Good big

Grove Park Inn launches its most inventive restaurant yet this week (excuse the pun).

Edison opens Wednesday, July 31. It's one of seven dining outlets at the resort, but it's perhaps the most versatile with lounge, bar and terrace seating, plus a more formal dining room. Like the Inn's other prominent restaurants, Horizon's and the Blue Ridge Dining Room, it benefits from a panoramic mountain view.

At 250 seats, it's a big place — although, most things at the Inn are large, so it's sized to scale. “It's a lot of seats, but in a good way,” says Tracey Johnston-Crum, director of public relations. “[The Inn] is just such a big and beautiful place that it almost starts to dwarf things.

Edison fills a couple of niches; it's both sports bar and full-service restaurant, Johnston-Crum explains. There's a dining room that takes reservations (although they're not required), but the bar and terrace are for walk-ins.

The restaurant focuses on small plates and beer. Johnston-Crum recommends the Scotch eggs: quail eggs coated in ground lamb and feta and Parmesan cheeses, flash fried.

The 10 North Carolina beers on tap come from Altamont, Hi-Wire, Green Man and Foothills. Weeping Radish Brewery also has a tap handle. “Nobody else has them,” Johnston-Crum says. “We're really happy that we're getting to bring them to town.”

Founded in 1986, Weeping Radish claims to be the oldest microbrewery in the state. It's based near the Outer Banks and focuses on German-style beers (and house-made sausages).

The bar also offers classic cocktails and whiskey flights, which are curated by region: Kentucky, Ireland and Scotland are all represented.

Mixing the posh and the practical, the bar features both local art and television. “There's some TVs integrated into the back of the bar, nothing too overpowering, but a great place to watch something interesting,” she says. That is, if you can peel your eyes off the mountain view.