Aspen Mountain | Nobu Matsuhisa | Wheeler Opera House | food

LODGING
"The Lodge at Vail is the old standard. For something smaller, try The Galatyn Lodge. The Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek, the ski area just outside of Vail, is right below the ski mountain, so you can get the lift right at the hotel. Outside of town is the Lodge at Cordillera, which looks like a French château in the middle of the Rockies. It has a spa, four golf courses, and three restaurants."

SATURDAY

SKIING
"In Aspen, I ski at Buttermilk. I've skied Aspen Mountain, but I ski a little bit nervous. At the top, I'm fine. But going down sometimes … really good skiers ski Aspen Mountain and sometimes they go by you really fast. At Buttermilk, it's nice and relaxed. There are a lot of families and people who are out there just to have a good time. I have skied Highlands, and Snowmass is really great, but Buttermilk is so close to town."

DINNER
"Ajax Tavern has a wonderful hamburger. Great food. Right at the bottom of Aspen Mountain. Matsuhisa is really good sushi. When we're working out of L.A., we go to Matsuhisa there. Nobu Matsuhisa, the chef/owner, is a brilliant guy. L'Hostaria is great Italian. Campo de Fiori has murals and great food."
     
CULTURE
"The Wheeler Opera House is just beautiful. It's so wonderful that Aspen saved the Wheeler. It is supported by city funds, or at least partially. It's just one of those wonderful 19th-century opera houses. It takes you back to the 1880s and it makes you imagine what it was like back then. It's the perfect size room; holds 500 people but feels like you're playing to about 50. We've played the Music Tent in the summer and we've played Harris Hall, which is beautiful, kind of like the modern symphonic version of the Wheeler. It's a perfectly designed acoustic space."
     
NIGHTLIFE