Ryan and I have been adhering to today’s #TravelTuesday tip long before HeidiTown was founded. When we’re traveling, whether it’s somewhere close or a continent away, we always splurge on one gourmet meal.
When we were first dating, one of our first weekends away was spent in Friday Harbor, Washington. Just a ferry ride from where we were both living at the time, this charming isle, part of the San Juan Islands, is known for orca whales, a darling harbor and beautiful summers. On this trip, despite being rather twenty-somethings, we dined at an upscale restaurant on the water.
A number of years later, while on our honeymoon in England, we took a break from the pub scene one evening, to dine at a classy Italian restaurant. It’s become tradition to reserve one evening, during nearly every trip, for a dress-up meal.
You don’t have to dine like this every night during a trip, but treating yourself to a night of fine dining can result in a memorable meal.
One such memorable meal occurred during our trip to Vail for Taste of Vail this past April. The entire weekend was filled with unforgettable dining experiences, but a true standout was our dinner at Terra Bistro at the Vail Mountain Lodge.
We dined there our third night at the lodge. We’d been dining in the space every morning, as a beautiful breakfast buffet comes with your stay, however, when we arrived for the evening meal the place had changed. The lights were softer and the room had an air of glamor and the savory smell of spices.
Ryan raved about this meal for a week, and while we get to eat at some pretty fabulous places during our HeidiTown travels, I hadn’t heard him proclaim this much love for a meal in a very long time. The highlight for me were the scallops served with bacon jam, and Ryan was enamored with the Ginger & Cardamom Spiced Cobia with caramelized fennel & shallot hash, orange scented spinach, vanilla saffron beurre blanc.
Terra Bistro’s menu is seasonal, so I can’t promise they’ll have the same items they had when we were there, but I promise it will be good. They’ve been doing the “sourced local and organic” thing long before it was trendy. In fact, the restaurant has been around for two decades, serving up as much Colorado grown foodstuff as possible. Today, they grow their herbs; try the Vitality Salad with crispy prosciutto. It’s a local favorite and was a hit at Taste of Vail.
Their recipes utilize 85 to 100 percent certified organic ingredients. All their seafood is Seafood Watch approved and/or a member of the CleanFish Alliance. They are even partnered with the Human Society of the United States and the ProtectSeals Campaign.
The next time you’re in Vail, I highly recommend making a reservation at Terra Bistro. And the next time you travel, make time for a gourmet evening. After all, you only live once and scallops with bacon jam should be on your bucket list.
We wander for distraction, we travel for fulfillment. -Hilaire Belloc
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