Eating out in Keystone

Keystone's rapidly expanding range of dining options now extends to more than 20 establishments. The most unusual is the opportunity to eat more than two miles above sea level in the gourmet Alpenglow Stube, which some reviewers regard as the best mountain restaurant in the US. The six course meals 'feature contemporary American cuisine with indigenous accents' whilst enjoying the spectacular views of the surrounding valleys and the peaks of the Continental Divide. For the best value dining, visit at lunchtime, where four courses can be had for $30. Those with a sense of culinary adventure can allow the chef to design a personal dinner for them. Next door to the Stube, Der Fondue Chessel offers fondues and raclettes and the invaluable post-dinner opportunity to learn the Chicken Dance accompanied by live Bavarian music. Apart from the Alpenglow Stube another highly regarded restaurant, the Keystone Ranch, also offers six course dinners with Rocky Mountain ingredients. Sample menu items may include venison with chili peppers and blue corn, elk with wild mushrooms and juniper sauce or perhaps Colorado ruby trout wrapped in cabbage. The Ski Tip Lodge was formerly a stagecoach stop in the 1880s and then a skiers' lodge in the 1940s, making it one of the most atmospheric buildings in the area. It's famous for its Swiss style breakfasts, special coffee and American regional dinners. Another choice for those searching for something different is to sign up for a cookery class in the Keystone Conference Centre kitchen which ends with a six course dinner with wine and champagne - and you get to take home a recipe book, chef's hat and apron!