Colorado dining adventures
Mountaintop restaurants that reach new heights.
Location may be everything in real estate, but it also has its place in fine dining. In Colorado Ski Country, a number of restaurants are serving exceptional cuisine in extraordinary locations, taking destination dining to dazzling new heights—in all senses of the word.
Of course, it helps if you have things like chairlifts and snowcats at your disposal to convey diners from the valley to these popular aerie restaurants, the loftiest of which is Keystone Resort’s Alpenglow Stube. It takes two gondolas to reach the Stube, which sits 11,444 feet above sea level. The first serves the night-skiing crowd, while the second transports diners over an empty, almost mystical snowscape, the stillness punctuated only by the sounds of the gondola car passing over the lift towers.
With blankets providing the only heat, a 30-minute gondola trip will ensure you arrive at the Alpenglow Stube ready for the warm welcome that awaits. Cold boots are exchanged for cozy slippers, outerwear is whisked into the cloakroom and a liveried bartender supplies hot drinks. A fire blazes in the hearth and the staff sets about providing the kind of service and food one would expect from an AAA Four-Diamond establishment.
The Stube’s ambiance owes much to the Tyrol, but its cuisine is mostly American, with a few nods to the Continent. One option is the degustation menu—a series of special dishes selected by the chef that can include anything from a scallop appetizer and bison steak, to consommé and an unusual bread pudding for dessert.
A six-course, prix fixe option includes appetizers such as sautéed veal sweetbreads and ragout of blue crab, followed by entrées of filet mignon, elk chops and seafood specials. A variety of breads, sorbets and desserts round out the meal, which arrives at a stately pace—plan on a leisurely dining experience that lasts a good two or three hours.
In the Vail area, Beano’s Cabin at Beaver Creek is the must-try mountain restaurant. While it’s not nearly as high as the Stube, getting there is just as much fun, with diners reaching the rustic log cabin by hopping in an enormous sleigh that’s pulled up the mountain by a snowcat.
The restaurant is a bustling sanctuary that features an open kitchen and a crack staff with perfect timing: fast when you want something brought to table; slower when you’re looking over the menu or perusing the extraordinary wine list. The prix fixe menu features American cuisine ranging from appetizers of marinated duck breast and grilled ahi, to entrées such as Colorado rack of lamb, pheasant, salmon, swordfish and venison.
Dinner for two at Beano’s or the Stube will cost around $300 per couple after drinks, tax and tip are added—or there’s always the option of lunch for a smaller tab and daytime views. (Visit the Vail Resorts’ website www.snow.com for all the information you’ll need to plan a memorable dining experience.)
If you’re the adventurous type, take a cross-country journey by ski or snowshoe to the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse. Located in a cozy, warm yurt (a domed tent used by the nomadic peoples of central Asia), rack of lamb, elk tenderloin, salmon and vegetarian specialties are on the prix fixe menu, and the price is a more down-to-earth $65 per person. (Reservations: 719-486-8114; tennesseepass.com).
While winter makes all of these destinations extra special, they’re also open in summer, with lighter menus—and a whole new landscape—to savor.