Restaurant scene in Downtown Durham

It looks like Downtown Durham is definitely developing a nice restaurant scene which will hopefully draw new business into the area as well as new residents....Right now, I am sitting at Scratch, Durham's latest spot, which is using ingredients from local farmers..I think they are going to try and do some of the same things that Eden attempted and which Watts does on Broad Street, but let's hope they have better luck than Eden
Across the way is Dos Perros, another new Restaurant, which is serving Mexican food, and which the Durham Symphony used their downstairs space for a meet the conductor event not too long ago...Speaking of downstairs spaces, at least one other restaurant has such a space and it seems to get a decent amount of use and that is Revolution......also some of the downtown spots are using Jazz music to entice people to their spots....Among the premiere one of these is Beyu Caffe which has music three nights of the week and features some of the top performers in the area including Ben Palmer and Marcus Anderson...Other spots that are doing things with Jazz are Whiskey which features Brian Horton and Blue Coffee Cafe which has jazz every Friday night.....and don't forget Cuban Revolution at American Tobacco is offering a weekly event on Thursdays featuring Salsa Music..........Of course in the midst of all of this development are certain mainstays that have been here for over a decade like Devine's in the Brightleaf area and Talk of the Town in Downtown Durham...Other restaurants and clubs that continue to have a nice long stint in the area are the Marvell Event Center and Tyler's in American Tobacco...Speaking of American Tobacco if you are a sports buff, I strongly recommend Tobacco Road which has more TV's than you can care to watch and has plenty of sports activities for you to check out...It was also the sight of a Lisa Raye event a couple of weeks ago....
This is just a walk around some of the eating and nightclub scene in the Downtown area....Other restaurants and bars that are also featured in the area are Toast, The Republic, the the soon to open Dame's Chicken and Waffles which is in the location where Blue Mountain Cafe was....Don't worry, Blue Mountain is continuing to still do catering work for those of you who were fans of that restaurant....Also in the downtown area is Guajillo's, a very affordable Mexican Restaurant, the Ninth Street Bakery, and of course fast food chains like McDonald's and Subway.......Another fun spot not that far from Downtown is West End Wine Bar....
If you want to head further towards Brightleaf there are also a variety of choices ranging from Bull McCabe, which was definitely popular during the World Cup and which has a nice Trivia event, to 1013 which has a Open mic on Wednesday nights. Also in that area is Satisfaction, the James Joyce, the Federal, Amelia's, the Brazilian restaurant Chama's, Piazza Italia, a nice Italian restaurant, Alivia's, the Down Under Pub, Mount Fuji, El Rodeo, Fishmonger's, and Pop's which has moved into West Village which is also the home of a new restaurant which will be going in the location that used to house Tosca's........So for those of you that say there is no place to eat in Downtown Durham, I argue that is no longer true.....Durham continues to develop...Just as it has plenty of things to do, it has plenty of places to eat. But it still needs a few more things which are hopefully on the way..Among these things are a grocery store and that should be hoping soon with the Co-op Grocery store opening soon in the area and some more hotel rooms and when I recently talked to Carl Webb of Greenfire he let me know that that deal for turning the Suntrust into a Boutique hotel should be near completion...Hopefully the addition of this hotel which will have more than 150 rooms and the Eye and Ear location turning into an extended stay will add to the 700 plus that city officials have said we need in the area....Now if only someone can do something with the old Radisson Hotel near the Car lot that would add another 150 plus rooms........and there are still some available spaces I would love to see come back to life and those include the Old Edge spot, the space that held MK's and the space that held the Safari Cuisine restaurant.......Yes Durham is on the verge of a major explosion and I am hoping to be right in the midst of it...

Heat Wave

Don't know about the rest of you folks but we are in June and in the middle of a Heat wave....This just seems much too early, and to think next weekend I will be at the Festival at the Eno which is always hot!!!! and we might be in week two of this Heat wave unless there is a reprieve...Oh well we can always hope....
Right now at Saladelia checking emails and getting ready to find some household items before heading back to the homefront......
Last night I went and checked out the music at Brighleaf...a group called Crossover Blues Band was living up to its name and playing a mixture of music ranging from Blues to Rock to Funk........
This was supposed to be the weekend I was supposed to be at Miami for the American Black Film Festival but once again funds got in the way...However, I will get a report on the excitement there, as I have several friends checking out the activities..........

Change

Change can be an interesting thing in the world of entertainment. And a new change is happening dealing with the Bull Durham Blues Festival......This year in September the Blues Festival will be at the Hayti Heritage Center and on the Saturday of the festival it will be at the Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham's newest jewel, which has already such acts as B.B. King, Roger Daltry, and the Stylistics, and for the 2010 Blues Festival will be featuring legendary Blues Guitarist Buddy Guy.
For years, people have enjoyed the family atmosphere of the Blues Festival with its Kids Zone, various vendors and great food and of course Great music, but as with any outside venture, there is always the danger of what the elements can do and that will not be the case with this year's Festival....Though there are plans to have some outside events, and maybe even in the future having the festival spread throughout town at different venues, some outside and some inside...If that is the case, the Festival could take on the nature of something like the Heritage Festival in New Orleans or Spoleto in Charleston, S.C.
While, I personally will miss the atmosphere of the outside festival and its ambiance, I am looking forward to seeing how the new incarnation takes place and what kind of environment it creates...remember Bimbe too had to go through many moves before landing on its current spot in downtown Durham, and last year's festival with Whodini was tremendously successful and I suspect there will be a good crowd for Slick Rick as well.....But I can tell you one thing though, in my world, Terraplas has become a cuss word first causing discomfort to some, either through glare or just plain dislike when it was layed down to protect the field, and to be honest, it was a factor in the decision to make the move as well...as it was going to be a major cost factor in this year's festival....once again the city has changed the rules...While I love the Ballpark when I go the Bulls games, remember initially it was voted down, and then a end run was done...and now after promising that they would work to keep festivals in the Ballpark, including Blues and World Beer Festival, it looks like neither will be there in 2010 and who knows when, or even if, they will return.....See what happens when folks who were adamant in their defense of a cause like Allen DeLisle and Reyn Bowman either move to new pastures or into retirement....It is true that a new breed of Advocates need to work their magic as well so Durham can keep its unique kinda of energy going............

Musings and Thoughts

Heard someone on the bus today talking about how they had been prescribed vary pain killers by their doctors, but instead decided to go the Herbalist route....I do believe that we overmedicate and need to find natural causes, but at the same time I have much respect for the doctors and nurses of the world............And of course I am all for this Health care bill particularly if it can help the many uninsured and underinsured of the world, we all know this is a major problem for the Creative Class.........
Just like Transportation is also a major concern and earlier today I was talking to one of my Bus Driver associates and he was telling me that TTA may be taking over our local service, possibly having something to do with the rail they want to bring....if they can run it effectively this won't be a problem but according to my pal the drivers for them are paid less and are not unionized, and if this is the case then our Data drivers could be in trouble...also have to wonder if they will try to be more cost effective and reduce routes...Instead I would rather them increase them and maybe even go all day and night...hey I can wish.........
Didn't attend many cultural events this week as I was working at Hayti where Collage was practicing for their big show coming up and on Saturday I was here while a local church used the facility to install their pastor........Of course this meant I missed the Poetry slam at Blue coffee and Beyu but I heard both went well, and also missed another session of Playdate....of course the planning for Troika continues and know there is also planning beginning for the Juneteenth celebration for 2010 here in Durham...I will keep folks posted on all of this, but right now I'm outta....

More things happening in the Bull City

Just came back from a meeting for Troika which is preparing for another great show in November and hopefully this year will be just as special as Last year...I know I am planning to make it so....Seems like everytime we turn around, the rest of the world is discovring the Triangle..Just listening to this great singer from LA who has performed with Prince, Macy Gray, and others extoll the virtues of Beyu where Marcus Anderson regularly performs..and she is singing the praise of this establishment...
And of course national acts appearing at Papa Mojo's are always talking about how great they love that establishment and this area......
Why just this weekend we had artists from LA and Atlanta, as well as local folks performing at Duo Slam which is a new form of Slam competition that was created right here and did quite well on its initial inception.........
I keep telling folks this area is blowing up....Look at acts like Midtown Dickens, Polvo, Kooley High, Ninth Wonder, the Beast, and many others taking off from right here and as the word gets out acts come from all over the country to discover our special jewel of a place....
And of course I am actually waiting for Spring and Summer when the outside concert season begins and we get to see all kinds of great acts performing outside..but don't forget that while we can enjoy great weather and great music, there will also be some great concerts taking place at our inside venues like those at Duke and NCCU, and Hayti Heritage Center, DPAC, and The Carolina Theatre....in April, I'm looking forward to checking out the whispers and Stephanie Mills..........
I'll be back to tell you more about some of these exciting events very soon....

Playlist on Thursday, the 28th...

Here is the playlist for a lovely Thursday, though they are calling for snow.......

1. Slave Driver - Cyril Neville - Brand New Blues - MC Records (2009)

2. Signifying Monkey - Michael "Hawkeye" Herman - It's All Blues To Me - Topaz Productions (2005)

3. High John - Tampa Blue - So Low - 2005

4. One Good Woman - Howard & The White Boys - Guess Who's Coming To Dinner - Chase Music Group (97)

5. Stayed So Long - Gregg A. Smith - Forbidden Fruit - Trinity River Records (2002)

6. Bad Case of The In Betweens - Mike Dugan & The Blues Mission - Mission Accomplished - TopShelf Studios (2003)

7. Got My Eyes On You - Fiona Boyes - Blues Woman - Yellow Dog Records (2009)

8. Every Day I Have The Blues - Big Joe Duskin - Big Joe Jumps Again! - Yellow Dog Records (2004)

9. She's Hot! - Robin Barrett - Blue Movie -Twin Lion (2002)

10. You Don't Know Nothin' About Love - Marcia Ball, Irma Thomas, and Tracy Nelson - Sing IT1 - Rounder Records (98)

11, Cut Me A Key - Taxi Chain - Smarten Up! - NorthernBlues Music (2004)

12. Guilty - Deb Callahan - Grace + Grit - Blue Pearl Records (2008)

13. Boogie Child - Big Bill Morganfield - Blues In The Blood - Blind Pig Records (2003)

14. Fast Food Mama - M.S.G., The Acoustic Trio - Done Spoke My Mind - 2008

15. Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed - Candye Kane - Superhero - Delta Groove Productions (2009)

16. Hard Headed Woman - Homemade Jamz Blues Band - I Got Blues For You - NorthernBlues Music (2009)

17. Snakes In My Garden - William Lee Ellis - It's All Connected - Yellow Dog Records (2007)

18. Big Boss Woman - Johnnie Bassett & The Blues Insurgents - Party My Blues Away - Cannonball Records (99)

19. Now That You Got Me - Dr. John - The Best of The Parlophone Years - Blue Note Records (2005)

20. A Woman Wants A Freak - Chuck Roberson - A Woman Wants A Freak - Ecko Records (2003)

21. Cyberspace Sadie - Big Al Jano's Blues Mafia Show - Lady That Digs The Blues - Hottrax Records (2002)

22. New Crossroads - Michael "Hawkeye" Herman - Everyday Living - Topaz productions (2005)

Winter Blahs......

Well, you know Winter can wreak havoc on Winter plans and household agendas.........but it can also help create positive situations through the negative....SMILE......
Case in point, this latest Ice Storm....Folks were expecting it to happen, and sure enough it did, and it changed schedules around....It pushed back the Haitian Relief concert that is being done at Hayti back a week til February 6th and it pushed the Toddler Academy benefit back to March........and it managed to close down some clubs here in the area....and on my personal front, it managed to wreak havoc on some water pipes and some cieling wall.........But this is forcing me to get some things in a better order, which means I can better serve you my entertainment public...........I'll come back and write some more on this and other matters soon..Just occured to me I hadn't published anything recently.......