There's no better way to enjoy an evening out in Aspen than through the art of eating. And to enhance my eating outings, my friend Ariel, the baker of this chocolate chip banana bread, introduced me to "restaurant hopping," which is just like bar hopping, except better, because you're eating.
KENICHI
My mother and I started out by eating lightly at Kenichi, an underground sushi restaurant. Although Kenichi has changed owners, it has remained a trendy, well-known sushi spot for years, so by "underground," I mean that the restaurant is literally located below street level, and by "eating lightly," I mean that we've found Kenichi rather disappointing in recent years, so we figured we wouldn't be eating much. We each started off the meal with a pomegranate martini, served to us by a very chatty, and only mildly censored, bartender.
The drink was a nice start and looked great against the gold-speckled granite counter. We also ordered two pieces of salmon, nothing you haven't seen before, but they were great pieces of fish.
We then had the seared tuna tataki. Typically, anytime a sushi restaurant has green beans or asparagus anywhere on the menu, I'd prefer to leave than continue to read. It's not that I don't like green beans or asparagus; they just have no place near my sushi. However, I found myself in a bind, as the dish also included avocado, so we went for it. The green beans won.
We finished off with a safe bet: the dynamite shrimp. With mayonnaise and tempura, you really can't go wrong.
PIÑIONS
The Kenichi bartender determined our next port of call: Piñions. We misguidedly chose Piñions for their Lobster Strudel, which is mistakenly being promoted by their online menu—and misinformed Aspen bartenders—although they no longer serve said strudel. Feeling slightly betrayed, we chose to rise above the deceit. We remained at Piñions and ordered the next best thing: the lobster ravioli.
Bathed in a rich, sherry wine, lobster-bisque-like cream sauce, the plump ravioli sat amid tomatoes and succulently soaked mushrooms; however, the ravioli is no strudel (from what I hear).
We ended our time at Piñions with the duck quesadilla. Other than a creamy kick from the chili aioli, the quesadilla bared no surprises.
PACIFICA
We finished the night at Pacifica, a recently renovated restaurant and oyster bar, where the relaxed late-night crowd lured me to order the Blood Orange Cosmopolitan. Using juices and syrups all made in-house, the vibrant drink was outstanding. Need a way to make blood oranges better? Just add vodka.
Trusting yet another recommendation, we tried the grilled octopus. Lightly seasoned, sprinkled with cooked egg yolk and served over a small endive and watercress salad, the octopus was fine if you're into octopus; if you're not, this dish won't convert you.
And now, for the best dish I've had in Aspen: the Scallop & Foie Gras. It pains me to belittle this dish with words because the English language is unfortunately ill equipped for describing the magic that is this scallop and foie gras.
First, the foie gras was an unusual size and shape—one that my mother was unhappy with—but we won't fixate on that. No, the foie gras wasn't plump, but the size allowed the sweet flavor of the kola berry to penetrate through the thin slice with seared, just barely caramelized edges. So this beautifully sweetened liver lies on a bed of kola-berry-juice-infused chanterelle mushrooms. Then, the two perfectly seared scallops sit on opposite sides of the plate, artfully glazed. Then, when scallop meets liver, it's like the perfect seared song that your mouth has been waiting for.
533 E. Hopkins Ave.
Aspen CO 81611
(970) 920-2212
Hours: Open Nightly at 5pm
105 South Mill Street
Aspen, CO 81611
(970) 920-2021
Hours: Nightly starting at 5:30pm
307 S. Mill Street
Aspen, CO 81611
(970) 920-9775
