Spoonfed (Raleigh)

All content ©Mark Petko Photography (click here to request permission)

Skillet Mac and Cheese-Blended Vermont white cheddar, Gouda, and Jarlsberg, Bratwurst, Roasted Spring Squash. W/Market Greens and Fruit.

With his long locks all a’shagged by his commute, a sleepy ride, Johnny swaggered in wearing black and white checkerboard scoots.  He took an initial look over my equipment strewn all across his one year old restaurant and mumbled something excitedly in a foreign language that I could not comprehend.  I could tell he was intrigued as to what was going on.  I sensed he wanted to investigate without apprehension, yet hesitated, as if he somehow knew he was being watched.  He acted nonchalant as he passed me to the kitchen.  Immediately, I could tell his presence was felt by the others there that day.  As Johnny  appeared on the other side, I heard Chef Jake Wolf’s greeting and praise from behind the glass block and pulled curtain that separates the kitchen from the dining room.  Certain restaurateurs just carry themselves in a way that demands notice when entering a room and it was then obvious to me that Johnny was one of those men.

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As she introduced herself, Shannon Wolf, who made a point to always be no more than a step or two away from Johnny during his inspection of the restaurant, even took her affiliation a bit further as she donned a necklace with his name scrolled in smooth, shiny gold.  Her style didn’t seem one for flashy jewelry especially considering her background in the fashion industry but it showed true devotion towards her partner in the restaurant.  Her taste shows gracefully as she designed much of the environment we were in, making sure to appreciate the architectural structure but also utilizing it as a canvas to reinforce a classy, non-kitschy, immigrant populated, Americana.  Just the right amount of bric-a-brac hangs and sits paying homage to family, sport, and a little rock and roll.  Small jars of flowers accent the marble and wood tables.  It truly feels like a warm and familiar establishment out of the late 1800′s or early 1900′s, rustic yet polished.  She shook my hand yet shifted attention as Johnny re-entered the temporary photo-studio, atop a red antique scooter.  The boss rolls like that.  He took another look at me and all my gear and I could just feel his inquisitive ‘need’ to touch everything.  He stood up and scanned the room before giving me one last check, from toe to head.  I could tell he was about to step in and really engage me as to ‘why the heck, who the heck, and what the heck are you’ but luckily a slight turn of his head revealed a more desirable target.  He was distracted by some of the plates of food that we had been working to capture before his arrival, upon which, one had a softened lump of vanilla ice cream.   To him my presence vanished as the allure of a mid-day treat of cold, sweet cream consumed him.  He pointed, looked at Shannon and again verbalized something that I didn’t understand verbatim, although I grasped the meaning of his message considering the context.  I too, turn to melt in the presence of ice cream.

“Would you like some?”  Shannon asked as she led her 18 month old son to sit at a table not too far from our production.  As they sat and enjoyed a simple pleasure I continued with my work, occasionally glancing in their direction and meeting eyes with the tyke, content in sweet bliss, ice cream all over his face.  He would look my direction periodically, still curious but just a little less considering his current status, as if to say “I’m busy now…but I’ll get back to you…a little later…” Johnny, owner, ice cream eater.

Capital Club 16

16 W. Martin St.

Raleigh, NC 27601

919.747.9345

www.capitalclub16.com (link)

All content ©Mark Petko Photography (click here to request permission)

i got photo-bombed

Capital Club 16 has just recently celebrated their first year anniversary of being open for business, yet Chef Wolf’s culinary experience goes back much further.  From and early start in North Carolina, a middle, traveling thru Atlanta, Germany, and New York, the Wolf’s decided to live the next chapter moving closer to home in Raleigh, to open Capital Club 16 and to focus on the raising of a family.  It becomes clear, ‘the importance of family’ to the Wolf’s.  For a chef based in New York to leave such a food heavy town and open a restaurant in Raleigh would be like a country musician in Nashville taking his twang to ‘make it’ in Jamaica.  Yet, it only took a few moments speaking with Jake before I realized his success will not be tethered to a specific geographic location.  He greeted me at the bar near the front door at the tail end of a lunch service.  As we discussed the process and specific dishes to shoot he would periodically interrupt the discussion as he opened the door and thanked every customer upon their exit of sharing a meal.  He makes mention of some of the background of his upbringing, coming from a family of cooks and food industry entrepreneurs.  He describes how some of the dishes are based on family recipes from both his and his wife’s sides.  He encourages me to visit the wall of photographs that pay homage to this background.  He describes his menu as Classic American but in that definition is the realization that old world influences are through and through as in any one’s American heritage.  So it all seems to fit, the food on the menu, weighted with German influences but open to others, paying homage to simplicity.  The decor that places one in a mindset of an earlier time, and the importance of family, which at the foundation is how one is treated and the reason for Capital Club 16′s existence.

All content ©Mark Petko Photography (click here to request permission)

Although the vibe at Capital Club 16 roots itself in tradition that’s not to say it disregards modern Americana.  During the day it’s easy to find a business casual lunch crowd that commuted by foot from offices downtown and at night, as the workday tempers, the ties come off as young professionals get relaxed and enjoy an evening on the town.  The menu, has many selections and specials that stem from what is fresh and local from the market and artisanal such as the often delivered Schaller & Webber meats.  They also keep modern with their options based on some of Shannon’s vegetarian diet influences.

Garden Sandwich- Vermont cheddar, butter lettuce, spinach, tomato, avocado, red onion, red beets and paprika aioli on French Country

mmmmm.....Spaten....

All content ©Mark Petko Photography (click here to request permission)

The Butcher Plate w/Schaller & Webber Artisanal Sausages and Meats: Mixed Grilled Sausages, smoked pork chop, griddled belly w/ sauerkraut, hand cut spaetzle and gravy, sauteed apples and house mustard

Right around the same time as their one year anniversary, Capital Club 16 won your vote as “Best New Restaurant” Wake County in the yearly Indy Poll.  It would seem that as they have made Raleigh their home and invited you as a part of their family, we have accepted, graciously.

You voted..."Best New Restaurant, Wake County, 2011"

All content ©Mark Petko Photography (click here to request permission)