16C — Restaurant in Quincy

Steak tips with a Campari and Soda. Side of arugula salad.

Bread pudding with a coffee for dessert.

This is the best meal I've had all year, hands down. And 4 hours earlier I didn't even know I'd be having it.

My girlfriend and I were going to attend a Karaoke night with some of her friends in Quincy but we had some time to kill beforehand. Both of us being foodies, we said "let's grab some dinner in the area" and searched "Phantom Gourmet Quincy" on YouTube. We love that show and have spent many a Sunday morning watching the glorious food porn it provides. With few exceptions, it's never steered us wrong. The spot it had on 16C featured all the close ups of delicious dish we've come to expect. Two little facts they dropped caught my attention more than anything though:

1. The steak tips are a townie treasure, a secret recipe brought over from another restaurant by the owner's father after his own establishment closed its' doors

2. The woman who runs 16C operated a bakery for 10 years before she opened this spot

A Boston classic take on steak tips and deserts created by somebody with heaps of experience run by two generations of restaurateurs? Perfect.

All the tables were full when we arrived, but they were happy to serve us at the bar. The guy behind the counter was impeccable at his job (my only complaint was that he likes to serve Campari drinks in a wine glass while I like them in a cocktail glass, but I can understand how that could be a matter of personal preference). The bar is also really cool to look at too. All the wine, beer, and spirits are arranged symmetrically and staked high on dark wood, with the top shelf stuff in the middle in fancy bottles. It just looks dynamic.

But enough about the interior design. Let me tell you about dem steak tips.

Medium rare. Marinated in... something. It's got a flash of sweetness that's obvious but not overpowering, like cola mixed with a blend of herbs and spices that takes just enough edge off. The meat is tender enough to cut but is cooked to that right level that gives you all that chew you're craving when you get tips. I don't know what's in that secret recipe but you can see why it's crossing generational lines. The maple arugula salad was fine too and provided a perfect break in between bites of the meat. My mouth was watering as soon as I smelled the things.

And that desert man. Let me tell ya.

Bread pudding is amazing when done right. And you can tell that the person in charge of the slice I got had been doing it right for a looooong time. It was the perfect level of moist. My spoon cut right through it but there was none of that excess moisture you sometimes get if a place has been keeping it refrigerated and allowing it to accumulate water in a container. I was also taken aback by how NOT sweet it was. Most bakeries over-sugar their stuff too much for my palette and I get sick of whatever they're serving after one or two bites. This place cooks it with a level of sweetness that's comforting and also allows the flavors of the bread to really stand out. It really mellows you out and lets you work your way through the entire slice guilt free. It also came out toasty with a cup of coffee that was a perfect cap on the meal. Just perfect.

Thank you 16C. I really wasn't expecting to have such a good meal last Saturday night. Honestly, as delicious as everything was, you kind of stole the thunder from Karaoke...

I was pleasantly and unpleasantly surprised with 16C. The reviews and PG video review looked fantastic. We showed up early, which was great, no wait at all. First thing we were told, “Sorry, no bread, it’s not ready yet” and we were never offered any later on. Sad since we were told they have great bakery quality bread, guess we will never know. Pizza was absolutely wonderful. As good as they were saying. Well done, without being over done, GREAT job. We of course tried the steak tips and although quite good, 1/3 of the meat was a bit grizzly. At $23 I would expect the best steak tips EVER. These were not. As the only side the rice was very good , but a second side would have been nice. The final surprise came when we ordered dessert. The homemade ice cream was touted as “The Best” so we ordered the Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Sunday. One slight problem, they served it to us but forgot the Ice cream… “Really!” We called over the waiter, he had not noticed, but apologized and went and got us a scoop, but in a separate bowl. Again at $9 my dessert should be fully assembled. The ice cream was terrific. Sadly a little extra effort by the waiter would have gone a long way to making us forget the mistakes, but he seemed like his mind was elsewhere. All in all Great Pizza, Great Ice cream, more than likely we will return in the future and try once more hoping the silly mistakes were...

Our first visit to 16C was pleasant. On a Wednesday night things were pretty quiet. Parking was definitely tough, so be prepared, or use a car service (Besides, then you can have TWO cocktails!). Okay, let's get to it! When we entered we we're looking for guidance, something we didn't get, a little lackluster. We we're seated in the "dining area". A great cocktail, and an okay glass of sauvignon blanc. (These guys def. need help with their wine list.) They only offer one type of each variety by the glass, and the wine menu was weak. Bring your own wine if you are particular like me. Next, brussels for a shared appetizer...um, good, but way too sweet (maple syrup). Dish needs to be balanced with a acid. We both had the meatloaf, mashed and asparagras. Not bad, and a nice portion, but no bells went off for me. It's good safe choice for 20 bucks. The bells rang for dessert. A great apple bread pudding, with cinnamon ice cream and caramel sauce. Now THAT was tasty. Okay, had coffee as well...tasted a bit burnt to me (Maybe not perfectly fresh, but acceptable.) So, wrapping it up...I think I was expecting more. Service was good, food was okay. We will come back for the pan pizza, they looked good coming out. Maybe it's really just a pizza joint masquerading as fine dining. Make some tweaks you guys could be...