“Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me” Hits Home Stretch
The current
Justice Theater Project
production of Frank McGuinness’ play “Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me” is about to close. The show which explores the relationship of three men trapped as hostages in a Lebanon basement has gotten rave reviews (
Ind
y,
N&O
). It features Ryan Brock, David Henderson, and Byron Jennings.
The show is being held at Saint Mary’s Pittman Auditorium . Shows are on Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 2pm. General seating. Call (919) 264-7089 for more info
map it (.pdf. Pittman is #19)
Raleigh Prepares Stimulus Wish List
The City of Raleigh has prepared its Wish List for Economic Stimulus Funding (.pdf). The list includes about $250,000,000 worth of public works and other infrastructure projects.
While these projects all have their own merits, is this the spirit of federal economic stimulus money? Are projects like curb and gutter improvements between Meredith and Whole Foods and new fencing for Walnut Creek Softball park really going to turn around our system of free enterprise? This is what has been holding us as a country back?
Bloomsbury Bistro Extends Special Menu
Bloomsbury Bistro
has just announced the revival of their “Dinner For Two” special thru the end of March. Choose from the special
three-course menu
(.pdf) for only $50 per couple.
This is one fantastic restaurant. If you haven’t gotten the chance to eat there, now is your chance to do it without breaking the budget.
Tesla Playing Lincoln Theatre Tuesday
The Lincoln Theatre welcomes Tesla tomorrow night. Tix are $25 today and $30 tomorrow.
WPTF Picks Up Dave Ramsay
Local am talk station WPTF has picked up debt-averse Dave Ramsey’s syndicated show for its 9am-Noon spot. Ramsey replaces Clark Howard , who can now be heard on sister station WZTK (101.1 FM) from 1:00pm to 4:00pm.
Bavarian Brathouse Open In Cary
Leave it to the City of Beige to ironically expand the local ethnic palate. The Bavarian Brathause is at the corner of Cary Parkway and Tryon Road in the space formerly occupied by J. Gilberts Wood Fired Grill. Prices range from $5 for strudel to $23 for nine types of schnitzel. More to come…
Note: They are not open for lunch on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.
Second Empire Expands Concepts
The out-of-place, rectangular retail space wedged between Second Empire and the Clarion Hotel is about to be revived. Second Empire is going to use the space for expansion, but this third entity on the property will be a totally different concept. Owners are not announcing exactly how they will use the space, but it will be used as a restaurant.
UNC/Duke Documentary Airs on HBO Tonight
The long awaited premiere of “
Battle for Tobacco Road
” airs tonight at 9pm on HBO. The one-hour documentary features the heated rivalry between two of college basketball’s best programs. While the two are night and day different, they also share similarities that make for a fascinating contrast/comparison piece. Aside from the insulting name, the documentary sheds a very complimentary light on the two programs and the area in which they reside. The show airs
numerous other times
thru March on HBO variants.
Jibarra Takes On Downtown
One of the best culinary trends going right now is the growth of upscale Mexican food. We all have tacos and enchiladas coming out of our ears, but what about some of the finer foods from south of the border? There are some real treasures whether it is traditional foods passed down from the Mayans to regional favorites from the Guadalajara area.
Raleigh’s first introduction to upscale Mexican was Jibarra . Formerly located next to Vinnie’s in North Raleigh, Jibarra was Mexican’s answer to shabashabu ; chic, well-prepared ethnic food. Jibarra went fairly strong for a couple of years, but the owners saw the Raleigh restaurant landscape and couldn’t deny that they should be downtown. Recently opened in The Depot complex, Jibarra is going strong and stands as one of Raleigh’s best, most interesting restaurants.
The decor in this incarnation of the restaurant is much more understated and rough, dropping chic in favor of the revived mill atmosphere found in several Durham restaurants. Beige is out, bricks and dark wood are in. While the restaurant looks fine, it appears that the designers quit at the bathroom doors. The concrete floors and bold wall colors are fine, but the 2×2 recessed fluorescent fixtures are an abomination. I love cool restaurant bathrooms, and was mightily disappointed here.
A couple of lunch trips showed just where Jibarra shines. The
lunchtime offerings
are broad and set at a reasonable price. We began with the guacamole, which was excellent, though it was not prepared tableside and, thus, contained lime juice. We moved on to the Conchinita Pibil which was impressive. Wrapped in a banana leaf, shredded pork shoulder marinated with annatto seeds and sour oranges was flanked by delicious pickled red onions. Three drops of habanero salsa finished the plate with a fiery kick.
The other appetizer we tried is one of the best dishes in downtown Raleigh; Quesadillas de Camaron. Throw out your previous experiences with “quesadillas” and imagine a delicious, creamy shrimp picadillo mixture trapped inside a pair of fried corn meal turnovers. The accompanying tomatillo-avocado salsa is absolutely delicious, and has enough acidity to perfectly balance the sweetness in the masa. I am usually not a big fan of seafood, but this dish is good enough to please even my palate.
Soups are very good at Jibarra. The black bean, Crema Negra, soup is served with an interesting crouton and has enough bacon to keep things interesting. The Sopa de Tortilla is probably the best of the soups. The parabolic bowl in which it is presented is reminiscent of an overhead dental light, and arrives with just solids. The waitstaff pours the broth at the table; a nice touch for an excellent, tomato-based tortilla soup.
The lunchtime entrees do not disappoint. The Enchiladas Gratinadas (chicken enchiladas) are good, and very different than what you get at local “kit” Mexican restaurants, but need a little kick. Our waitress brought out a small side dish of salsa rojo, a dark, smoky chipotle sauce that absolutely did the trick. Be sure to ask for this excellent accompaniment to wake up this dish. Tacos de Carne Asada are also very good, with fairly tender meat and a good vegetable medley alongside.
The star at lunch is the Tacos de Camaron. The presentation of the perfectly cooked sauteed shrimp is magazine quality, while the accompanying soft, corn tortillas and previously mentioned tomatillo salsa round out this fantastic, hearty lunch.
Yes, Jibarra does serve dinner, but I have to say that the restaurant is falling woefully short on their ambitious goal as the sun falls. Many of the delicious lunch offerings are available as appetizers at dinner. There is an interesting taco section of the dinner menu as well, that I have regrettably not explored. I imagine that it is the place to be, because the entrees so far have been a flop.
One of the most interesting sounding offerings is the Chilorio de Chamorro Verde (Mexican styled Osso Bucco). While ambitious, the dish ultimately ends up being a monotonous bowl of dark, brown, heavy meat and broth. When I was going to sleep it hit me; it’s a $19 bowl of meat. No starch. No beans. No vegetables. After five bites I was sick of it and coveting everyone else’s food.
One of Jibarra’s newest offerings coincides with the welcome rise of the al Pastor style of preparing meat. The Pollo al Pastor is marinated and grilled, and served on top of a lentil puree with chunks of pineapple and a whole new salsa; salsa verde. What arrived at my table was a vastly overcooked, dry piece of boneless chicken sitting on top of what looked like mashed potatoes but tasted only of cumin (and lots of it).
The restaurant is having trouble with its own success at night. Short staffed at times, the kitchen is getting frequently overwhelmed. Our food, at one visit, took 1 hour to make it to our table, and our waitress, who chose to read the menu to answer our questions, checked on us exactly 3 times in that period.
Certainly the current economy makes it hard to predict just how much staffing needs to be done. For the most part the service quality at Jibarra has been outstanding, especially at lunch. Hopefully the restaurant can gather itself for dinner, because that is really when the restaurant will earn their keep. While they are in downtown, 100 feet from an R-Line stop, Jibarra’s frontage is horrible. They will need to concentrate on making happy dinner customers to make the move worth it. Hopefully they will, because at this point they are a good restaurant with some outstanding highlights. In order for Raleigh be the the culinary mecca we desire, we need more restaurants like this to make it.
Jibarra serves dinner seven nights per week, lunch Monday thru Friday, and Sunday Brunch.
Hard Rock Park Plans Memorial Day Opening
The beleaguered Hard Rock Park , which cost $400 million to construct, has been purchased for $25 million by FPI MB Entertainment LLS. The park’s previous owners filed Chapter 11 after just one season of being open. They plan on opening the park by Memorial Day after injecting $15 million in improvements including more rides for children. Hopefully they will also overhaul their admission fee schedule, too.
[ via ]
R-Line Offers Easy, Cheap Downtown Movement
Last week the city unveiled a free downtown circulating bus line. The “R-Line” includes 20 stops in the the Glenwood South, Convention Center, City Market, and state government areas on a frequent rotation with comfortable, clean buses.
The buses purchased for the route are BRT hybrid powered and large. There are about 35 seats with plenty of standing room, space for the handicapped, and a bicycle rack on the front. If anything, the buses are too long, struggling to negotiate some of downtown’s tighter curves. The paint job is tactfully eye-catching, and includes the service’s characteristic “R” logo. There is no display ad space at this point inside the buses, but there are two mounted video screens which will certainly run advertising loops in the future.
The twenty stops are well-placed; within 3 blocks of just about every downtown location. The buses run heads-up announcements of upcoming stops, much like those heard on rail transit lines. The announcements are prompted by a GPS system, however when I rode the line, only about half of the stops were announced. One important stop, “State Capitol”, was not announced.
Hours
- Mon-Wed (7 am-11 pm)
- Thurs-Sat (7 am-2:15 am)
- Sun (1 pm-8 pm)
Quirks
- The 40’ buses cannot pass under the railroad overpass on Peace Street, so the buses to not service the Mellow Mushroom corner. Rather, walk a couple of blocks down the hill to the stop across from the Red Room.
- The route only runs counter-clockwise, and takes 20-30 minutes to complete the one-way loop. If your destination is a 10-minutes bus ride away, allow 10-20 minutes for your return trip.
- The route only serves City Market and the Humble Pie areas after 6:30. During the day the route proceeds straight up Wilmington and straight down Dawson. Compare the routes before 6:30 pm to after 6:30 .
- NCSU Students can now enjoy the Wolfprowl Service, which connects the northern campus to western downtown. Wolfprowl riders can transfer to the R-Line at two places: Flying Saucer, and The Dawson. Wolfprowl also has a stop at Snoopy’s, but it is not a transfer point to the R-Line. Wolfprowl map (.pdf)
Maps
Time To Fertilize and Seed Fescue
For those aiming for a healthy, drought-resistant, fescue lawn, now is the second-best time of the year to seed and fertilize. To get the best results, first measure your lawn.
Seeding
For new fescue seeds, you’ll want to place 6 pounds per 1,000 square feet of lawn. Be sure to test your soil pH. In this pine tree infested area, it is likely that soil is too acidic, so limestone will need to be applied to bring the pH up.
Fertilizing
Fertilize with 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet . Nitrogen is the first number in the N-P-K fertilizer naming scheme. The most accurate way to determine the right fertilizer is to perform a soil test. That said, most likely you’ll want a fertilizer with a 3:1:2 or 4:1:2 ratio. If you are not seeding now, go ahead and get a fertilizer with pre-emergent weed control. Be sure to cross your lawn one way with fertilizer, then do a second pass perpendicular to the first to insure even coverage.
In order to calculate how many pounds of fertilizer to buy, divide 100 by the first number on the fertilizer bag, then multiply that by the number of thousands of feet of lawn.
Example #1: A lawn is 7,000 square feet in size. A 16-4-8 fertilizer is being used. Divide 100 by 16 to get 6.25 pounds per thousand. Multiply that by 7 for 44 pounds of fertilizer.
Example #2: A lawn is 5,000 square feet and 18-24-6 fertilizer is what the guy at the gardening center is pimping (this ratio is 3:4:1, way too much phosphorus and not enough potash for the amount of nitrogen). Since we’re in a bind, we go ahead and buy it. 100/18=5.56 lbs per 1,000 sq feet. The 5,000 square foot lawn needs 27.8 pounds of this fertilizer.
The three times to fertilize a lawn each year are during the first half of September, Thanksgiving, and Valentine’s Day. You do not want to fertilize a fescue lawn after March 15 . This promotes fast vegetative growth which renders the plant susceptible to disease and intolerant of late summer drought conditions. Some plant centers are advising this as well as fertilizers with non-optimal ratios for Piedmont N.C., so be careful.
February is also time to fertilize bulbs. Top dress early bulbs as soon as they come out of the ground. Use 2 pints per 100 square feet of 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 fertilizer.
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