Telluride Eats Overview-Summer 2010
I have appreciated some of the T-ride posts and wanted to give those interested updated info coming from spoiled San Francisco food lovers--Look forward to reading further updates for our trip next summer. So here's the scoop on where we have dined during our Jul 2010 stay:
-RUSTICO-good outdoor patio with mountain views/street life-cheery green, colorful water glasses so pleasant. However, undercooked pizza crust, spinach salad seemed a day old, as did the sausage on the pizza. i know it's hard to get fresh produce in telluride-(nice farmer's market on fridays). bread was cut into chunks and already stale on outside (at another place it was only moist for 30 min and same prob ocurred-that air is dry!) wait staff great and attentive pleasant and professional, (unlike some other places)--the pasta la mer w shrimp at the table next to us looked really fresh and wonderful but wasn't in mood for heavier dish at lunch. GO BACK? might return for the patio if sunny day, and ask for crispy crust on pizza and try shrimp pasta
-LA MARMOTTE-best 'fine' place in town i think. serve lunch on fri, sat, sun w live guitar overlooking gondola-side mountains. really pleasant. also have restoration hardware lounge seating as an option to their dining tables which was nice w our 7-mo old. the smoked trout in salad was a little heavy at lunch and a little heavy on the dressing, but my husband liked his sausage dish. good wine list-interesting and eclectic (but will be changing because a new sommeliere this season). we also had dinner there ($35 prix fixe) and superb ny strip cooked perfectly and melt-in-mouth. good bread. awesome, flavorful local beets in the salad. creme brulee in a cup-- would have like more of the crunchy sugar but i think thicker layer than usual was supposed to make up for it. quirky and warm atmosphere-felt authentic Telluride. cool surrealist art for sale, as many restos have the rotating gallery thing going on. GO BACK? definitely best resto in telluride
-221 BISTRO- the place were La Marmotte owners eat (unless Honga's for sushi cravings). We ate here twice-brunch was nice on patio but not that spacious. Service slow. Omelet really beautifully done-those are hard to do-nice and buttery. Peach beignets light and crispy. Dinner was disappointing- halibut flown in from alaska that day was perfectly fresh and melt-in-mouth although accompanying mashers and sauce were bland so overall not impressive. husband liked the wagu brisket. honey wheat bread good, not the white bread. wine list good selection of international wines. domestic selection too predictable. interior is not very special. looks like Ikea store-all blond wood. and the art for sale was cheesy neon landscapes so kind of cheapened the place. the colorful mums were nice though. no entree under $30 so we thought expensive for the whole experience. waitress was friendly-a little too friendly and a little invasive-knew nothing about wine-but what do you expect from local 20-somethings? GO BACK? brunch only. dinner if here for a month.
-X-CAFE in Camel Garden Hotel- basic burger and really good, crispy french fries. restoration hardware outdoor sofas were filthy and my husband kicked a plastic dog bowl underneath the table by accident. so apparently dog-friendly. nice to relax and have a view of gondola and mountain w a casual beer at base of gondola. prob more for college kids. meat was gristly so not good quality-but only $10 GO BACK: maybe
-BUTCHER AND BAKER: Wonderful chicken salad-plump and juicy and not too much mayo. Fantastic chocolate chip cookies-crunchy on outside and soft with big chunks of chocolate chips in inside. Our hotel said they were the best in T-ride and i believe them. Cashier said their sea bass and meatloaf were good. Seems like a big take out place. GO BACK? definitely a yes!
-LA COCINA DE LUZ-Fantastic, authentic red sauce on the enchiladas. Gives that mouth buzz like good jalapenos do. I wish we had something like this in SF-hard to find good, hearty and flavorful. Fields salad lived up to reputation - sweet delicious dressing-wonderful. Only pinto not black beans-kind of bland. Guac-not that flavorful or thick and weirdly green. We didn't get the chips and salsa bc my husband picked up our order and didn't notice that part was a self-serve. Both were too tired to walk back and get them. Hear the salsa is quite good/selection. He said the atmosphere was bright and self serve w numbers when order is ready-so no wait staff. They now have liquor license so beer and margies avail. GO BACK: yes! prob lunch or take out dinner unless dinner w large family group
-COSMO'S-HOTEL COLUMBIA-we room serviced desserts and the chocolate flourless was too precious w carved espresso ice cream and dark chocolate sticks. the special apple dessert was good, but doughnuts better in the am. we had drinks another night at bar and similar to 221 but more selection. they served peanuts which were addicting and i thought something a little more sophisticated would have suited the decor better. On a room note-we stayed at hotel and highly recommend it - see trip advisor reviews. GO BACK? bar probably. dessert probably bc occasional room service convenient
-ALLRED'S-good for views and window seats cleared out quickly so one can upgrade if get seat at bar vs. at table. ordered hummus appetizer and it was dry but fried flour chips were delicious. the presentation was kind of 1980's like the space--. I bet Gordon Ramsay would have a field day here-would be better to have more of a hearty mountain fare-- we smelled truffle oil french fries which a neighboring table ordered and probably were great, although the food doesn't seem to match the environment-like it's trying to be something it's not or to stay w trends. Service-good. GO BACK? bar-probably bc of view and we'll take advantage of the city fries next time! anyway:)
-ONYX-a Capella property in Mountain Village, (13 min rjgondola ride from T-ride.) Had lunch-heirloom tomato salad and I added shrimp. Tomatoes were fresh and quite good, although the grilled shrimp could have been a little fresher. Husband's hambuger was hearty and good-w good bun. Excellent crispy fries. Good crispy bread and soft on inside w nice soft butter. Outside of bread did get the mountain stale after 30 min so eat up! Very, very pleasant and professional staff. The French chard split that we ordered wasn't chilled so they gave us a house glass while ours chlled. very good service. the views are of a brick plaza w large buildings surrounding, this plaza, but we hear winter it's booming with people. Capella's other property, Lost Creek Inn, had much better views but no dining availability bc of a special event. The friendly manager told us Onyx's chef is on Top Chef and doing well. Lost Creek's chef is Puerto Rican and does plantains, beans and his grandmother's flan recipe (hear it's nice and custardy). GO BACK? Yes. Would like to try other things on menu. Will try other resto Lost Creek too but with reservations bc limited outdoor seating.
-CINDY'S BREAD-a little bit out of town near Conoco station but they open at 7am and you can pre-order to save time and get on mountain trails. Incredibly fresh bread -- so fresh that my sandwich got mushed/flattened in my backpack, but the tuna was fresh and delicious. Husband's Dallas chicken sandwich was on a bun and in tact and lots of good flavors. Choc chip cookie overdone and kind of dry. The ginger cookies looked moist but i had opted for the chocolate fix. They will email the menu-only- not avail online.GO BACK? Yes, and pre-order w bun for traveling well in backpack
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La Marmotte
150 W San Juan, Telluride, CO 81435
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wearybashful
Jul 28, 2010 12:27 AM
Sigh. When I was in Telluride, it was before the ski resort was there. I stayed at the Sheridan Hotel, which was maybe a hundred years old. I remember there was a great place that had only a wood-burning oven and made wonderful gooseberry pies. There was an Alpine Bar and Grill. I don't suppose that's still there. I remember that while eating there once, the waitress called me to the phone--- "Who, me?" I said, since I was just a tourist. It was my mother. She had tried to call me at the hotel, but the town operator said, "Oh, she went over to the Alpine Bar and Grill, I'll ring her there."
I'd only been there a few days. Sigh.
