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

Last year it was Doolin’s in Durham and Doherty’s in Cary. Hibernian opened a new location in North Raleigh while, just up the road, Saints & Scholars gave the area its first half-Irish, half-Mediterranean menu. In Wake Forest, Pat Murnane’s opened in the old Oh’ Mulligans space.

Now Chapel Hill is riding the wave. Fitzgerald’s Irish Pub (206 W. Franklin St.; 919-240-4560; fitzgeraldschapelhill.com), which opened last week on Franklin Street, is the second location of a popular Charlotte watering hole.

The new pub builds on the winning formula of the original: 24 beers on tap, lots of sports TVs, and a menu that covers all the expected bases from Reuben to fish and chips. The unexpected, too, with options including a Hawaiian entree salad, chicken “Riggies” (grilled with sweet and spicy peppers) and a selection of six variations on the slider theme.

Fitzgerald’s serves lunch on Saturday and Sunday (opening at noon for the time being), and dinner nightly.

Elsewhere, Murphy’s Law (in the form of construction complications) has delayed a couple of other Irish pub openings.

Sprinkler system changes necessitated by an interior makeover have pushed back the opening of a second Trali in Morrisville. Originally slated for March, it’s now looking like early- to mid-June.

Work continues on bringing the original Hibernian on Glenwood South back from the ashes, too. Owner Niall Hanley hopes to reopen a bigger, better version of the pub with a rooftop patio later this year.

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.

Once a year at the N.C. General Assembly, beer and politics and the politics of beer blend like a summer shandy at the “Rush the Growler” party.

For me, it’s a can’t miss – combining my “day job” covering politics for the newspaper and my “night job” writing about craft beer. And the growler event showcases the evolving mindset at the Statehouse toward beer – particularly craft beer – since 2005 when lawmakers “popped the cap” and lifted the alcohol limit from 6 percent to 15 percent. Click here to read the column and get an update on beer-related legislation this session.

Go HERE to read the review.

Triangle chefs can now apply to compete in this year’s Fire in the Triangle cooking competition.

The single-elimination, Iron-Chef style competition will be held at 1705 Prime in North Raleigh from July 8-Aug. 19. Chefs have to apply by June 1 to being among the competitors. The chefs who will be competing will be announced June 24. For the application, go to goo.gl/MSdwh.

Fire in the Triangle is one of six culinary competitions held across the state and organized by the state agriculture department’s Got To Be N.C. campaign. The winners of each regional competition will compete in a final cook-off in Raleigh in November.

The public will not be able to make reservations to dine at one of the Triangle competition’s meals until mid-June. For more information and to eventually book a reservation, go to competitiondining.com.

Farmhand Foods, the small wholesale distributor of local, pasture-raised meats, has changed its name to Firsthand Foods.

When the Durham company filed its trademark application in 2011, it received a “cease and desist” letter from S.F. Investments, Inc, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods. Farmhand Foods’s co-founder Jennifer Curtis said Smithfield claimed that her company’s trademark was too similar to Smithfield’s brand, Farmland Foods.

While Smithfield-brand pork products can be found in Triangle grocery stores, its Farmland line of pork products are not typically sold within 200 miles of Raleigh. (I have seen them in Missouri and Iowa.) Federal officials had given initial approval for Farmhand Foods to use its name and trademark but Curtis said Smithfield Foods still planned to sue over it. Curtis said her small company couldn’t afford the $60,000 to $100,000 in legal fees it would have cost to fight it.

Curtis’ co-founder, Tina Prevatte, said in a press release: “After a year of trying to protect the rights to use our name, we decided to embrace Firsthand Foods as our new name and focus on growing our markets, supporting the farmers in our network, and continuing to help build a robust local food system here in North Carolina.”

So what does Smithfield have to say about the dispute? Keira Lombardo, Smithfield’s vice president of investor relations and corporate communications wrote in an email: “There was a trademark dispute between Farmhand Foods and SF Investments, which was amicably resolved under a confidential settlement agreement and which involved Farmhand transitioning to a new name.”

As of May 1, Farmhand Foods is now Firsthand Foods. Their products are available at Weaver Street Markets, Chatham Marketplace, LoMo mobile market, The Raleigh Wine Shop and the MAE Farm Meats stand at the State Farmers’ Market in Raleigh. You may be more familiar from their products via their food truck, the Sausage Wagon.

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.

La Farm Bakery owner Lionel Vatinet is hosting a longtime friend and fellow baker Dominique Homo who will be teaching two baking classes in Cary next week.

Both men are master bakers, originally from France. Both men coached the American team when it won its first gold medal in 1999 at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, an international baking competition.

Vatinet, who has settled in Cary where he and his wife started the successful La Farm Bakery, has invited his friend to teach two classes:

• From 5:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, Homo will teach how to make a traditional enriched dough like a Viennoise dough and pate brisee, used to make apple tarts or quiche.
• From 5:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, Homo will teach how to make pate sablee, a dough used to make fresh fruit tarts, and beer bread using Fullsteam’s Pale Ale. Sean Wilson, owner of the Durham brewery, also will offer a beer tasting and discuss his line-up of local beers.

Each class costs $75. To reserve a spot, call 919-657-0657.

Raleigh chef Ashley Christensen is hosting another series of Stir the Pot events next May 19 and May 20.

On Sunday, May 19, guest chef Steven Satterfield of Atlanta's Miller Union and Christensen will be cooking up a five-course meal with wine pairings at her flagship restaurant, Poole's Diner. The meal starts at 7 p.m. and costs $150 per person.

On Monday, May 20, Christensen is hosting a potluck and film screening at CAM Raleigh, the contemporary art and design museum at 409 W. Martin St. Tickets cost $35. Guests are asked to bring a side dish or a dessert to share. Special guest and filmmaker Joe York will be on hand to show his work.

The events benefit Southern Foodways Alliance's documentary film projects. Tickets for both events are available at stirthepotluck.com.

Few people in the beer world are more recognizable than the man with the easy grin and salt and pepper beard. Charlie Papazian looks a bit like the “most interesting man in the world” character from the Dos Equis commercials. And he is a star in a mostly anonymous industry. I talked to him about the North Carolina craft beer scene in this week's column. See link below.

Also: Mystery Brewing opened its long-awaited tap room last week in west Hillsborough. The Public House, as founder Erik Lars Myers put it, “will serve as the main public face of Mystery and carry every beer we produce.” It also will serve other craft beers from around the world, a testament to Myers’ refined tastes. It is open 4 p.m.-midnight weekdays and noon-midnight Saturday and Sunday.

The other big news from Mystery: It’s going primetime. The seasonal-only brewery is a contestant on a new CNBC show called “Crowd Rules,” in which emerging businesses compete to win $50,000. The show debuts Tuesday, and Mystery Brewing will compete in the second week, May 21, against two other businesses.

Read more in this week's Pintful column.

This is a guest post by beer columnist John Frank. Read his Pintful column HERE.

What's on Tap:

Grand Opening Party at Steel String in Carrboro
6-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday at the brewery
Steel String Craft Brewery officially opens Wednesday, but it will celebrate this weekend with two days of craft beer, music and food. The parties require $25 tickets. The brewery’s regular hours: noon-2 a.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-10 p.m. Sunday. Info: steelstringbrewery.com

Olde Hickory Tap Takeover
Friday, Village Draft House in Raleigh
A special cask of the Hickory craft brewery’s acclaimed Death By Hops, with added Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand, is the featured beer. Others from the eclectic brew pub’s lineup on tap, too.

Triad Craft Beer Week
Through Saturday
Greensboro and Winston-Salem are showing off their craft beers this week with a variety of events. On Saturday, City Beverage in Winston-Salem will offer a cask of Liberty Steakhouse, big winners in the recent Carolinas beer competition. Check other Triad breweries for more events. Info: triadbeerweek.com