The Sumptuousness of Primary

Written By: Luke Osteen | Issue: April 2023 | Photograph By: Susan Renfro

Tricia and I embraced the promise of the season with a dinner at the beautifully appointed Primary Restaurant and Bar.

The mood was set when we walked in – this place is beautifully-appointed. But let me throw out some better adjectives, that more accurately convey why Primary is making a play for the upper echelons of the Plateau Dining Experience.

Let’s see what sticks – “Lush,” “Sybaritic,” “Sumptuous,” “Opulent,” “Ritzy (a word that somehow lost its glamour in the late 1930s),” “Plush,” and “Splendid.”

Those seem more appropriate. What it means is that Primary’s new owners have given us a cozy boîte that begs us to slow down and enjoy the splendid ritual of dining and chatting and delving into the products of a sumptuous bar and a clever barkeep.

For Tricia, that magic elixir was a simple Margarita. Now I know some of you are saying, “That’s not evidence of a clever barkeep – surely you could get a Margarita at Taco Bell.”

Well, first of all, Taco Bell doesn’t serve alcoholic beverages. Second, I’d remind you that we were visiting at the far end of a winter that had dragged on interminably and this is Tricia’s go-to foolproof drink. And third, she found it to be startlingly delicious and perfectly citrus-y which, she tells me, is a rarity in this unsettled century.

Well, I don’t find comfort in a mixed drink, but I found it on Primary’s menu – Country Fried Beef Tenderloin. Country Fried Steak was what my Aunt Belle would make for me when we’d come to visit in Brevard. She made it with love and the attention that a Southern grandmother would lavish upon a family recipe.

But bless that Dear Woman’s heart, she never served up something as gloriously spiced and seasoned as Primary’s version, hand-breaded and topped with country gravy, and I’m certain she never in her life served anyone beef tenderloin. This feels like a betrayal, but I have to call it straight, right? Plus, the kitchen placed this chop alongside Smashed Local New Potatoes and Grilled Corn Riblets.

(Let me interrupt this review to sing the praises of Grilled Corn Riblets! First Moses parted the Red Sea, and now this – don’t ever tell me that this isn’t a magical world! Let me say it thrice – Grilled Corn Riblets!)

Tricia’s Local Wagyu Ribeye was “magically tender.” Of course, that’s a hallmark of Wagyu, but the kitchen had perfected the seasoning blend and the entire plate – Smashed Local New Potatoes and Sauteed Asparagus Spears – elevated her selection into something transcendent.

Normally, I’d tell you about the desserts, but I’ve really blown my word count. My advice – just let your server describe them, then remember that they’re going to be made with the same care that went into your entrée, by the same people who crafted the ambience of this place, which is quickly becoming a Main Street Institution.

Reservations are necessary for dinner – visit primaryhnc.com. For lunch, “You takes your chances,” as the pirates used to say.