Submitted by ANDREA WEIGL —
Catching up on openings
Now that I'm back at work after my maternity leave, I'm trying to catch up on the Triangle dining scene.
Here are a few restaurant and food business openings that happened while I was out:
DaisyCakes, that longtime member of the Triangle's food truck scene with its distinctive Airstream trailer, opened its brick-and-mortar location in mid-November.
DaisyCakes is the work of pastry chef Tanya Catalos, who used to work at the Washington Duke Inn, and her chef husband, Konrad. They are serving breakfast, pastries, sandwiches, cupcakes and other sweet treats.
It is at 401A Foster St., Durham, a block away from the Durham Farmers' Market and almost next door to Piedmont restaurant.
For more information, go to http://eatdaisy cakes.com/ .
Loaf, an artisan bakery that started at the Durham Farmers' Market, opened in mid-November. Loaf is strictly a walk-in, walk-out bakery. There's nowhere to sit to enjoy a cup of coffee, although you can buy one. Owner Ron Graff, a UNC arthritis researcher turned baker, says the bakery's most popular breads are polenta, multigrain, baguettes and a market loaf, a signature 2-pound loaf with an airy interior and a good crust. Prices range from $4 to $6. The bakery offers sweet pastries from cinnamon rolls to country ham and cheddar cheese scones, chocolate croissants to lemon meringue tartlets. It also offers Chapel Hill Creamery cheese, Farmhand Foods sausage, Pomegranate Kitchen soups and more in the deli case.
The bakery is at 111 W. Parrish St. in downtown Durham. Graff says he'll continue to sell at the farmers market. For more information, go to the Facebook page: on.fb.me/tvuYub.
Mandolin opened the day before Thanksgiving in the space previously occupied by EVOO in Raleigh's Five Points neighborhood.
Chef-owner Sean Fowler spent the last six years cooking at the Fearrington House in Pittsboro. Fowler describes the restaurant's cuisine as contemporary Southern with classical French influence.
An example would be the salmon cake with carrot, celery and fennel salad, pickled beets and a farm egg Hollandaise sauce.
The restaurant serves dinner Tuesdays to Sundays. While it initially served lunch, Fowler says, Mandolin is discontinuing lunch during the week but will serve brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.
The restaurant is at 2519 Fairview Road.
For more information, go to http://mandolin raleigh.com/ .
