Durham's King's Daughter's Inn: Hot Spot for Pop Up Dinners

As a top ten finalist on Southern Living’s “The South’s Tastiest Towns” list, and home to four James Beard Award Semifinalists in 2013, Durham continues to garner acclaim nationally and internationally as a place with an intense food scene. It is also a place on the cutting edge with a growing roster of dining opportunities at pop up restaurants, a trend sweeping the nation.

Durham's The King’s Daughters Inn has embraced the town’s food scene by lending the Inn’s main dining room and commercial kitchen to up-and-coming chefs for monthly pop up dinners. The dining experiences are open to the public and exhibit chefs that plan to open Triangle restaurants in the near future.

April’s pop up dinner will be held on Sunday, April 28^th at 6:00 PM hosted by Chef Justin Rakes and Chef Scott Martin.  With plans to open a permanent location in Downtown Durham in late Fall 2013, the restaurant will be named The Salted Pig. The venture will be a "pork centric" modern American eatery serving inventive interpretations of pub food. They will focus on utilizing the whole animal and local produce to create snacks and small plates, shared plates, and an extensive charcuterie program. Chef Rakes explains the cohesion of his and Chef Martin’s culinary styles, 

“Scott and I are working on the project together because our difference in style compliments each other. I am very aggressive and 'out there' when it comes to creating new dishes and Scott is more grounded in precision of flavor and technique. It is really a perfect combination to bring out our strengths. I will be responsible for daily operations of the entire restaurant giving input on the menu but Scott will be the Executive Chef." To showcase their unified talents, Chef Rakes and Chef Martin will create a pork-based menu for a four-course dinner.

The dinner will consist of a greeting course of Crispy Chicharron Slider on Parker House roll with local lettuce, confit tomato, dukes on the front porch. The first course will be Deep Fried Brussel Sprouts with red eye aioli, second course will be Sunset Ridge Bison Tartare, kewpei mayo, spiced cucumber, nasturtium, third course will be Thin Cut Pork Chops with charred ramp and shallot gravy, herb salad. The dessert will be a Roasted Banana Budino, salted NC peanuts, candied bacon. Mutual Distributing Company will assist in the wine and beer pairings that can be added for an additional charge.

The King’s Daughters Inn has gained a local and national following of supporters and patrons.  Located adjacent to Downtown Durham in the Trinity Park neighborhood next to Duke University's picturesque East Campus, the Inn blends the charm of a historic bed & breakfast with all the modern amenities of a luxury hotel. 

Guests can register for April’s pop up dinner online. For more information about where to stay or eat in Durham, visit the offiicial Durham visitors website.

UPDATED: A Heaping Portion of Media Coverage

Durham is a place for food lovers - this is widely known. Despite the loss of culinary icon, The Magnolia Grill, last month, there are plenty of places in Durham that are generating buzz (and drinks and food) that will surely make folks look forward to great meals in the place where great things happen.

Below are two three links to articles that show off some of Durham's great food places. Recently, journalists from Southern Living and the NY Post have spent time here, and their articles indicate they had a mighty good time.  The latest addition is a piece in the Oxford American.

Read the NY Post piece by Jennifer Ceaser. Ceaser hit some high spots in Durham on her visit, including some of Durham's most notable fine dining establishments, and one of it's high end watering holes. This is an example of a journalist making the most of a visit to Durham.

Read the Southern Living Piece by Graham Averil. This article is about the Best Burgers in North Carolina. Two of them can be found in Durham.  Read on and see which ones made the cut.

Read the Oxford American piece by Erin Sroka.
Sroka is from Durham, and this piece is about Dame's Chicken and Waffles. Forewarned is forearmed, it's like to make you very hungry.

TDA Board Members Announcement

Wib Gulley, former mayor, State Senator and current Triangle Transit Counsel, is the new chairman of the DCVB Tourism Development Authority.  Vice Chairman is Newman Aguiar of Newman Aguiar Consulting, and Deanna Crossman of King’s Daughters Inn is Secretary/Treasurer of the Authority. 

The TDA, governing authority for the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, is marking its 23rd year since being first appointed in 1988. DCVB, Durham’s marketing agency, was chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly as a provision for granting Durham County authority in 1986 to levy a visitor “room occupancy and tourism development tax.” The Authority was appointed according to terms in an Interlocal Agreement by the City Council and Board of County Commissioners. Each body appoints five members to seats with specific qualifications and jointly appoint another. 

DCVB is an independent agency under the North Carolina Local Government Budget & Fiscal Control Act and falls under the oversight of the North Carolina Local Government Commission.  Members of the Tourism Development Authority include:

CHAIR Transportation/Retail Wib Gulley Triangle Transit Authority	VICE CHAIR Citizens At-Large or Neighborhood Associations Newman Aguiar Newman Aguiar Consulting
SECRETARY/TREASURER Lodging-Limited Service Deanna Crossman The King’s Daughters Inn	City of Durham Cora Cole-McFadden Durham City Council
Durham County Brenda Howerton Board of County Commissioners	Lodging-Full Service Conference Center Ron Hunter Radisson Hotel Research Triangle Park
Food Service Brian Lawson B. Lawson Hospitality	Major Employer, University or Meeting Planner Bill LeFevre Sarah P. Duke Gardens
Lodging-Full Service Conference Center Scott Selig Duke University	Lodging-Limited Service Mary Simpson Four Points by Sheraton at Southpoint & University Inn
Visitor Features or Entertainment Carl Webb Greenfire Development	Ex-Officio Shelly Green President & Chief Executive Officer

Another Four Diamond Property in Durham, NC

Durham's The King's Daughters Inn, awarded the Green Plus Sustainable Enterprise of the Year award in 2010, was just named a four diamond property by AAA. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

Durham Companies Recognized

In 2010, Durham’s The King’s Daughters Inn was recognized as Green Plus’ Sustainable Enterprise of the Year in the national contest recognizing organizations for the examples they set in advancing triple bottom line sustainability. Can Durham claim the winning company two years in a row? It is possible with Durham's Counter Culture Coffee as a finalist for the 2011 award.

Also up for awards this year are Bull City Forward and The Scrap Exchange in the Green Plus Non-Profit or Social Enterprise of the Year category. Winners will be announced February 25 at the North Carolina Research Triangle Park Foundation headquarters in Durham.

In addition to these Green Plus finalists, Durham’s Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club was awarded the 2010 Model Diversity Campaign Award given by the United Way of the Greater Triangle. This award is given to a company that best effectively addresses the company’s diverse employee population.

These recognitions are just one more indication that Durham is home to an innovative and entrepreneurial community of businesses and citizens.

The Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau was the first organization of its type in the nation to be certified Green Plus and just the second in Durham.

“Energy Measurement: The Key to Energy Success” Free Webinar

Durham currently has 19 businesses certified or working toward Green Plus certification. These include The King’s Daughters Inn, who was recently honored as the Green Plus Sustainable Enterprise of the Year, and the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, which was the first organization of its type in the nation to be certified.

Curious how The King’s Daughters Inn practices sustainability? Owners and Innkeepers Colin and Deanna Crossman will discuss the Inn’s energy management and measurement systems in a free webinar hosted by The Center for Sustainable Tourism at East Carolina University on Thursday, September 2, from 10:30-11:30am.

The free webinar, “Energy Measurement: The Key to Energy Success” will focus on energy measurement and benchmarking for the tourism industry and how monitoring energy consumption better can lead to improved energy performance and cost reductions. In addition to the Crossmans, John Meeks, President of Apple Blossom Insulators, will discuss general information on energy measurement and energy audits.

For more information about the free webinar, and to register, click here.

The King's Daughters Inn Recognized for Green Ventures

Congratulations are in order for The King's Daughters Inn for their recognition as the Green Plus Sustainable Enterprise of the Year awarded last Friday in Durham's Research Triangle Park headquarters by the Institute for Sustainable Development. The Sustainable Enterprise Awards recognize organizations for the examples they set in advancing triple bottom line sustainability.

The Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau was also one of six finalists for Sustainable Enterprise of the Year. To date, DCVB is still the first and only destination marketing organization in the nation to be Green Plus Certified based on a commitment to people, performance, and the planet.

The Institute for Sustainable Development is a public-private partnership between centers at Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Greater Durham Chambers of Commerce, the Fenwick Foundation, and the Foundation for a Sustainable Community. Durham-based GlaxoSmithKline is also a major corporate supporter.

Although The King's Daughters Inn is located in a building that was originally constructed in 1926 (when "green" referred mostly to farmland), its new owners, Deanna and Colin Crossman, have brought it up to the 2010 definition of Green with many environmentally friendly renovations, including a 10,000-gallon rainwater cistern, rain garden, pervious concrete, gray water system, and LED lights. For more detailed information on these and other green features at The King's Daughters Inn, click here.

Durham-based Riley Life Industries was also awarded the Green Plus Small Business of the Year award. In addition to Kings Daughter's Inn and DCVB, Mez Mexican Restaurant is also Green-Plus Certified. Other hospitality sector businesses in Durham seeking certification include Dos Perros (a finalist for Green Plus Small Business of the Year), Triangle Community Foundation (finalist for Green Plus Non-Profit of the Year), Beyú Caffé, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Northgate Mall, R. David Thomas Executive Conference Center, and Watts Grocery.