Aspen in Moderation

While my boyfriend and I may have felt significantly out-classed in Aspen this New Year's, it wasn't hard to find a place for bourgeois Midwesterners like ourselves. The sparkle of the glitterati often diminished our presence at trendy, food-centric restaurants. We should have expected this, but we didn't have the same experience during our previous summertime visit. However, the winter clientele was certainly a step-up.

On our first evening we visited the revamped Escape. The renovated interior and improved vegetarian menu were an overt effort to attract Aspen's wealthiest. However, we were treated hospitably and enjoyed a great and filling vegetarian dinner.

We continually visited The Main Street Bakery for breakfast. This is a true, greasy-spoon diner where they aren't afraid to offer community tables. Some of the guests chose to wait for private tables (mind you they were less than two feet away from the next closest table). We weren't too proud to mix with the commoners, wait, maybe that's because we WERE the commoners.

One of the newest restaurants in Aspen, Ute City, didn't treat us with the same friendly care. There seemed to be absolutely no cohesion or cooperation between the three hosts at the front. We were made to wait over 25 minutes for our reservation and once seated were practically IN the kitchen - and not at the chef's table. To create ambience, the restaurant had a grand piano and a jazz quartet. The live music made it necessary to yell at my companion - and in my mind, contributed to the 25 minute wait and the pretentious atmosphere.

We discovered the Double Dog Bar towards the end of our visit, but returned twice. This was a relaxing, apres-ski bar with table shuffle board and parlor games available. We rang in the New Year with complimentary hats and noise-makers.

By the end of the week, we had no complex about the women dripping in furs, diamonds and gold. The vacation was what we made of it.

On another note, I must commend the Aspen Valley Hospital, the medic crew on Buttermilk and the cab drivers in Aspen. I tore my ACL skiing and was treated very well by all involved!