Life in the 'Burbs

Our little town of about 30,000 people is just great. We moved here a couple of years ago after living in Raleigh for a couple of years, and although we felt like we were out in the country, we knew we had many conveniences close by. There was a Home Depot only about three miles away, as well as two grocery stores. And the downtown (all three blocks of it) had a small town charm that we loved... several antique stores, some offices, and three restaurants: a good Mexican place, a soda shop, and a Bistro. On top of that, one of the best Italian restaurants in the Triangle area is very close by. It has perhaps the most extensive wine list in the area. So really, we felt like we had what we needed. Then the movie theater and the Target were both within about a ten minute drive. So here we had the quiet of the country with the appeal of the nearby cities.

I really don't mean to write about all that in the past tense. Because we STILL have all that. But about a year ago, our area,which we were already pleased with, turned out to be the promised land... at least for us.

As odd as this may seem, the library here in our town is actually the busiest library in North Carolina. Again... that is in the entire STATE. That figure is calculated by counting circulation... how many books go in and out the doors. Seems odd for a town of 30K, right? Well, don't forget that we border Cary, which is one of the largest cities in North Carolina... and one of the richest. And many of Cary's fine citizens who live on the south end of the city limits come to our fair library because to date it is the biggest in the area. The downtown Cary library is also quite busy, but it is quite small.

So knowing this, you suddenly see why developers began to eye our little corner of the world. Perhaps only 30K people live here, but obviously people are willing to come here to visit. And within a year or so, we saw the beginnings of paradise (for us). Just as we started planning our family, we learned that we were getting a SuperTarget. Yes... Mecca was moving in. And with it was coming a whole lot of other convenience, including a movie theater and many many many restaurants. So as the business is moving in, we see our town spring to life, and we only have about a five minute drive to get to anything we want. The only way it would be better is if we could walk there.

So recently, that prosperity has come to our little downtown, and we noticed that they were building a new restaurant. The Peak City Grill sounded like it might be a little pub or sports bar, which would certainly be fine with us. But now it's open, and it's even better.

My sister was in town last night, so my mom drove in as well and we all had dinner together. With the baby, I really have to suggest restaurants that are close by and kid-friendly, but Mom wanted something "nicer." So we headed downtown to the little Bistro I mentioned earlier... good food, a more upscale atmosphere, but very tolerant of ranting toddlers. However, upon arrival, we found they were closed. It is Monday night after all... and they are always closed on Monday night. But the pregnant lady can barely remember she is supposed to go to work in the morning, none the less when the restaurants in town are open.

However, as we looked up and down the street for the alternatives, we noticed that the new restaurant was open! I didn't realize they had completed construction and were open for business, so we decided to give it a try.

Well YAY for us! This place was fabulous. The prices were reasonable based on the menu descriptions and they had plenty of specials. The kitchen is exposed to the downstairs dining area, so you know they have nothing to hide. They seated us upstairs and provided a high chair. And without going into a huge restaurant review... YUM!

My sister lives in San Francisco, so she's been living on some of the best food in the country for several years now. It's always intimidating to take someone like that out to a local restaurant... especially one you've never tried. Fortunately, she is very tolerant of all kinds of stuff, so I knew that disaster would be hard to come by. Still, I didn't even dream that I was about to have one of the best meals of my life. Food was expertly prepared and the cuts of meat we had were really phenomenal. I just can't say enough. If you live in the area, go eat at this place. If you don't live here, we'll go the next time you visit. I think I'm taking Chris there for his birthday on Saturday. I'm just so excited to have another fabulous, adult-but-okay-with-kids place so close by. I just see my property value go up and up! YAY!