Over just a few short years, mountain dining has changed significantly at our resort. It began when Vail first began managing Canyons, remodeling the popular Cloud Dine restaurant and upgrading various menus at other location on-mountain. After merging our resorts to become one, the same commitment to the on-mountain dining experience has been expanded across the entire resort with the introduction of the brand new Miners Camp restaurant, upgraded menus and the remodeled Red Pine Lodge. The day of soggy french fries and thin hamburger patties are over, Park City’s goal is to keep you fueled and healthy to ski all 7,300 acres without a mid-day slump.
For one day, I teamed up with Executive Chef Alex Malmburg to explore the various mountain restaurants. We’ve stuffed our faces and skied off the calories to provide you with our top recommendations for this winter. Enjoy.
1. Miners Camp
Feature Menu Item: Miner's Pie
Walking in the door for my first time in the newly built 500 seat Miners Camp restaurant, I instantly felt like it was chow down hour back in the mining days. The Camp is beautifully decorated with a rustic yet state of the art dining facility, featuring historic decorations from the old mining days. The menu is decorated by dishes like the house made Artisan Focaccia Pizza, and a hearty Hobo Stew with braised beef and winter root vegetables amongst other gut-warming dishes. My recommendation: Miner’s Pie. With the first bite, I was taken back to my childhood when only my mother was able to make something so comforting on a cold winter day. Miner’s Pie includes peas, corn, fresh herbs Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and the most important ingredient, local braised lamb. How local? Well, one of the ranches is located right here on the property. During the summer, bike with caution, you may encounter the free-range lamb grazing on the mountain.
2. Red Pine Lodge
Feature Menu Item: Sweet Chili Pork Bahn Mi Sandwich
I’ve always loved Red Pine Lodge specifically for their lesser known breakfast options. If not blitzing off the Red Pine Gondola for powder turns, stop in a try the breakfast, their biscuits and gravy won’t let you down. Previously, Red Pine was a traditional lodge with variety mouth-watering options. Over the summer they’ve made their appearance match their taste by adding an additional 250 seats, a huge upstairs deck, and added a variety of other menu options. As soon as I unbuckled my boots, Chef Alex presented me one of the new options at Red Pine, a simple, made-to-order deli sandwich at their new deli counter. As an east coaster, I feel I have a pretty good grasp on what a deli sandwhich should taste like and up until this day, I haven’t found a shop in town that delievered the goods until bit into the Sweet Chili Pork Banh Mi Sandwhich. The Sweet Chili Pork Bahh Mi is made up of Sriracha Aoili, Vietnamese pickled vegetables, Thai basil, mint cilantro, chili peppers, and cucumber all served on a French baguette. While I’m still searching for the east coast style Bacon, Egg and, Cheese on a hard roll, I am very pleased with my newfound sandwich spot.
3. Lookout Cabin
Feature Menu Item: Moroccan Spiced Meatballs
For those searching for a sit-down, dine-in type of meal, look no further than Lookout Cabin located off the Orange Bubble Express. Unfortunately, we weren’t unable to sit on the outdoor deck due to the weather, but when the sun shines and those mountain peaks show themselves, don’t be surprised if one cocktail turns into four as Lookout is our only on-mountain restaurant with a fully stocked bar. Lookout is a bit more upscale than our other lodges and after the first taste of food, you’ll be perfectly fine with it. Chef Alex brought me out the Moroccan spiced meatballs as an appetizer. The savory, sweet, slightly addictive meatballs melt in your mouth with an African spiced tomato tagine sauce. To balance out the burst of flavor and spice, the meatballs come prepare on a crisp, fresh, watercress salad.
4. Cloud Dine
Feature Menu Item: Kobe Pretzel Dog
Kobe Pretzel Dog
Cloud Dine has been my favorite on-restaurant ever since its remodel two years ago. Here again, the views are spectacular with 360 degrees of mountain peaks. Stuffed from the day’s tastings, I settled with the Kobe Pretzel Dog. A gourmet hot dog wrapped and baked in house pretzel dough, cheddar cheese dipping sauce and an assortment of toppings. I have a soft spot for this dish as it’s usually my mid-day snack while skiing. I’ll buy one, ski down, and eat it on the lift. Simple, fast, clean and easy. If looking for a meal, try one of the freshly made salads. The Stratocumulus is a great recommendation served with sushi-grade seared tuna, baby tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, French green beans, hardboiled egg, olives, shaved red onion, Bibb lettuce, all coated with red wine mustard vinaigrette.
5. Mid-Mountain Lodge
Feature Menu Item: Prime Rib French Dip
Chef Alex and I had one more stop to go, but we had to make room in our stomachs first. We began lapping the Bonanza Express debating how we would attack our next menu at the Mid-Mountain Lodge. On the chairlift, Chef Alex described the menu at Mid-Mountain lodge as a twist on traditional lodge food with menu items like a Grilled Cheese featuring Bacon & Heirloom Tomato, house made salads, and a grill with popular items like the Buffalo Bratwurst and Mid-Mountain Burger. Somehow my appetite caught up to itself when Chef Alex began talking about the Prime Rib French Dip. Before I knew it, I was ready to eat again. Thinly sliced prime rib coated with melted Swiss, horse radish cream and drizzled with a house made Au Jus made this dish melted in my mouth every bite. I was surprised to have finished the dish with 30 pounds of food resting in my stomach from the days tour, but I couldn’t stop. It was too good not to finish.
With a nap looming on the horizon, there were a few conclusions to gather from my foodie tour. 1) Quality is of upmost importance. All of the mountain restaurants use fresh, high quality ingredients in all their dishes. It’s amazing when most of those ingredients are delivered via a Snowcat during the night. 2) Prices can be expensive when dealing with fresh, local ingredients so don’t be afraid to opt out from a meal and bring your own food. Park City has done a great job creating a certain atmosphere within each lodge, if not tasting the delicious food; interact with the beautiful scenery and settings. Lastly, I must thank Chef Alex and the Food & Beverage team for allowing me to participate in this personal foodie tour. Chef Alex has created the best on-mountain dining menus ever witnessed and I look forward to enjoying more and more menu items each time I’m out skiing.