Durham's Six Plates Wine Bar is hosting the next Triangle Foodie Tweetup from 4-6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12. We're considering it our holiday party for Triangle foodies.

The restaurant is normally closed on Sundays. But they are opening for us. You pay $6.63 (which includes the Eventbrite and Paypal fees) to taste a sampling of dishes, including Truffled Sirloin Cups, BBQ Confit Chicken Tostada, Smoked Salmon Red Pepper Blintz, Tuna Tartare in Cucumber Cups, Fig Jam Crostini with Spiced Walnuts, Blue Cheese and Chives, and for dessert, Chocolate and Strawberry Mousse Cups.

They will offer a  cash bar. Then if you'd like to order dinner, the kitchen will be open for business. Nothing on the menu costs more than $10 so it's very reasonable. And owner Matthew Beason says they will offer a $5 lamby joes and flatbread special for everyone.

You do not have to be on Twitter to come to the event.

But if you are on Twitter, feel free to follow the discussion using this hashtag: #trifoodietweetup. Or follow the hostesses: Andrea Weigl, @andreaweigl, the food writer for The News & Observer, and Johanna Kramer, @durhamfoodie, whose blog can be found at http://johannakramer.com/, @sixplates

More information about Six Plates Wine Bar can be found at http://www.sixplates.com/

Six Plates Owner Matthew Beason was quoted in Julia Moskin's New York Times story about Durham: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/dining/21carolina.html

And The News & Observer restaurant critic Greg Cox gave the restaurant 3 1/2 stars. Here's is an excerpt from Cox's review: 

Among the frequent offerings on Six Plates Wine Bar's weekly changing menu is a cheese plate. A recent selection a goat's milk Montasia from Elodie Farms in Rougemont; a well-aged Gouda; and Benedictine, a semifirm cheese made with a blend of sheep's, goat's and cow's milk was notable for its delightful quirkiness (no stodgy old "one firm, one soft, one blue" rule here, thank you very much). So, for that matter, were the accompaniments: pine nuts, Granny Smith apple salsa and honey oozing from a small piece of honeycomb. But the thing that stands out most in my memory is the menu's description of the suggested wine pairing (Cantine Sant'Agata Ruche "Il Cavaliere" '05) as "the closest thing you'll ever get to Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill without getting laughed at."

If you're getting the idea that Six Plates owner Matthew Beason doesn't take food and wine seriously, you're right in a way. Ask Beason (he's the amiable guy with the contagious smile behind the bar), and he'll tell you he thinks we've gotten so hyper-focused on analyzing every hairsplitting nuance of the restaurant experience that we've lost sight of one of its most important aspects: fun.

But don't mistake Beason's laid-back attitude for lack of credentials. He was formerly a co-owner of Pop's and Rue Cler and, before that, general manager of Nana's. His passion for wine began in college, and he counts West End Wine Bar owner Jared Resnick and erstwhile Il Palio sommelier Damon Haynes among his mentors.

Six Plates, Beason's first solo venture, brings all his experience together in the form of a wine bar whose deceptively modest menu consists of six small plate offerings. A suggested by-the-glass wine pairing is offered for each dish, further easing the decision-making. A separate listing of about 180 wines available by the bottle not only one of the area's most extensive cellars, but also one of its most intelligently chosen is available but by no means required reading. The casual lounge setting sets just the right mood.