Fire in the Triangle: Center Stage with Chef Scott James

Chef Scott James of Midtown Grille in Raleigh has made it to the Fire in the Triangle finals.

By Dathan Kazsuk | Aug 19, 2013

Twitter: @TriangleAT | Facebook: Triangle Around Town | Instagram: @trianglearoundtown

So now Triangle, with an open heart and an empty stomach, I say unto you in the words of Michael Buffer: “Let’s get ready to rumble!”

Yes, it’s that time again. Time for the Fire in the Triangle to come to a close. By the end of tonight there will be 1 chef standing above the rest. The chef who will prevail will take home the coveted red chefs jacket and $2,000.

In the blue corner, hailing out of Midtown Grille in the heart of Raleigh’s North Hills Shopping Center is Executive Chef Scott James. Chef James made it to the quarterfinals last year, where he lost by a narrow margin to Weathervane’s chef Ryan Payne. Payne later went on to win both the Fire in the Triangle and Final Fire competitions.

I caught up with Chef James and asked him the following questions regarding his experience in the kitchen.

You were part of last year’s Fire in the Triangle competition. What did you learn from last year that might have helped land you here in the finals?

James: Last year we had kind of an ‘awww shucks’ mentality which really was why we didn’t defeat Chef Payne in the second round last year. Well that and a potato donut, but we wanted to come in this year with intensity and focus. It’s very easy to underestimate this competition and think because you make great friends at your restaurant everyday that you can do it in this pressure packed and limited time scenario. So bringing our game faces and no mercy philosophy I think has made a big difference.

Working in the kitchen, especially for a dining competition like this can be crazy. What, in your opinion, is the hardest part in these battles?

James: The waiting is the hardest part, just like Tom Petty said. As chefs, we like to be prepared in many different ways. “Mise en place” is what we call it. To most chefs, it’s a way of life meaning all things in place covering the things you need to execute your responsibilities in the kitchen. In other words being mentally, physically and prep-ready to go. In Fire in the Triangle, that is not possible, so anxiety builds when you’re not able to prepare properly.

Dr. Steven Bolick (CEO of Eye Care Associates and co-owner of Midtown Grille) had no doubt you’d make it to the finals, due to your expertise and artistry. Did you ever have any doubts with any of the ingredients that were sprung upon you?

James: Not yet. Elderberry took some thought, but as soon as we tasted it and realized that the flavor was not too far from some wines, we knew how to apply it. We will see what Chef Ref has for us in the final. Fingers crossed.

I know it’s a friendly competition in the kitchen. Did you get along well with all the chefs you have battled against? I thought you also mentioned doing a project with chef Ryan Payne. Is that still in the works?

James: We have had such a great time meeting all the chefs and the staff from 1705. Working with the other chefs and promoting our restaurant is why we are involved. Winning is just the gravy. Chef Payne and I are good friends. We have been talking about cooking together at some point but it's hard to find time when working in this business to do much outside of work. Between charity events and managing my restaurant any off time I spend with my wife Karla and son Connor.

Good luck. Check out my next blog when I interview the other chef vying for the red chefs jacket, chef Dean Thompson of North Hills Flight’s Restaurant.

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Cirque du Soleil's Quidam fascinates Raleigh fans

One of the performers prior to opening night of 
Cirque du Soleil's Quidam.

By Dathan Kazsuk | July 14, 2013

Twitter: @TriangleAT | Facebook: Triangle Around Town | Instagram: @trianglearoundtown

Now we know what Zoé does when she gets bored.

She makes up a world of high-flying acrobats, wickedly insane costumes and a headless, umbrella-wielding person who likes to keep a low-profile. One would think Zoé was taking an acid trip – but that is not the case. Zoé is used to being ignored by her parents, and with a little help of her imagination, she created this new world.

This world is known simply as Quidam, which means a nameless passer-by. 

And that’s the name of Cirque du Soleil’s latest performance ,which enthralled fans at the PNC Arena in Raleigh during it’s stay from July 10-14.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to PNC prior to opening night on July 10 to witness the behind-the-scenes magic. When I arrived, I was introduced to Cirque’s publicist Jessica Leboeuf, who escorted me backstage to see how the performers unwind prior to a show.

There were a lot less “props” backstage in Quidam than there was with Dralion, the last time I was also backstage. But as Leboeuf points out to me, Quidam is more about people than with Dralion, which featured large Chinese creatures which were, you guessed it, part dragon and part lion.

This time around, a lot of the performers were stretching and getting loose on a large blue mat which made its home right behind the backstage curtains. Men and women contorting their bodies in ways that, if I tried that at home, someone would be calling 911 to take me to the hospital.

Out on the main stage, which I was informed takes 10 hours to erect, a handful of performers worked on their routine. It was amazing seeing the men and women climb up these 30-foot ropes and twirl, spin and drop with such ease. 

That same night I was able to catch the show, and I must say I was impressed. Half the time I didn’t know what the plot was, but the 45 performers who come out on stage really knew how to keep the crowd entertained.

This is only my third Cirque du Soleil show I’ve seen in my lifetime, but hopefully there will be others … maybe the next time I go to Las Vegas!

Falls River Wine & Beer Club's French wine tasting at Uncorked

The Falls River Wine & Beer Club at Uncorked in Raleigh.
Photo by Dathan Kazsuk

By Dathan Kazsuk | July 13, 2013

Twitter: @TriangleAT | Facebook: Triangle Around Town | Instagram: @trianglearoundtown

Viva la France!

Well, that was never said once at the latest Falls River Wine & Beer Club event – but the tradition of France was in our hearts.

In honor of Bastille Day, the wine club had it’s latest event at the North Raleigh wine shop, Uncorked. Located in Falls River Town Center, Uncorked owner Tony Fox hand-picked a selection of 5 French wines for a tasting of generous portions.

And generous portions indeed. For a $10 tasting fee, guests at the store were able to indulge in 2 whites and 3 reds – each sample was at least a 3 oz. pour. It was a nice way to get people in the mood to chat.

Appetizers such as the hummus trio and pimento cheese spread
were courtesy of Uncorked.
Photo by Dathan Kazsuk

Around 25 people came in for the tasting, which was announced by the club through the  community website, Nextdoor, and by means of the wine clubs Facebook page. 

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The wine club, which is the second Thursday of each month, has a rotating theme of in-house and off-site locations. The club’s first in-home event featured wine and beer courtesy of Wine 101 out of Wake Forest.

Upcoming events are to feature a sparkling wine tasting;  the wines of Argentina; wines and beers for Oktoberfest and a chocolate and stout tasting.

As far as the French wines that kept the crowd entertained for the Bastille Day celebration, they included a 2011 La Craie Vouvray; 2011 Domaine des Trois Toits; 2011 La Cuvee du Chat Beaugolais; 2010 Les Parcelles Bordeaux and a 2011 Plateau des Chenes (which was by far the crowd favorite).

Uncorked's Owner Tony Fox gives details about the French wines
being poured that evening.
Photo by Dathan Kazsuk

Virtual wine tasting with Chuck Wagner of Caymus Vineyards

Caymus Vineyards' Chuck Wagner talked to the crowd of around
30 people at Total Wine on June 29.
Photo by Dathan Kazsuk

By Dathan Kazsuk | June 30, 2013

Twitter: @TriangleAT | Facebook: Triangle Around Town | Instagram: @trianglearoundtown

All I need to say to you is – you missed out!

Yes, you! If you weren’t at the Wagner Family of Wines Virtual Tasting & Caymus 2011 Napa Cabernet Release, well, I don’t know what to say.

On June 29, we made our way to our local Total Wine store to experience this one-of-a-kind tasting event. For just $20 per person, we were introduced to 5 Wagner family wines, with a live feed from Caymus owner Chuck Wagner himself.

Each of the wines Wagner told the history about making the wine, the complexity of each wine, and what to pair the wines with – so now I feel like I’m there for you to explain each one of these great wines – if you ever need my assistance.

Be sure to Follow us on Twitter at @TriangleAT or @TriBizDesign for more of my personal and work blogs!

It wasn't only Wagner Family wines that were poured that night.
Others included Baldacci IV Sons Fraternity, Meyers Cabernet and
Pina Cabernet D'Adamo.
Photo by Dathan Kazsuk

Total Wine employees Alex and Michael poured generous portions of each Wagner family wine, which started with the infamous Caymus Conundrum.

At $19.99 a bottle, this unique blend of Viognier, Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay is a bottle that can never go wrong at a dinner party. Chuck told us the best pairings for Conundrum is with turkey, seafood or spicy dishes.

Next we tried the Mer Soleil Silver Chardonnay Ceramic. Retailing at $19.99 a bottle, the grapes for this wine were grown at the Santa Lucia Highlands in California, near the coast of Monterey – an incredible place if you haven’t been there. 

The Mer Soleil Silver Chardonnay is kept in concrete silos until bottled, and then bottled in nice ceramic bottles. Jen and I aren’t big fans of Chardonnay, but this one was good enough to buy a bottle.

Total Wine had twelve different cheeses available to
sample, which paired will with the wines that night.
Photo by Dathan Kazsuk

Next was the Belle Glos Pinot Noir Meiomi. Wow! That was my first reaction to the toasty taste of this Pinot Noir. Chuck told the crowd of around 30 that his son, Joseph, has become a master at creating Pinot Noir, so Chuck had his son come out and tell us about the process of making Belle Glos Pinot Noir. This bottle, for all it’s complexity, only cost $19.99 a bottle. We picked up two bottles of this fabulous wine.

Each person attending the Caymus tasting received this
free wine tote.  And we needed it that night to hold
the wines we purchased.
Photo by Dathan Kazsuk

We then started to get into their high priced wines, which included the Belle Glos Pinot Noir Las Alturas ($39.99) and the premier of the Caymus Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 ($64.99). Both wines were great, but I really enjoyed the flavor and classy balance of the Cabernet.

So, that was the end of the Caymus tasting. For the generous pours, seconds of a couple, and over a dozen different cheeses to snack on during the hour long event, I think $20 was worth it. But wait, there’s more. Total Wine’s wine manager, Alex, tells us all, “We’re Total Wine … and MORE … so we’re going to let you sample 4 other wines we selected that we feel fit in with the Wagner family wines.”

The group was excited about the news, and we delved into tasting 4 more great wines. We tried the Alouette Pinot Noir Sonoma County 2011 ($24.99); Baldacci IV Sons Fraternity Napa 2008 ($44.99); Meyer Cabernet Napa 2007 ($49.99) and the Pina Cabernet D’Adamo Napa 2007 ($79.99)

So in the end, I sampled 10 great wines for $20. So, putting it another way, I sampled a total of $364.91 in wine for $20. Not to mention the wonderful people at Total Wine gave us $15 off if we spent $100 or more. Which we did. So thanks for the discount, Total Wine.

New to our wine collection – a nice selection of Wagner family wines.
Photo by Dathan Kazsuk

Animazement Hits Downtown Raleigh

Animazement fan poses at the Raleigh Convention Center.

LOCAL FEATURE

By Dathan Kazsuk | June 3, 2013

Twitter: @TriangleAT | Facebook: Triangle Around Town | Instagram: @trianglearoundtown

If someone asked me if I ever heard of Kyle Hebert, Sean Schemmel or Toshifumi Yoshida ... I’m afraid my answer would be “No.”

My first guess would be a couple of minor-league baseball players and some Japanese pitching phenom that the Los Angeles Dodgers will overpay for.

But I’d be wrong.

These are just three names of the many guests who will be at the Animazement festival held at the Raleigh Convention Center from May 24-26. I tried to get in to cover this event, but unfortunately, this is one of those “events” where credentials need to be sent a month in advance so they can pick-and-choose who gets to mingle with the patrons, and who sits outside the lobby snapping photos of fans getting ready to go inside.

The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pose for a photo.

Now you are probably asking yourself, ‘Dathan, I don’t know what Animazement is suppose to be.’ If you think about it for just a couple minutes, it might finally come to you. Did I give you enough time? Well, time to move on. Animazement is a all-volunteer, fan-run anime convention here in Raleigh that celebrates Japanese visual culture.

And since I’ve never been to this before, I’m not sure what I’m about to accomplish by leaving work right after our weekly meeting and heading downtown with my friend, Dave. Whatever it is, it goes on all day, and all night. Friday and Saturday hours are from 9:00 am - 2:30 am! 

It was a little shocking to see that parts of downtown Raleigh around the Marriott and the convention center were filled with costume-clad fans. But I was thinking to myself while taking photos of a handful of Marvel characters – that half of these people dressed up aren’t dressed like “Japanese” animation characters like the name of the festival suggests. 

We saw dozens of Marvel Universe characters running amok in the likes of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Tony Stark and the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. There were a lot of people dresses up as comic/video characters that I had no idea who they were, but my friend Dave was like, “There is so-and-so.” and “Oh man, you should take a picture of them, they’re the blankety blank.”

It was fun, but odd seeing this many grown adults dressed up as a fictitious character, but then I thought about it – this is the only time other than halloween that adults can get dressed up and not get laughed at in public.