Just wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a Happy 4th! We are in Highlands, NC with my parents and Jill’s mom. For those of you who haven’t heard of Highlands, it’s a mountain town in the Southern Appalachains and located in the Nantahala National Forest. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind place. There are beautiful golf courses, fantastic restaurants, wine and cheese shops, waterfalls, hiking trails, boutique craft shops and more. What most people probably don’t know is that Highlands is a world-class food and wine destination with 6 restaurants that have received the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Needless to say, we’ve been doing some intensive ‘wining & dining’ around Highlands over the past few days. Here’s a taste of where we’ve been…

Lakeside Restaurant: Harris Lake serves as the perfect setting for this Wine Spectator Award of Excellence restaurant located just past Main St. in Highlands. The wine list is equally as impressive as the beautiful setting. For the past 20+ years Chef/Owner Marty Rosenfield has been pleasing the palates of the diners who visit his small and intimate dining room. An affable chef, when he wasn’t busy in his kitchen Marty was walking around the room talking with the diners at each table. He came by as we were perusing the wine list and offered up a couple of recommendations. We started with a bottle of a nice, not too sweet Riesling — 2007 Weingut, Johannisberg, Kabinett, Germany — it had a nice mineral finish and was the perfect complement to our starters: assorted roasted wild mushrooms in a blue cheese cream sauce w/ cumin crackers and Prince Edward Island Mussels in a Thai basil broth. Jill and I loved the mushrooms which had a rich and decadent cream sauce and none of us could believe how many mussels they served us in the Thai basil broth that was so delicious we asked for extra bread to sop up the goodness. For our main courses, Jill’s mom and I ordered the Colorado lamb chops that we had heard about from diners that were leaving as we were arriving. We had also heard about the special of the night — Wolffish in an Asian sweet chili sauce — but they were already out of it by the time we ordered. Never in my life have I had lamb chops that were this big. They came two to a plate and I’m telling you it took me close to half an hour to devour them. They were nicely charred on the outside and beautifully medium rare on the inside. Jill had sauteed grouper in lemon, artichoke and wild mushrooms and a side of asparagus, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Lakeside’s wine list boasts some hard-to-find bottles, including Wine Spectator’s 2008 Wine of the Year — Casa Lapostelle’s 2005 Clos Apalta — which he lists for just $95 (retails for as much as $140-150 in wine stores, if you can find it).

Madison’s Restaurant at The Old Edwards Inn: Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin in describing the unbelievable dinner we had here. Madison’s was lucky enough to lure world-class executive chef Johannes Klapdohr earlier this year, and he has transformed this restaurant into a one-of-a-kind dining experience blending locally-sourced ingredients from area farmers, his commitment to sustainability and the fine-dining cooking techniques he has acquired over the past couple of decades training under the likes of Michelin star chefs. The service was top-notch, like you would expect at a Per Se or Jean-Georges restaurant, which is especially impressive considering the relative isolation of Highlands. My mom, Jill’s mom and I started with a Cream of Vidalia Onion soup which everyone at the table agreed was one of the best soups they had ever tasted. Jill started with a poached egg salad with bacon, frisee, wild mushrooms and port wine reduction. It was delicious. They came around with warm breads, and you can imagine my excitement when the server told us one of the selections was a bacon and cheddar cornbread. Again, incredible. For the main course, I went with the Asheville “Highlands Ale” Braised Short Ribs over Celery Root Puree and Roasted Farm Petite Vegetables. Jill ordered the same. Jill’s mom ordered the most unique and delicious fried chicken dish you will every try – local chicken breasts injected with truffle emulsion made from the leg meat and then lightly flash-fried for 15 seconds after cooking and served with with a truffle creme fraiche on the side and braised brussel sprouts and roasted hominy. My dad ordered the trout served with a warm apple and bacon vinaigrette and my mom ordered the halibut served over white asparagus foam with mint puree. Both fish entrees were beautifully prepared and perfectly executed. Before the main courses came out, Chef Klapdohr came by with a mid-meal amuse bouche of shrimp n’ grits with sturgeon caviar. For wine, we started with a nice, crisp Sancerre and then we enjoyed a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon (specific details coming soon). Lest I forget the sides of truffle mac n’ cheese which had a ton of truffle flavor in every bite. Jill and I aren’t typically big dessert people, but that would change if we could have desserts like the ones he had at Madison’s. At the end of the meal, Jill and I concurred that it was one of our Top 10 Meals. I would put Chef Klapdohr up against any NYC chef on a Food Network or Bravo cooking challenge. The food was just remarkably executed and beautifully presented.

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