Press Room
Remaking of the Artisan
There really is five-star dining at three-star prices in Snowmass Village.
Ambiance. Service. Food. Those are three most important things that people look for in a restaurant according to Artisan Executive Chef David Von Holten. And those are three areas where the Artisan competes favorably with the higher-end restaurants in Aspen.
Over the past four years, Von Holten and his staff have made a Cinderellatransformation in the Stonebridge's food and beverage service. The executive chef knew that he was going to need to create a new restaurant in stages. And, for him, the food was the first stage.
But ambiance is also important. In the last year the old restaurant was expanded with a new conference room that will seat 60. The informal, comfortable restaurant seats a little more than 70 in the main dining room and another 50-60 in the tables surrounding the bar.
The 77-member service staff are there to help you, and they demonstrate this nightly with their pleasant, but not pushy, service. But it is the food at the Artisan that is the highlight and the reason to drive to Snowmass wherever you are staying in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Chef Von Holten likes to let his food do the talking. He offers a lot of different food styles on the menu. ("For the fun factor," he says.) And his styles change with the weather because he's always testing the waters and asking himself what he's hungry for.
"In the winter, I tend to cook very Frenchy," says Von Holten. "The Cassoulet (French white beans, confit of duck leg, port sausage, garlic herb crust for $25) is a winter dish."
You will find many natural items on the menu at the Artisan. The chicken is from a natural producer, as are the Colorado lamb and the Colorado beef. Regional products, like Paonia peaches, are used in season.
There is a mixture of high- end dishes on the restaurant menu and an affordable bar menu. An 8 oz. grilled Tenderloin of beef stuffed with Swiss chard, crimini mushrooms and Maytag blue cheese on top of mashers runs $ 36. Entrees range from the $ 18 Fate Plate of market vegetable inspirations like the artichoke, avocado, grilled mango, lettuce and tomato that was available the last time we visit.
Snowmass Sun
Steve Alldredge
