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2019-Whenever Misc. Grab Bag Thread

Have you worked a game at Campbell yet? Talk about high school vibes ...
Yea, but Campbell is still a tiny FCS member. They have nowhere near the funding and exposure. They’re basically UNC Pembroke on steroids.

I used to run on that track before it was a football stadium when I lived in Lillington and Erwin. In lived there the last few years I worked for the canes. The commute sucked but the traffic was great since I rarely got out of the arena before 2am on game nights.
 
Yea, but Campbell is still a tiny FCS member. They have nowhere near the funding and exposure. They’re basically UNC Pembroke on steroids.

I used to run on that track before it was a football stadium when I lived in Lillington and Erwin. In lived there the last few years I worked for the canes. The commute sucked but the traffic was great since I rarely got out of the arena before 2am on game nights.
Charlotte had 5 years between the board vote to reinstate football and their first game in 2013. Unless they sell out the joint every game, they must have required a waiver to meet the NCAA FBS requirements to average 15,000 tickets over a rolling 2 year period. That was scrapped in 2023 but they had been playing FBS football since 2015.
 
My son has a campus visit and met with the Campbell coach last year. He talked up Campbell football, and how they were upgrading facilities, and trying to get bigger and become a real football program. He made a good sales pitch. My son really liked it, but my son also wanted to be in a small town, and not a big city college.
 
Sad news out of Orlando as UCF offensive line coach and former App State Head Coach and player, Shawn Clark has passed sway at the young age of 50. Prayers to his family and to his UCF family 🙏

I got to know Shawn covering college football over the last decade. Such a good man.
 
That's terrible news. He and State's Dave Doeren are close and everybody assumed he'd come to State last off season after he got fired at App since State needed an offensive line coach. In the end he got a great offer from UCF with more responsibility than he would have had at State, and probably a higher salary. Clark is tight with one of my brothers in law who played with him at App. That whole community is shook up by this.
 
That's terrible news. He and State's Dave Doeren are close and everybody assumed he'd come to State last off season after he got fired at App since State needed an offensive line coach. In the end he got a great offer from UCF with more responsibility than he would have had at State, and probably a higher salary. Clark is tight with one of my brothers in law who played with him at App. That whole community is shook up by this.
Yea. It came out of nowhere. I learned of it last night from my UCF contacts but was asked not to say anything. He passed yesterday evening
 
Some foodie news for the North Raleigh folks.

Longleaf Swine will be moving into the former Sawmill Taproom space at the intersection of Sawmill and Lead Mine Roads. The space has been empty for more than 2 years. That will create an absolute mess in that parking lot. Gonza Tacos & Tequila and Two Roosters Ice Cream are at one end, Kai Sushi & Sake bar and Sola Coffee are a few yards from the space. Throw in a Food Lion and that’s gonna be a mess.

Also, Anchor Bar is moving into Falls Village, at the intersection of Falls of Neuse and Sandy Forks, possibly in the old Red, Hot and Blue space (they re-opened in a former gas station at the corner of Falls of Neuse and Millbrook). This is the original Anchor Bar, where Buffalo wings were invented.
 
Not sure if Anchor Bar is moving into the old Red Hot and Blue space at Falls Village or over at the former Panera Bread space in the newer section behind Chik Fil A last time I was over there there was work going on at both locations. Fun fact. That Red Hot and Blue started life as a McDonalds when the shopping center originally opened and some of the exterior doors were still left over from the Mickey Ds days. Yup. It was huge and attached, with no drive through.

Also, Longleaf Swine is pretty freaking good and I'll love having decent Q in North Raleigh.
 
Not sure if Anchor Bar is moving into the old Red Hot and Blue space at Falls Village or over at the former Panera Bread space in the newer section behind Chik Fil A last time I was over there there was work going on at both locations. Fun fact. That Red Hot and Blue started life as a McDonalds when the shopping center originally opened and some of the exterior doors were still left over from the Mickey Ds days. Yup. It was huge and attached, with no drive through.

Also, Longleaf Swine is pretty freaking good and I'll love having decent Q in North Raleigh.
The Longleaf folks essentially have to gut the interior of that space. It had fallen deeply into disrepair, the carpet was worn, the seats were ripped, it was a mess. Sawmill Tap Room was open for 25 years and it was about the 5th different restaurant that was in that space over the first 5 or 6 years that we lived here.
 
Not sure if Anchor Bar is moving into the old Red Hot and Blue space at Falls Village or over at the former Panera Bread space in the newer section behind Chik Fil A last time I was over there there was work going on at both locations. Fun fact. That Red Hot and Blue started life as a McDonalds when the shopping center originally opened and some of the exterior doors were still left over from the Mickey Ds days. Yup. It was huge and attached, with no drive through.

Also, Longleaf Swine is pretty freaking good and I'll love having decent Q in North Raleigh.
I scarfed down many a Big Mac and a sundae when I was a projectionist at Falls Twin 1983-84. I often road my bike from campus to there. Damn, I was in pretty good shape for someone who smoked a pack of Camels a day and at least an ounce a month. Oh, to be young again!
I worked at a sports bar called The Press Box in h/s, which was at the end of the shopping center close to Hunting Ridge. Man, there were a bunch of oddball personalities at that place, starting w/ the owner, who was a crazy Greek.
I drive past Long Leaf every day and have not stopped in. A friend said they are overpriced.
 
Sawmill was a dump, but it was a good place to hang. As for Longleaf being over-priced, so is any place that's any good these days. They're maybe a buck or two higher than Sam Jones.
 
Sawmill was a dump, but it was a good place to hang. As for Longleaf being over-priced, so is any place that's any good these days. They're maybe a buck or two higher than Sam Jones.
Sawmill wasn’t a dump when they opened but when they fell, they fell hard and fast. The last 5-7 years of its life, it was bad, bad, bad.
 
Longleaf Swine is aiming for a Fall 2026 opening. Seating for 200, indoor/outdoor bar, screened in patio and an indoor bar/lounge/private event space. Along with a smoker, that’s an awful lot of stuff to fit in that footprint; according to real estate records, it’s less than 5,000 square feet, although there are 2 patio areas.
 
Longleaf Swine is aiming for a Fall 2026 opening. Seating for 200, indoor/outdoor bar, screened in patio and an indoor bar/lounge/private event space. Along with a smoker, that’s an awful lot of stuff to fit in that footprint; according to real estate records, it’s less than 5,000 square feet, although there are 2 patio areas.
Not a huge cue fan but I am looking forward to fish fry Friday. And it’ll be nice to something, anything, in that spot. Now, if they could only figure out how to clean up that mess at the NE corner of Glenwood and Lead Mine.
 
I tried Longleaf a few times but found it middling at best. The location in downtown at the former site of the amazing Oakwood Cafe. I guess I'll never get over expensive barbecue and my last visit to Skylight Inn.
 
Skylight is charging $12.50 for a small plate of pig with two sides and they probably haven't paid rent since the 70s. Just sayin' ... they ain't cheap anymore either.
 
So worth it, though! I guess I haven't been there in a few years. Well, since the last time we were visiting family in Kinston.
 
A few thoughts on the dining options discussed above...

I'm very much looking forward to Longleaf's opening not far from me in North Raleigh. My wife and I have been fans of Adam Cunningham's work, including many years ago when he was supposed to cater a party at our house that had to be cancelled last-minute due to a pending tropical storm. (He 100% refunded our deposit even though we were unable to reschedule the event.)

With that said, for my money, the best barbecue around is from Lawrence Barbecue. Jake Wood, who was once the chef de cuisine at 18 Seaboard, is the guy behind Lawrence and we've been enjoying his barbecue since he started a pop-up during the pandemic lockdown that we took out barbecue from on many occasions. The location he had until recently at the Boxyard in RTP was a great lunch spot, but now he has moved to a new "full restaurant" location in downtown Cary that we're checking out tonight for dinner...can't wait!

Finally, it will be great to have the Anchor Bar opening franchises in the area, but the wings franchise I'm still waiting for is Duff's. People from Buffalo know that while Buffalo wings were invented at the Anchor bar, they were perfected at Duff's. There was talk of Duff's potentially expanding to our area, but that has not happened, with their first attempts at what sounds like a very careful, deliberate expansion plan happening in Florida.
 
...

With that said, for my money, the best barbecue around is from Lawrence Barbecue. Jake Wood, who was once the chef de cuisine at 18 Seaboard, is the guy behind Lawrence and we've been enjoying his barbecue since he started a pop-up during the pandemic lockdown that we took out barbecue from on many occasions. The location he had until recently at the Boxyard in RTP was a great lunch spot, but now he has moved to a new "full restaurant" location in downtown Cary that we're checking out tonight for dinner...can't wait!

...
Oh snap, I forgot about Lawrence Barbecue opening up. Definitely please give us a review of it tomorrow.

While you're in the area, have a couple of drinks from Hank's. My wife is a big fan of their cocktails. Also, make a mental note of DiFara Pizza and come back some time to give it a go. It's, reluctantly, my favorite pizza in the area. Why the reluctance? When they first opened, they were bragging about how they use NYC water and their prices are pretty high. I was like, "no way it can be worth this amount of moneys!" Well, dear reader, it is. /sigh Whatever! I've heard nothing but great things about SAAP Laotian in downtown. However, the best restaurant in the downtown Cary area is MC. You need to make a reservation and it's not cheap at all, but it's worth every dime you pay there. Plus, you get a nice view of my wife's library, and you can take a nice stroll through the fantastic downtown park afterwards.
 
Look, pig is personal and unlike some in my family, I'm no barbecue snob. I prefer whole hog, chopped with Eastern sauce ... daubed on, the old way. But, a well smoked shoulder pulled and lightly sauced is fine as a second choice. I even dabble in Lexington style from time to time, although their slaw repulses me. I'm OK with the Oklahoma/Texas stuff and who would dare complain about a nicely smoked brisket? However, I like pig, preferring pork barbeque to beef, but hey ... if it's good, I'll eat it. Frustratingly, a lot of places that do good pig don't do good sides and I prefer both to be on point. Therefore, I'm not a fanboy for pretty much any one restaurant anymore. Skylight probably has the most consistently good eastern style chopped pork, but their sides are bland and their cornbread is frankly terrible. Weirdly enough, the one place that absolutely kicked it with near perfect eastern style whole hog Cue and excellent sides was Buxton Hall in Asheville of all places and they're gone. And when them went the one place in NC where I would unreservedly recommend the entire menu.

I do draw the line at mustard based sauces and the nastiness that is Mississippi white sauce. Because even omnivores have to have standards
 
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