The CC is a killer bike. I had one for a while. I replaced it with the Salsa Vaya as it is a little more relaxed and I wanted disk brakes. Much more comfortable ride in my personal opinion and it will still run fat tires. I had 700X40s on it with no problems and pretty sure I could go 700X42. It's a bit more expensive, but you'll have this bike a while. Personally I think the Vaya is the perfect bike.

Cx bikes are really nice, but also consider a few of the more relaxed semi-touring frames on the market like the Pake C'mute and the Soma Saga. Not sure if you can buy completes, but building a bike is a great learning experience and a blast. Personally if I were you, I would go....

1. Salsa Vaya (A bit over your budget as a complete, but I built mine for under $1K)
2. Soma Saga
3. Surly CC
4. Pake C'Mute (the Pake frames are fairly inexpensive! They run long in size)
5. Kona - Jake