Triangle grocery stores have lots of good deals this week:

*At Harris Teeter, pick of free McCormick taco seasoning, along with good deals on Heluva Good Dip (17 cents), Vlasic Pickles (24 cents), Lipton Tea (44 cents), French's Yellow Mustard (50 cents), Ball Park Franks (82 cents), and Arnold Pocket Thins (94 cents). Also be sure to check out the many BOGO offers. Many are good deals but don't be fooled by others.

*At Lowes Foods, look for nice deals on Sanderson Farms chicken breasts, Edy's fruit bars, Tribe Hummus, Alexia rolls, Weber barbecue sauce , along with Arm & Hammer laundry detergent and Scott toilet paper.
There's also a new instant-savings Kraft promotion that makes it possible to snag Kraft Mac & Cheese and Kraft barbecue sauce for just 50 cents each and Philadelphia cream cheese for 75 cents.

*At Food Lion, there are good deals on Ragu pasta sauce, Knorr sides, Lipton Tea, Mueller's pasta, Weight Watchers entrees, and Banana Boat sunscreen, along with sweet corn and limes.

*And at Aldi, strawberries, onions and watermelon are all good deals.

Keep reading for a long list of this week's top deals at Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods, Food Lion and Aldi -- with and without coupons.

Look for lots of good deals at Kroger this week on produce, boneless chicken breasts and chicken leg quarters, Green Giant canned vegetables, Kroger-brand soda, Cool Whip, Kroger-brand cream cheese and Pepsi 2 liters.

It's interesting to note that none of these deals requires a coupon, which is significant since the chain stopped double coupons in the Triangle one week ago. Read about the coupon policy change HERE.

The best coupon deals of the week are on Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce -- just 67 cents each when you buy three -- and Ball Park Franks for 88 cents each when you buy two.

While the chain has promised over-all lower prices, shoppers in other areas where double coupons were previously discontinued have reported through social media that the lower pricing was short lived. Let me know what you think about Kroger's pricing in the comments section below this post.

Keep reading for this week's top deals at Triangle-area Kroger stores.

Triangle grocery stores have lots of good deals this week:

*At Harris Teeter, check out the dozens of BOGO and Buy 2, Get 3 Free deals. Paired with coupons, many of them are a terrific deal, including Lance Crackers, Ore-Ida Potatoes and Tuttorosso Tomatoes. There are also stellar deals on Harris Teeter shredded cheese, Yoplait Yogurt, Dr. Oetker frozen pizza and Eight O'Clock Coffee.

*At Lowes Foods, be sure to check out the great deals on Fresh Express bagged salad (free!), along with nice deals on meat, sliced cheese and 2 liter sodas. There are also several opportunities to earn gasoline rewards.

*At Food Lion, there are good deals on apples, potatoes, lettuce, bagged salad, tomatoes, Birds Eye Voila dinners, mustard and Turkey Hill ice cream.

*And at Aldi, pick up cucumbers for 39 cents each, bagged salad for 59 cents and a five-pound bag of baking potatoes for $1.29.

Keep reading for a long list of this week's top deals at Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods, Food Lion and Aldi -- with and without coupons.

Yelp NC Triangle and Eschelon Hospitality are hosting a party on May 19 to benefit the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.

From 8-10 p.m. at Zinda restaurant in downtown Raleigh, the party will feature food samples from all five of Eschelon Hospitality restaurants, free cider, beer and wine as well as entertainment by Head Over Heels performance troupe, Simple Bliss massage therapists and caricature artists.

The event is called Yelp Billionaires Club and is free and open to the public with a donation of two or more canned goods per person. Last year's event, raised 1,500 pounds of food, enough to provide 3,298 meals, according to Yelp senior community manager Christina Gates.

For more information about the event, go HERE.

Look for great deals at Kroger this week on produce, including green beans, zucchini, red potatoes, several apple varieties, and greens -- all for 99 cents per pound.

There's also a 50 percent off sale on Perdue boneless chicken breasts.

And a sad reminder: This week is the last to take advantage of double coupons at Kroger. The chain will no longer double coupons in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia as of May 12.

Keep reading for this week's top deals at Triangle-area Kroger stores -- with coupons and without.

Triangle grocery stores have lots of good deals this week:

*At Harris Teeter, check out the dozens of BOGO deals. Paired with coupons, many of them are a terrific deal, including Quaker cereal for 69 cents per box, Smart Balance milk for 59 cents per half gallon and Finish Gelpacs for $1.64 per box. Without coupons, score Skippy peanut butter for $1.74.

*At Lowes Foods, be sure to check out the great deals on Ball Park hot dogs and Sanderson Farms chicken breasts, along with Mrs. Paul's fish, Wholly Salsa and California Olive Oil. There are also several opportunities to earn gasoline rewards.

*At Food Lion, there are good deals on boneless chicken breast (just $1.79 per pound), along with some nice produce deals, including 20-cent limes, 50-cent cucumbers, 59-cents-per-pound sweet potatoes, 79-cent mangoes and 79-cents-per-pound Roma tomatoes.

*And at Aldi, pick up avocados for 59 cents each, along with mangos and heads of lettuce for just 69 cents each.

Keep reading for a long list of this week's top deals at Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods, Food Lion and Aldi -- with and without coupons.

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

Fondue restaurant Little Dipper (905 W. Main St.; 919-908-1023; littledipperfondue.com) has opened in the old Taverna Nikos space in Brightleaf Square.

The restaurant is the second in what now officially becomes a chain - and a chain with what appears to be a winning formula, at that.

The original Little Dipper opened in 2005 in Wilmington. The restaurant's historic waterfront location, combined with its made-for-date-night specialty, have made it a popular dining destination.

In Durham, the converted tobacco warehouses of Brightleaf Square fill the romantic-setting bill quite nicely.

The other half of the equation takes the form of an almost bewildering variety of fondues, cooked in pots over burners built into custom-made tables. The menu offers half a dozen variations on cheese fondue alone, from classic Swiss to Baja cheddar (spice it up with jalapeños if you dare).

Entrees are even more diverse. Individual fondues are offered as a mix-and-match combination of 12 proteins and vegetables, and six cooking styles (from chicken broth to peanut oil to Asian firepot). Entrees for two (The Full Moon, to name one: two lobster tails, filet, sashimi tuna, shrimp and chicken) and for four are also offered.

In the they've-thought-of-everything category, vegetarians sharing a table with meat-eaters can even request a separate cooking pot.

Rounding out the experience is an extensive list of dessert fondues, from simple chocolate (dark, white or milk) to Fluffernutter. You can optionally spike your fondue with the liqueur of your choice, or walk on the wild side and go for the Aztec: dark chocolate with Patron Café XO, cinnamon and red chile.

Little Dipper is open for dinner every nignt but Monday.

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.

Look for great deals at Kroger this week on produce, including 99-cent pineapples, 99-cent blackberries and 99-cent-per-pound apples in several varieties.

There's also a nice deal on boneless chicken breasts for $1.99 per pound.

But the biggest Kroger news is the grocery chain's decision that it will no longer double coupons as of May 12. Read about Kroger's coupon policy change HERE.

Keep reading for this week's top deals at Triangle-area Kroger stores -- with coupons and without.

Do you feel like you spend way too much at the grocery store? Tired of paying outrageous drugstore prices?

Registration is now open for my next coupon workshop, a three-hour class on Saturday, June 15.

Learn how to save 50 percent -- or more -- in this fun and fast-paced class. On top of that, we'll feed you breakfast and send you home with a nice bag of freebies.

I'll be teaching this class, covering basic and advanced coupon techniques, in Raleigh at The News & Observer's downtown offices, 215 S. McDowell St.

The half-day session will include information on:

This is a chance to see first-hand and show your children what life is like on almost 40 farms across the Triangle. The tour is 1-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

You can ride a covered wagon to see buffalo roaming the fields at Sunset Ridge Buffalo Farm in Roxboro. You can see the fainting goats and vineyards at the Winery at Iron Gate Farm in Mebane. You can see a worm composting demonstration at Turtle Run farm in Graham.

Or choose an experience at 36 other farms in Alamance, Chatham, Durham, Orange and Person counties.

Tickets cost $25. You need one ticket per carload of people. Advance tickets can be purchased at Weaver Street Markets, Chatham Marketplace and Harmony Farms, or online at carolinafarmstewards.org/pft/. On the day of the farm tour, tickets costs $30 or $10 per individual farm.

The tour is co-sponsored by Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and Weaver Street Market.