Many moons ago, the idea of on-mountain cuisine called to
mind overpriced foil-wrapped hamburgers and bowls of chili.
Luckily, though, this has changed over the past few years, thanks
to a movement toward high-quality food on the mountains, and
especially for dinner, after the ski slopes close. Added bonus? The
appealing mode of transportation: Most of the restaurants are
reached by gondolas, snowcats, and even open-air sleighs. In our
opinion, no matter how good the skiing is, a visit to Vail without
eating at the Game Creek Club, or a weekend spent in Beaver Creek
without experiencing a sleigh-ride dinner at Zach's Cabin, is a
trip wasted.
- Larry Olmsted
California
The
United States ski industry only recently realized that a
gondola or a horse-drawn-sleigh ride is a nice gimmick but not
enough to compete with the many fine-dining options in today's ski
towns. Suddenly the emphasis is on a high-quality high-altitude
experience at restaurants such as Parallax (760-934-2571), now in
its third winter of offering Friday and Saturday snowcat dinners
midway up
California's Mammoth Mountain (
www.mammothmountain.com). They even pour a glass of
Champagne for the ride, which is followed by a five-course
wine-pairing dinner.
Colorado
When it comes to peak dining experiences,
Colorado has a veritable
gold rush. Swank
Beaver Creek offers two choices, Zach's Cabin
(970-845-6575) and Beano's Cabin (970-949-9090; begins serving
dinner December 1). Both are private clubs by day and public by
night, with motorized sled rides available to all diners. Along
with an à la carte menu and white-glove service, Zach's has a 2007
Wine Spectator "Best Of" Award of Excellence (the magazine's top
honor). Nearby Vail has a similar mountaintop
private-club-cum-gourmet restaurant, the fabulous Game Creek Club
(970-479-4275), which you reach via gondola and a customized
snowcat limo. A bit of
Switzerland comes to
Aspen Highlands every
Thursday night, when the Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro (970-923-8715), a
European alpine-style hut, offers snowcat dinners, serving classic
gourmet dishes at nearly 11,000 feet.