Backbowl's Patio

When it comes to great summer patios in Winter Park, there are a few restaurants and bars that surpass the rest. If you have another favorite that I leave out, just let us know by leaving a comment below.  

My Top Picks:

- The Winter Park Pub.  The patio at “the pub” is #1 in my heart. There is usually live music at least three times a week, plus tons of space and seating for plenty of sunshine opportunities. They also have a tent for shade or rain coverage. It’s also a #1 locals favorite, so it’s a good place to mingle.  

- The Cheeky Monk - This is a newer restaurant at the Village at Winter Park Resort. The vibe inside is awesome, and they have like, a million types of beers. The patio is killer, too, and they oftentimes have live music and drink specials during the summer.

A packed patio at "The Pub"

- Backbowl Soup Company – another new restaurant at the Village at Winter Park Resort, Backbowl has an attractive, spacious patio with umbrellas & nice views. They also have live music and drink specials on Tues & Thursdays and the “Adventure Train Playground” that the kids love.

 - The Sushi Bar – Another local tradition is to hit up happy hour at The Sushi Bar at least a few times in the summer to enjoy their large deck. During happy hour you also get two-for-one specials on selected drinks & sushi rolls. They don’t have live music, but their parties and/or specials make up for that.  

- Deno’s Mountain Bistro.  A prime, south-west facing patio, this is a lovely spot for afternoon sunshine. Deno’s wine list is impressive, plus they have all the regular ol’ standbys and great wings. The only catch is that they don’t have live music.  

- Fontenot’s – This deck is often overlooked, but for what reason, I don’t know. They have a really nice deck, tables with umbrellas and great food. They tend to be on the pricey side, which may be why it’s not frequented too often by locals, but they have delicious appetizers like fried green tomatoes and coconut shrimp. Not a spot for live music, either.  

Other honorable mentions include the Gasthaus Eichler patio for lunch next to Vasquez Creek, Rudi’s Deli patio, and the Mountain Grind Cafe at Cooper Creek Square. 

The Gasthaus Eichler is reopening with the original owners taking back over the rains and getting back to the German basics.

Hans and Hannelore Eichler have reopened the Gusthaus Eichler in downtown Winter Park after a year of the longtime eatery being closed as a public restaurant and open only for guests of the Eichler Hotel.

The Eichlers  started Gausthaus Eichler in 1980, in the Conoco shopette on US 40, and then built the current location in 1987.  The restaurant was popular with locals and visitors alike.  The Eichlers later leased out the restaurant and the Gasthaus was run under the Eichler name until last fall.  The leasers left town and the Gasthaus was not open to the public last ski season.

Well, the Eichlers are back in charge and returning the Gasthaus to its grand origins.  Now, 30 years after first opening the Gasthaus, the Eichlers have returned with their original menu and legendary service.

Everything in the restaurant is still made by hand. Their potato pancakes, which could be bought frozen from Denver food suppliers these days, Hanne said, are crafted from scratch with real potatoes. The spätzle is handmade with a machine in the kitchen. Other popular items on the menu include wienerschnitzel, jägerschitzel and säuerbraten.

German food is not just bratwurst and sauerkraut at GE. Although there is that too — all the Eichler’s brats, available in both veal and pork, come from a Swiss butcher in Denver.

For dessert they offer Black Forest cake, chocolate mouse torte and apple strudel, all made from scratch. They’ve added chocolate and cheese fondue, and three German beers are available on tap.

In the summer there is an outdoor patio on the creek’s edge surrounded by potted flowers and space heaters.

The Gasthaus is a Winter Park original and really an institution here in Grand County.  If you are going to have a night out give Gasthaus Eichler a try.

We are a couple of weeks into mud season here in Winter Park, Colorado and there are days filled with snow and some others filled with sun.  It is still a good time to get out and have some food and support the local eateries that are staying open in this finicky mud season of ours.  Here is a list of the local restaurants and what they are up to this year, as to if they are open or closed.

Most of the restaurants that are open here in WP now are offering specials, so don’t forget to ask.  Also, to contact any of the above restaurants go to the Winter Park/Fraser Valley Chamber website for the respective phone numbers.

Winter Park Resort just seems to be racking up the awards of late.  Skiing magazine just named Winter Park’s Moffat Market as the fourth best Ski-Resort Cafeteria.  That is not bad as the building it operates in is quite old compared to the others on Skiing Magazines top ten list.

The Moffat Market was the highest ranked Colorado ski cafeteria and Vail’s Two Elks Lodge was the only other Colorado cafeteria ranked and they came in at number six.

Here is what Skiing Magazine had to say about the Winter Park Moffat Market:

Moffat Market, a railroad-themed food court (named after the Moffat Tunnel, a 6.2.-mile-long railroad tunnel that has its west end at Winter Park ski resort), offers food from around the world. There’s New York-style pizza at Grand Central Station, Tex-Mex at Santa Fe Station, and Asian noodle bowls at the Umami Station. We recently tried a veggie coconut curry bowl with rice noodles here—and were blown away by how spicy and delicious it was.

We recently had a chicken burrito at the Moffat Market and I have to say it was a huge burrito and very tasty.  Cost was a little pricey but food at ski resorts is never cheap.

Serving breakfast and lunch, the Moffat Market food court has a railroad theme and offers fresh cuisine and specialties that reflect the different regions of the country and the world. Storefronts and names identify the different food stations with options such as: New York-style pizza at Grand Central Station; Tex-Mex at the Santa Fe Station; enjoy Asian noodle bowls at our newly revamped “Umami” station; and hearty soups at the Shortline. Moffat Market also features an Einstein’s Bagels kiosk for fresh breakfast bagels, and lunch specialties. New this season is a totally revamped breakfast menu at the Moffat Market. Stop by for their specialty, “Eggs Delphia.”

Of course, you go to a ski resort for the good snow and terrain. But you’ve got to eat while you’re there, right? Skiing Magazine has done their research—eating at ski areas all over the country—and have selected the 10 best on-mountain restaurants in ski country.  And to call the Moffat Market a cafeteria simply doesn’t do it justice.

We had a chance to visit the new Cosmic Dog Burritos this weekend and we were pleasantly surprised at how good the food was.  We had a couple of burritos and some queso dip with cheese and it was terrific.  I’m going to say the food quality is better than Chipotle and it seemed more “authentic”, whatever that means.

Sarah the twins and I shared a veggie burrito,  shredded carnitas burrito and some queso dip and chips with the salsa on the side.  The boys ate heartily and Sarah and I both thought the burritos and queso were awesome.  Price was reasonable and the decor is very Winter Park quirky in a good way.  There is no more need to trek down to Denver to get your Chipotle Burrito fix.  We have just as good if not better right here in Winter Park.

Right now The Cosmic Dog is serving only soft drinks but Fernand, the owner, says that the liquor license application is in process and they should have beer and margaritas in the next month or so.  My mouth is watering right now thinking of a Pacifico with some queso with chips….. YUM!

So all you WP locals let’s get out and support one of our own homegrown restaurants and  all you visitors to our piece of heaven here in the Colorado Rockies don’t miss out on a Cosmic Dog burrito.

First we have the Fraser/Winter Park Rec Center open for the very first day to what looks like universal approval here in the Fraser Valley.  We will be visiting this coming week and will let you know how the final product turned out.  From what I have seen it looks spectacular (I can’t wait to steam my old bones in the steam sauna).

Last night Alberto’s had a soft opening to get some of the kinks out before tonight’s official Grand Opening.  I heard that the food was terrific and the space looks just as good.  For those not on the know, Alberto’s is brought to us by the folks that own the Tabernash Tavern.  They have redone the space in Cooper Creek Square that most recently housed the Green Olive Italian steakhouse.  We will try to make it out to Alberto’s in the next week and let your know about their operation.

The Cosmic Dog Mexican Grill is also opening tonight.  I popped my head in today and the space looks pretty cool.  I got a chance to talk to Fernand, the owner, and he says they should be serving up some burritos  tonight.  He also said he was exhausted from their push to get open in time for the Winter Park holiday season.  I can’t wait to have a burrito this week.  Nice work Fernand on the space, it looks great.

Lastly there is Ziggy’s Doughnuts.  Our very own hot fresh doughnut factory located next to Fontenot’s Cajun Cafe in the Kings Crossing Retail Center.  Talked Ziggy today and he says they should be open by the 3rd of January.  Ziggy’s will have coffee, fresh donuts, and some video games set among a cool interior with counter service and tables and chairs.  Would be great if Ziggy could figure out a way to offer some wine and beer, anywho,  I’m am satisfied with hot donuts for now though.

So our little enclave of heaven up here in the Colorado Rockies just seems to be booming with all these openings.  It looks like the economy is tuning around and vacationers ans skiers are starting to return to the hills.  We got some unexpected snow the last few nights and everyone here in Winter Park is getting ready for Christmas.  All seems well in the Winter Park part of the world.

We have heard that Winter Park is getting it’s own doughnut shop.  Rumor has it that Ziggy and Barbara, owners of Polservice Cleaning Services, are opening a doughnut shop next to Fontenot’s Cajun Cafe in the Kings Crossing shopping center.  Go Ziggy go!!  We could use some good hot doughnuts up here in Winter Park and not those Safeway ones.

Have not heard of a name or when the store will open but apparently there is a sign on the door of the future space.  May we suggest the names Doughnut Bowl or The Powdered Doughnut or The Six Inches of Freshies Doughnut Shop.  OK OK I will stop, but I am excited that WP is getting a doughnut shop.  We are finally getting a couple of modern mans necessities in Winter Park.  First we have the Fraser Rec Center, or whatever the final name ends up being, and the Cosmic Dog Mexican Grill and now our very own doughnut shop.  Homer Simpson would be in heaven!

Well, good luck Ziggy and Barbara we here at Winter Park Lodging Company, especially me, will help to make the store a success, as much as my waistline can handle anyways.

I got my first chance since we had the twins to hit the town in Winter Park without the wife and kids.  Sarah and the boys were down in Denver visiting the grandparents and doing some Christmas shopping and I was able to paint WP town red.

Met a couple of friends at Deno’s Mountain Bistro for the Vino at Deno’s.  This is Deno’s tasting flight of two wines paired with appetizers for the nice price of $10.  The wines were a Vouvray paired with an artichoke bruchette and Pinot Noir paired with shrimp on a rosemary skewer.  Very very tasty and the presentation was low key and accessible as it should be here in Winter Park.  Teddy, Deno’s son and now owner, was the host with the  heavy pouring hand and had some very good knowledge of the wines we were enjoying.

After the tasting I had the Chicken Marsala that was awesome!  Tender chicken breast in a Marsala wine sauce with mushrooms over a bed of pasta with spinach.  Deno’s is now making homemade bread that was also fantastic. Must have come straight from the oven.

Check out Deno’s Facebook page for deals and specials.

We ended the night at Ullr’s the new bar that took the Silver Bucket’s space in the Conoco shopette.  That is for another post though.

If you take a break from tearing up the dance floor during the show, track down one of the Blues Society members with your questions about blues music , you won’t be disappointed! This Saturday, they’re hosting John Richardson and the Jelly Roll Bakers (Johnny O and Andy Irvine) at 9pm. You can check out a quick bio about these guys on the Blues Society website.

Hope to see you there!