By Pat Turner Kavanaugh
Photos courtesy of OKEMO

Skiers and riders accustomed to quick, filling fare in the base lodge have some new options.

Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, Vermont, does offer chili at Epic, its newest lunch spot in the Solitude Village Lodge but it's Black Bean Chili topped off with asiago cheese.

There's also a Grilled Lamb, Garlic and Rosemary Sausage served on a potato pancake with a fresh thyme demi-glace; a Duck Salad of seasonal field greens in a raspberry vinaigrette, tossed with pecans, sundried cherries and gorgonzola cheese, topped with duck tenderloin; or the Okemo Club, smoked turkey, cranberry horseradish mayo, bacon, tomato, baby greens on ciabatta bread, served with thick cut fries.

For lunch in Siena, you can get mozzarella stuffed garlic bread sticks, a vegetable panini with eggplant, portobello, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers and basil, or pepperoni and portobello pizza with tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella.
Epic Chef Craig Connell said, "We're introducing some menu items people don't normally find in an on-mountain dining experience. With trilogy menu samplings that offer different taste combinations and textures, Epic is not your typical ski area restaurant."

Diane Mueller, who owns Okemo and Crested Butte in Colorado with her husband Tim, is quoted as saying, "We intend to become the Deer Valley of the East."
And that is one lofty goal, for Deer Valley in Park City, Utah, has long boasted some of the finest dining anywhere in the world on-mountain. In fact, Deer Valley has 10 restaurants on-mountain.

Deer Valley Resort's restaurants have won countless awards, including "Zagat Survey" designations and "Wine Spectator" awards of excellence (Okemo has one of those too) as well as SKI magazine and "Salt Lake Magazine" dining accolades and invitations for Deer Valley chefs to cook at New York's famed James Beard House.

"Although all of our on-mountain restaurants fit various guests' needs, the Fireside Dining might be the quintessential skiers' feast," said Deer Valley Food and Beverage Director Julie Wilson. "The grace of the Empire Lounge, nestled high on our mountain amid groves of aspens; the four fireplaces roaring away with white-toqued chefs preparing fresh fare at each one; the relaxed atmosphere where dining parties can get up and wander from fireplace to fireplace at their leisure, it all makes for a truly memorable and comforting apres-ski meal."

North and east, not far from that gourmets' Mecca Quebec City, is Le Massif de Petite-Riviere-Saint-Francois Ski Area and its superb Mer & Monts Restaurant. Le Massif spokeswoman Isabelle Vallee said, "Mer & Monts' mission is simple. It wishes to promote well-established local food products and highlight other unknown ones - thus perpetuating a tradition for culinary excellence, for which the Charlevoix is renowned."

She continued, "Each and every of the restaurant's one-of-a-kind menu selections suggest either lamb, veal, baby goat or rabbit, Arctic char, salmon or hatchery trout. Paired with celebrated cheeses such as Migneron, Ciel de Charlevoix, Fleurmier or sharp cheddar, they tastefully complement generous broad bean, mesclum and root vegetable crops, while microbrewery beer and the delicate bouquet of fruit Mistelles gently bring out their flavors."

About an hour from Montreal is Mont Tremblant Resort with its panoply of fine food offerings, such as Aux Truffles with its innovative French cuisine; La Grappe a Vin which specializes in regional products and gastronomic dishes with an international flavor; Plus Minus Cafe which serves fine avant-garde cuisine showcasing organic products; La Forge which serves meat cooked over maple wood and has received awards for its fine list; and Coco Pazzo for fine Italian cuisine.

In Colorado a check of foodie options at Vail Resorts turns up Game Creek Club, the Wildflower, Sweet Basil, Larkspur and La Tour at Vail; Beano's Cabin, Zach's Cabin, Splendido, Grouse Mountain Grill and Mirabelle at Beaver Creek; Alpenglow Stube, Keystone Ranch and Ski Tip Lodge at Keystone; and the Cellar, Cafe Alpine and Hearthstone at Breckenridge.

In Vermont, Luna at Stratton is described by an objective observer as "outstanding;" the Cliff House at Stowe is highlighting the weekly Summit Series with a Champagne reception followed by a five-course gourmet meal; and Sugarbush has opened Timbers Restaurant in the Lincoln Park Village for an upscale slopeside experience, three meals a day.

Across the border to the east, another objective observer of the New Hampshire scene said, "Our obvious candidates would be the Balsams and the Mount Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods. I don't think the food at the Balsams can be beat."

In Maine, Bullwinkles, the mid-mountain lodge for Sugarloaf/USA, transforms itself into a five star restaurant on Saturday nights and offers a full multi-course gourmet meal. Guests are taken there by a specially built passenger snowcat, which is half the fun. There's something about being up on the mountain at night, under the stars, totally away from everything.