Last week, I finally got my first ski day of the season. And I did it at my favorite local ski resort: Deer Valley. One reason I love Deer Valley Resort so much – endless powder notwithstanding – is the amenities. Deer Valley Resort has the best dining options around, including a new eatery I visited called Fresh Tracks Kitchen. 

Fresh Tracks Kitchen is located in the Snow Park Lodge and is a full service, seated dining experience. A host seats your party and then guests place food and drink orders by clicking on the QR code with a phone. The easy-to-use and paper-free online ordering system lets you use your phone to quickly browse food and drink menus. The food and drinks ordered are relayed directly to the kitchen and are delivered to your table by a fully masked server as soon as it’s ready.  

Fresh Tracks Kitchen signifies an exciting evolution of on-mountain dining at Deer Valley Resort, offering a selection of wholesome, customizable, hot bowls, salads, warm soups and smash burgers served to your table. The dishes from the Fresh Tracks Kitchen’s menu feature sustainably raised, seasonally fresh, and whole or minimally processed ingredients. 

According to the food and beverage folks at Deer Valley Resort, “Salads feature organic and sustainable ingredients to ensure top-quality products for health-conscious guests seeking a low-calorie, high-energy meal.” There are three composed salad selections: Mountain Daisy, Mountaineer, and Champion. By the way, you’ll quickly notice that the salads and bowls at Fresh Tracks Kitchen are named for ski runs and bowls on the mountain at Deer Valley. 

The Mountain Daisy salad is black tea-brined Mary’s free-range chicken breast, mesclun greens, infused dried cherries, blueberries, praline pecans, herbed goat cheese crumbles, heirloom cherry tomato, and housemade raspberry vinaigrette. The Mountaineer salad consists of black tea brined Mary’s free-range chicken breast, baby kale, gluten-free croutons, freshly shaved parmesan, heirloom cherry tomatoes, toasted pepitas, and vegan caesar dressing. Finally, the Champion salad is really delicious: cold herb marinated salmon, power greens, salt roasted beets, crispy lime chili chickpeas, berbere lentils, herbed quinoa, hothouse cucumbers, heirloom cherry tomatoes, chia seeds, and lemon tahini dressing.

Don’t fancy any of those salads? No problem, because at Fresh Tracks Kitchen you can have the chefs build your own custom salad. Guests simply choose a protein (black tea brined Mary’s free-range diced chicken breast, Patagonia wild shrimp, black tea brined tofu, or herb poached salmon), select your greens (mesclun greens, baby kale, power greens, or chopped romaine), choose up to three “sides” (heirloom cherry tomatoes, salt roasted beets, blueberries, berbere lentils, hothouse cucumbers, herbed quinoa, organic egg, edamame, fire roasted corn, shredded carrots, and sesame broccoli), then select up to three toppings (herbed goat cheese, infused dried cherries, praline pecans, chia seeds, dehydrated cranberries, shaved parmesan, gluten-free croutons, crispy rice noodles, toasted pepitas, sliced jalapeños, pickled onions, and apple cider radish). Finally, you’ll select a dressing from vegan caesar, lemon tahini, raspberry vinaigrette, vegan green goddess, balsamic vinaigrette, or chipotle ranch. Now that’s a salad to call your own!

A main attraction of the new Fresh Tracks Kitchen are the bowls, which are all named after skiable bowls at Deer Valley Resort. A guest favorite is the Lady Morgan Bowl, which is herb poached salmon, curried lentils and furikake rice, harissa roasted cauliflower, apple cider radishes, curry stewed chickpeas, fresh cilantro, berbere yogurt sauce, and za’atar. 

The southwestern-inspired Mayflower bowl is made with guajillo braised Niman Ranch pulled pork, roasted anaheim peppers and sweet potatoes, cilantro black beans, fire roasted corn, harissa roasted cauliflower, tortilla strips, toasted pepitas, and avocado creme. Then there is the Perseverance bowl (shredded Desert Mountain beef, smoked gouda bechamel, cavatappi pasta, fire roasted corn, harissa roasted cauliflower, Heber Valley Wasatch Back Jack cheese, and crispy onions).

As with the salads, diners at Fresh Tracks Kitchen can also build their own bowls by first selecting a protein (guajillo braised Niman Ranch pulled pork or Desert Mountain shredded beef, black tea brined Mary’s free-range chicken, black tea brined tofu, or herb poached salmon), then selecting a base (smoked gouda mac and cheese, yukon gold mashed potatoes, roasted anaheim peppers and sweet potatoes, curried lentils, or furikake rice). Next, choose up to two veggies (glazed baby carrots, sesame broccoli, harissa roasted cauliflower, cilantro black beans, heirloom cherry tomatoes, fire roasted corn, and curry stewed chickpeas), followed by up to three toppings (toasted pepitas, fresh cilantro, za’atar, white cheddar cheese, crispy onions, crispy lime chili chickpeas, sliced jalapeños, praline pecans, apple cider radish, pickled onions, sesame seeds, herbed goat cheese, and tortilla strips). Lastly, choose a sauce (Fresh Tracks Kitchen curry sauce, horseradish cream, avocado crema, sriracha lime, mushroom gravy, BBQ, or berbere yogurt sauce). As you can see, the customization combinations for the bowls at Fresh Tracks Kitchen are nearly infinite. 

Beverage options include hand-crafted cocktails and mocktails, locally made draft beers as well as canned and bottled brews, hard kombucha and seltzer, non-alcoholic beer, sparkling, white and red wines by the glass or bottle, and hot and cold non-alcoholic beverages including Topo Chico, lattes, mocha, cappuccino, espresso, tea, hot cider and more. I recommend the yummy Supreme Negroni Sbagliato, which is Adami Garbel Prosecco, Sweet Vermouth and Campari, garnished with an orange wheel. 

If you’re looking to warm up after skiing Deer Valley’s pristine corduroy runs, Fresh Tracks offers mulligatawny soup garnished with toasted peanuts and fresh cilantro; elk chili with diced onions, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and jalapeños; and of course, the Resort’s renown Deer Valley turkey chili with diced onions, sour cream, and cheddar cheese.

Who doesn’t love a great burger? And Deer Valley Resort cooks up some of the best burgers I’ve ever gotten my lips around. All of the housemade burgers at Deer Valley are made with 100% grass-fed Desert Mountain beef. And that’s true of the bodacious Fresh Tracks Kitchen Smash Burger, which is two 3.5 oz freshly grilled 100% grass-fed beef patties and Heber Valley white cheddar cheese on a Stone Ground Bakery Tuscan bun. 

Burger toppings include lettuce, onion, tomato, pickles, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted anaheim peppers, maple pepper bacon, and guacamole. Guests also have a choice of sides for their burger: plain fries, chili lime sweet fries or blistered shishito peppers.

I was impressed at Fresh Tracks Kitchen by how many gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options the menu presented, including a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie and gluten-free fudge brownie for dessert. Other desserts include carrot cupcake, chocolate pecan tart, creme brulee tart, Deer Valley cookies ( chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, snickerdoodle), fudge brownie, and Bucky’s Power Bar. 

In addition to lunch service, Fresh Tracks Kitchen hosts apres-ski from 2:30 to 6 p.m. with a scaled back menu of blistered shishito peppers; chili lime sweet potato fries; Smash Burger; warm pretzel with smoked gouda cheese sauce; Deer Valley turkey chili nachos; and Deer Valley turkey chili. 

Fresh Tracks Kitchen is a terrific new addition to the already top-notch dining scene at Deer Valley Resort, offering guests a full service lunch and apres-ski venue and a menu chock full of wholesome, delicious dishes. It’s just another example of why Deer Valley Resort is consistently ranked #1 in hospitality by guests and recognized as such with countless awards. Why, even the avalanche rescue dogs at Deer Valley are best in show.  

Photos Courtesy of Deer Valley Resort and by Ted Scheffler

Culinary quote of the week:

“Fame is a fickle food upon a shifting plate.” — Emily Dickinson

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THIS CONTENT IS FROM UTAH BITES NEWSLETTER.

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Originally trained as an anthropologist, Ted Scheffler is a seasoned food, wine & travel writer based in Utah. He loves cooking, skiing, and spends an inordinate amount of time tending to his ever-growing herd of guitars and amplifiers.

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