Triangle Today | Wednesday by Triangle Today

TRIANGLE TODAY | THE NEWS & OBSERVER

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2018

Check out the T O D A Y triangletodaync

@triangletodaync

KIDS TOWN FUN FINDER

see page 2

POSTMASTER

DELIVERS CONTEMPORARY SOUTHERN CUISINE Greg Cox for Triangle Today

“We’re bringing downtown Raleigh to Cary.” This from our server, in response to my comment — she had stopped by to see how we were enjoying our meal — that I’d never seen terms like “honeycomb oysters” and “gnocchi’d grits” on a menu in Cary. My wife added that, as longtime Cary residents, we found Postmaster a refreshing change of pace. Our server seemed genuinely happy to hear our comments. As enthusiastic and knowledgeable as she was attentive, she gave the impression that she sees herself not as merely an employee, but as a member of a team with a mission. Turns out there’s a very good reason for that impression. Many of the Postmaster staff — both dining room and kitchen — are veterans of Ashley Christensen’s empire of downtown Raleigh restaurants. Among industry insiders, Christensen is nearly as well

known for her ability to foster a team spirit among staffers as she is for her James Beard Award-winning culinary skills. And Cary has been reaping the windfall since last December, when Pharmacy Bottle + Beverage owner Tyler Watt opened Postmaster in that town’s burgeoning downtown district. Team captain, you might say, is executive chef Chris Lopez, who most recently helped Sunny Gerhart (another Christensen protege) open St. Roch. Working with sous chef David Cain (a veteran of Christensen’s Chuck’s and Joule), Lopez is waking up the town’s taste buds with his inventive seasonally changing offering. As luck would have it, the spring menu is slated to come online just as this review comes out. And, since Postmaster doesn’t just pay lip service to the locavore ethic, many of the dishes I enjoyed will be gone or

Postmaster’s Cast Iron Chicken Leg is made up of sofrito rice, vegetable broth, black eyed peas and soppin’ bread. Juli Leonard

substantially changed. That said, based on my experience I think it’s safe to say you won’t be disappointed, no matter what you order. But you might want to try a couple of items that have already earned a permanent spot on the menu. Consider hominy hushpuppies, a fine nibbling companion for the tasty beverage of your choice from a small but thoughtfully curated list of craft beers, wines and cocktails whipped up by bar manager Patrick Dunmire (yet another Joule alum). Or Hot Hot Wings, that owe their

FREE EVENT! Barnyard Birthday Bash! Saturday May 19 • 10 am-noon Historic Oak View County Park, 4028 Carya Dr, Raleigh HELP THE GOATS CELEBRATE THEIR BIRTHDAYS! Enjoy games, activities and, of course, cake! Free event, no registration required.

Find more kid-friendly events at kidstownnc.com under Fun Finder!

name to their double-barreled source of heat: Carolina white sauce, a riff on the Alabama original spiked with local chocolate habanero, and a generous sprinkle of crushed red chiles. Among large plate offerings, smoked sausage with gnocchi’d grits (a toothsome mashup of Italy and the South in the form of gnocchi made with grits) is making way for a lighter presentation of smoked andouille with red pea salad, buttered rice, country ham broth and bread and butter pickles. Read more at triangletoday.com.

Ba Birthdrnyard ay Ba sh!

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2018

fun finder

TRIANGLE TODAY | THE NEWS & OBSERVER

recipes

CRAVEWORTHY DIPS Layla Khoury-Hanold for Triangle Today There’s possibly no dish that screams fun quite like chips and dip. They’re a home entertaining staple that’s front and center on gameday spreads, the most requested recipe at potlucks and a natural conversation starter. You can even make a meal out of it. Many Middle Eastern cultures do so with meze, and hey, if you want to have tortilla chips and salsa for dinner, we’re not here to judge. Beyond the home kitchen, chips and dip are a mainstay on restaurant menus, too.

Wednesday May 2 | 10am-11am History Corner: Pirates! North Carolina Museum of History 5 East Edenton St, Raleigh Learn about how life was for those on sailing ships in the 1700s education $5 per child (free for members) ages 6-9 ncmuseumofhistory.org/events/historycorner-pirates Thursday May 3 | 10:30am-end Preschool Storytime at Barnes & Noble Crabtree Valley Mall 4325 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh Join us each week for a storytime appropriate for preschoolers! Activities will follow the reading. https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/ event/9780061758380-121 Saturday May 5 | 11am-2pm Marbles Bike Rodeo Marbles Kids Museum Hargett St between Blount and Person St, Raleigh Bring your bike, tricycle and helmet while experiencing obstacle courses, helmet fitting, bike maintenance and more. Swap it out bring your outgrown bikes and helmets to donate or trade free, all ages marbleskidsmuseum.org/ marblesbikerodeo-1

Find details for these events and more fun stuff at

kidstownnc.com

But why would restaurants include something so seemingly simple on their menus, and why are we so powerless to resist ordering it? “Chip and dip is everything we all crave, all of the time: salt, fat and crunch,” shares Andrea Reusing, executive chef of The Durham hotel’s restaurant, referring to the Chip & Dip, a perennially popular carrot dip served with homemade chips. Each of these restaurants deliver some of the Triangle’s most craveworthy chips and dip combinations, using stepped-up ingredients and inventive twists to deliver flavor and fun with every scoop. Goat Cheese Guacamole at Cantina 18 Chef Jason Smith, owner of 18 Seaboard, is known for translating fine dining finesse into approachable, Southern-inflected dishes made with local ingredients. He applies the same philosophy to his other restaurants, including his Southwestern-inspired spot Cantina 18, where he adds a surprising ingredient to the guacamole: goat cheese. Pineapple-Jalapeño Salsa at Salt & Lime Cabo Grill At the baja-inflected restaurant Salt & Lime Cabo Grill, you’ll find a dizzying array of housemade salsas, including the newly added pineapple-jalapeño salsa. The sweetspicy combination of diced pineapple, jalapeño and cilantro is supremely addictive with Salt & Lime Cabo’s chipotle-dusted tortilla chips, but it’s also very versatile. Jalapeño Cilantro Hummus at Sassool Mediterranean Café Sassool has a built a following for its classic, expertly executed Lebanese and Mediterranean salads and dips, but it’s not afraid to buck tradition. At the request of customers, they started experimenting with different flavored hummus, adding ingredients like roasted bell pepper, avocado and sweet potato to the chickpea-tahini-based dip.

Cantina 18’s Goat Cheese Guacamole.Juli Leonard

Goat Cheese Guacamole Recipe courtesy of Cantina 18

4 avocados, halved and pits taken out 1 tablespoon of cilantro, finely chopped 2 tablespoons lime juice 4 cherry tomatoes, quartered 4 pickled jalapeños, finely diced 3 tablespoons goat cheese 3 tablespoons chilled black beans Salt and pepper, to taste Mash the avocados in a medium-sized bowl; for best results, use the back of a spoon. Add the finely chopped cilantro, lime juice, cherry tomatoes, pickled jalapeños, goat cheese and chilled black beans. Mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with 4 cups of corn tortilla chips. Yield: Serves 4-6 (makes approximately 6 ounces of guacamole)