{"id":5756,"date":"2012-04-08T14:59:22","date_gmt":"2012-04-08T14:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eataspen.com\/blog\/?p=5756"},"modified":"2015-02-12T17:09:50","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T17:09:50","slug":"spring-eating-fling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eataspen.com\/blog\/spring-eating-fling\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Eating Fling"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\"road-dirt\"<\/a>Spring Eating Fling
\nWarmer weather and longer days mean the patio is open for business.
\n-by Alison Berkley Margo<\/p>\n

Last weekend my husband Ryan and I blew off skiing and went road biking in Basalt<\/a> instead. For our first ride of the season, we pedaled our still-tender and not bike seat broken-in bottoms to Reudi Reservoir. It\u2019s an easy climb and a big reward of river-meandering and red rock spire views without a lot of effort. After that ride, we always look forward to a beer and a snack on the patio at Riverside Grill<\/a> in downtown Basalt where the sun-soaked patio and bubbling river are so good you can taste it in the food. The chicken brie quesadillas with mango salsa are the perfect springtime afternoon snack. And por moi, the ever health conscious high-maintenance Princess (of course I am still drinking beer) the roasted beet salad with salmon (grilled to perfection) was just the ticket and left me nothing to complain about. They serve the dressing on the side even if you forget to ask them to.<\/p>\n

A few days later while out stalking celebrities for my new gig with a tabloid mag, I found myself \u201cworking\u201d on the patio at Ajax Tavern<\/a> at the base of Aspen Mountain, where truffle oil wafts in the breeze like arms reaching out to embrace you in a big hug. This apr\u00e8s hot spot is just that\u2014bar food with a little luxurious Aspen<\/a> flair. The truffle fries are really all a girl needs, but the oysters are good too and the perfect cold food treat. I\u2019m no sommelier, but I do know my beer, and nothing goes better with a chuggable lager than a few of the ocean\u2019s salty little creatures sliding down your throat.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re lucky enough to be able to get a table, my favorite patio in Aspen is the one at Jimmy\u2019s<\/a>, the place to see and be seen. I can\u2019t even begin to tell you the columns that have been written based solely on what I\u2019ve seen on the streets below while sipping some exotic tequila from the staff\u2019s latest tasting trip to Mexico. My all-time favorite dish anywhere in Aspen is Jimmy\u2019s crab cake\u2014the thick, fresh crab meat is chunky, not minced and tossed with a very light dressing that allows the flavor of the fish (not the oil) to come through. It\u2019s only lightly breaded and not deep-fried and the duo of dipping sauces (a red cocktail sauce and a pink aioli) are best mixed together and delectable enough for bread-dipping should you have any leftover. Better yet, Jimmy exemplifies what an Aspen Restaurateur should be: he\u2019s there every night, he works wherever he is needed whether it\u2019s behind the bar or clearing a table, treats his staff well and greets all of his guests whether you\u2019re a VIP or a local. Nothing makes you feel more special than being greeted by his deep, throat-rattling voice, even if you\u2019re not sure if he actually knows who you are.<\/p>\n

The Woody Creek Tavern<\/a>
\nThe waitresses at the Tavern are so dialed and pro, it\u2019s kind of scary. That\u2019s why my only complaint would be that sometimes they bring out the food a little too fast. The Woody Creek Tavern is a place where you want to linger, and nothing is better than a lazy afternoon on their charming tree-light strewn patio with a late lunch that runs into dinner. The place reeks of old Aspen, of the wild, reckless liberal days when Hunter S. was a regular and being in an altered state was the norm. I love the tucked-away mountain cabin feel. The menu, while simple bar food, boasts high-quality local ingredients. Beware though of Aspen prices and \u201cwould you like some guac to start?\u201d trick because that little free-at-Mexican joints app is actually eight bucks). At the end of the day, good food is just that good food \u2013 even the simplest dishes can be made special when the ingredients are fresh and locally produced. WCT tries to use organic produce and meats from local ranches. Chicken enchiladas are the go-to staple, but if you\u2019re in a sun-soaking beer swilling kind of mood there\u2019s nothing better than a fried onion ring dipped in ranch dressing to fit the bill. Didn\u2019t I already tell you, my mantra is detox to retox<\/a>?<\/p>\n

One of the best spring afternoons I\u2019ve had was spent riding our cruiser bikes down to Carbondale<\/a> on the Rio Grande bike path. After stopping at WCT, we made our way north, coasting all the way down to 6,000 feet. If you\u2019re an up valley snob, you\u2019re missing out on some good eatin\u2019 north of the roundabout. And guess what else: it\u2019s spring a lot earlier in Car-bon-do-lay than it is up on A-Town. Sometimes that\u2019s the perfect excuse for a little springtime field trip down to the high desert for a little afternoon drinking and eating. Nowhere is that better enjoyed than on the ample patio at Hestia<\/a> where the old brick buildings that surround the courtyard evoke an otherworldly vibe. Hestia is sophisticated food served in a laid-back setting (They call it \u201ccontemporary rustic,\u201d but whatever. Same difference) with a menu selection that offers a range as wide as the ranch land surrounding Carbondale\u2014from burgers and gyros with the best-ever sweet potato fries to mussels in yellow curry sauce. The menu has a distinct Mediterranean bent (think gyros, and items with a lot of k\u2019s in it) with a handful of go-to American favorites. And if you thought down valley dining wasn\u2019t cool enough for you, you\u2019re right\u2014afternoons on the patio at Hestia are hot-hot-hot.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favorite patio dining in the valley? Don\u2019t be shy. Tell us!<\/p>\n

-Ali Berkley Margo<\/p>\n

Read all articles in series.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Warmer weather & longer days mean Aspen patios are open for business so last weekend my husband Ryan and I blew off skiing and went….
\nby Alison Berkley Margo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,6,7],"tags":[31,32,39,68,290,317,391,417,437,462,507,575,618],"class_list":["post-5756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aspen-restaurants","category-basalt-restaurants","category-carbondale-restaurants","tag-ajax-tavern","tag-al-fresco-dining","tag-apres-ski","tag-aspen-mountain","tag-hestia","tag-jimmys","tag-off-season","tag-patios","tag-princess-plate","tag-riverside-grill","tag-spring","tag-the-woody-creek-tavern","tag-woody-creek","author-ali-berkley-margo","aspen-restaurants","basalt-restaurants","carbondale-restaurants"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aUGV-1uQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eataspen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eataspen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eataspen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eataspen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eataspen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5756"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eataspen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8618,"href":"https:\/\/eataspen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5756\/revisions\/8618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eataspen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eataspen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eataspen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}