Over the past few days we talked with most every remaining restaurant in both Aspen and Snowmass. The great thing about the dining scene in Aspen is the shear variety of cuisines offered in every price range.

Some of the highest-end fine dining you will find anywhere can be found at restaurants like Montagna at The Little Nell and Cache Cache on Mill Street. Both of these restaurants offer the very best in world class food and service; just what you would expect in a town like Aspen. Matsuhisa is another notable restaurant tucked just off Main Street in a historic Victorian house. This is the sister restaurant to the world famous Nobu restaurant in New York City, opened by Nobu Matsuhisa himself. The vibe is chic, classy, and dark with some of the best Japanese and sushi found anywhere. It is so popular, reservations need to be made over a month in advance during the winter

In contrast to these high-end establishments are local favorites serving up great food at reasonable prices. Some of our personal favorites include Poppycock’s for breakfast, The Big Wrap for lunch at a great price within walking distance of the gondola, and Johnny McGuires for a quick sandwich and their “locals only” vibe.

Another one of our favorites, Gusto, offers a great lunch special that is available only at the bar. For $15 you get your choice of two courses off their surprisingly large menu, plus a soft drink. The first course features a couple salads, along with a few soups. Casey and I both opted for different soups, which were both incredibly fresh and large portions. For the second course we had the choice of many salads, a variety of paninis, or a selection of about ten kinds of pasta. Casey had an ahi tuna steak salad with a lemon vinaigrette, and I went with the house lasagna. Again, the portions were large and everything was flavorful and fresh. If you are looking for a classier lunch option that won’t blow your budget, Gusto delivers.

I also wanted to mention the incredible pizza we had at Tasters in Snowmass on Sunday. Park City has its share of pizza places, but they all seem to offer the same flat, dense crust that is synonymous with high-altitude cooking. While a thin crust pizza can be incredibly tasty, sometimes you yearn for the light, airy, fluffy, and crispy crust you find at sea level all over this country. Well, at Tasters, we finally found a pizza place that delivers this light, airy, and thick crust at altitude. I’m not sure how they do it, but it’s one of the best pizzas I’ve had above 7,000 feet.

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