Six chefs from the Triangle competed in the Second Annual Chef Challenge Tuesday, presented by Allscripts. The event was held at the Quintiles Headquarters in Durham as a fundraiser for the American Heart Association.

Guests started arriving at 5:30 p.m. As the chefs were putting the final touches on their dishes, we listened to the sounds of the F.O. Finch Quartet.

While there was not an official theme, seafood was a common choice among many of the competitors.

I began my sampling with GlassHalFull of Carrboro and Chef Ricky Moore. Moore prepared grouper, which he presented with avocado and vegetables.

Next on my list was the tuna prepared by Chef Adam Rose of Il Palio Ristorante of Chapel Hill.

Rose presented the tuna with a medley of finely chopped watermelon and fresh vegetables.

Then I visited the Red Room table, where Chef Anthony Perez prepared a watermelon and tuna ceviche.

Layered with fruit and tuna, this creation almost looked like a miniature salad.

From there, I visited the table of the defending champion, Empire Eats of Raleigh, where the featured dish was a local vegetable salad made with speckled butter beans, roasted corn, artichokes and topped portabella mushrooms and arugula.

Keeping with the theme of salads, Chef Jason Smith of 18 Seaboard in Raleigh prepared a pickled Pamlico shrimp salad with tomatoes and cucumbers.

My final sampling of the night came from Midtown & Bar 115 of Raleigh, where Chef Scott James prepared tuna with a carrot salad topped with grapefruit and jalapeno along with an extra virgin olive oil drizzle.

Elizabeth Lemons of Raleigh and Alison Whitaker of Durham came out to support the cause together. Lemons has attended the Heart Ball in the past, but this was the first American Heart Association event for Whitaker.

In the end, only one person could be crowned winner, and top honors went to Ricky Moore of GlassHalFull.

The event Tuesday kicked off the 25th Anniversary of the Triangle Heart Ball, which will take place Feb. 13, 2010, at the Raleigh Convention Center.

William Roper, the CEO of UNC Health Care, will serve as chairman of the event.

If the descriptions of the food from the challenge seem tempting, aside from patronizing the individual restaurants, the ball in February will offer a number of opportunities to dine with the chefs.

As a part of the event on Tuesday, there was also a silent auction featuring many of the chefs and restaurants. From a private in home dinner prepared by James of Midtown & Bar 115, to a downtown Raleigh dining experience for 40 guests, the bidding at the chef challenge was only the beginning of the silent auction. The highest bid from Tuesday's fundraiser will be the first bid in the continuation of the silent auction at the ball in February.

For more information about the Heart Ball, e-mail Triangle.Ball@heart.org.

National Night Out

Tuesday was also National Night Out, an annual national observance designed to bring neighbors, police and city officials together to fight crime. In Durham, more than 50 neighborhood gatherings were registered as official National Night Out events.

I stopped by the gathering for the Walltown Community near Northgate Mall. The event was a full-fledged block party, complete with the food and fanfare of an old-time fish fry.

For the little ones, activities like basketball and games were a real treat. Some of the kids, like Aniya Lindsay, took the time to get their face painted by Mary Margaret Fulk.

Shannon Simoneau and Jean Ann Bacon volunteered during the evening, passing out information on safety.

Aside from the activities, there was music playing throughout the gathering, with just enough volume for everyone on the block to enjoy it comfortably. And with the music playing, neighbors and volunteers were busy preparing the food -- everything from hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, to fried fish.

While the gathering seemed to be a lot of fun and the neighbors all laughed, talked, and teased each other at times, the true goal behind the evening was to get neighbors face to face with each other and city officials.

And the city officials made their rounds throughout the night. Mayor Pro Tem Cora Cole-McFadden said the Walltown Community was her fifth National Night Out event of the night. And she was gearing up to visit more neighborhoods.

Other city officials present while I attended included Mayor Bill Bell, and City Councilmen Farad Ali and Mike Woodard. There were also a number of police officers on hand throughout the evening.

Interested in planning a National Night Out event next year? For information and tips on how to organize a gathering, visit www.nationalnightout.org.

Angela Ray is an actress, author and motivational speaker. For comments or tips on future events, e-mail her at Angela@mahoganydime.com.