Everyone gets worked up about dining out on Valentine’s Day, generally because someone forgets to make a reservation and someone else end up starving and grumpy, waiting in line for an hour to get a seat at Olive Garden. Romanticismo! Fellas, ladies, whoever is making the plans, there is still time to get reservations at one of many fabulous restaurants. BUT…if you really want to make it a one-of-a-kind, unforgettable experience, I’m suggesting the special tasting menu at St. Bernard’s at Solitude.
St. Bernard’s is in the village at Solitude Mountain Resort. It’s small and cozy, with alpine interior touches and a crackling fire. Surrounded by the frosty mountains, it’s a romance no-brainer. Add the five-course menu, with or without wine pairings, and you’re on your way.
The legendary Greg Neville, the food and beverage director for Solitude, created the menu that is executed beautifully by Chef de Cuisine Roel Pena and Pastry Chef, Julie Paine. Guests can choose from a few options for each of the five courses, and eat them in any order (dessert first?) but you’ll want everything on the menu. What make Neville’s dishes unique are the years of experience, travels and relationships with vendors that go into each ingredient and how they’re featured. Ask about the amuse course and he’ll tell you about his visits to Tomales Bay for the Kumamoto oysters, and how the markets in San Francisco have changed. A nod to the first course, roasted Piemontese beef marrow bones with fig jam, toasts and an accompaniment of Lustau manzanilla Sherry will garner a description of the heritage of these grand Italian cattle. Also, a suggestion: After devouring the marrow, use the bone as a luge to pour the Sherry into your mouth! The cut of pasta, tajarin, is a technique Neville learned from Maurizio Albarello, a third-generation pasta maker, on one of his visits to Italy.
But you don’t have to know any of this to enjoy every delicious morsel. Just benefit from the care that goes into the kitchen magic and mangia, mangia! Eat, eat! To view the entire Valentine’s Day tasting menu, click here.
February 13-16. Dinner is $75 per person, and $45 for optional wine pairings.
12000 Big Cottonwood Canyon Road, 801-535-4120, www.skisolitude.com/dining
Already have plans for this weekend? St. Bernard’s features an ongoing tasting menu that is just as compelling. Locals, think about planning the ultimate weekend with a stay at Solitude, capped with a day in the Solitude Mountain Spa. The “Couples Retreat” package is 90 minutes of bliss that includes massage, aromatherapy, foot soak, wine, and hors d’oeuvres. $280
