COLORADO EXPLORER

By Linda DuVal

Food with a view
Two-wheeled adventures
Custom Kayaks

Chef Scott Savage sits down with some of his culinary delights. © Richard Nowitz

Food with a view

One of a series featuring Colorado’s AAA Four Diamond restaurants.

The Flagstaff House Restaurant
Chef/owner Mark D. Monette is a Colorado native, born and raised in Boulder. He received his culinary training from French master chefs and worked in New York City and in France, including a year at Michelin 3-star restaurants. His goal is to “show off the quality and freshness of each product,” and he loves using local ingredients. His Colorado lamb—either seared loin or braised shank—is always on the menu because he wouldn’t dare take it off! The restaurant merits Four Diamonds, he says, because of its plush linens and décor and the stunning view—floor-to-ceiling glass that showcases a spectacular panorama of Boulder below.

The Cliff House Dining Room
Chef Scott Savage got his essential culinary training at The Broadmoor resort hotel. He loves to explore new techniques and skills, “to bring intriguing, delicious food to my customers without destroying their wallets.”

Guests love his mushroom en croute, a balsamic-braised Portobello mushroom with feta, baked in puff pastry, and the Cliff House fruits de mer, a saffron-infused fish fumet with angel-hair pasta, seared scallops, shrimp and lobster.

The posh Victorian décor, highly trained service staff and award-winning wine list draw diners back repeatedly. So does the Four Diamond designation the restaurant has won every year since 2001.

And although the chef takes his food very seriously, he has a quirky side, too. Check out an online video called “The Savage Kitchen,” featuring him giving a entertaining cooking lesson to a novice. Check it out at www.thecliffhouse.com/_blog/Savage_Kitchen.

Two-wheeled adventures
Spring heralds a time when cycling families can hop off their stationary bikes and head for the Grand Valley on Colorado’s Western Slope.

Take a leisurely morning tour on May 1 for the 15th annual Rose Hill Rally. “This is a relaxed tour, so there’s no rush to finish,” says Ed Lipton, who serves on the volunteer organizing committee.Entry fee is $30 for adults, $20 for kids 12 and younger, and entrants get breakfast, lunch and a T-shirt.
Uber-cyclists may want to tackle the 7th annual 18 hours of Fruita on May 6-7. This race starts at midnight Friday and finishes at 6 p.m. Saturday evening. Afterward, participants enjoy New Belgium Brewing’s taco party. Last year, there were 90 teams (about 500 riders) entered. Cost to enter varies by team size.

Custom Kayaks
In a land-locked state like Colorado, you might be surprised to learn that Long Haul Kayaks of Cedaredge manufactures boats and that Men’s Journal voted his kayaks one of the best products in America. Owner Mark Eckhart worked as a repairman for a German manufacturer for years before he decided to make his own. He manufactures from 40 to more than a hundred a year. “The best thing about them is how portable they are,” he says. “You can fold them up, put them in a bag and take them anywhere, even on an airplane.” Boats range from about $2,500 to $5,000, depending on the materials used and the size. Eckhart sells only straight from the factory.

Hog Island Boat Works got its start in the Grand Tetons, but now operates out of Steamboat Springs. Its molded polyethylene drift boats “evolved from the tenders that were on the old whaling ships,” says company owner John St. John, making them perfect for wild water. Pick up your boat in Steamboat Springs to get a first-hand lesson on craft care and management (they’ll put you up as a complimentary guest). Hog Island makes only 25 to 30 boats a year, which they sell for $8,000.

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