Two five-star reviews in a row ain't my style. But there is such a thing as an exception. Enter Mountain Standard.
My last review? Sister restaurant and "it" locale, Sweet Basil. Hardly a coincidence.
On our last night in Vail, my dad and I changed our dinner plans last minute and headed to Mountain Standard sans reservation (easier than it looks/sounds). We couldn't deny the rave reviews of it on virtually every dining and travel site out there--Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zagat--you name it.
While Sweet Basil gives off more of a refined vibe, Mountain Standard is far more rustic (goes with the name, I suppose). It's larger and cozier. Both are fairly relaxed environments as far as fine dining establishments go, but at Mountain Standard you can just feel right at home, winding down from a full day of skiing and winter weather (in my case). My dad and I decided that we'd like to sit at the bar, which ended up helping that vibe reach its utmost potential. There will be a wait for the bar as well at peak hours, but don't bail too quickly. It's worth it. Read on.
Mountain Standard boasts some fun craft beers as well as some specialty cocktails, so of course I had to try both. Like any good craft beer establishment, you'll be able to sample whatever you'd like on tap. Like any GREAT craft beer establishment, when you ask to try one, the bartender will take the liberty of giving you two for comparison purposes. I ended up going with a rye IPA, which was fabulous. I typically don't like IPAs, so this is a bold statement. Our bartender (more on him later), also whipped up a few bartender's choice cocktails for me over the course of the night, one of which was incredible (the other was an experiment--not bad, and I greatly appreciated the effort): the Paper Planes (bourbon, aperol, amaro). While the menu cocktails looked delicious too, I got the sense that this bartender valued creativity (I also love watching bartenders at work), so I deferred and went the original route.
We maybe might have perhaps ordered too much food. When you're sharing and the entire menu is mouthwatering, it's easy to make fewer choices instead of ruling something out completely. After all, opting *for* something is opting *against* something else. As was the case at Sweet Basil, everything we ordered here was unbelievably flavorful and downright yummy:
Alaskan King Crab w/ cocktail sauce and Joe's mustard sauce (A)
Mountain Standard has a fairly impressive raw bar considering Colorado isn't exactly near any large bodies of water, so obviously this crab wasn't the freshest of fresh. Even so, it really hit the spot. The sauces deserve almost as much praise as the main event--"cocktail" and "Joe's mustard" don't do them justice. I had only tried cocktail sauce and melted butter on king crab legs before this point, so this was a welcome innovation to behold.
Wood Roasted Baby Carrots w/ grilled cauliflower, lemon yogurt, ras-el hanout, golden raisins and crunchy bits (A++)
Sadly this was a pretty small salad, so I only got a few morsels. And what good morsels they were. A delicious, flavorful (have I said that enough yet?), comforting winter salad. Savory yet slightly sweet and perfectly seasoned.
The "Standard" Wedge w/ crispy prosciutto, maytag blue, puffed farro and avocado (A+)
The puffed starch concept must be a hallmark of this restaurant group, and I'm a fan. I don't exactly jump at the chance to eat iceberg lettuce (I might as well just eat plain ice), but as should be the case, in this dish it was simply the vessel to hold the harmonic texture and flavor profiles. My only issue was that the dish might've been a bit excessive on the maytag blue, but that could just be the health freak talking. Lovely presentation, even better taste.
Charred Octopus w/ black-eyed peas, ham hock, preserved lemon, garlic crumbs (A)
I'm an octopus snob, so I'll say that this was a "touch" overdone. But I still thoroughly enjoyed this dish. Creative ingredients and wonderfully balanced flavors are hard to critique. I'm a fan of pairing legumes with octopus, so that octopus/pea combo was much appreciated.
Undeserving of their own graphs but still tasty were our side orders: Smoked Mushrooms/Black Kale (A-) and the Brussels sprouts w/ peanuts (A). The mushrooms/kale were pretty standard--considering rest of the deliciosity that we consumed, they were comparably "meh". As for the Brussels sprouts and peanuts? Always a winning combination. Whereas the kale and mushrooms were pretty bare bones, these weren't exactly the healthiest of Brussels sprouts. But sometimes that extra crispiness is just worth it, and we found that out first hand.
Service was A+ and more. Our bartender was such a treat, which led us to happily order a six-pack for kitchen (it's an actual option on the desert menu--cute touch). Whenever this order is placed, a reverberant cheer sounds throughout the venue. Gave us one more thing to smile about! read more