“Skiers no longer travel with a tuna sandwich in their pocket, ” said Diane Mueller, co-owner of Okemo Mountain Resort. Her husband Tim said, “The culinary experience is becoming more important to skiers, and at Okemo we are trying to lead the way, just like we have done with our snowmaking and grooming.”

Photo: Okemo Mountain Resort (by Greg Burke)

 

Wait, isn’t ski area food supposed to be overpriced and underwhelming? This dynamic Okemo duo is turning the tables on standard ski area fare (the Muellers also run Sunapee in N.H. and recently acquired Crested Butte in Colorado).

Photo: Upper World Cup Trail at Okemo Mountain Resort (by Greg Burke)

 

Where most ski resorts hire a seasonal Food & Beverage staff to slap together burgers and tap beer, Okemo enlists a “Culinary Team.” On a family weekend at Okemo, I found myself contemplating my next meal – more than my next run…the food is that good.

Starting at the top of the food chain (the 3,344’ peak of Okemo Mountain), the Summit Lodge has three dining options inside. “Jump” located downstairs serves Asian creations like General Tsao’s Chicken and Spicy Lo Mien. The Summit Deli upstairs features hand-carved specialty sandwiches. For a hot toddy or a cold micro brew, the Summit also has a Sky Bar.

Photo: Okemo Summit (by Greg Burke)

The Sugar House is a mid-mountain eatery, serving O-zone pizza and Vermont specialties inside this Chalet style lodge. On spring days, the deck at the Sugar House becomes Smokey Jo’s, a beachy barbeque serving char-grilled smokehouse meats and sausages. The prime rib sandwich is extremely satiating.

Photo: Okemo Sugar House (by Greg Burke)

If you don’t want to remove your boards for a bite, ski up to the Waffle Haus – just follow your nose as you ski down Lower Mountain Road – the wafting sweet smell of Belgian confection is almost fattening.

Photo: Okemo Waffle Haus (by Greg Burke)

High-speed skiers may prefer the hearty self-serve soups, sandwiches and spicy fries in the Base Lodge Café – where you can also get a steamy Latté and biscotti at Caffé Origins.

Photo: Okemo Rimrock Trail (by Greg Burke)

For a more leisurely lunch, ski to the Solitude Base, slide out of your skis and into the gourmet Epic Restaurant (maybe even slip off your boots). The interior is a cosmopolitan turquoise with sleek silver table tops, not your average base lodge brown. When’s the last time you sampled lamb sausage as a ski snack? The view of the Solitude high-speed quad will remind you that you have to get back out on the slopes, in case you start to slip into an epicurean coma.

Photo: Epic Restaurant in Solitude Base Lodge at Okemo (by Greg Burke)

Okemo’s latest lodging expansion, Jackson Gore Inn, is a sprawling semi-circle hotel on the western end of the ski resort. The attempt to emulate a Vermont Country Inn is lost in the magnitude. Inside is quainter. In the Coleman Brook Tavern, you can settle into a warm wingback chair or a comfy couch for a rather fanciful full-service meal, or serve yourself in the post and beam Roundhouse Food Court. Upstairs is Siena featuring stone-baked gourmet pizzas with mouthwatering toppings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Jackson Gore Inn and The Roundhouse at Okemo (by Greg Burke)

Coleman’s Lobby Bar is the Inn’s central spot to unbuckle and unwind over a tall-stemmed glass of wine, a ski-tini or cocoa with a kick. Admire the grand fireplace, and indulge your sweet tooth by ordering S’mores – which you roast over a mini bonfire (camping was never this good). For posh private dining, The Wine Room is a mahogany-lined adult-only enclave, where Culinary Manager Marc Miller is accumulating the most extensive wine stash in Vermont.

Photo: Coleman Lobby Bar at Okemo's Jackson Gore Inn (by Greg Burke)

 
Photo: Glades Peak Quad at Okemo Mountain Resort (by Greg Burke)

What will Okemo’s foodees think of next? Perhaps an adaptation of sister resort Crested Butte’s famed on-mountain Ice Bar?

Photo: Okemo Mountain Resort (by Greg Burke)

See you on the slopes! By Heather Burke, Ski Journalist ESWA/NASJA
www.familyskitrips.com