Travel Talk

Slope-top stuffing
With honors
Colorado GEM: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center

Outside deck at Alpino Vino
Wine Bar restaurant, Telluride Ski
and Golf Resort, Telluride, Colo.
© Dan Leeth.

Slope-top stuffing
By Dan Leeth

Like many of us who’ve spent days on the slopes, I’ve stood in lines at ski area cafeterias for lamp-warmed burgers and soggy fries. Fortunately, 13 restaurants at nine Colorado resorts offer more relaxing, on-mountain alternatives where diners can spread out at private tables and order server-served lunches from menus.

Aspen Highlands, Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro, reservations 970-544-3063 Occupying a former ski patrol outpost, its décor is classic Alpine ski shack—old photos, ski gear and trail signs grace the walls. Neighboring scenery, especially from outside tables, includes in-your-face views of the Maroon Bells. The daily-changing, prix fixe menu features signature dishes such as coq au vin, mushroom Wellington and elk ragout, which I really enjoy.

Crested Butte, Uley’s Cabin, reservations 970-349-2275 Cloth-cloaked tables offer a Bonanza-worthy, Ponderosa-ranch feel. Views out the window extend to the Elk Range and Teocalli Mountain. Gourmet entrees have included Colorado elk bourguignon, potato ricotta gnocchi and my favorite, applewood smoked beef tenderloin.

Durango Mountain Resort, Backside Bistro, reservations 970-385-2175 Clothless wooden tables and comfy, Scandinavian-style chairs line a wall of windows looking out at the San Juan Mountains. The menu specializes in gourmet sliders, built with Kobe beef, pork tenderloin, beef tenderloin or ahi tuna. For dessert, there’s the mousse martini—three flavors of mousse layered in a martini glass.

Keystone, Alpenglow Stube, reservations 800-354-4386 Guests check jackets, gloves and helmets at the door and replace ski boots with soft slippers. A light lunch includes soup plus unlimited trips to a self-serve cheese buffet and epicurean salad bar. The full alpine lunch offers all that plus a choice of gourmet entrees, which last time I visited featured sole paupiette and wood-grilled lamb chops.

Snowmass, Gwyn’s High Alpine, reservations 970-923-5188 Cafeteria-style service on one side, and a cozy, full-service dining room on the other, offer a wide range of dishes—fresh fish, elk medallions and bison burgers as well as Mexican crossover fare such as Cajun-smoked chicken quesadillas, Hawaiian tilapia tacos and scrumptious fire-roasted chicken enchiladas.

Snowmass, Lynn Britt Cabin, reservations 970-923-0479 This ski patrol shack, named for a deceased patroller, looks Rocky Mountain rustic with bare wooden tables and log-framed chairs. The cuisine is Colorado classic—local lamb, pine-nut crusted trout, elk meatloaf and Colorado lakes striped bass. The risotto, made with locally grown fresh produce, is outstanding.

Snowmass, Sam’s Smokehouse, reservations not accepted Sam’s Smokehouse sits atop Sam’s Knob on the far side of the ski area. This is barbecue at its slow-cooked best. The ribs come in man-size slabs, the pulled pork protrudes from its bun, and my favorite, the Angus beef brisket, arrives so tender, it can practically be cut with a fork.


Applewood smoked beef tenderloin from Uley’s Cabin, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Mt. Crested Butte, Colo.
© Dan Leeth.

Steamboat, Hazie’s, reservations 970-871-5150 Hazie’s is easy to miss. It occupies the upper floor of the Thunderhead gondola building with access via a nondescript stairway. The menu offers shrimp and scallops, shepherd’s pie, a quiche of the day plus wraps, sandwiches, salads and burgers. I like the belly-filling Baja chicken sandwich, which comes spiced with a bit of zing.

Steamboat, Ragnar’s, reservations 970-871-5150 Ragnar’s lies in the Rendezvous Saddle building. The Scandinavian-inspired menu includes Norwegian salad, smoked salmon lefse, Swedish frikadeller, fjord fish filet and chicken Denmark. I often opt for the Kobe “Kottratter” Burger, which ranks as one of the better on-mountain hamburgers to be found anywhere.

Steamboat, The Stoker Bar & Restaurant, reservations not accepted Tables of unadorned wood and neon beer signs grace this mountaintop bar. The menu features burritos and dogs plus nachos, wings, chili, salads and various wraps. I’m fond of the chicken burrito served with a side of salsa that has a bit of bite to it.

Telluride, Alpino Vino, reservations not accepted The restaurant occupies what was once a private residence built on a 12,000-foot ridge below the top of the Gold Hill Express. The wines are mostly European, and the short food menu very Italian. There are selections of cheeses and cured meats plus soups, salads and paninis. The antipasto plate, I've found, makes a great light lunch for two.

Vail, Bistro Fourteen, reservations 970-754-4530 Until a new sit-down restaurant opens this season at Mid-Vail, Bistro Fourteen has been the only open-to-the-public, full-service eatery at America’s largest ski resort. The restaurant sits in the Eagle Bahn gondola terminal. The appetizer menu features crab cakes, steamed mussels, buffalo carpaccio and ahi tuna wontons.

Winter Park, The Lodge at Sunspot, reservations 970-726-1446 Looking national park-like, its interior features wooden tables, chairs crafted from tree limbs and walls paneled in knotty pine. The cuisine is rich in elk, bison, beef, trout and Colorado raised lamb. The herb-encrusted roasted lamb salad remains one of my favorite entrees.


With honors
By Tom Hess

This Veterans Day, Nov. 11, marks the one-year anniversary of a center in Pueblo that honors men and women who sacrifice for others, whether on the battlefield, or as first responders, or in the rigors of ranch life. The visionary behind the center, Medal of Honor recipient Drew Dix, hopes to inspire visitors to do likewise.

“Our country is a great country, but it’s lost a feeling of pride in it,” the Pueblo native tells EnCompass. “People need someone, something, to look up to, something greater than themselves.”

Dix says the Center for American Values isn’t a museum. “A museum kind of limits us to the past. We’re also about the present and the future.”

In August, the center hosted nine New York City firefighters, all survivors of 9-11. They’ll return when the city donates steel from the World Trade Center (WTC) to Pueblo’s Walk of Valor. The Walk begins at a memorial that includes statues of Pueblo’s four medal honorees, including Dix.

Dix received his medal from President Lyndon Johnson in 1969 for his heroic action in the Vietnam War. Dix’s story is included in Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty.


Colorado GEM: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center


© Philip Spears

The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, once known in its early days as the Broadmoor Art Academy, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. This former home of Julia and Spencer Penrose attracted many of the country’s finest artists as instructors and students during the 1920s and early ‘30s.

By the mid-1930s, the Penrose residence was replaced by a new facility with galleries, a performing arts theatre, educational studios for classes, a music room, library and more.

The museum’s fine permanent collection includes works by late 19th- and early 20th-century American artists, Colorado landscape paintings, photography, modern art and Hispanic art. Artists represented include Ansel Adams, Dale Chihuly, Georgia O’Keeffe, John Singer Sargent and John Waters.

The 132,000-square foot Fine Arts Center also features a tactile gallery for the visually impaired, the state-of-the-art SaGaJi Theatre, and the Bemis School of Art. Additional galleries feature traveling exhibits. Guided tours and food are available.

The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is one of the Colorado GEMs listed in the AAA TourBooks. GEMs are Great Experiences for Members—top picks for things to do or see in the state. Get AAA TourBooks at any branch office or at www.AAA.com/travel.

Back to Top





>>>Return to Table of Contents