10 minute read
Southern hospitality defined
Surely, you must be ready for a truly fine dining experience.
As the sultry days of summer settle in and the need to slip away to the cooler confines of the mountains teams up with our anxious nature to explore once more, The
Advertisement
Orchard Inn in nearby Saluda, NC, affords the perfect response to anyone’s wanderlust.
In The Orchard Inn & Newman’s
Restaurant & Spa, Marc and Marianne
Blazar have created an elegant mountain retreat and fine dining restaurant capable of providing an experience unlike anything to be found from Greenville to Asheville.
Excellent food, prepared to perfection, is served well against a panoramic backdrop of the North Carolina Mountains. Lush gardens, sprinkled with birdhouses and feeders, attract an array of winged visitors for those on the enclosed, porch-like dining room to enjoy.
Whether you choose to stay overnight at the historic Orchard Inn, are simply looking for an excellent dining experience ahead of a production at the nearby Flat Rock Playhouse or following an afternoon at the equallyproximate Tryon International Equestrian
Center, Newman’s Restaurant simply has to claim a spot on your “must-do” list.
On a daily basis, Executive Chef Aaron
Edwards uses the finest and freshest offerings — many of them grown in the Inn’s 4,000-square foot organic garden and miniorchard — to create unique offerings for each of the meal’s four courses. Countless rela- tionships with local growers help shape New- man’s menu, as do arrivals of fresh fish from the coast several times each week.
“The menu changes weekly and seasonally,” said Marc Blazar, whose history, like that of his wife’s, is steeped in the art of travel hospitality and gourmet cuisine. “The root vegetables of winter are replaced as fresh summer vegetables become available, and the menu is shaped around what we can obtain locally throughout the year. We have so many farmers we want to support.”
{opposite page} Enjoying Newman’s farm-to-table cuisine while looking out over the North Carolina Mountains is an experience unlike any other.
{top to bottom} Filet mignon at Newman’s is, in this case, served with a beet aioli sauce and butter- ball potatoes, pickled cherries and arugula. • The main lodge at The Orchard Inn in Saluda is home to nine unique bed and breakfast rooms as well as exceptional dining at Newman’s Restaurant. • Chef Aaron Edwards • The grilled North Carolina Shrimp with lemon risotto is a favorite, frequently featured among the Sunday brunch entrees.
Unlike many of the old inns of its time, The Orchard Inn was not originally open to the public. Built by the Brotherhood of Clerks for Southern Railway in 1926, the farmhouse-style lodging was created as a summer getaway for railroad employees and their families. Located at an altitude of 2,500 feet and part of the thermo-clime, the temperatures were considerably cooler than South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana, where most of the clerks resided. It was the perfect getaway!
Originally called the Mountain Home … the second floor was originally designed with 10 guest rooms with separate men’s and ladies’ communal bathrooms on opposite ends of the hallway for clerks with families. Guests could enjoy three meals a day downstairs in the basement dining room. All guests shared the spacious first-floor lobby with its wood floors, timber posts and numerous windows and doors opening to porches on all sides.
Also built in 1926, the Paulownia, Boxwood and Twin Poplar cottages were first created to house the inn’s staff. They were originally very simple {at top} The Laurel structures, but have since been modernized. After the railroad began to become outdated, there was no longer use for the Mountain Home. It was sold in 1963, and fell into a state of disrepair and neglect. From 1974 through 1981 the property Cottage was not one of the three original cottages at The Orchard Inn, but it is now one of five secluded cottages was purchased and renamed several times. In available for guest 1981, the inn reached its lowest point and was closed and all furniture was sold at public auction. That same year Ken and Ann Hough purchased the property and completely renovated the main building and cottages to create the bed and use. • {above} Guests staying at The Orchard Inn enjoy a complimentary, madeto-order breakfast. breakfast it is today. They ran The Orchard Inn for 12 years before leasing it briefly. Bob and Kathy Thompson purchased it in 1997, and ran it successfully for 13 years when Marc and Marianne Blazar became the innkeepers.
The current owners brought a wealth of hospitality and dining experience to the Inn.
In 1978, they were both independently owning and operating sailing charters in the Virgin Islands. Marianne had left Vienna, Austria, to spend a year in the tropics, and Marc had left Newport, RI, in search of adventure. The two met serendipitously over a photo Marianne took of Marc’s rainbow spinnaker sailing down the Francis Drake Passage off St. John.
They both chartered for four years, taking guests from St. Thomas for island hopping cruises in the British Virgin Islands. Since they were both chefs on their respective boats and preparing gourmet meals in a tiny galley, they often remarked at what a dynamic duo they would be working together. As landlubbers on St. Thomas, they owned four one-hour photo shops, raised three sons and traveled the world doing corporate event photography for Fortune 100 clients.
While traveling they took copious notes, dreaming of owning their own small hotel one day. ä This material is edited from The Orchard Inn website.
The spacious first-floor lobby with its wood floors, timber posts and numerous windows and doors opening to porches on all sides, was part of the original Mountain Home, built in 1926 for employees and families of the Southern Railway. Today, it remains a gathering space for guests of The Orchard Inn. While farm-to-table dining means checking out the online menu is prudent, Newman’s does have dishes that reappear routinely among the three to five main entrees offered each evening. Among those is fresh North Carolina trout, offered as both an entrée and in smoked fashion as a secondary dish. “The beef tenderloin is always popular,” Blazar noted, “and the duck (pan-seared and served with carrot puree, pickled rhubarb, grilled peach, turnips, grilled long beans and German butterball potatoes) is amazing.” Typically, one may also find a lamb dish on the menu, as well as pork tenderloin. For our meal we intentionally ordered differently from each of the four courses, intent on experiencing as many tastes as possible. For the first course I enjoyed San Marzano and caramelized onion soup, but I was also able to sample a kale salad that, while marinated in lemon and garlic, had the perfect blend of wilt and crispness and just enough sunflower seeds and fresh strawberries to ensure complete consumption.
The second course was wild mushroom risotto with crisp bacon for my wife, while I devoured perfectly grilled Spanish octopus served with spring onions, whipped potatoes and a chimichurri sauce with just enough jalapeno to make each component pop while not overwhelming the dish.
Come See The Difference!
Affordable Luxury Senior Living starting at $2695 Independent, Assisted Living & Memory Care All On One Level Many spacious common areas and courtyard Award-winning chef tailored to residents’dietary needs 24-hour personalized care at no extra cost On-site medical and physical therapy • Transportation services Beautician and barber shop • Massage therapy • Exercise program Family engagement, social events and community outings
Locally Owned with Friendly Staff in a home like atmosphere
140 Cambridge Drive Clemson, SC 29631 864-513-4105 • clemsonheritage.com
For our main course she chose the beef tenderloin, served with fingerling potatoes, asparagus, roasted beet and a carrot puree. The beef was extremely tender and perfectly comple
{above} The Seafood Risotto features a New England lobster tail and shrimp served with watercress, dried tomato, oyster mushrooms and a scallop sherry cream sauce. • {at right} A frequent entrée at Newman’s is the pan-seared Chilean sea bass served with a white wine-based livornese, cauliflower and pine nut ragu. mented by the generous servings of vegetables. I savored branzino, served atop lemon risotto and asparagus. The searing of my sea bass provided a wonderful little crunch with each bite. For dessert we shared espresso crème brûlée and a serving of vanilla bean panna cotta with strawberry gelée, fresh strawberries and real whipped cream. The four-course meal price is $75. While that may seem steep, it’s important to remember that dining at Newman’s is an experience, not just a meal. Our server, Lynn, was
delightful and attentive but never overbearing. Marc and Marianne both visited to ensure we were satisfied. And, contrary to gourmet food stereotypes, we went away full.
On Sundays Newman’s offers a $35 threecourse brunch, between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. As with dinner, the menu varies based on season and availability.
Wine lovers will want to experience Newman’s Restaurant.
Every entrée has a wine pairing suggested. There are some 1,500 bottles in Newman’s cellar, offering guests an opportunity to savor varietals from around the world and across the United States.
Marc said he doesn’t consider himself a wine sommelier but added, “I would be happy to talk wine with any of our guests.”
Marianne served as chef at Newman’s after the couple bought the business in 2010. Although Edwards assumed the title of chef de cuisine in August 2017 and was promoted to executive chef in May 2018, the firm’s website notes that, “as food and beverage manager, (Marianne) does not let a single plate leave the kitchen which isn’t 100 percent perfect in every way.”
“We do our best to provide an elegant, farm-to-table dining experience,” Marc said. “We enjoy what we do. It doesn’t feel like work.”
The Orchard Inn Experience
After crisscrossing the country several times in search of the perfect bed and breakfast, the Blazars knew the moment they walked up the front steps of The Orchard Inn their three-year quest was over.
“We kept coming back because we loved this area,” Blazar said. “When we saw the Inn we just looked at each other and said, ‘yup’.”
And, why not? The Inn checked every box on their list including being rural, having sufficient acreage and offering an abundance of fresh air and water that one could drink from the tap.
The historic inn consists of nine rooms at the main inn, five cottage suites set back in the woods and two luxury suites with stunning North Carolina mountain views. Along with each stay, guests are treated to fresh cookies upon arrival, a host of in-room amenities, and a home-cooked, made-to-order breakfast.
Two years ago the family (Two of the couple’s three sons are involved in the business.) added a luxury spa that offers relaxing massage and aromatherapy packages.
Each of the nine guest rooms in the main inn has its own unique charm. All come furnished with a queen, king or two twin beds, and all have private bathrooms. The suite on the main floor also has a gas fireplace, Jacuzzi tub and steam shower.
Each cottage features a screened-in porch or open deck, spacious living areas, fireplaces and beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. Some cottages even have added amenities like full kitchens, Jacuzzi tubs and extra bedrooms. n
The Orchard Inn & Newman’s Restaurant are located at 100 Orchard Inn Ln #9706, Saluda, NC. For Inn or dinner reservations, call 828.749.5471. Dinner reservations can also be made through OpenTable. For more information, visit: www.orchardinn.com
More Accessibility, More Enjoyment.
An inclined elevator takes the steps out of your trek to the dock! Smooth, safe and enjoyable. Marine Innovations is the leader in accessibility. Your trip to the dock will be as delightful as your time on the water. Call us today and take the next step to fully enjoy your lake life!
Your local dealer:
Manufactured by:
Johnson Welding Service 828-553-9107 johnstonhugh@yahoo.com
State-of-the-Art Incline Elevators
888-334-4666 www.marineinnovations.com
