First - PF Chang’s is running a special called Chang’s For Two.  It’s a prix-fixe menu that includes two soups, a shared appetizer, two entrees and two of their mini-desserts.  It’s just $39.95.  Drinks, tax and tip aren’t included, but this is a great deal.

Deal two is dinner at The Melting Pot. I’m not much of a coupon clipper, but I got one of those ad things in the mailbox and was flipping through and found a coupon for $29 per person at the Durham location (across from the Streets at Southpoint).  It offers four courses, which I’m assuming are the salad, cheese foundue, meat foundue and dessert foundue for dessert.  It doesn’t expire until 6/1 so I’m sure they’re still running it, so you might want to take a closer look at those things before tossing them.  In the same ad, they’re promoting another busienss they own, Green Kids which offers drop in child care.  It’s located right next door to the restaurant and might be worth looking into if you’re looking for a little alone time and can’t find a sitter.

Deal three: Enjoy Pittsboro’s “First Sunday Celebration” at the General Store Cafe in Pittsboro.   GSC is going to have a jazz band from 4:30 to 7pm during the event and they’re offering a $10 meal that includes a salad, your choice of quiche, lasagne or foccacia pizza and dessert.    I guess we just missed the first Sunday in March (can somebody please tell me what happened to February), but make a plan for the first Sunday in April.  Of course you don’t have to wait until first Sunday — I like eating there so much, I keep making up excuses to go there for lunch.  If you haven’t eaten there yet, it’s totally worth a try.  The food is fresh, the menu is diverse and the ambiance is charming.

Sunday Oct 12 - 6pm gourmet tasting dinner featuring the North Coast Brewing Company

Tuesday Oct 14 - 4pm Farmers’ Market and/or 6pm McIntyre’s Book Club Night.  Sounds like they come up with great suggestion for your club’s reading list.

Thursday Oct 16 - 7pm McIntyre’s presents a dual author event with (local auther) William Conescu reading from Being Written, and (New York author) Diana Spechler reading from Who By Fire. Check out details here.

Friday Oct 17 - 2pm Michael L. Walden comes to McIntyre’s to discuss North Carolina in the Connected Age: Challenges and Opportunities in a Globalizing Economy.

Saturday Oct 18 - 10am McIntyre’s is delighted to host Howard N. Lee as he visits to read from The Courage to Lead: One Man’s Journey in Public Service.

Sunday Oct 19 - 4pm Join Fearrington Wine Director Maximilian Kast at The Belted Goat for a wine seminar about California before Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Insiders tip: If you go on Saturday, get there early. The music starts at 6 and the people who get table outside don’t get up when they’re done eating. They stay for the fun!

The band last night was Old Habits out of Raleigh and they were fantastic. They played a two hour set in blinding heat from 6-8pm. They even kept going when it started to rain around 7:30. It was a foot tapping , energetic combo of traditional bluegrass/North Carolina folk intermixed wtih “bluegrassed-up” versions of hits by The Band, Bob Dylan, and The Grateful Dead.

The crowd was amazingly intergenerational. College students, young families and older couples brought picnics, blankets and camp chairs to this rural location — about 15 or so miles from Carrboro–and just relaxed and enjoyed the music. While I think this is a great date night, it’s also a great family activity. A couple that is somehow affiliated with The Great Outdoor Provision Company runs all kinds of kids activities. The highlight is the giant canoe/waterslide. If you go - have your kids take bathing suits.

We brought a picnic last night, but you don’t really need to. The farmers market offers fresh goat and cow cheese, artisan bread, and a whole booth of nothing but tempting deserts. There’s also a handmade crafts area and one of those vans that sells BBQ sandwiches out the window. We also brought our own wine/beer (as most people did) but Benjamin Vineyards was doing a free tasting and selling wine by the glass and by the bottle on site.

By the way - there’s no admission charge and no cover. The band does pass a hat and we always try to make it worth their while to come back.