There was a time when eating during a day of skiing or boarding meant cafeteria-style dining, where the best we could hope for was a passable burger or lukewarm bowl of chili. Well, those days, thankfully, are long gone. This season at our local Utah mountain resorts, you’ll find food ranging from pho, curries and paninis, charcuterie, sushi, and yes, burgers and other American comfort foods. Here are some tasty dishes to look for during the 2019-2020 ski season.
At Solitude’s Honeycomb Grill, fish lovers will enjoy the Poke Bowl brimming with sushi-grade yellowfin tuna, avocado, pickled ginger, cucumber, jalapeño, soy sauce, green onions and crispy wonton chip. Meanwhile, meat enthusiasts might opt for the Bison Burger, which comes with Honeycomb fry sauce, grilled red onion, romaine, tomato and white cheddar cheese on a brioche bun with house dill pickle, fries, or mixed greens salad.
I really love the lunch options at the Himalyan-inspired Roundhouse at Solitude, where you’ll find a menu of burgers, pot pies and American-style cuisine right next to butter chicken, lamb curry, saag paneer, dal bhat, basmati rice and other tasty dishes with flavors from the East. And, let’s not forget the unique dining experience that is dinner at the Solitude Yurt—a gourmet affair that includes snowshoeing through the woods to enjoy dinner in a Mongolian-style yurt.
The space that for many years was home to El Chanate Mexican Restaurant at Snowbird is now occupied by a restaurant offering 1970-themed American comfort cuisine, called SeventyOne. The eatery is named for the year, 1971, that Snowbird opened. Menu items run the gamut from chilled Gulf shrimp, house-smoked St. Louis ribs, BBQ chicken flatbread, and banana splits, to more modern fare such as avocado toast, vegan meatloaf and gnocchi fritti.
The recently revitalized food and beverage department at Snowbasin, led by a new Executive Chef and culinary team, will be serving up top-notch on-mountain fare at lodges like Needles and John Paul, as always. The Belgian Waffle Bar at John Paul Lodge is a must-visit Snowbasin experience. But you should also check out the new Servery at Earl’s Lodge, and the periodic Dining Discovery elevated dining series at the resort, which features 4-course or 5-course pre fixe specialty menus with whiskey wine, beer pairings and more.
Never ones to rest on their award-winning laurels, Jodie Rogers, Director of Food & Beverage and her talented team have cooked up some tasty new fare for the 2019-2020 ski season at Deer Valley. For example, sushi is returning to the Seafood Buffet, along with a new herb butter seared scallops dish, while new to Fireside Dining is grilled guinea hen gnocchi. A killer dish from Chef Ryan Burnham at the Goldener Hirsch Inn, is Utah Lamb with farro, foraged mushrooms, parsnip and huckleberries. And those are just a handful of many new menu offerings from Deer Valley Resort, where the cuisine is just as seductive as the skiing.
At Park City Mountain, it’s hard to beat the elevated cuisine that you’ll find at The Farm. Appetizers like foie gras crème brulée or frisée au lardons, combined with main courses such as butter-poached black cod or the vegetarian cauliflower “steak,” make for a magnificent mountain meal. Higher up on the mountain, I love to lunch at Cloud Dine where the house-made doughnuts are second to none and I can’t resist the pretzel dough-wrapped Wagyu beef hot dog. And Tombstone BBQ, formerly Tombstone Grill, with it’s new facelift and name change, is the place on-mountain for authentic barbecue—pulled pork, brisked, smoked wings, cold brews and more. The new makeover includes seating for up to 50 hungry guests, a beer bar, indoor restrooms (yay), and a full kitchen which allows for the use of reusable serving ware.
Wherever you end up skiing, boarding, and eating this season, I hope to break some bread with you!
