally, that also includes Yang's specialty and the restaurant's namesake. Sushi One doesn't have a website yet, but you can find them on Facebook.

UPDATE: Sushi One's website is now up - sushionenc.com

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.

This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

It’s early spring and, right on schedule, Irish pubs are sprouting up all over the place. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve written that a pub opened “just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day.”

You can add the newest location of Hibernian (8021 Falls of Neuse Road; 919-803-0290; hibernianpub.com) to the list. The North Raleigh pub opened its doors with ten days to spare in the building that formerly housed Duffy’s for a decade. Owner Niall Hanley has given the space a complete overhaul to match the menu, a mix of Irish and American pub fare that now counts house-corned beef among its attractions.

Hanley is also fervently working on the restoration of the original Hibernian on Glenwood South, which was closed by a fire in December. He hopes to reopen by May with a few improvements, including a rooftop patio. I’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile in Morrisville, the opening of a second location of Trali (3107 Grace Park Drive; traliirishpub.com) will miss its originally targeted St. Paddy’s Day opening by just a couple of weeks. According to chef-partner Eamonn Kelly, they’re now hiring staff and are shooting for an early April opening.

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.

This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

DeMarco's (3607 Falls River Ave.; 919-720-4482; demarcosnc.com) opened last week in the Shoppes at Bedford, in the space recently vacated by Anthony's Touch of Italy.

The new owners, a trio of young partners from Greensboro, have given the space a makeover with a more casual feel primarily aimed at families in the surrounding Bedford community.

"Anthony's food was good," says Clay Adams, one of the partners. "But it was the sort of place where people ate once a month. We want to make it into a neighborhood gathering place, where they can come in once a week or more."

To that end, the owners removed the white tablecloths and added a 120-inch projection screen TV. They're offering an affordable menu to match, with most entrees and pasta dishes in the $10-15 range.

Additional enticements will include everything from regularly scheduled food and entertainment specials (including Pizza Night, Eighties Night, and a Kids-Eat-Free Night featuring a cotton candy machine) to a dog-friendly patio.

DeMarco's is currently serving dinner only, Tuesday-Sunday. Plans are in the works to expand hours to include Mondays ("that big screen is crying out for Monday Night Football," according to Adams) and weekend lunch.

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.

This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

Gianni Cinelli, one of the Cinelli brothers of local pizzeria fame, is back in action. And this time he's aiming higher.

Cinelli, whose latest venture (Gianni's in Wake Forest) has closed, has turned his attention to Vivo! (no website yet, but you can find it on Facebook), which he opened in late January in North Raleigh's Peachtree Market shopping center.

An emphasis on scratch preparation is reflected in everything from meatballs to lasagna noodles to fresh mozzarella, made daily. Pastas not made in house are imported from Italy, as are San Marzano tomatoes and cheeses bought by the wheel.

The menu focuses on regional Italian fare, from linguine Amatriciana (authentically prepared with guanciale) to gnocchi bianco in sage-butter-cream sauce to slow-roasted porchetta served with baby red potatoes.

"This time, I want to cook the foods I ate in Italy, before I came to America," Cinelli says. As a nod to market realities, he's also making a few Italian-American favorites - "chicken parm and such, the food a lot of people expect when they go to an Italian restaurant."

Naturally, being a Cinelli, he can't resist offering pizza, too.

Vivo! (7400 Six Forks Road, Raleigh; 919-845-6700) is open for lunch and dinner daily. To see their Facebook page, go HERE.

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.