From what I can tell, not much has changed.  My wife’s Black Bean Quesadilla Points were a bit different (had rice inside) but we were certainly used to random nuances each time we visited the former incarnation of The Rockford.  It’s one of the things we loved about the place.

The draught beers were not listed on the menu; our server suggested that we always ask as they plan on changing that lineup regularly.  For those who are concerned, I can also confirm that they still have Old Speckled Hen (I apparently should be hearing some hallelujahs out there).

Anyway, they have not yet had an ‘official’ opening and are operating on word-of-mouth only for now as they get things up and running.  Luckily for them, raleighing doesn’t quite have the reach it used to so they should be able to keep things under control for a while longer.  All I can say is that, in my opinion, the world just got a little bit more ‘right’ today.

A special congrats goes out to The Select Group who recruited me for my current job (which I am really enjoying). I can attest that they are working hard to achieve those growth numbers and it’s great to see them get some recognition for their efforts! Congrats, you guys and to all who made the list!

Here’s the first entry in what I hope becomes a regular feature here on raleighing.com, Raleighing Raves.  Occasionally, I’ll pick a topic and list my own personal favorites in the area.  First one up is the beloved yet oft undervalued sandwich.  There are a bunch of great sandwiches available here in Raleigh but I’ve narrowed my list down to 5.  I’m leaving out burgers as to me that’s a whole separate genre.  So, without further ado, here are my top 5 favorite sandwiches in order:

1. ABC – The Rockford
   The first time I saw this sandwich on The Rockford’s menu I was certainly intrigued, but not sure I even wanted to give it a try.  Apple, Bacon, and Cheddar?  Really?  With battered bread and powdered sugar?  Just sounded like a bit too much for me.  Well, luckily I did give it a try and many years and many visits later I have yet to eat another sandwich at The Rockford.  I’m getting hungry now just thinking about it.  Sure, it’s a heart-attack of a meal, but so worth it.
2. Chicken Salad (Clay’s Favorite) on Pita – Sunflowers
   I love chicken salad, both traditional and non-traditional.  While I love the basic chicken salad on wheat toast at Tookie’s, Sunflowers’ chicken salad with grapes and pecans is incredible, especially when paired with their pita.  The chicken is sliced into chunks which gives it a good consistency.  While not listed in the ingredients on the menu, I taste a hint of lemon in the mix which mixes well with the sweetness of the grapes and the savory of the pecans.  Unfortunately, you can’t get the pita bread at dinner (not sure why) so you’ll have to go with the sunflower bread as dictated on the menu which is still good.
3. Cuban – Raleigh Times
   Raleigh Times made some great changes to their menu in the past months.  The best addition, in my opinion, is their Cuban sandwich: roasted pork loin, Black Oak ham, pickles, tomatoes with garlic aioli & mustard on pressed Cuban bread.  Yes, it is as flavorful as it sounds.  The mustard and pickles tangy, the ham sweet, the pork loin aioli savory all adding up to one tasty sandwich.  I love many other items on the RT menu, like the burger or the Country French salad, but I think this one is my favorite.
4. Turkey Berry Panini – Cafe Carolina
   Ok, so I’m seeing a trend here.  I obviously like a little sweetness in my sandwiches.  This one from Cafe Carolina has cranberry chutney along with smoked turkey, swiss cheese, coleslaw, and grilled sourdough.  It, too, has a great balance of savory, sweet, and tangy.  I also love the light crunch of the toasted bread.
5. Smoked Turkey Breast on Wheat – Village Deli
   My wife and I used to live in Cameron Village Condominiums and loved being near the Village Deli.  We’d have lunch there all the time and this sandwich quickly became a favorite.  It is a simple turkey sandwich made spectacular by their homemade Vidalia Onion Dressing.  If you’re getting one to go, make sure they put the dressing on the side as the sandwich will get pretty soggy if you don’t.

Ok, there’s my five.  There are some others that I’ll give honorable mentions to:  Tookie’s Chicken Salad on Wheat Toast, Tropical Smoothie’s Turkey Bacon Ranch, and Morning Times’ Apple Brie toasted.  So what are your local favorites?  Use the comments to let me know.  I’m always looking for new favorites!

But anyway, one thing SparkCon certainly has going for it is the recruitment of some of Raleigh’s best to organize and produce the events.  One of ’06′s more successful “Sparks” was the fashionSPARK fashion show.  It was well-attended and full of energy.  This year, I am expecting even better things now that the beautiful Allison Beale is one of the producers.  Certainly among the most fashionable people in Raleigh, Allison is the owner of George Public Relations and is a former writer/editor for SheSheMe (back when it was based in Raleigh and was cool).  I’m also happy to say she’s an occasional contributor to Raleighing!

Riviera

This Friday night, Allison and the rest of the fashionSPARK team will be hosting the premiere of the fashionSPARK 2006 DVD at Riviera.  Doors open at 9pm and the show will run from 9:15-9:30pm.  They will also have Guest DJ Keith Ward keeping the festivities hopping.  So, head out to your favorite galleries for First Friday events and then stop on by Riviera for all the fashionable fun.  Definitely need to go pick up all my Fluevogs tomorrow so I have something to wear!

712 Tucker

Representatives for the project say that the decision to convert has nothing to do with a lack of sales as the price point was a very desirable one for many younger buyers, but it is instead a response to market demands for more rentals in the downtown area. Speaking with other industry leaders proves that this is a widely held view, and that downtown Raleigh actually does not have enough rentals to meet market demand. The Lofts will very likely add a density of younger professionals who cannot yet afford to buy but want to be a part of downtown; this should in turn add more life to the Glenwood South area on non-weekend days.

For those concerned that the project will be Oberlin Court part deux, rest assured it will be the same physical structure, the same finishes, the same amenities, and very likely the same floor plans originally planned for 712 Tucker. Currently there are 179 units planned and there is no word yet on what rental rates will be, though I imagine they will be similar to Oberlin Court. All in all, I think it’s a fantastic move by Crosland and they deserve kudos for responding to the needs of the market.

The festivities will begin at 4:30pm and will include live music by the Arts Together Pre-school Children’s Chorus, kite flying (first 150 kids get a free redbird kite), and refreshments.  After the dedication, there will apparently be a “Redbird” procession which will end at a concert stage on which the Raleigh Concert Band will perform.

Redbird Sculpture

“Redbird” was created by Asheville artist Harry McDaniel.  While in the picture above it looks like a grouping of giant abstract flowers, viewed from the right angle the red shapes form a bird, the cardinal being our state bird.  The funds for this sculpture came from the money generated by the Red Wolf Ramble project, which is certainly good to hear.

This is exactly why Fluevog is my absolute favorite brand of shoe which in turn explains why Firefly is my absolute favorite shoe store ever…  Well, that and its awesome owner, Ashley, who I’ll say again is one of the best local proprietors I know.

A couple of weeks ago, Ashley put out a call to local Fluevog owners to seek out “vintage” Fluevogs to display at a month-long exhibit in the store.  I, of course, couldn’t resist contacting her about it.  But, rather than displaying my oldest pair, we agreed it might be funnier if we displayed all of them…  all 11 pairs of Fluevogs I own, all of which remain in active duty.

So, I loaded up a large suitcase this morning and dropped them by the store.  I kinda felt like a parent leaving his children at school for the first time… is that weird?  

Firefly

Anyway, if you want to check out my collection and laugh at my expense (don’t worry, I laugh too), or if you would like to see some really, really cool vintage Fluevogs on loan from cool people around the Triangle, be sure to stop by the store between today and the 30th.  The opening reception is tonight from 6pm-10pm and all new Fluevogs will be discounted 20% to celebrate the occasion!  (Wonder if I’ll buy any… hrmmmm…) If you can’t make it tonight, the sale will continue all weekend.

Perhaps I’ll see you there?  I’ll be the guy not wearing Fluevogs. 

Another counter lady points me toward a wall of doors that lead to several meeting/conference rooms (which any Wake County group can use for free–just sign up in advance like the those industrious computer occupants have done). Through one door I see a woman gesturing, talking, instructing. She stands before a table laden with beautiful sculpted, collage and painted works of art that look like they used to be . . . . books.  This must be the place! 

If you don’t know where I am by now, then you need to be reminded of that tall, two story building in Cameron Village.  Now, you don’t need to be told about Cameron Village; you know that fun, 50′s sort of walkable shopping center– a shopping center! Right there practically in the middle of the city! Thriving, in spite of surrounding malls and suburban shopping center sprawl!  Don’t stop and shop yet.  Keep going, past Fresh Market, to the end of Clark Street.  That tall, two-story building?  The library?  You remember.

Oh, stop rolling your eyes and saying Geesh, a library?  First a movie theater and now a library?  Because this library–Cameron Village Library–did something extraordinary last week, quietly and without fanfare or splash (because it is the kind of thing they do all the time) this library introduced to about 20 people (for free!) an art form that is the latest hottest thing, an underground art movement, in other cities, spreading faster than kudzu roots; a new kind of art that several well known artists have taken up, whose amazing creations are now on display at MOMA in NYC and the like.   

I walk into the room. Immediately I’m aware of a bustling busy-ness at the several long tables, and realize the workshop already started, so I apologize to the instructor for being late and turn toward one of the tables to take a seat.  I stop, horrified.  People are tearing up library books.  They are furiously ripping the pages right out of books! As fast as they can, they rip pages and toss them on the floor.  Am I in the wrong room after all?  Did I misunderstand the tiny notice I spotted while scanning the A & E section as I do every week, searching for the unusual happening, the barely known but awesome band or writer or artist coming to Raleigh? That miniscule listing, entitled “Transform Old Books into New Art” had snagged my attention. Last winter, in Tucson, I saw artists of all sorts–sculptors, painters, print makers, multimedia artists–all of them applying their particular skill to make what is called “Altered Books.” 

This is the right place, the teacher says, laughing. She is Tracy Johnson, the manager of Panopolie, a beading store in Raleigh.  She says she instructed the class to rip out pages–to remove around 40 % of the book.  This is how you start an “Altered Book.”  Take an old book that has committed no crime other than to become very outdated and very unread, and is now sentenced to the landfill with about a hundred of its buddies (and that’s just in this room alone for this class; tons of them go into the landfill all the time) and you rip out a bunch of its pages, to make room for what you do to the remaining pages: you will paint, collage, pierce, fold, cut, twist, tie, punch, lace, sculpt, bind, glue, stitch, any thing at all, whatever your vision and artistic eye leads you to do.  And this former book is not only rescued from certain death; it becomes art, your art.

For two hours last Thursday, at no cost, I made an altered book, thanks to Cameron Village Library and Panopolie (in addition to beading supplies, the store sells material for book arts, and is starting to offer classes in altered books and handmade journals, taught by Dawn who brings this new art form to Raleigh all the way from her former city–New Orleans).

Coming up (for free!) at Cameron Village Library:

MYSTERY AUTHOR PANEL DISCUSSION June 5  at 6 PM, famous writers right here!

LOCAL AUTHOR PANEL DISCUSSION June 10 at 2 PM  More famous writers (of the local literary sort)

PRESS 53 PUBLISHING Sunday June 3 at 2:30 PM: a successful small press in Raleigh and the authors they publish will talk about writing, getting into print, etc.

So, turn off your 500 Cable/Satellite TV/Radio set, get off your $100 month phone/broadband digital gadgets and visit this sunlit spot with free books, free wifi, free computer use, free meeting space, free audiobooks, free workshops, free information on anything you want to know and I mean anything (and from far better sources than Google or Wikipedia).  That counter lady who knew what I wanted before I said it?  She is called a librarian.  Every librarian I have ever known loves to give information.  That is what they are there for.  Imagine.  A real person that is helpful, accurate, and kind; a human being with a talent for sensing what you want before you say it, the way a good auto mechanic just knows what your car needs by looking at it. This is healing stuff for people who are tired of automated menus and computerized programs that pretend to do what libraries really do. Get thee to the library.  Take a book cure.

Many of our readers (and Raleighing.com bloggers) have been curious about what’s been happening to Capital City Grocery in the downtown Raleigh Seaboard Station shopping center. One of the downtown area’s only independently-owned grocery stores, Capital City Grocery opened last year and then closed this spring when the business went heavily into debt.

Despite a shaky start and temporary closing for renovations and reorganization, the future now looks bright, with a grand reopening scheduled sometime in June.

Originally charged with finding new investors, Ed Weems and son Mason of Venture Management, Inc., ended up becoming part owners along with other investors. They plan on a grand reopening sometime in June.

The original owners and management will no longer be involved with the new store.

To revise the store philosophy, Weems is working with the Newton family—who owned and ran several downtown stores for 70 years—to devise a sort of mission statement for the grocery store, which begins with a promise of superior service to its customers. They also plan to pay homage to the

Newtons by decorating the store walls with photographs of the Newton family, their stores, and customers.  In 1937, Ela Newton began selling snacks in downtown Raleigh in the same neighborhood as Capital City Grocery. While the offerings were limited she provided the residents of then-dirt Halifax Street with what they wanted. As her customer needs changed her selections expanded and her husband John William, a retired farmer, began helping her serve them. Over the years the store expanded into four Halifax street locations. Soon sons, grandsons and granddaughters were all working there while attending high school and college.

For 63 years Newton’s provided basic grocery items, custom-cut meats and fresh vegetables. Grocery deliveries were made first on bicycles then scooters and finally in pick up trucks. Starting with rotisserie chicken, the Newton

family responded to customer wants by serving meals in the store and providing take home food. Customers from all walks of life were each given the same friendly courteous service and became regulars for years. This tradition continued until the last location at Peace and Halifax streets was sold to Peace College in recent years.

At Capital City Grocery, they are returning to that original focus on the customers in the downtown Raleigh market area. Plans include expanding produce offerings with an emphasis on locally grown and especially organic vegetables. Like Newton’s, they will offer custom cut high-end meats and very fresh seafood as well as items already prepared for those in a hurry.

The new Capital City Grocery is reaching out to the community and once again asking the local residents of downtown Raleigh what they want their store to offer, look like, act like, and feel like. They are committed to returning to the Newton family grocery store philosophy of good old-fashioned customer service.

The Capital City grocery section is being redesigned to carry dry goods, bulk foods, the spices and flavorings even the best cooks strive for, and a “It Begins With Caring” healthy foods section for pets. To the wine offerings they’re adding fresh flowers and gift baskets. Once again many products are local and organic just like the customers asked for in the past.

The “Capital City Kitchen”, like Newton’s, is offering sit down fare as well as full course meals to take home and enjoy with little effort. They’re also adding a new important convenience that is fully in tune with the downtown Raleigh
market. Full catering for private parties and business events is being offered under the leadership of a highly experienced trained Chef.

Capital City Grocery is also offering the same 70-year old Newton tradition of call-in ordering. But rather than speaking slowly as a Newton family member wrote each item down, shoppers will be able to place orders over the internet or by faxing them in. Repeat customers will be also able to pull up their record of regular purchases on their website and indicate how many of each they want to reorder.

Seventy years ago the residents of Raleigh were downtown. Today they’re returning again. Just like Newton’s, the new Capital City Grocery promises a commitment to meeting their neighbors’ needs.

article © 2007 Downtown Raleigh Publishing LLC
reprinted with permission

The Colony Theater

Before Madstone, before Galaxy, before the idea of multiplex independent film cinema existed–back when the (still-great) art-deco Rialto was the only art house theater in Raleigh, the owner of the very same Rialto opened the Colony twin screen theater in an older real-type ordinary Raleigh suburban shopping center at Six Forks and Millbrook Rd, just outside the beltline (above North Hills, look for the Food Lion on your right).

The Colony is Raleigh’s unsung hero if a place can be a hero. Although from the outside it looks like the sort of theater that would have closed in some other city long ago when the multiplex giants took over, inside the Colony is an oasis. Everything from international and independent, little-known hard to find films, to popular indie sleeper films, shown on two wide screens in large auditoriums, with comfortable theater seating complete with cup holders, and most importantly excellent sound and lighting. In this theater, you will never fume because the film is out of focus, or the lights didn’t go off when the film began, making a glare on the screen so you can’t see the film, because the projectionist cares enough about film and about you, the viewer, to stay in the booth long enough to make sure everything works properly before running off (which I’m sorry to say is not the case elsewhere).

This kind of reliable care and attention over many years has been and continues to be due to the manager, Denver Hill, a former English major, a long-time fan of good cinema. He has been at the Colony for as long as I can remember, starting out as many do there, with a teenage-type job, then growing into a first-class manager who keeps his place running the way it should: brisk, courteous service, without sacrificing its unique comfy, laid back, “let’s just hang out” atmosphere. The Colony has about the most eager to please, friendliest crew I’ve ever seen in a theater, serving up draft and bottled beer, wine, and other beverages along with the usual movie snacks, and always with smiles and a welcoming attitude. There are plush arm chairs, plants, and an enormous sofa that is so welcoming, people often sink down into its softness and read from the great selection of books (yes, there’s a bookcase full of donated books with a sign that invites you to take one if you like, and/or donate one).

The Colony Theater

Other reasons to arrive early and lounge about: you will want to read the long, growing bulletin board that takes up an entire wall with community messages and happenings, and browse through the magazines and flyers on the counter below the bulletin board. Or view the art exhibited on the remaining walls by area artists. Or come early and ask that friendly crew about what is coming next; get questions answered about film, advice on what to see. They actually know lots and love to chat about movies and community events.

Which brings me to the unsung hero part (aside from just being an awesome place to see movies): what sets the Colony apart from other art house theaters is Denver’s and his girlfriend Michelle’s dedication to Raleigh’s nonprofit groups, helping their causes. For example, tomorrow night — grab your pen –

Tuesday May 22 at 7 PM —- MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW

The Colony is showing “Kundun”

– a rarely seen film by the acclaimed director Martin Scorsese, that tells the story of the Dalai Lama’s exile from Tibet. The score is by Philip Glass, the Oscar-nominated avant-garde composer. Don’t miss this opportunity to see an excellent Scorsese film you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Feel good knowing your $5 ticket price goes toward helping out the Kadampa Center, a Tibetan Buddhist community in Raleigh that needs funds for a new space.

Denver Hill has been doing this sort of thing for years, quietly, and never for his own glory, just wanting to help, welcoming community nonprofits who need space to view a film, hear speakers, raise funds; bringing together many of Raleigh’s groups around a film that ties into their cause, often packing the house, making the Colony not only a great place to gather and and view a film; but also an important force in the community.

It’s not all serious issue stuff!!

Denver loves to bring in favorite fun films, new 35 mm prints of classics, and runs movie events. Last week, we all enjoyed “Easy Rider”

Other fun films coming up:

June 20	The Dark Crystal
July 18	2001 A Space Odyssey
August 15	Temple of Doom

Only 5 Bucks for these great films! You can call for other feature film showings, and prices, plus any other info: 856-0111.

One final tiny treat: if you are a lifetime lover of movies, look down at the carpet. It’s so cute.

Coming up soon —- Reason #2