Snooze An A.M. Eatery

I was the one in charge of picking our last breakfast before we head back to Orlando. Ughh...either leaving a bad taste in your mouth or an extremely good one. I was hoping for the latter. I started the search for places to eat near the Denver International Airport. I came across, Snooze. What a great name for a breakfast place. I continued to read and as soon as I saw sweet potato pancakes my mind and stomach were set.

After pulling up outside, you could tell this was the trendy, hip spot to have breakfast or brunch. There was even a sign to let me know my assumption was correct. 

So we were on a strict schedule to follow; eat, return rental car, get through security before they shut the airplane door. Snooze was packing them in. Luckily we looked at the menu as we were waiting and everyone decided what they would be having be the time we got seated. Our waiter (wish I remembered his name) was great, he didn't even write down our order and got everything right. 

Check out this delicious meal: 

Nick had the Corned Beef Hash Snooze’s signature shredded hash mixed with locally made corned beef, caramelized poblanos and onions. Topped with two eggs your style & toast.

To drink he had the Brewmosa to drink-triple beer from new belgium with odwalla oj. Pretty tasty and I'm not a beer drinker. Maybe that will have to change after having a sip of that. 

I ordered the pancake flight. Have you ever heard of that? Pancake flight? Your probably thinking boring. WRONG! I had a pineapple upside down pancake, red velvet pancake, and a sweet potato pancake. This was heaven on a plate. You could take all the cutest baby animals and it was not as good as these pancakes! Amazing.

After shoveling all the food into my face we headed out to the airport. Thanks Snooze for a great way to end my first trip to Colorado. The weather was great and the food was wonderful. Taste & Travel is headed back to sunny Orlando.

Ticino's Italian Restaurant

The last at Beaver Creek we were looking for some place to go eat. We couldn't decide and when we did the restaurants had over an hour wait. Finally we found a place we all agreed on-Ticino's Italian Restaurant.

To start I got the Rucola salad- Arugula, gorgonzola, walnuts, apple, balsamic  

vinaigrette. I thought it was displayed really nicely and it tasted just as good. I love simplistic salads like this. 

Nick's dad ordered the Antipasta Misto-Prosciutto di Parma, sopressata, coppa,  felino salumi, bresaola, gorgonzola, parmesan, asiago, tomatoes, cornichons, Kalamata olives, pearl‐onions, and fig. Again, the presentation was simple, but the colors meshed so nicely. Love eating fresh figs!

Now to the meal. First off Nick's mom ordered penne pasta with meatballs....big mistake! I am the meatball queen and once you've had mine there's just no turning back, obviously she was disappointed. No point of even showing you the picture. Waste of time. 

Next, Nick and his father both ordered Scaloppine di Vitello Caprese- Veal scaloppini topped with fresh mozzarella, oven dried tomatoes, and veal demi‐glace, served with crispy gnocchi. I had a bite of the gnocchi-love those little dough balls! Nick said the veal was very tender and he loved the baked tomato.

Finally I had the Salmone ai Ferri - Grilled salmon filet with lemon pesto, polenta and assorted veggie. I wanted a lighter dish and this was perfect. The fish was seasoned just right. I love polenta because it reminds me of grits. The only downfall was the veggies were not hot when I received them. 

Overall, it was a small restaurant that served good hearty meals. The dining room was quaint, but it comfortable. They even have their own wood oven for pizzas. A place all ages would enjoy!

Foxnut

After a morning of hitting the slopes you are always in need of a fulfilling lunch. A great place to try at Beaver Creek is Foxnut- an Asian fusion restaurant.

We were busy skiing thru a tipi or tepee or teepee- that day on the mountain.

After plenty of runs down the mountain we headed in to Foxnut for lunch. Nick decided to have the pad thai with chicken. It had a great flavor with just a tad bit of tang. Surprisingly the tofu on top was really good and I am not a tofu kind of girl.

 I had the macadamia nut crusted goat cheese salad. That's a mouthful! I know the sushi in the background looks amazing and I'm assured that it was, but I haven't been able to get past the fact that it's uncooked fish. My salad though was great. It had cut up mango that went great with the goat cheese.

Overall, this was a great place for lunch. The menu had a wide variety of foods even hot dogs-asian style. Who could say no?

Mimi's Fried Pies

After 2 other restaurant stops I wasn't sure how I was going to manage a bite of pie. I figured a dessert pie would be the best choice and probably go down the easiest. Mimi's Fried Pies was our 3rd and last stop in Breckenridge, Colorado.

Pies are available in both savory and sweet options. 

So we ordered a few pies and by time the order was complete my eyes were feeling bigger than my stomach, chicken pot pie, blackberry pie, coconut cream pie, and banana foster pie. 

My favorite by far was the Banana Foster! (BTW-their ice cream is homemade too) I could have ate the whole thing if I didn't have other people to share it with! Amazing!!!!

The folks working at Mimi's were even nice enough to take a quick picture with Nick and I. Thanks guys-your doing a great job and I will be back for some more Banana Fosters pie!!! 

Empire Burger

After eating at Motherloaded Tavern the gang I was with walked around Breckenridge for a bit to gain our hunger. Our next stop was Empire Burger. Who doesn't love a good burger now and then?

I decided to have a drink to warm me up-it was a seasonal speciality- Peppermint Patty- Hot Cocoa with peppermint schnapps, topped with whipped cream. It was pretty tasty. A great drink for the holidays to warm you up from the cold. 

The three burgers we tried were- The Kona Burger, Guacamole Bacon Burger, and Mushroom Swiss Burger. The group consensus: the burgers were a good cheap eat, but it should have been a bigger patty. More meat!!!

The Mushroom Swiss Burger

What really won the group over was the dipping sauces for the fries- we picked 4 different kinds and they were all great. Roasted Garlic Mayo, Buttermilk Casear, Jalapeno Ketchup, and Ranch. 

Empire Burger wasn't a bad burger place, but could have expected a bit more.

The Motherloaded Tavern

My first stop in Breckenridge-The Motherloaded Tavern.  Oh, where do I begin. I loved this place. First off, the decor is what really caught my eye. There were so many small details that were great. Just take a look at the photos to see exactly what I'm talking about.

Ok-so that is just the small details...then we started to look at the menu...now remember we have some other places to hit so we decided to just order some appetizers. 1st up Sweet Pepper Bacon-brushed with maple syrup and peppercorn. I love bacon and the best part was it was crispy and had a sweet taste.

Our next appetizer-Sweet Taters! OMG! I love me some sweet potato fries, but these took my love to the next level. It was all about the dipping sauce. Fluff, peanut butter, brown sugar praline. I couldn't get enough of that stuff. In fact, I ate all of it!!! I'm drooling just thinking about it.

3rd taste-Wisconsin Fried Cheese Curds. Yum. These were served with a ranch to dip it in. Probably not the healthiest of meals....good thing I'm skiing while I'm here.

After enjoying all of our great snacks we had a visitor to our table- Leslie Day- the CEO. It's always great to learn about the history of the place and from one of people that started it. Leslie told us pretty much all of the recipes come from her family or friends. She surprised us by bringing us the Panini-grilled monte cristo that is encrusted with captain crunch! I can only say good things about this place. So many different flavors-combined it makes sheer perfection!

Last, but not least, a friend of Leslie was getting a birthday shot and I needed to take a picture of this. 

Shot glass with a spot for a candle...now remember my birthday is coming up in March!!! How awesome. Make sure you make a pit stop at The Motherloaded Tavern if you are near Breckenridge, I could have stayed there all day to try out the menu! 

Beaver Creek Chophouse

Last night we were all feeling pretty tired after 2 days of skiing and a slight time change. Nick and I decided to split a meal at the chophouse.

We decided to split a wedge salad and the people at chophouse were nice enough to split the salad for us and put it on two different plates. Can't really go wrong with a wedge salad can you?

Then we split a 16 oz. dry aged New York Strip. Pretty good steak...how do I really describe this steak...cooked medium...personally for me it could be cooked a tad bit more, I don't like it bloody.

For a side, we ordered blue cheese tater tots, having no idea what to expect. Blue cheese on top? No! It was in the tater tot!!! Very creamy. 

By the end of the meal I was fully satisfied and ready for bed. 

Keep reading. I spent a day eating my way through Breckenridge. I stopped at 3 different places get a taste of this mountain side community. 

The Gashouse-CO

Two nights ago dinner the whole gang went to The Gashouse, only about 10 minutes away from Beaver Creek.  Imagine a hunting lodge turned restaurant. Animal heads everywhere!

Lets talk food. We started out by munching on truffle fries. Which had parmesan cheese on them and some other spices. Pretty tasty, our thought, maybe melt that cheese or have a dipping sauce for it. 

Next comes the meal. I got to taste some of everyones meal so I'll give an insight, but I must say my favorite was mine- the crab cake au gratin. Big lumps of crab and it was really tasty. 

If you are a meat (wo)man. Then you have to try the bison ribeye. Nick had this. I tried a bite and it wasn't as cooked as I liked, but this meet was very tender. 

A family friend of Nick's family-Barry-had the beef carpacio and red pork chili. The carpacio was a hit and everyone was eating it. The chili...just don't even bother ordering it. Just don't. 

Say No to the chili

Overall, the Gashouse was a good place for sea food and meat! The cabin like feel made me realize I really am in Colorado. Continue with us on our food tour of Co.