The sauces and rubs used to flavor the barbecue, ribs and barbecued chicken at Boss Hog's Backyard Barbecue, 1534 14th St., are now available bottled for use by home cooks.

The dry Backyard BBQ Pork and Poultry Seasoning spice mix is $3.50. The Original Barbecue Sauce is $2.50 and the Sweet Southern Pork and Poultry Sauce is $2.99.

The sauces were created by Boss Hog's owner Charles Baker and are in use at his restaurants on 14th Street and 840 W. 15th St. in Washington, N.C. Baker is no longer the owner of the Boss Hog's location on South Memorial Drive.

Also, Boss Hog's original pit cooks, Billy Tripp and Quentin Smith, have returned to the Boss Hog's location at 1534 14th St. to man the charcoal smokers. They're the chefs responsible for cooking the restaurant's barbecue, ribs and chicken.

Call 758-8880.

Finelli's update

Greenville restaurateur David Finelli is working hard to put the finishing touches on his new, larger location of Finelli's Café at 511 Red Banks Road, the former location of Staccato's restaurant.

"We're working as hard as we can to get things wrapped up," Finelli said late Monday night.

He said he hopes to open early next week — perhaps as early as Monday or Tuesday.

"I don't know when we're going to open, because things just aren't ready yet," he said. "It's a huge process and we're going as fast as we can. We don't know when we'll open until everything is installed and the inspections are done.

"Everything is there now that we need, and we're putting it in as fast as we can — but we do have to get it inspected after we get it in and then call for the food.

"I think it will be Monday or Tuesday of next week."

Finelli said he has shuttered his restaurant on Fifth Street to put all his efforts into opening the new restaurant, "so right now there is not a Finelli's Café open for business." He plans to renovate and reopen the Fifth Street location.

The Green Lantern

The Green Lantern Irish Pub and Restaurant will reopen Thursday with some new menu items. The restaurant was closed for the summer.

Additions to the appetizer menu include Emerald Isle Spinach and Artichoke Dip ($8.95) and St. James Guinness and Cheese Dip ($7.95), both made in-house.

New salads include Farmhouse Salad ($7.95) and the Celtic Cobb Salad ($7.95), and new house-made side dishes are garlic-rosemary potato salad and homemade pasta salad. Sandwich additions include Shamrock Chicken ($7.95), Claddagh Turkey and Cranberry ($7.50) and Irish Smoked Salmon ($8.50).

Irish house specialties, available in limited supply, include Corned Beef and Cabbage and Irish Guinness Stew, both $9.95, on alternate days.

Hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Call 329-9082.

McDonald's

Greenville's newest McDonald's, at Easy Street and Memorial Drive, is the latest version of the chain's restaurants, according to owner/operator Wade Dixon.

The 4,066-square-foot building, which opened last week, sits on a two-acre out-parcel site in front of Food Lion on North Memorial Drive.

"Architecturally, the location is the new version of McDonald's restaurants," Dixon said in an e-mail. "Inside there are warm tones and rich colors along with tile and flat-screen TVs.

"A new concept with the side-by-side/double drive-thru is available at the restaurant for customers who enjoy the convenience of a traditional drive-thru and appreciate the speed of a quickly moving line of cars," he said.

The restaurant has seating for 70 inside, with additional seating at an outdoor patio in front of the building.

Hours are 5:30 a.m.–midnight Sundays through Thursdays and 5:30 a.m.–1 a.m. Fridays and Saturday.

Farmers' market

Available this week at The Pitt County Farmers' Market, 4560 County Home Road: string beans, pole beans, bush beans, eggplant, sweet corn, kohlrabi, swiss chard, pumpkins, collards, cucumbers, red tomatoes, green tomatoes, roma tomatoes, Japanese radishes, onions, carrots, peppers, a variety of squashes, sweet potatoes, new potatoes, butter beans, peas, kale, blueberries, peaches, cantaloupes, watermelons and plums. Fresh herbs and local honey also are available, along with molasses, sorghum, organic goat cheese and fresh eggs.

A food demonstration, from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, will feature Chef Stacie Skiner of Lopaus Point Market.

The Pitt County Farmers' Market is open from 8 a.m-1 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Fridays.

A satellite farmers' market is now open from 3-6 p.m. Thursdays at Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church, 1095 Allen Road.

Nibbles

Ham's Restaurant and Brew House, 701 Evans St., has released Tiki's California Gold, a seasonal offering brewed on site by award-winning Ham's brewmaster T.L. Adkisson.

Adkisson said this seasonal offering is one of his favorite beers.

"This brew is a golden, slightly malty, yet dry, pale ale," he said. "The usual suspects of American hops show up in this one (Cascade, Simcoe, Chinook) but they are not super aggressive."

Ham's recently completed a small expansion to the brewery.

Call 830-2739.

Work on Greenville's new Rucker Johns restaurant, under construction on Memorial Drive in front of the Aldi grocery store, is progressing according to schedule. Chris Johns, whose family owns and operates Rucker John's, said the restaurant is slated to open Dec. 1.

There are two other Rucker Johns locations: Emerald Isle and Wilmington. For information, visit the Web site at www.ruckerjohns.com.

Hot Dish is a weekly column of restaurant and food news. To submit items for consideration, call Jane Hudson at 329-9577, fax 754-8140 or e-mail jhudson@coxnc.com.