When Colorado skiing was in its infancy 50 years ago, people went up the hill and came down the hill, many times. When hunger pangs were impossible to ignore, a hamburger filled the void. Period.
We've come a long way, baby. Four-star restaurants command mountaintop settings. New Zealand mussels and cockles are menu regulars. Roasted elk medallions melt in your mouth. And, you can order your crème brulée with or without flambé.
Hamburgers are still around, but haute cuisine is a delicious punctuation to a day on the mountain. Just hope your vacation is long enough to visit ski country’s plethora of multi-award-winning restaurants, many of which boast chefs honored at James Beard House in New York City. Here, a mere soupçon...
Aspen knows how to pamper its star-studded clientele. It's difficult to choose outstanding restaurants, when each one is stellar.
The Century Room in the Hotel Jerome is reminiscent of history from 1889. Butter-poached Maine lobster, stuffed loin of veal with prosciutto or scallops with white truffle gnocchi fill a room draped in burgundy velvet and Italian tapestries.
Olives, in the sophisticated St. Regis Aspen, showcases award-winning, Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. Try the grilled rib eye of beef served in a red- wine oxtail braise with crispy mushroom croquette and a scotch-bonnet salsa.
Cache Cache offers French food in a lively see-and-be-seen dining room (and courtyard, in summer). The grilled salmon is divine, served with spinach, tomato fondue, basil and olive puree.
"Haute Rustic" cuisine is the trademark of the Renaissance. A recommendation — try the crispy Chilean sea bass with artichokes and Shiitake mushrooms.
Tucked in a mountain valley, Beaver Creek basks in quiet elegance, which extends to its gracious and unforgettable dining experience.
Mirabelle's quaint Victorian-style house stands out in this contemporary resort. Also non-traditional is the light French cuisine without heavy sauces or cream. Relish the lobster and calamari casserole or Colorado lamb chops.
As extraordinary as its name, Splendido blends American, French Provencal and Italian influences in the delicious tradition of a French chateau. More than 350 wine selections accompany Maine sea scallops, mesquite-grilled elk or Dover sole à la Meuniere
A food adventure tempts you at Patina, located inside the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa, with fare of the Pacific Rim fused with the taste of the southwest. Progressive, yet relaxed, Patina also features a tapas/sushi bar with outstanding taste sensations.
From your table in the Grouse Mountain Grill at The Pines Lodge, your view of the Beaver Creek valley is uninterrupted. This mountain-style American grill features rustic preparations of fine meats and fresh fish. Try the bacon-wrapped breast of pheasant, or the jumbo lobster and sweet-potato ravioli.
In the historic, restored Victorian town of Breckenridge, more than a 100 restaurants cater to every palate and every purse. The finest are unquestionably —
Cafe Alpine, one of the best in the state. Continental American dining, including olive, fresh mozzarella and arugula-stuffed chicken with pine-nut risotto. You simply must order the chocolate mousse tower — berries filling a column of white and dark chocolate, topped with chocolate lightning bolts — it’s nearly 12 inches high.
There's a reason the Overlook Tavern and Grille is so named; the view from its dining room embraces the Continental Divide and the four mountains of the Breckenridge Ski Resort. The cuisine complements the stunning scenery, and the elegant presentation of top dishes might include Rocky Mountain trout stuffed with crab or bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin.
The unique location of Keystone’s finest restaurants adds to your evening's indelible dining experience.
The Alpenglow Stube, at 11,444-feet above sea level, is North America's highest gourmet restaurant. Following two scenic gondola rides, you'll reach the Outpost, a spectacular log and stone lodge atop North Peak. Exquisite Alpine cuisine with a Bavarian flair offers one of life's unforgettable evenings. Among the Stube's signatures: pinecone pâté with duck foie gras, a mixed grill of caribou and salmon and a high-country vegetarian ravioli.
The Keystone Ranch, an elegantly restored 1930s ranching homestead, sits on one of the resort's golf courses. The incomparable Colorado cuisine, presented in six courses, can include Ahi tuna, range-fed veal and a spire of berries with raspberry chocolate mousse.
Ski Tip Lodge is a restored stagecoach way station from the 1860s. Now a charming country inn with an award-winning restaurant, your entrees may include a bounty of wild hare, buffalo and venison or breast of Muscovy duck
Visited by people from around the globe, Vail is also home to famed international flavors.
La Tour (Tel: 970-476-4403) presents some of the finest Nouvelle French cuisine in the Vail Valley. Choose champagnes by the glass to accompany Russian caviar (Beluga, Osetra, and Sevruga), classic French onion soup, diver-caught sea scallops, sweet-potato ravioli, and crème broulée flambé.
Chaps Grill & Chophouse (Tel: 970-479-7014) is the place to go when you're hankerin' for the kind of steaks, prime rib and chops that cut with a fork and melt in your mouth. It's the last word when you want the best of the West.
Larkspur, (Tel: 970-479-8050) in the Golden Peak Lodge at the foot of the mountain, is an American brasserie with a gourmet twist. Classically simple — yet profoundly elegant — its creative American menu includes seared salmon tartare, potato-crusted crab cake and crispy air-dried duck. www.larkspurvail.com
Game Creek is nestled in a forested grove in the Game Creek Bowl on the backside of Lionshead at Vail. This European-style chalet is reached by gondola, followed by a ride in a Snowcat-driven sleigh. Colorado regional American cuisine tempts the palate with grilled venison loin with red wine poached pears, grilled buffalo cowboy steak, and pan-roasted Colorado striped bass.
Lillian Ross writes regular travel columns for the Denver Rocky Mountain News, edits Colorado travel planners, and writes articles for Colorado-based feature magazines, including Vail Valley Golf.
A Taste of High Country
We've come a long way, baby. Four-star restaurants command mountaintop settings. New Zealand mussels and cockles are menu regulars. Roasted elk medallions melt in your mouth. And, you can order your crème brulée with or without flambé.
As extraordinary as its name, Splendido blends American, French Provencal and Italian influences in the delicious tradition of a French chateau. More than 350 wine selections accompany Maine sea scallops, mesquite-grilled elk or Dover sole à la Meuniere
The unique location of Keystone’s finest restaurants adds to your evening's indelible dining experience.
Ski Tip Lodge is a restored stagecoach way station from the 1860s. Now a charming country inn with an award-winning restaurant, your entrees may include a bounty of wild hare, buffalo and venison or breast of Muscovy duck