Cuisine:

• Others
• Contemporary

Herons Description:
The signature restaurant of the grand Umstead Hotel, Herons invites comparison with the area's other highly esteemed hotel dining rooms. The Umstead is a visual feast: the lobby boasts a Dale Chihuly glass sculpture depicting the eponymous birds. Herons' elegant dining room is a veritable museum of the best of North Carolina's art and pottery. Beyond the open kitchen window, the restaurant's chef, Scott Crawford, most recently at the Georgian Room at The Cloister and prior to that at Woodlands Resort & Inn outside of Charleston, S.C., can be seen constructing plates of his seasonal fare. Breakfast features that same locavore sense of dining that governs the restaurant's other menus, so you'll find locally produced ham, pancakes studded with Georgia pecans, and Anson Mill grits from South Carolina. Crawford's lunch menu features such tempting items as "Southport Salad," with red snapper, artichoke hearts and kalamata olives, and a flaky crusted pheasant potpie. Dinner choices, according to the season, may be pork cheeks with rosemary grits topped with toasted pecan gremolata, or grilled lamb loin with a saffron-potato purée. Classic Southern sweetness informs desserts, with such treats as banana pudding and coconut cream pie. Crawford's menu, characteristic of the chef's sophisticated but simple style, relies on pure flavors and unfussy presentations---in harmony with the restaurant's contemporary ambience. Enjoy a bottle from the extensive list of international wines along with the view of the property's tranquil lake to make an unforgettable dining experience.


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