Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in North Carolina: Dinner and drinks, anyone?
VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. -- Golfers flock to Pinehurst Resort & Country Club for the eight golf courses, not eight-course meals. But like everything else at this historic resort in the Sandhills, the dining is part of an experience of excellence.
The Carolina Dining Room inside the Carolina Hotel is open for a legendary breakfast buffet and dinner (both serenaded by a pianist). The resort wisely dropped the "jacket required" mentality for dinner to cater to today's golf traveler who is packing lighter and just wants to have a good time. The menu is both diverse and divine.
The Ryder Cup Lounge, also in the Carolina, and The Tavern inside The Holly Inn, located in the village, serve a more relaxed vibe and a simpler menu to match. The quality is still up to par -- my shrimp and grits, followed by a mile high key lime pie, in the Ryder Cup Lounge was my favorite meal of my three-day stay this fall.
The 1895 Grille is The Holly Inn's more intimate answer to The Carolina Dining Room. Its breakfast buffet is stellar (even without the omelet station), and is so popular for dinner that reservations should be made several days in advance.
The main resort clubhouse offers the 91st Hole and the Donald Ross Grill Room.