Three Joints I Can't Miss In Pinehurst

For a change, I’m not writing about golf. I’ve had my fill of Pinehurst golf for the time being. It’s varied and memorable and challenging and I’ll be back before long. What I feel the need to script today are my recollections of a triumvirate of establishments that sate my every need for food and drink.

No more than a five iron from our abode last weekend is the Pinehurst Track Restaurant. It’s a one-room diner with a breakfast/brunch menu. There’s no alcohol nor reservations, no dinner menu nor pretense. Keep your credit cards in their holsters and fire away with cash.

The ladies always offer a smile before you get a menu and the coffee stays warm throughout the meal. You can have grits, hash browns, eggs as you like them and a funky hot sauce that claims to be from Mexico, but can only be from North Carolina. There’s no web page for the little haunt, so the best link I could provide is the Facebook one above. Of four breakfasts last weekend in the Sandhills, I believe four were celebrated at the PTR. I’m certain that other hashery provide an ample first meal, but why mess with a good thing, ever?

After a day of  futile flailing on the fairways, we invariably end up at Dugan’s Pub. It’s an odd corner building with a back dining room that wraps around another storefront, then reappears as an Irish pub and tall-stool room at the front of the building, on a side street. I’ve inhaled everything from curry to burgers, fish to fowl and it’s all good. They have Guiness on tap, my staple, so I’m always at home. A steep and narrow staircase descends to a basement bar and eating room. My amazement with the dexterity required by the wait staff to prolapse and relapse the stairs is publicly profound.

After gorging ourselves at DP, the night takes its bow at the Pine Crest Inn. The fabled tavern and rest was once owned by Donald J. Ross (they say) and has a chipping game of lore and legend (they say) and serves pricey but satisfying beverages (they say) and has a bathroom wall signed by Payne Stewart little before his passing (they say.) All or none of it being true makes not one bit of difference to me. In the summer, the porch is cool and comfortable; in the winter, the fireplace beckons with the comfort of a dear aunt’s gift blanket.

I hope that all find time to visit the Pinehurst area. Whether you go on a bargain excursion or a luxurious tour of the area’s golf courses, find your own places to feel at home. As long as you’re fluent in golf, you’ll always encounter a conversation.