Fire in the City approaching

FYI, the first faceoff (Aug. 18) is sold out in the Fire in the City competition dining -- and it'll be one of the more interesting ones, pitting Passion8's Luca Annunziata against Heirloom's Clark Barlowe. (Also FYI, Passion8's latest estimate for its move to Elizabeth is "September.")

The Sept. 29 final is also sold out. A recap of the lineup is below; here's how it all works, and ticket info, etc. is here.

Aug. 19: Tom Dyrness of Mama Ricotta’s vs. Brian Mottola of e2 Emeril’s Eatery.

Aug. 20: David Feimster of Fahrenheit vs. David Quintana of Southminster (a retirement community, not a restaurant).

Aug. 25: David Moore of Gallery vs. Ben Philpott of Block & Grinder.

Aug. 26: Brent Martin of The Summit Room vs. Jon Spencer of Epic Chophouse and Chillfire Bar & Grill.

Aug. 27: Chris Coleman of The Asbury (at the Dunhill) vs. Brian Williams of Upstream.

Sept. 2: Nicolas Daniels of The Wooden Vine vs. Paul Ketterhagen of Carpe Diem.

Sept. 3: Jon Fortes of Mimosa Grill (last year’s City champ) vs. David Sullivan of Fish Market Bar and Grill.

Fire in the CLT: Dining, that is; competition.

"Fire in the City" is the Charlotte edition of the "competition dining" that's been going on in other regions, an "Iron Chef"-like venture by former restaurateur Jimmy Crippens and the N.C. Dept. of Agriculture's "Got to Be NC" program, aimed at highlighting N.C. products. The other incarnations: "Fire in the Rock" is in Blowing Rock (it began in 2005 on its own) and Asheville, "Fire on the Dock" in Wilmington, "Fire in the Triangle" encompassing that region (held in Raleigh) and "Fire in the Triad" covering that area (and held in Greensboro).

Reservations opened today for the Charlotte events, which will pit chefs in head-to-head, single-elimination matches, with each creating a meal featuring mystery ingredients that are revealed the day of competition. Diners, experts and celebrity judges vote on which chef advances. Winners compete for a grand prize of $2,000 in the regions, $4,000 for the "Final Fire."

Charlotte dinners are Sept. 3, 4, 5; 9, 10, 11; 23, 24; 30, Oct. 1; 7, 8; 14, 15; 21. They'll all be at Bonterra, in South End (1829 Cleveland Ave.) Check it out here.