I'd mentally put CC16 on my list of places to check out because it's a restaurant downtown that I'd walked by several times and always thought it looked cool. My parents had actually eaten dinner there a week or so ago, and they wanted to introduce it to me as well. The bar and chairs in the restaurant have a really cool story to them. They come from a restaurant in New York City (I can't remember the name), where my dad and granddad used to eat together when he was growing up. The owner and chef of CC16 moved to Raleigh from NYC and brought these pieces from warehouses up north. My dad was so excited to see them again! They're pretty deco and go well against the open white-wall feel of the rest of the space.
Anyways, we were actually the first to arrive for dinner, so I picked the table right in the window. I love people watching. I enjoyed a glass of Chardonnay while my mom opted for Big Boss Brewery's Aces and Ates. I was pretty excited when she ordered it so I could have a sip (it's a heavy stout - think Guinness) because Big Boss is a great Raleigh brewery, and I desperately wanted to try that beer, but not with my dinner! It's brewed with Larry's Beans, which is a local fair trade and organic coffee company. I've bought his espresso beans from Whole Foods and man oh man is it a good roast! I can't get it every time because it's a little pricey (you get what you pay for, though: fair trade organic beans) but it's so worth it when I can.
We all started with the roasted vegetable soup (yumm) and also got a bread basket with German pretzels (double yumm). Dad then got the potato cakes with applesauce, and I got a Caesar salad. It may have been the best Caesar salad I have ever had. They definitely make their own dressing and croutons in house. It was just so delicious. For our entrees, we all ordered the special, which was NC trout in a cream sauce with spinach and cherry tomatoes over black rice. The trout was cooked really well (overdone fish makes me sad) and the cream sauce was so good (but I wanted a little more to mix with my rice). Then for dessert, Dad got the chocolate bread pudding, and Mom and I shared some apple blintzes (basically fried apples I think) in a vanilla sauce with vanilla ice cream. What a delicious meal! Though we were the only people in the restaurant when we ordered, it was packed when we left.
Like I said, we will definitely be back for my dad's birthday (and then some). Granddad will actually be in town, so he'll get to see that bar and those chairs from New York! I'm happy I can cross off a place I wanted to go from my list.
Photo: NewRaleigh.com
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