Kelly Liken Vail

Sometimes we forget, living here on the front range in Colorado, just how gorgeous our mountain towns are. I don’t seem to get there nearly enough, but when I visited Vail recently, I made a beeline for the restaurant of the now somewhat famous chef, Kelly Liken. If you’re a foodie who watches Top Chef on Bravo, you’ve seen her competing and as of this posting, she’s still in it.

I’m partial to restaurants where the chef provides a little present to diners at the start, an amuse bouche, and Kelly started the meal off with an incredibly delicious beet and fennel soup served in a small Asian soup spoon. Accompanied by the savory olive bread, it set the tone for the evening.

My husband and I share the elk carpaccio – I had to, having seen the rave reviews she got for her beef carpaccio on last week’s show. The elk was really fabulous, but what sealed if for me was the spoonful of minty tabbouleh served on top.

The rack of CO lamb is great – feta, couscous, raita and eggplant caviar, all share the plate and work together instead of clashing.

And although we passed on dessert, the pleasant surprise of a root beer and peach homemade lollipop presented with our check capped off the evening perfectly.

I loved the food here, but be warned, prices are steep, in particular for the wines which are served in half glasses, full glasses, and carafes. A single glass of CA sparkling wine set me back $20, and I think my husband’s carafe of cabernet – about 2 glasses – rang up at well over $40. Still, it’s fun to dine in a celebrity spot, and I’m rooting for Kelly on Top Chef!