Felicianas dining in its prime, worth the drive

Jim Tanner may have closed The Bluffs exclusive country club this past week, but the owners of Varnedoe’s continue operations at the clubhouse, now open to the public.

“We’ve always wanted it to be public,” says Dought Varnedoe, who with her husband Scott moved the St. Francisville restaurant from The Myrtles’ Carriage House to the Bluffs location. “You’re in too much of a rural area for it to be members-only club. Even the members always have been very supportive of us wanting to take it public.”

Before the closing of the country club nestled in the woods of the Felicianas, most of Varnedoe’s lunch crowd revolved around golfers, which didn’t pull in a lot of business for the owners.

Until the golf course reopens, Varnedoe’s will serve dinner Tuesday through Saturday, late afternoon to evening, and offer a Sunday brunch menu in both its rooms — the 19th Hole casual room with couches and TVs and its formal dining room with a piano bar. With the approaching springtime weather, Varnedoe’s wrap-around veranda with a breath-taking view of Thompson’s Creek gives foodies a great reason to enjoy boiled crawfish every other Thursday.

Varnedoe’s relocation left some dear friends of The Myrtles Plantation an opportunity to move into The Carriage House. Tip and Beth Pace, who’ve lived on The Myrtles grounds for 15 years, opened for lunch and dinner in November, with the help of their son Kaine Pace and his girlfriend Ashleigh Pattillo.

“People in St. Francisville walk in and say, ‘Oh we didn’t know you were open,” Pattillo says of the building where people parked their horse and buggies. “Slowly but surely we’re coming along. It’s a nice location, especially in spring with patio and live music.”

The Carriage House is open for lunch (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and dinner (5 p.m. to 9 p.m.) every day but Tuesdays, and offers a Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s a great place for special events such as bridal luncheons, wedding receptions and high teas.

But do the legends from the plantation disturb this quaint dining experience? “They’re all friendly ghosts,” Tip Pace explains. “My wife feels them on Sunday mornings, sees shadows go by. Personally I’ve never seen them, but I have seen Iraqi war veterans white as a ghost get up in the middle of the night with a blanket to sleep in their cars because they get spooked.”