Additional Features The Abingdon, which gained fame for its quality hospitality, is fast being eclipsed by the fame of its new restaurant.

(March 2008) Abingdon Manor in Latta, S.C. began life twelve years ago as a luxury country inn, which it still is, but with a plus: it now offers dining on a par with fine big city gourmet restaurants. Perhaps it was a natural progression, given the love of gourmet foods by the Abingdon owners.

Michael and Patty Griffey moved to Latta from Miami, Fla. To open the now four-AAA Diamond inn after careers in business. Michael owned a consulting firm and Patty owned an accounting firm. Both halted their careers to buy the mansion, built in 1902 by James H. Manning, a wealthy planter.

The facility is strategically placed for travelers from New York to Miami, being about 15 miles south of the N.C. border on 301 near I-95. One way to remember how to get there is take 301 at the South of the Border amusement complex, or exit 181 South off of I-95, for the short ride to the tobacco belt town of 2,000 residents.

The 10,000-square-foot mansion, which is somewhat reminiscent in appearance to Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, has 1,500-square feet of verandas, downsized from 2,000 square feet recently when the Griffeys glassed in a projecting segment on the left side of the house to add dining space.

The home is spectacular, with three acres of well-manicured lawns and gardens and 34 white wooden columns, made from wood cut on the premises by the original builder. The columns have cast irons bases and capitals in the doric style. The verandas have rocking chairs and small tables, a nice place for a glass of sherry or a smoke. Smoking is not allowed anywhere inside.

When Manning built the pink brick structure, it was the centerpiece of his 7,000 acre cotton and tobacco plantation. Those unfamiliar with its history believe the mansion is an ante-bellum structure.

Ante-bellum it isn’t. What it is may be one of the best gourmet restaurants between New York and Miami.

Because she has been praised by so many so often for her cooking, Patty Griffey disclosed she is now in the midst of writing an Abingdon Manor style cookbook. She said she will offer it to guests and it in turn will help keep Abingdon Manor's gracious living style in the public consciousness.

The Griffeys said they are proud that their restaurant is the only AAA Four Diamond restaurant in South Carolina outside of Charleston, Kiawah. Beaufort and Hilton Head.

Here is just a sampling of the many menu items prepared by Patty Griffey, whose lifelong passion has been gourmet cooking—perhaps the reason for the Four-Diamond rating: Herb encrusted pork tenderloin; duck breast with dried cherry and rum sauce; Caribbean snapper in white port wine sauce; herb encrusted rack of lamb with balsamic-shallot reduction; lemon rosemary-infused rotisserie chicken; steak au poivre; veal scallopini; shrimp in Pernod cream sauce; grilled beef tenderloin with mango salsa; Steak Diane; filet with Bearnaise sauce; scallops in orange-tequila sauce; Tuscan style steak; pineapple glazed salmon with a barbecue rub; snapper with shellfish and julienne vegetables baked in parchment; lump fin crab cakes with sauce Louis; center-cut bone-in pork chops with Gorgonzola cheese and caramelized onions; lobster thermidor; veal cordon bleu; Osso Bucco; Coq au vin; and veal chops with Parmesan crust and white wine demi-glaze. There are many others.

Desserts are just as spectacular, with baked Alaska, chocolate mousse, tarts Tatin with cinnamon ice cream and various sorbets, just to name a few.

The dinner rates are $40 per person, pre-fixe French style, with a 7 percent tax and 18 percent gratuity.

This writer tried the steak au poivre and it was superb, with the house Chardonnay. It was preceded by a savory red pepper soup and shrimp wrapped with bacon, rosemary and bleu cheese. The salad was made with tomatoes, shaved Parmesan cheese, avocado oil and Cabernet vinegar. The steak was accompanied by rosemary roasted potatoes and carrots Vichy.

The dinner was intimately lighted with real candles, fresh linen, imported crystal, Villeroy & Boch china, sterling silver, fresh flowers and in the background, not too loud, the lyric songs of Billie Holliday, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald played.

Unlike many of the small town areas of the south where a drink is sometimes hard to find, the Abingdon offers a full complement of premium liquors, liquers, beer, wine and whiskeys. The wine list is excellent, offering a wide range of excellent vintages.

The Abingdon also has an "honor bar" in the rear parlor, where a variety of alcoholic beverages are available at any time of the day or night. The guest write on a pad what was used and are charged accordingly.

For those guests who plan a canoe trip on the Pee Dee, picnic or hike or to take on the drive home, Patty will make a picnic hamper full of food to make the excursion unforgettable.

The dining area includes fine mahogany tables with chairs upholstered in a subdued floral pattern. A large chandelier is the centerpiece of the room, which is painted forest green with white trim. Very nice paintings adorn the dining area walls. And the newly glassed-in dining area is a great place for dinner or breakfast. Breakfast is served from 7:45 a.m. to 9 a.m. This writer enjoyed a breakfast of bacon, poached eggs with lemon sauce, served atop fancy linen in the glassed-in dining area. It was raining hard and that, along with the coffee, made the experience more enjoyable. Even the coffee was a delicious special blend.

Patty Griffey said some guests from Florida told them last month about a new drink they found on a recent trip to Chub Cay in the Abacos, called " Hpnotiq cocktail." It is made of Hptoniq liqueur, with one part white cranberry juice, shaken with ice and placed in a martini glass with a gummy fish floating on top. They tried it and they liked it so much they now offer a Hpnotiq sorbet. This writer tried it and the tropical flavor was excellent.

Dinner seating is 7:30 and the Griffeys request "casual eloquent attire," coats and ties not required. The menu changes each night and like all pre-fixe menus, diners must have what the chef decides. Certainly no one will complain about the Abingdon selections.

Patty Griffey said she has to travel to Pinehurst, N.C. and elsewhere for many of the rare ingredients she uses in her gourmet kitchen. Although she said she once took a short cooking course in Miami, she is largely self-taught, having always been interested in gourmet cooking.

The Griffeys said one of their secrets is that they have an herb garden on the premises and grow their own rosemary, thyme, chives, and many other spices. Entrees change each day, depending on what is fresh and available.

Chocolates are provide in the bedrooms and there are cookies placed enticingly at points in the mansion.

The seven guest rooms have been redecorated since the last AAA visit.

Although they are all different, most have the same genteel eloquence.

One typical room had heavy draperies held by a cast bronze hook, white trim, a blue tile and wood mantel, marble and tile baths with Gilchrist & Soames toiletries, paintings and prints on the walls, ironing board and iron, hair dryer, a chest, desk, three tables, a ceiling fan, individually adjusted heat and air, a folding luggage rack, a floral pattern carpet, books on some of the tables, tall, matching pewter and marble lamps on the bedstands, a feather bed that takes you to sleep immediately; a veneer TV stand, two bath robes, flower prints, two wingback parlor chairs, 12-foot ceilings; four by eight windows with just two heavy panes.

The room has a large closet, transoms over all of the doors, including an open spindle transom over the closet to keep clothing aired out; several current quality magazines, high thread-count sheets; four large and fluffy pillows; fresh flowers in your room and throughout the mansion. Champagne on ice and chocolate awaits you at turndown in your room.

The twin front doors at Abingdon are very nice, heavy and paned with heavy oval, beveled glass. They are symbolic of the luxury that awaits a visitor or guest inside.

The Abingdon, which gained fame for its quality hospitality, is fast being eclipsed by the fame of its new restaurant.
(Updated March 2008)

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