Vail on and off mountain

Early December ski trip to Vail this year. There appears to be many options at the base in the village, but very few seem to get consistently good ratings. As expected, the prices are high so misakes will hurt. We are looking all across the cuisine and price spectrum and have a car so a trip to Edwards or any close town would be fine for dinner. Lunch needs to be on mountain or at the base. Interesting snacks or deserts would also be right up our alley.

Also any discounts out there during ski season? I had to ask.

thanks
Babaluch

We visit about once a ski season. Vail is great skiing but not a place where your efforts to eat well in restaurants will be rewarded.

The 10th is a very nice ski-in, sit-down place mid-mountain. A ripoff like all mountain dining, but not particularly more expensive - if at all - compared to the cattle-call cafeteria lines of the big food lodges. You can eat well there. Keep it simple. Plan ahead and make reservations now.

At the bottom, Pepi's is a very old school, perfectly OK, Austrian place. Campo dei Fiori is a Northern Italian version of the same thing. Neither is going to replace your favorite schnitzel or gnocchi from Chicago or other real city. Garfinkle's in Lion's Head (newer base area) is your prototypical Colorado apre ski bar with green chile burgers and "wet" burritos featuring more green chile. That's where we end up.

Stop at Costco or King's Sooper and grab some short ribs and a pork shoulder for the crock pot.

Even if you are feeling flush, resist Matsuhisa. A very weak sibling in the Nobu family. Elway's is what you'd expect. As if there were a Harry Caray's or Ditka's in Lake Geneva or something but less good.

PS: look at Yelp for strip mall Mexican in towns down slope where the resort workers and other locals actually live. No specific recos here, but we hit them on the way in and out of town. They tend to be pretty good, norteno spots with solid if unspectacular Mexican basics. A godsend, really.

Sweet Basil is a great restaurant and in the top tier of places to eat anywhere. Make reservations early. They also own-operate Mountain Standard which doesn't reach the heights of Sweet Basil (and is literally below Sweet Basil on the back or creek side) but still a strong recommendation and my #2 pick. La Tour and Up the Creek after that. Montauk in Lionshead is an old favorite which still serves up fresh high quality seafood with simple preps.

Vail can be tough on a tight budget. You are correct that mistakes can cost you. On the mountain options are varied, but all are pricey. Mid-Vail and Eagles nest are pretty typical cafeteria style eateries. Two Elks lodge offers a few more options like stir fry, burrito/wraps and salad bar as well as the typical burgers, fries, soups, chili options. A basic burger fries and a drink is going to run you $15-$20. Nothing like a $5 Gatorade. There are full service groceries in Vail, or if you are driving up from Denver, Silverthorne has plenty of shopping options. If you are looking to limit the cost on the mountain (lift tickets are expensive enough), it's pretty easy to pack beef jerky, fruit, sandwiches, nuts, etc. and there is plenty of free water in the on mountain dining establishments. There is a Costco about 30 minutes west of Vail in Gypsum, and a couple in the Denver area readily accessible from the expressway. Great for stocking up on cliff bars, jerky, nuts, trail mix, etc.

In terms of restaurants the ones mentioned are fine. Most of the stuff in the village is premium priced. I have eaten at a bunch of them and while I can't say I have had a horrible meal at any, most are more expensive than you would expect for a similar meal elsewhere. Sweet Basil, Pepi's, Montauk, as mentioned Russells has pretty good steak, ribs, chicken, etc. Elways and Vail Chop House serve similar fare, they are about what you would expect from a steakhouse, with everything being about 20% more because you are in Vail. If you compare the prices between Elways in Denver to in Vail you can see the markup. There is a good and reasonably cheap Ramen place right next to the Safeway in West Vail, called Nudoru.

If you don't mind driving, you can go in either direction. East of Vail 20-30 minutes in Dillon/Frisco/Silverthorne there are plenty of dining options that are more reasonably priced. Dillion Dam Brewery, Pug Ryans and the Pour House are all in Dillon, towards Avon there is the Vail Brewery and there are lots of dining options in Avon.

Here are some ideas in the valley. I usually go to Avon/Beaver Creek but usually hit a few spots in Vail.
Avon:
Vin 48 great food - my favorite.
Avon Bakery and deli has good inexpensive sandwiches
Hooked had a great meal there last year - asian fusion / sushi
Grouse Mountain Grill one of my favorites go every year
Northside kitchen - great breakfast place inexpensive haven't tried other meals there but will this year
Ticino red sauce Italian place - decent and medium priced

Edwards:
Larkburger great burgers my wife loves the Edamame inexpensive. First stop every year traveling from the airport to the ski areas.

Sato Sushi - always enjoy their sushi

Vail:
Sweet Basil - amazing
La tour alway solid
Larkspur always had good meals here
Lancelot has good prime rib in a fun atmosphere
Matsuhisa - Sushi expensive for what you get but you are in Vail

Thanks for the info. Kind of what I expected. Any information about Minturn? I found some interesting reviews,but it looked a little to "DISNEY" for me.












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babaluch wrote:Thanks for the info. Kind of what I expected. Any information about Minturn? I found some interesting reviews,but it looked a little to "DISNEY" for me.'

Minturn is the opposite of Disney. A real mountain/railroad town with some gentrification but still true to its roots. Unfortunately not much to recommend for eats (not unlike other real Colorado mountain towns). Kirby Cosmo's is decent enough BBQ if you catch them at the right time. The Saloon is still in an Americanized Tex Mex time warp-fun 30 years ago but old, tired and bland now. The authentic diner the Turntable was closed this summer. They did have good green chile. I've heard good things about Sticky Fingers Cafe and Bakery but never been.