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

The Fiction Kitchen is now open at 428 S. Dawson St., serving dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Owners Caroline Morrison and Siobhan Southern plan to add Sunday brunch by the end of the month.

The brunch service will no doubt open to a ready-made following. Morrison and Southern have been catering a vegan brunch at The Pinhook, a private bar in Durham, for nearly three years now - out of a borrowed kitchen, which explains the rather unusual name of their establishment.

They kept that name for their brick-and-mortar location, where they're cooking their seasonally evolving menu with a strong emphasis on local and sustainable produce in a real - albeit small - kitchen. The bulk of the offering is vegan, though a number of dishes can be adjusted for a less restricted vegetarian diet. These options are clearly denoted on the menu, as are gluten-free dishes.

Regardless of dietary lifestyle, you're likely to find temptations among a varied offering that currently includes NC apple fritters with bourbon-agave syrup, root vegetable chips with edamame hummus, chipotle soy "tinga" tacos, and a coconut curry of seasonal vegetables. Throw in a full bar with six local brews on tap and a seasonally changing cocktail list (Troy & Sons moonshine and blackberry jam, anyone?), and you can count me in.

Please send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net.

This post is by John Frank, our craft beer columnist:

WINSTON-SALEM Evan Ruff traveled three hours from South Carolina to sleep on the sidewalk outside Foothills Brewing on one of the coldest nights of the year.

Behind him , Chris Ransom of Boone huddled close to a camping stove, stirring hash browns and sausage for shivering friends from Tennessee and Alabama.

And toward the back, where the line stretched about 200 people long, Jason Wirgas and Ashley Duman stood bundled in 20-degree temperatures after driving 11 hours straight through the night from Tampa, Fla.

All for one thing: Sexual Chocolate.

The provocatively named, award-winning Imperial Stout from Foothills is one of the most coveted beers made in North Carolina.

Hundreds of craft beer enthusiasts pilgrimaged from across the Southeast Saturday for the beer's once-a-year bottle release at the brewpub in downtown Winston-Salem. The 22-ounce bottles cost $15 and typically sell out in hours. The Internet re-sale value tops $60.

Here are a few upcoming craft beer events across the Triangle:

• Beer Extravaganza
  5-8 p.m. Friday at Southern Season in Chapel Hill
  The gourmet food store at University Mall is hosting a party to celebrate its first-ever homebrew competition. Local breweries and vendors will offer free tastings. The competition winners are announced at 7 p.m.
• Small Batch Brew Bash
  4 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday at Carolina Brewery in Chapel Hill
  The brewery is partnering with All About Beer magazine for an event featuring new small batch beers and food pairings. It coincides with the debut of the brewery's 18th anniversary and the release of a new Anniversary Ale, a Belgian Witbier, or wheat beer. Tickets are $25. For more information visit carolinabrewery.com.
• Lonerider Brew-It-Forward Competition
  March 23, Moore Square in Raleigh
  Lonerider announced details for its fifth annual homebrew competition. The deadline for homebrewers to enter is March 15. Go to loneridershowdown.com for details. The big party to announce the winner is a week later in downtown Raleigh.

This post is from John Frank, our craft beer columnist. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @byJohnFrank.

Food Network star Alton Brown will be coming to Durham as part of the N.C. Science Festival.

"An Evening with Alton Brown: The Science of Cooking," will be April 18 at the Durham Performing Arts Center. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 8.

Tickets can be purchased online at DPACnc.com, or by calling the DPAC ticket office at 919-680-2787 or via Ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000.

Ticket prices haven't been posted yet online. But you can spend $125 to attend the show and a special meet-and-greet after the show, plus reserved seating and a science festival t-shirt.

UPDATE: Ticket prices range from $20 to $65, or of course the special package for $125 mentioned above.

If you are still in need of Valentine's Day plans, here are a few interesting options.

* Instead of fighting to get a reservation on Valentine's Day night, Herons restaurant in Cary is offering its Valentine's Day tasting menu with wine pairings all week long.

From Feb. 11-16, diners can enjoy a special meal featuring Rappahannock River oysters, purple yam soup, butter-poached lobster, beef and a milk chocolate custard for dessert. The dinner costs $95. Wine pairings cost an additional $40. To make a reservation, call 919-447-4000.

If diners would like to spend the night at The Umstead Hotel and Spa, home to Herons, the hotel is including chocolate dipped strawberries and a half bottle of sparkling wine with one night reservations from Feb. 8-17. For more information about The Umstead and Herons, go to theumstead.com.

Consider ordering a romantic dinner to enjoy at home.

*The Matthews House, a special event space in Cary, is offering a gourmet meal for two for $100. The meal includes rolls, salad, an appetizer, main course, sides, dessert and a dozen roses. For $25 more, you can take home a bottle of champagne. To reserve your meal, call 919-467-1944.

*Foster's Market in Chapel Hill and Durham is offering a three-course take-out meal for two for $75. The entree options include a ribeye steak, chicken Marsala with wild mushrooms, a vegetarian lasagna or a Maine lobster stuffed with rock shrimp. (The last option costs an additional $25.) To see the complete menu, go to fostersmarket.com/menus/special-menu/. Orders must be placed by Monday. To order in Durham, call 919-489-4114. To order in Chapel Hill, call 919-967-3663.

Or take your sweetie on a food tour.

Taste Carolina is offering a series of dinner, drinks and desserts tours across the Triangle.

There are four possible routes in Raleigh. Those include Piebird, Market Restaurant, Escazu Artisan Chocolates and Tyler's Taproom; Chuck's, Calavera, Sitti and C. Grace; Bida Manda, Sitti, Jibarra and Foundation; and a beer lovers' route: Busy Bee, Raleigh Times Bar and Natty Greene's.

There are two possible routes in Durham. Those include Dos Perros, Bull City Burger & Brewery, Alley 26 and Whiskey; and L'Uva, Tyler's Taproom, Toast and Whiskey.

In Chapel Hill and Carrboro, the route will be Acme, Vimala's Curryblossom Café, TOPO Vodka Distillery.

The tours are from 5-8:30 p.m. and cost $62.50 per person. To register, go to tastecarolina.net or call 919-237-2254.

Consider enjoying a meal inspired by the last one served on the Titanic.

The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences is currently hosting a Titanic exhibit. And the museum's The Daily Planet Cafe is being transformed into the ship's first-class passenger dining room. Diners also be entertained by a performance featuring love story narratives that emerged from the ship.

Dinner starts at 6 p.m. with a cocktail hour featuring Titanic-inspired drinks, including the "Iceberg Martini," "Night Sky," and "St. Germaine & Champagne." A three-course dinner will follow. The price is $50 per person plus a pass to see the Titanic exhibit that can be used at a later date.

(Specialty cocktails are NOT included in the ticket price.) To purchase tickets, visit rockytophospitality.com/about/gift-cards.php

This post was written by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

Bella Mia has reopened under new ownership, just a few weeks after the original owners closed the restaurant in late December. The interim was an intensive training period for new owner Dan Morrison and his staff, who were learning the ropes from former owner Rick Guerra and his family.

A key area of focus was the coal-fired pizza oven, whose 900 degree heat can turn out a pizza in 90 seconds and leaves little room for error. Prior to the restaurant's closing, Guerra's sons Anthony and Louis had mastered the technique so well that Bella Mia earned my selection as Restaurant of the Year in 2011.

Judging by the two pies I've sampled so far since the restaurant's reopening, it looks like the new pizzaiolo crew are fast learners. It probably doesn't hurt that Morrison , a native of Long Island, is a friend of the Guerras and has been one of the restaurant's biggest fans since its inception.

"I know that the pizzas are the heart of the business," Morrison says. "There's no way I'm messing with them."

But he does plan to expand the menu a bit to include a few panini and pasta dishes. And he hopes to add lunch service, possibly as early as February 15. Naturally, that depends on how quickly he's able to train a new pizza baker for the lunch shift.

The restaurant is still located at The Arboretum, 2025 Renaissance Park Pl., Cary.

Greg Cox can be reached at ggcox@bellsouth.net.

What’s On Tap

Foothills’ Sexual Chocolate Release Party

5 p.m. Friday at Foothills Brewing Company in Winston-Salem.

The first keg of this limited beer is tapped at the pub downtown and 22-ounce bottles go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Line begins forming when the pub closes at 2 a.m.

World Beer Festival - Raleigh ticket sale

Thursday, online at allaboutbeer.com.

The 2012 event in Moore Square Park sold out, so don’t wait long to get tickets. Festival features two sessions. General admission: $45 VIP tickets: $75

Queen City Brewers Festival

1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday at Neighborhood Theatre in Charlotte.

The North Davidson district (NoDa) plays host to a celebration of Charlotte’s craft beer scene. Tickets for both sessions are sold out.

My colleague Austin Baird takes a look at the Raleigh craft brewing scene in today's Midtown Raleigh News: "Drink up, Raleigh, a lot of people are counting on you. Not that that’s a bad thing. An already vibrant local beer scene, centered around six established breweries inside city limits, will welcome three new brewpubs in the coming months. The idea, of course, is simple enough. Make good beer. Have a good place to drink it. But there are plenty of differences."

Read his mini-profiles of Trophy Brewing, Raleigh Brewing Company and Crank Arm Brewing here.

Of the many ingredients in Page Skelton’s tangy Cackalacky Spice Sauce – including the secret ones – one is missing: ginger.

Skelton compensates in his newest venture, showcasing the spicy root in a unlikely but delectable collaboration with Fullsteam Brewing Company’s founder, Sean Lilly Wilson. Together, the longtime friends and beer lovers produced Cackalacky Ginger Pale Ale.

The copper-hued, malt-forward, subtly spiced GPA (as it is called) debuted Sunday at the brewery in Durham with a fanfare befitting the zest of the two local companies. The launch party celebrated National Kazoo Day-eve and included Cackalacky-spiced chicken wings.

“This takes our brand beyond just a spice item and into a lifestyle item,” Skelton said. “It’s a way to go beyond whatever we’re being defined as.”

Click "Read More" for the full column.

One of the most sought-after beers brewed in North Carolina debuts Friday at Foothills Brewing in Winston-Salem. 

The first keg of Sexual Chocolate, a rich Russian Imperial Stout, is tapped at 5 p.m. at the brewery's pub downtown and once the bar closes at 2 a.m. the diehards begin camping out overnight to buy 22 ounce bottles that go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The beer won silver at the World Beer Cup in 2010 and its sister, Bourbon Barrel Aged Sexual Chocolate, took gold the same year at the Great American Beer Festival.

The bottles are $15 a piece and limited to four per person. They sell out within a couple hours.