Q: Any new intel/updates on Bardo and the two Vanas?
Kristen: No official updates yet, but I’d be pretty surprised if Vana came back; the website seems to have been shut down. I’m still hopeful that chef Mike Noll will be able to bring back Bardo as a smaller concept, but we’ll see. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything.

Q: I will never understand food laws in N.C. Is Fairweather considered a club? Does that mean Crunkleton and Dot Dot Dot aren’t inspected? 
Kristen: It’s pretty confusing, so you’re not alone. Establishments who don’t hit a certain threshold in food sales (30 percent) can’t register for an ABC permit as a restaurant. ABC somewhat recently added a bar category in place of “private bars,” which is only for places that don’t cook food on site. What you’re referring to is the private club category, which both Dot Dot Dot and Crunkleton are. I’m not seeing the details of Fairweather’s permit, but sister concept Idlewild is in the members-only category. Since private clubs are just that, private, you’re correct — they don’t require health inspections like a restaurant open to the public would. Interestingly, I’ve also been told places like country clubs are in that same category — health inspection searches seem to confirm that, showing health scores for only the pool restaurants — and have much larger kitchen operations. I’m not sure how any of that makes sense, but that’s North Carolina for you.

Q: I heard that Puerta has an all gluten-free menu, can you confirm?
Kristen: We’ll ask at tomorrow night’s preview event, and update our answer here/post next week!