Vivace at North Hills will offer "La Vigilia," a seven-course seafood menu with optional wine pairings, at dinner during the week leading up to Christmas. It's the restaurant's observation of an Italian Christmas Eve tradition in which diners await the midnight birth of Jesus. The number of courses varies from city to city in Southern Italy. Details and reservations: http://www.vivaceraleigh.com/

Chef culture leans toward punk rock. That’s what happens when you keep the same hours as rock stars: Work late. Party into the wee hours. Sleep ... more

Today's Epicurean column (http://www.newsobserver.com/lifestyles/dining_clubs/epicurean/story/1327902.html) includes an excerpt from my annual list of restaurants that are open on Christmas Day. Here's the full list, below. I'll add more as I learn of them. And as always, feel free to add your own contributions.

Carolina Crossroads

The Carolina Inn, 211 Pittsboro St., Chapel Hill

918-2777

www.carolinainn.com 

Crabtree Grill

4500 Crabtree Dr., in the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley, Raleigh

781-7000

http://marriottmodules.com/raleigh_marriott_crabtree_valley/crabtree_grill/

Fairview

The Washington Duke Inn, 3001 Cameron Boulevard, Durham

493-6699

www.washingtondukeinn.com 

Fearrington House

2000 Fearrington Village Center, Pittsboro

542-2121

www.fearringtonhouse.com 

Fujisan

8411-105 Brier Creek Pkwy., in Brier Creek Commons, Raleigh

806-2888

www.fujisansteakhouse.com 

The Grove Café

421 S. Salisbury St., in the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, Raleigh

834-9900

www.sheraton.com/raleigh 

Herons

100 Woodland Pond, in The Umstead Hotel and Spa, Cary

447-4200

www.heronsrestaurant.com 

Il Palio

The Siena Hotel, 1505 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill

918-2545

www.sienahotel.com 

Irregardless Café

901 W. Morgan St., Raleigh

833-8898

www.irregardless.com 

Penang

431 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill

933-2288

www.penangnc.com

Posta Tuscan Grille

500 Fayetteville St., in the Marriott City Center, Raleigh

227-3370

www.postatuscangrille.com

Red Lotus

239 S. Elliott Road, Chapel Hill

968-7778

www.redlotusasiankitchen.com 

Windows at the Franklin

311 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill

442-9000

www.franklinhotelnc.com 

Don Shula’s appearance last night in Chapel Hill was one of the nicest social events of the year. Not only did he make a few remarks to note the official opening of Shula’s 347 Grill at the Sheraton on Europa Drive, attendees put down enough bids on some Carolina and Miami Dolphin memorabilia and gifts to raise more than $5,000 for the UNC Children’s Hospital.
The restaurant, named for Shula’s record of 347 wins, (still the most ever in National Football League,) is his 29th nationwide since opening his first in 1989. His son, Dave Shula, actually presides over the family’s corporation, but Don and wife Marie still enjoy touring the holdings and making public appearances.
"When I went into coaching, I wanted to be the best. I’m proud getting the most wins, proud of the perfect (17-0) season and back-to-back Super Bowls," he said. "The restaurant business is totally different, but we still want to be the best. We want to serve the best meal in the world and the most satisfied customers."
Shula’s 347 is a hybrid of a sports bar and high-end steak house. Fittingly, Tuesday’s soiree featured a mix of crab cakes, beef filets, prawns, raw oysters and steamed mussels on the half-shell, smoked and soft cheeses, crudités and fruits. Guest were offered a commemorative bottle of Shula's Special Steak Sauce as they left.
Shula’s place atop the coaching pyramid was enough to draw a sizeable number of sporting types to the opening — from UNC coach Butch Davis and his wife Tammy to football alums Ken Huff and Ted Elkins to Lynda Baddour (flying solo for UNC Athletics, since her husband was with the UNC basketball team in Detroit at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge).
Shula’s relationship with Davis goes back to Butch’s time with the Miami Hurricanes. Shula drew applause when lauding Davis, as did master of ceremonies Ron Stutts.
"From 4-8 to 8-4 in one year … that’s pretty good," Shula noted.
There were plenty of reps from the local entertainment and tourism industries among the more than 100 attendees, including Top of the Hill founder Scott Maitland; the Sheraton’s Wes Collins (Director of Sales) and Nitin Khana (General Manager); Anthony Carey, General Manager of the Siena; marketing guru Dave Gephart; and Laurie Paolicelli, executive director of the Chapel Hill-Orange County Visitors Bureau.

I met a friend for lunch last week at Buns, the new burger joint at 107
N. Columbia St., where Jersey Mike's subs used to be. This guy is a
married man I know from church, and he joked that we shouldn't tell
anyone the name of the place, or they'd think it was a strip club.
Turns out Buns just makes a damn good burger. They also serve coconut pineapple, carrot, and red velvet cakes -- but no cheesecake.