Here are a few beer tastings from our Pintful columnist John Frank:

Big Boss Tap Takeover
Friday at Village Draft House, 428 Daniels St., Raleigh
A few specialty Big Boss beers and cask offerings are the featured guests at a tap takeover event, including a six-month aged Countess Raspberry Ale and a limited batch Monkey Bizz-ness, a delicious Belgian ale. Info: villagedrafthouse.com

Lonerider Release Party
5 p.m. June 26 at the brewery’s taproom, 8816 Gulf Court, Suite #100, Raleigh
The new Hangman Barley Wine from Lonerider Brewing features twice the malt, hops and yeast of the average ale. It debuts at the Hideout at the brewery. Info: loneriderbeer.com

Sourfest
June 27 at Busy Bee Cafe, 225 S Wilmington St., Raleigh
Once the purview of bottles, sour beers are getting a tap showoff at the craft beer bar in downtown Raleigh. More than a dozen sour beer kegs will fill the lines, including a few select offerings, such as Thirsty Dog’s Cerasus Flanders and Bruery’s Sour in the Rye. Info: busybeeraleigh.com

Tune in tomorrow to read John Frank's column about a Charlotte man who tried to educate his palate by tasting 500 different beers.

Here's a list of upcoming food events, food tours and more across the Triangle:

Canal House Lunch
Cooks & Books Lunch with authors Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton. 1 p.m. June 19. $75. Fearrington Village, 2000 Fearrington Village Center, Pittsboro. 919-542-3030. www.fearrington.com.

Cookbook Signing
"The Animal Farm Buttermilk Cookbook" with Diane St. Clair
4:30 p.m. June 20. Free. Southern Season, 201 S. Estes Drive, Chapel Hill. 877-929-7133. www.southernseason.com.

Farm-to-Table Dinner to benefit Wake Forest Farmers' Market
6:30 p.m. June 24. $65 includes iced tea, coffee. $20 wine pairings. The Fire Pit BBQ & Smokehouse, 950 Gateway Commons Circle, Wake Forest. 919-562-0020. www.firepitnc.com.

Click on READ MORE to see the entire list.

Each week, we check in with the manager of a local farmers market.

This week, Adrienne Bashista with the Chatham Mills Farmers’ Market shared this list of what will likely be for sale this weekend: green beans, beets, carrots, cabbage, leeks, fresh onions, fingerling and red potatoes, herbs, fennel, green and red tomatoes, peaches, mushrooms, cucumbers, scallions, kale chard, squash and zucchini. They also expect to see cheeses, cut flowers, beef, chicken, goat, veal, lamb, rabbit, pork chorizo, bratwurst, salami, eggs, fresh breads, cinnamon rolls and homemade jams.

This Saturday, The Abundance Foundation will sell baked goods and tickets to a July 14 harvest dinner at Oakleaf restaurant. Tickets cost $40. Proceeds benefit the foundation and market. Info: theabundancefoundation.org.

The market meets 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, April 13-Nov. 23. It is at 480 Hillsboro St., Pittsboro (on the lawn of historic Chatham Mills). Info: chathammillsfarmersmarket.com.

If you want to find a farmers market near, check out our interactive database: goo.gl/jgibS.

The Triangle Raw Foods, a food truck and delivery service, has launched an online fundraising campaign to open a cafe.

Owners Jane Howard Crutchfield and chef Matthew Daniels have been in business since May 2011. They hope to follow in the footsteps of Cocoa Cinnamon and The Parlour, who used “crowdfunding” campaigns to open brick-and-mortar business in downtown Durham. The couple is trying to raise $25,000. If they don’t reach their goal, all contributions will be refunded. Info: www.igg.me/at/TRFcafe.

You can help Fuquay-Varina resident Craig Partin become a finalist in the 46th Pillsbury Bake-Off.

Partin is a semifinalist in the “Simple Sweets and Starters” category for his malted milk ball peanut butter cream squares. The public has until June 27 to vote for Partin and others to decide the finalists at this year’s bake-off. To vote, go to pillsbury.com/BakeOff/Voting-Home.

Partin has experience on his side. He was a finalist at last year’s Pillsbury Bake-Off.
Durham resident Niyati Mukherjee has been named a finalist in the “Amazing Doable Dinners” category with her recipe for roasted garlic and mushroom flatbread. She will travel to Las Vegas in November, where judges will crown the next winner who will take home $1 million.

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

People who took their dads to Shula’s 347 in the Sheraton Chapel Hill for a Father’s Day steak dinner on Sunday were in for a big surprise. The night before, hotel management had converted the restaurant into One Blue Hill (One Europa Drive; 919-969-2157), a contemporary Southern concept.

The fact that it’s a hotel restaurant obliged to serve its guests necessitated the overnight conversion, and the dining room makeover is still a work in progress. I’m guessing a lot of memorabilia from NFL coaching legend Don Shula, the previous restaurant’s namesake, will have to come down.

But chef Ches McLane, a veteran of more than 30 years in hotel kitchens from Santa Fe to Knoxville, already has his menu in place. The chef’s preference for sourcing locally is reflected in an inaugural offering that includes pecan-crusted Ashley Farms chicken, Heritage Farms pork chop, and local sweet potato cheesecake.

Other temptations include black-eyed pea hummus with icebox pickles, chicken and potato gnocchi “dumplings,” and an open face grilled pimento cheese sandwich topped with arugula salad.

And, of course, the obligatory shrimp and grits. McLane amps his version up with smoked kielbasa and bacon.

One Blue Hill serves lunch and dinner daily. Breakfast which had formerly been served in the hotel lobby, will move to the One Blue Hill dining room this weekend. The restaurant doesn’t have a website yet, but you can follow them on Twitter: @OneBlueHillNC

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:

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:

A July opening is targeted for the opening of Jimmy V’s Osteria + Bar (420 Fayetteville St.; 919-256-1451; jimmyvsraleigh.com) in downtown Raleigh. Located adjacent to the Sheraton Hotel, the restaurant will offer a menu inspired by the hearty Italian-American fare favored by its namesake, the late NC State basketball coach Jim Valvano.

But the offering won’t be limited to steaks and spaghetti with oversize meatballs. Executive chef Scott Chatterton’s menu will cover a broad spectrum of options, from appetizer pork belly bites to seafood risotto to wood-fired pizzas with quail egg and duck confit among the topping options.

Burger aficionados will be tempted by - and Wolfpack fans will no doubt wax nostalgic over - the Whittenburger, whose topping options include Nueske bacon, fried egg, avocado and aged cheddar.

Jimmy V’s will have a full bar, and because of its connection with the Sheraton, will serve three meals a day.

The restaurant (which is not affiliated with Jimmy V’s Steakhouse in Cary) will further honor its namesake by donating 2.5% of proceeds to the V Foundation, the cancer research organization Valvano helped to found in 1993.

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.

You can spend Friday, June 21 night sipping wine and tasting food from Empire Eats' downtown Raleigh restaurants, and support the arts.

Visual Art Exchange is hosting a "Taste of Summer" wine tasting and fundraiser from 6-9 p.m. Friday at its downtown Raleigh art gallery.

Attendees will get to meet local artists, view artwork from across North Carolina and get a chance to enter a raffle to win one of several prizes, including landscaping services, a downtown Raleigh adventure package (museum passes, restaurant gift certificates) and a spa and hotel package at the Umstead Hotel in Cary.

The selected wines will be available for sale during the event, with a percentage of proceeds going to VAE's programs for artists.

Tickets are $25 each. Tickets available online at goo.gl/3coFG or through the gallery by calling 919-828-7834

Chef Steven Devereaux Greene of Ãn in Cary is offering a five-course meal at the King's Daughters Inn, as part of its pop-up restaurant series.

At 6 p.m. next Thursday, June 20, diners will enjoy these courses: cocktails and canapes; hamachi tartare with yuzu, cucumber, coriander, barley and aged white soy; sea scallops with tapioca, Asian pear salad, ginger puree and Thai coconut; lamb with marbled potatoes, preserved lemon and seven-spice honey; and goat cheese cheesecake with pickled strawberries, Szechaun dust and moscoto sherbet.

The dinner costs $100 per person (tax and gratuity included) and $25 for optional wine pairings. To reserve your seats, go to goo.gl/FV3zo.

To learn about more pop-up dining events at the King's Daughters Inn, go to the website, thekingsdaughtersinn.com, and click on Special Events.

Just in case you missed it: Greg Cox, our restaurant critic, gave 5 stars to An in a recent review. making it one of only a handful of Triangle restaurants with a coveted five out of five stars. Go HERE to read it.