Zest is great for Sunday brunch

After church today, the wife and I went to Zest in North Raleigh for Sunday brunch. What a meal!

We walked in and were immediately seated on the patio. The restaurant is in a strip mall, next door to a Borders book store. You enter into a gift store area that opens into the restaurant.

We were quickly served. I ordered the brunch frittata and my wife had the quadrant.

The frittata had summer heirloom tomatoes and manchego cheese topped with a spoonful of tomato confit served with a mixed green salad and fresh fruit. I had a side order of southern style cheddar cheese grits and this was topped off with a slice of cornbread. The grits and egg dish were spectacular.

The quadrant included 2 griddlecakes of the day with warm syrup and 2 any style eggs. It included zest mix roasted chipolte-herb potatoes and a remakin of southern style cheddar cheese grits. The griddlecakes were filled with blackberries and the eggs were scrambled. My wife said it was delicious.

When I paid at the register I asked about being able to walk in and sit down. They noted that it was unusual. I look forward to going back again, and I’ll be willing to wait. Sunday brunch is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The restaurant is located at 8831 Six Forks Rd, Raleigh, NC 27615-2970, just down from Milton’s Pizza. The phone number is 848-4792.

Duke study describes influences on eating

Duke University writer Laura Brinn in the article “Company you keep influences how you eat” reports on Duke researchers studying how other people’s weight and food choices influence how much we eat.

Be sure to watch the video, too.

Eating Real in Oakland

San Francisco Chronicle reporter Tara Duggan in the article “Big weekend for eat real in Oakland” writes that Bay Area is home to a wide range of food-oriented celebrations including Eat Real.

Chicago Co-op identifies green restaurants

NBC News reporter Kristin Nehls in Chicago in the article “Greening up” reports that The Green Chicago Restaurant Co-op has announced the launch of Guaranteed Green, which labels restaurants as officially eco-friendly.

Customer Designed Donut for sale

Dunkin’ Donuts announced that “Toffee for Your Coffee” will join the company’s lineup of donut varieties and be available at participating shops nationwide through October 6. The new donut was one of nearly 130,000 “Create Dunkin’s Next Donut” contest submissions. Jeff Hager of Hoover, Alabama, was the grand prize winner for “Toffee for Your Coffee,” a sour cream cake donut topped with glaze and chopped Heath Bar.

“I am thrilled to be able to share my personal creation with donut lovers across the country,” Hager says. “My family and I will look back on this experience knowing that the ‘Toffee for Your Coffee’ donut is a part of Dunkin’ Donuts’ history, and that is something special.”

“Toffee for Your Coffee” was officially revealed as the winning donut on National Donut Day, June 5. As the grand prize winner, Hager received $12,000 along with the opportunity to have his donut sold in participating Dunkin’ Donuts shops throughout the country. Twelve contest finalists, including Hager, received $1,200 and traveled to Dunkin’ Donuts’ University in Massachusetts for a bake-off presided over by the Dunkin’ Donuts’ culinary team and company leaders, along with Paul Mullins, author of Glazed America: A History of the Doughnut, and Diane Werner, food director for Taste of Home.

Papa Mojos featured for Best Dish honors

In their newsletter this month, Papa Mojo’s notes that they were named 2nd runner up for the 2009 NC Best Dish competition. The restaurant received the 3rd place award out of 10 finalists in the Casual Dining category. The 3 top winners will receive their awards in October at the NC State Fair. A special event has been planned to bring all the award-winning chefs together on Sept 27 to celebrate their creativity.

For their Best Dish success, Durham Magazine featured Papa Mojos last month.

There’s midweek music at the restaurant now. Papa Mojos is hosting the jazz trio of Brevan Hampden, Al Strong, and Mark Wells on Tuesday nights (8:00-10:00pm). And on Wednesdays, Brett Chambers and the Usual Suspects host Open-Mic Nites (8:00-10:00pm).

Perdue Expands NC Hatcheries

Delmarva Daily Times reporter Deborah Gates in the article “Perdue to close 2 hatcheries” writes that the company plans to expand production in NC.

Non-GMO project testing to certify food

New York Times reporter William Neuman in the article “Non-GMO seal identifies foods mostly bio-tech free” writes that an industry group has begun a campaign to test products and label those that are largely free of biotech ingredients.

Buy local at Durham farmers market

Writing for the online Examiner, Bruce Blair in the article “Eat local and fresh at the Durham NC farmers market” notes that eating food that is vine ripened and locally grown increases its nutritional value.

Taking aim at social critics who say we spend too little on food

Writing in the Los Angeles Times, opinion contributor Charlotte Allen in the column, “Keep your self-righteous fingers off my processed food” critisizes foodie snobs and elfty social critics who demand that we pay more to fund their agendas in these harsh economic times.