Comfort Dining of the Highest Order

Written By: Luke Osteen | Issue: 2019/06 - June

We at Laurel spend a lot of ink rhapsodizing about life on the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau. From the natural glories to the galvanizing art scene to the dreamers, they all get their moment to shine. Heck, every month I spotlight restaurants that are thriving in this most-Darwinian of environments.

But here’s the secret harbored in the deepest corners of the hearts of those of us who produce this magazine – indeed, everyone who lives on the Plateau: Sometimes you really need to get away. You’ve been cooped up too long. You hunger for different sights, different faces, different stories. And, in my case, different menus.

Which brings us to this month’s restaurant, The Lakeside Dining Room at The Greystone Inn. 

You see, I’d been on the Plateau since early December, kept within its confines through all of the winter and most of the spring. I was, and I’m being charitable here, slowly going wonky and more than a bit ripe.

When Marjorie announced that I’d be visiting The Greystone Inn, I felt a little frisson of passion at the notion that I’d be traveling to Lake Toxaway. Greener pastures, a different menu.

I know some of you are saying, “But Luke, Lake Toxaway is only 18 miles from the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau. What kind of getaway is that?”

OK, you have a point. But that’s only if you’re going with hard, Newtonian reality. If you’re basing the need for getting off the mountain on something shaped in the realm of the emotional, the spiritual, well, Lake Toxaway is a million miles away.

For over 100 years, this pristine portion of mountain beauty has been offering sanctuary and respite to those in need. Back then, it was personages like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. Nowadays, it’s celebrities like Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Steve Martin, and Stephen King.

(OK, when I met the latter at The Greystone Inn years ago, he was proofing the galleys to “Under the Dome.” But for a perpetual-motion prose machine like King, that constitutes a bit of relaxation.) 

Tricia and I arrived at the Inn’s Lakeside Dining Room as the sun was dropping below the mountains and the lake seemed to glitter like a nighttime window display at Tiffany’s. 

The room is hushed and unhurried, and just ambling to our table allowed some of the stress of the day, of the weeks, even the months, to begin to slip away. 

This sensation was enhanced by the presence of our server Robert, who was observant, eager to offer recommendations and opinions, and quick with a wry comment. We luxuriated in the attention. 

Of course, the cornerstone of the evening was the menu itself, and no amount of atmosphere or indulgent service would compensate for a meal that was prepared with inattention. 

This is where the Inn’s seduction went into overdrive. We were treated to appetizers of Pumpkin Ravioli, Baby Kale Salad, and a cheese plate of Grub Family Cashel Blue. The Pumpkin Ravioli was lavished with Pumpkin Seed Oil and topped with Pumpernickel Caraway Crumble – forkfuls were