The Diamond: Opening!

The long-awaited Diamond is scheduled to open Friday (that's Feb. 18), beginning with hours of 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. for the first month, then going 24-7. This updating of a classic neighborhood Plaza Midwood spot has been in the works for months; look for a menu that has pig wings (!), along with traditional diner classics, burgers, dogs, an "Italy Vs. Greece" section (!) and more. (Of COURSE, there are fried pickles! What were you thinking?) Take a look at www.diamondcharlotte.com; click on "Preview the menu," then page through it. Surprised by any of it? 1901 Commonwealth Ave.; 704-375-8959.

Awards have Carolinas presences

Semifinalists for the national James Beard Awards were announced this morning (finalists will be announced March 21 and winners in May) and include:

• Charlotte's Eric Solomon of European Cellars for outstanding wine and spirits professional;
  

• Ben Barker of Magnolia Grill in Durham for outstanding chef, and Magnolia Grill for outstanding restaurant;
  

• Husk in Charleston for best new restaurant;

• Lauren Mitterer of WildFlour Pastry in Charleston for outstanding pastry chef;

• The lead folks behind Chipotle and Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q (both chains) for outstanding restaurateur;
  

• Charleston Grill at Charleston Place Hotel for outstanding service;

• and in the Best Chef: Southeast competition, the following folks in the Carolinas:

Ashley Christensen of Poole’s in Raleigh; Scott Crawford of Herons at the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary; John Fleer of Canyon Kitchen at Lonesome Valley in Cashiers; Scott Howell of Nana’s in Durham; Shane Ingram of Four Square in Durham; Keith Rhodes of Catch in Wilmington; Chip Smith of Bonne Soirée in Chapel Hill; Andrea Reusing of Lantern in Chapel Hill; Aaron Vandemark of Panciuto in Hillsborough; Craig Deihl of Cypress in Charleston; and Ken Vedrinski of Trattoria Lucca in Charleston.

Pork, pride and money

"Zink's All-American Pig Menu" is now offered each Monday night: three courses for $35 at the SouthPark area restaurant, with dishes varying weekly -- and also sold a la carte. Some samples (and Zink is using pork from Morganton's Rock House Farm): creamy potato and bacon soup with braised pork belly salad; confit of pork meatloaf; warm chocolate and bacon lava cake -- and house-cut fries cooked in organically grown pig fat will be offered all day on Mondays. 4310 Sharon Road; 704-909-5500.

Mac’s Speed Shop on South Boulevard won Stone’s “Most Arrogant Bar” 2010 contest by pouring the most of the brewery’s Bastard ales during a week in November – that’s Arrogant, Oaked, Double and Lucky. Stone CEO Greg Koch is scheduled to present a plaque to the restaurant Feb. 17; a celebration with lots of Stone offerings will follow. 2511 South Blvd.; 704-522-6227.

Among new menu items at Blue: pan-seared Hudson Valley foie gras over black pepper and ricotta crepe; pan-seared wild striped bass over toasted walnut spaetzle; and duo of pomegranate-glazed duck. Corner of 5th and College streets; 704-927-2583.

The three Zoë’s Kitchens in Charlotte raised $2,000 for Autism Speaks, Greater Charlotte Chapter in December.

Coming up

Grateful Growers' Cassie Parsons and Natalie Veres are scheduled to be on "North Carolina Now" on UNC-TV at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16 (tonight!), discussing the farm and their restaurant Harvest Moon Grille at the Dunhill Hotel in uptown.

"Open That Bottle Night" is coming up Feb. 26 at Andrew Blair's, an event created by former Wall Street Journal wine columnists who felt sure too many people tucked away wine for too long and wanted to encourage them to bring out those special bottles for this "special occasion": the last Saturday of February. Bring yours to the restaurant and you'll get a $30 meal with waved corkage fees. Reservations encouraged: 704-525-8282; 1600 Montford Drive.

Blue hosts its next opera dinner, "Serenata Italiana,” Feb. 27, with opera performances and four courses. Reservation only; $65; Hearst Tower (at College and 5th streets); 704-927-2583.

Pewter Rose’s next wine dinner features red Rhones and French fare: March 1 is the date and the dinner will be capped at 40. Among the courses: roasted baby beet and shaved fennel salad with duck confit, with 2008 Tribouley Orchis; and braised pheasant with mushroom ragout and L'Oustal Blanc Naick 7. $65; 704-548-9463.

Updated with good link: Emperor vies for "Best" award

Chef Bryan Emperor of Kalu was named among 100 chefs nominated for a new award from “Food & Wine” magazine and CNN’s Eatocracy: “The People’s Best New Chef.”
Readers can vote online at http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/02/15/food-wines-the-peoples-best-new-chef-2011-southeast/ by March 1. Ten chefs in ten regions compete; the top vote-getter in each region is named a finalist, and the one with the most votes overall gets the title. That chef will appear in the July 2011 edition, alongside the magazine editors’ choice for Best New Chef (that’s not open to a vote, and the two titles are not mutually exclusive). Some chefs tipped their hands before the formal announcement to mobilize their online efforts (on websites, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The specifications? The chef must have run her or his own kitchen for five years or fewer.

LaVecchia's news and lots of it

LaVecchia’s Seafood Grille uptown moves from its 6th Street address to behind Blue on 5th Street in coming weeks, and has a new executive chef: Michael Rayfield. He is also exec chef for siblings Nix Burger & Brew and Jax Backstreet Tavern; Jax will go into the former LaVecchia's spot this summer. Rayfield, a Rock Hill native, studied at the Art Institute of Charlotte, cooked for people displaced by Hurricane Katrina for months, and fell in love there with Cajun cuisine -- so expect to see that influence in his new LaVecchia's menu when it reopens.

Best burger?

It's almost tournament time and this year, we're doing burgers -- yes, even though North Carolina makes restaurants cook them to medium, thereby helping us avoid the chance of hideous health issues and simultaneously robbing us of really juicy beef.

Where should I start looking for the 16 "teams" for this year's bracket?
THIS IS NOT A VOTE; we'll let you vote in two "teams" when I do the bracket. This is a place to suggest your favorites. Then I'll put together a bracket, THEN you'll vote!

If you've got a favorite hole in the wall, spill!

ADDED NOTE: In Section .2609 (e) (3) of 15A NCAC 18A of the N.C. administrative code, it is made clear: This state requires that "ground beef and foods containing ground beef shall be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 155 F". All ground beef, period, as helpful Mecklenburg County health folks have continued to clarify for years, calling the idea that a place that grinds its own meat can then serve it however it wants "urban legend." (That's because the grinding is the possible problem: It creates lots of surfaces for potential pathogens, which must all be heat-treated to kill them.)