Quote :

"UberX is what I always understood Uber to be, I didn't even know they had other services."

UberX has only existed as a product in some of the larger markets within the last year or so really. I can't remember using it prior to last summer. And we only had access to Uber-linked taxis shortly before that. Prior to that, for a couple years at least, Uber was a higher end ride service, basically linking towncars and other luxury vehicles to rides. The costs were usually only slightly higher than taxi fares, but WELL worth it in terms of quality, comfort, and professionalism.

4/25/2014 1:37:13 PM

Quote :

"Fuck it I'll use them. They're doing FREE rides for the first 2 weeks, starting today."

Uber is doing free rides too (until May 15), but no facebook requirement

4/25/2014 2:01:50 PM

Appears they may be rolling out the Black service soon. If so, that's good for you all. Though, I wonder if the density of limos vehicles will support the use. I imagine it's more likely to be used in an area like RDU for airport trips, rather than taxi replacement in town. But perhaps it will change the market even in areas downtown where there's more young professionals willing to pay for it as it has done in lots of larger cities.

4/26/2014 10:21:38 AM

Just got back from Brewgaloo and Cuegrass. Easily the most underrated weekend in downtown Raleigh that I can remember. I highly recommend marking on your calendar for next year. They did a great job with it.

4/26/2014 6:24:01 PM

I went to the new Cooper's. It's beautiful inside while retaining the vibe of the original. Everything wrong with the Pit's atmosphere is right with new Cooper's. All my fears were completely unfounded.

GO THERE.

4/26/2014 7:40:24 PM

^That's good to hear. Coopers is my favorite bbq joint in Raleigh.

4/26/2014 8:29:40 PM

CHANGE IS OKAY

4/27/2014 3:07:44 PM

Holy hell, I beat vinylbandit to something

4/27/2014 10:07:19 PM

^5 I heard that Brewgaloo was slam packed and all you did was go from one line to another

4/29/2014 2:31:43 PM

isn't that how all of the mass-produced beer festivals are these days? too many people, too generic of a lineup, too little space and product?

4/29/2014 2:56:04 PM

I had a pretty good time at Brewgaloo, but the lines definitely did blow after awhile. I went looking for the short lines with my last couple of tokens instead of trying to find a specific brewery/beer.

4/29/2014 4:06:01 PM

Brewgaloo was awesome, and damn near doubles every year. I'd rather have 20 of those downtown than another damn road "race" where people clog up downtown and bounce before lunch.

4/29/2014 5:16:46 PM

Yeah I got there around 4/4:30 and it was nice for the first couple hours...but the beer lines got STUPID around 6:30. I can't imagine how bad they were after I left while people were still pouring in.

4/29/2014 5:27:12 PM

Yeah, it's def. got to expand to the side streets and open up more taps next year. Still, it's a great event.

Full disclosure: I own House of Swank Clothing and set up dozens of events in Raleigh each year. Brewgaloo is still one of my favorites, as well as the Oak City 7 concert series and Bluegrass Festival. All very well organized. Raleigh is kicking ass with that sort of thing lately. It's a good thing, but there's gonna be growing pains.

4/30/2014 7:39:44 AM

Quote :

"isn't that how all of the mass-produced beer festivals are these days? too many people, too generic of a lineup, too little space and product?"

Not always in my experience. The Winter Warmer Festival in Asheville this past January had a long line to enter, but after that lines for beer were short. And the beer festival I attended in DC last May by the Nat's stadium had short lines. These are the last 2 beer festivals I have gone to.

(my definition of a short line is one in which the line moves faster than my beer drinking pace )

4/30/2014 8:14:12 AM

Quote :

"isn't that how all of the mass-produced beer festivals are these days? too many people, too generic of a lineup, too little space and product?"

no.

i think you're just getting old

4/30/2014 10:15:43 AM

Quote :

"I own House of Swank Clothing and set up dozens of events in Raleigh each year."

I ordered a few koozies from your website last week

4/30/2014 11:55:46 AM

Quote :

"Brewgaloo was awesome, and damn near doubles every year. I'd rather have 20 of those downtown than another damn road "race" where people clog up downtown and bounce before lunch."

+1

4/30/2014 12:08:30 PM

sorry brah, running is big round here.

5/2/2014 5:12:47 PM

Echoing the new coopers location. I think its fantastic.

5/2/2014 8:53:02 PM

My daughter turned 2 today and her party is tomorrow. The guest list ballooned at the last minute and coopers stepped up to cater it with slightly less than 24 hours notice. mad props.

5/2/2014 11:50:30 PM

Good time at the food truck rodeo yesterday. Weather was great. Kinda like Brewgaloo, most fun earlier before huge crowds showed up

5/5/2014 7:46:31 PM

i will never understand the appeal of food truck rodeos

5/5/2014 7:47:57 PM

It's like going to a buffet, except you can only reasonably get one or maybe two items. You aren't going to sample from all of the food trucks. I don't get it either.

5/5/2014 8:21:12 PM

I can only eat from two trucks before I'm full, and I can find two trucks all the time without having to wait in huge lines.

[Edited on May 5, 2014 at 9:09 PM. Reason : .]

5/5/2014 9:09:31 PM

To me, it was just an excuse to assemble downtown, drink some beer, eat some food, and people watch. Didn't think into it any more than that. It made for a nice scene to spend a beautiful afternoon.

5/5/2014 10:25:37 PM

Ashley Christensen: James Beard Award Winner

she is a queen

5/5/2014 10:58:36 PM

Quote :

"The area where Tarverna Agora resides is most certainly North Raleigh. That's like the archetypical North Raleigh area. Anything north of 540 needs a new label though, like North North Raleigh. (NNR)"

Taverna Agora is in Northwest Raleigh. If you Google "North Raleigh" and look at the map, North Raleigh's boundaries are east of Creedmoor Rd., West of Capital Blvd. (I'd say Atlantic, though), South of 540, and North of 440 - although it's popular to call anything south of Millbrook Rd. "Midtown" now. Not to say Google is definitive, but that's how I'd describe North Raleigh growing up here.

You could also look at the high school districts. Most of North Raleigh falls in Sanderson's district, with a few stragglers on the east side of Falls going to Millbrook. Anything west of Creedmoor is Leesville district.

As far as what's just north of 540, I've always just referred to Wakefield, even though it's not technically all in Wakefield. The high school district for Six Forks / Falls north of 540 is Wakefield.

[Edited on May 6, 2014 at 12:53 PM. Reason : .]

5/6/2014 12:52:36 PM

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2014/05/05/2014-james-beard-awards-chefs-and-restaurants-winners-are/

5/6/2014 3:18:04 PM

Quote :

"Bittersweet, a new dessert, coffee and cocktail lounge, opened this past Friday in downtown Raleigh at 16 E. Martin Street. All of their desserts are made in house by bittycakes and seasonal produce for desserts and drinks comes from Lil' Farm. Their coffee is from Counter Culture and they'll have a full espresso menu as well as organic tea from Bellocq (out of Brooklyn). As they say, think of it as "a place where you can get bourbon with your pie, champagne with your cake and Irish whiskey in your coffee." Congratulations to Kim Hammer. Check them out here."

I guess this would be in the PNC tower? Also right across from Square Rabbit. Interesting choice, although with the rent they are likley paying there, may end up being more of a cocktail lounge with dessert offerings.

5/12/2014 10:01:17 AM

Yes pnc. One of the owners lives in pnc. That space has been available since end of 08. I'm sure he negotiated a pretty good deal.

It will be interesting to see how it goes.

5/12/2014 8:59:57 PM

Quote :

"i will never understand the appeal of food truck rodeos"

Me neither. Also in my experience the food is usually overpriced, especially for portion size.

5/13/2014 8:32:33 AM

Quote :

" •Got word from reader John Wall this week that Boulted Bread is now open in Raleigh, at 614 W South Street. Three guys run this place, making craft bread and pastry from house milled heirloom and locally sourced grains. It is pretty simple, you order in advance via email and pick your bread up at the bakery on Wednesdays or Fridays. Get all the details here. •Our friends over at New Raleigh tweeted this week that Five Star is now serving lunch Monday through Friday in the Warehouse District in downtown Raleigh. Check them out here. "

5/19/2014 11:35:45 AM

They should start getting slammed when that corporate joint opens up next door.

5/19/2014 1:38:25 PM

^no doubt that is why they are expanding their hours. I am guessing they are "testing" out the lunch service before they are deluged with 600+ citrix employees hungry for bang bang shrimp.

5/19/2014 2:27:33 PM

The food at 5 Star was been so up and down the past couple years.

Its not consistent at all

5/19/2014 3:00:11 PM

That Five Star lunch is a great deal though. You get an absurd amount of food plus a drink for 8 bucks. The crispy sesame beef was good on Friday at least.

5/19/2014 3:41:22 PM

The crispy sesame beef is always on point!

5/19/2014 5:56:35 PM

Quote :

" You aren't going to sample from all of the food trucks. I don't get it either."

At the Brewgaloo thing I had food from 4 trucks. A lot of them offer "tastes" half-orders and the like for $2-$4...plus if you go with a group of friends you can share stuff.

But pretty much:

Quote :

"To me, it was just an excuse to assemble downtown, drink some beer, eat some food, and people watch. Didn't think into it any more than that. It made for a nice scene to spend a beautiful afternoon."

5/19/2014 6:10:50 PM

I'd rather go to an event with multiple food trucks than a dedicated food truck rodeo. (that being said, i've never been to a dedicated food truck rodeo.)

5/20/2014 8:37:38 PM

I don't think I've ever been to a "Food truck Rodeo"

But really, as long as the weather is nice and the beer is flowing, I don't really care what it's called.

5/21/2014 11:17:02 AM

it's nice to see the triathalon crowd spending money in the city for a couple days instead of showing up for a few hours and leaving without even getting food like the last marathon crowd.

5/31/2014 4:22:09 PM

This is not quite downtown, but close:

Another apartment building has been approved for the Cameron Village area. 616 Oberlin will go up on the east side of Oberlin just north of the Oberlin/Smallwood intersection, right by Harris Teeter. It's five stories and 215 units. Should be good for business in CV.

http://raleighpublicrecord.org/news/development-beat/2014/05/30/development-beat-new-cameron-village-apartment-complex-recommended-for-approval/

Even further from downtown:

A 5-6 story apartment building, aimed at students, is going up at the Avent Ferry/Varsity intersection across from Centennial Campus.

Unfortunately, neither the Avent Ferry or Oberlin projects will have retail space.

5/31/2014 5:11:32 PM

I'm trying to visualize where on avent ferry/varsity you are referring to... Are they tearing down some apartments?

6/1/2014 4:03:40 PM

Quote :

"it's nice to see the triathalon crowd spending money in the city for a couple days instead of showing up for a few hours and leaving without even getting food like the last marathon crowd."

3 hour wait at Jimmy V's last night

6/1/2014 10:51:13 PM

^ That place is no way worth that sort of wait time.

6/1/2014 11:47:42 PM

**************************************************
Raleigh to begin charging $5 minimum for night/weekend parking!
****************************************************

Now I know what you're going to say, and I agree. Five dollars is not nearly enough. But you have to realize that it's always best to start a tax at the lowest rate and increase it steadily over several years. The drunks probably won't even notice. $20 per car is very reasonable for a night on the town, and would serve to offset the ridiculous portion of the city's budget wasted on downtown leisure infrastructure and help combat the spectre of drunk driving that downtown businesses unleash upon the city every night.

6/3/2014 1:08:13 PM

Im confused as to how this would help prevent drunk driving. To me, it would encourage people to drive home rather than spending the money to leave a car overnight.

Personally, I do not like this and I thought free parking on the weekend was a big positive for DTR. This certainly would play a factor into me deciding to go dt for the night or not.

6/3/2014 1:12:24 PM

it's only being discussed so far

6/3/2014 1:15:18 PM

Yeah, this would encourage drunk driving. I'm so mad at downtown businesses for unleashing the drunks upon the city!

6/3/2014 1:18:28 PM