The big news for the Triad restaurant scene in Served this week comes from Danville, Va., where the grand opening of a new Olive Garden.

Editors at Restaurant magazine, along with a cast of other industry insiders, get together each year and name the 50 best restaurants in the world. This year the honors went once again to Noma.

On Wednesday, come join local writers Parke Puterbaugh, Stewart Lenslinger Pittman, Lorraine Ahearn, Quinn Dalton and others including me! at the first Bookup.

Woe is the North Carolina strawberry crop when false spring rears its wild-maned head.

Then, on Monday, all Greensboro-area Jersey Mikes.

Word on the street is that NewBridge Bank Park, home of the Greeensboro Grasshoppers, will be serving both Eastern- and Western-style NC barbecue this season courtesy of the NC BBQ Company.

Big news for pretzel lovers comes this week from venerable pretzel maker Snyders of Hanover, which in conjunction with Busch Gardens holds the third annual Pretzel Coaster Build-Off Contest, wherein applicants construct entire roller coasters from thats right hard pretzels. Contest runs until June 3, and details are available at wwwsnydersofhanover.com.

First, a somber note for Berts Seafood Grille, the Greensboro institution helmed by Mary Lacklen where I had the pleasure of working for three years, which is closing its doors March 12. A reunion for all former employees will be held that night in the restaurant at 9 p.m., and I will see you there.

Toshi Yoshida established a loyal clientele over the years with Coffee & Roses, his drive-through coffeehouse on High Point Road, but a road-widening project by the NC Department of Transportation necessitated a move.

Ever wonder why I include so much fast-food news here in the Served column? Its because we love it: Greensboro was named by a survey in the Daily Beast as the No. 14 city in the US for fast-food consumption, with 68.2 fast-fooderies per 100,000 citizens and Subway at the top of the fast-food chain.

Did you take my advice last week and make early Valentines Day reservations for this weekend? Didnt think so. But before you start dialing, Ill tell you that the Grove Winery has a few seats left for the Sunday night Valentines wine dinner. Good luck with that.

Sure weve got some local food news arriving in fits and spurts as befits this chilly and barren time pf year, but first let me remind everybody to make their Valentines Day restaurant reservations now. The big day is on a Monday, and believe me, area restaurants fill up fast.

Lets start out this weeks Served column by mourning yet another closed restaurant in Greensboro, Sweet Basils, which got padlocked last Tuesday night just before dinner, though word on the street is that it may reopen soon.

Around here, bad weather is bad news for full-service restaurants and the people who work in them, and its a pretty good bet that a few kitchen hands and servers will get sent home early, forsaking a nights wages or tips..

Things are slowly coming back on line during this long, cold month — which s a good thing, because everybody knows the best way to survive the winter is to eat your way through it..

Life here in the North Carolina Piedmont Triad is attuned to ancient rhythms that harken to our agrarian roots. The ground, after offering its final autumn bounty, lays dormant now, awaiting the first flush of spring to surge again with life..

It was awaiting President Obama's signature at last check. The legislation received unanimous approval in the Senate on Dec. 19, and passed the House two days later. Among members of the Triad's delegation, Democrats Mel Watt and Brad Miller voted for approval, while Republican Virginia Foxx voted no and fellow GOP legislator Howard Coble did not vote.

Theres going to be plenty of eating going on over the Christmas holiday, but most of it is happening at Grandmas house, so culinary events are fair thin this week though its a great time to get out to a restaurant and have a meal..

The biggest news in the Triad restaurant scene is that Chris Lester and Kayne Fisher are taking their company, Natty Greenes, public. The initial IPO should be worth about $3 million, of which the guys have ponied up about half. Nice work, fellas.

Just as things start slowing down in the Triad restaurant biz, a few items worth mentioning get on my radar..