The Colorado hills have become a foodie mecca. Long derided as a seasonless exercise in maintenance eating, Vail, Aspen and, yes, Pagosa Springs are now getting culinary attention.
Wolfgang Puck slid into Aspen on Wednesday night for a very private dinner for Lance Armstrong and his cancer-fighting organization Live- strong. The dinner for about two dozen came down at Michael Goldberg’s house, and Puck staffers said the guests were served $100,000 of wine provided by the vineyards of Randy Lewis.
That was the buzz the next night, when Puck took his pluck to Spago at the Ritz-Carlton in Bachelor Gulch. He served up a five-course dinner with lotsa Randy Lewis wines. Lotsa. Puck told me he visits the restaurant a few times each winter — to ski a few hours and to cook a bit. It’s good to be Wolf.
Meanwhile, Kelly Liken is still in Vail in her eponymous restaurant and still on Bravo’s “Top Chef.” Every Wednesday night, locals pour into the boîte for a viewing party, and it was jammed last week. Liken, however, is not allowed to attend viewing parties so was nowhere to be found. If you go, bring your wallet, as the summer salad at KL goes for $14, as do the organic beets. And it has the only menu I have ever seen where credit is given to the clothing store that dresses the wait staff, Vail’s Luca Bruno of Italy.
At the always dependable Sweet Basil, an appetizer jumps out: Foie Gras Corndogs for $9. Sorry, I couldn’t do it.
In nearby Beaver Creek, the Wine & Spirits festival brought in Zarela Martinez, Stephen Pyles and other star chefs.
And here’s a surprise. Jillian Fathers, a 28-year-old sous chef from Pagosa Springs, will compete on the upcoming season of Gordon Ramsay’s “Hell’s Kitchen.”
Ready to rappel
Saturday is D-Day for the daring. A number of the brave — including Steven Toltz and Nuclia Waste — are out to raise at least $1,000 to fight cancer. They do this by rappelling down the side of One Lincoln Place. That’s 28 stories of pure terror for the cause.
Dr. Andrew Thorburn is upping the ante. If he raises $2,000, he’ll do it in a kilt. Check it out at .
Woo hoo!
Local rocker Wendy Woo is set to marry Loveland guy Charles Snyder on Saturday — with Mayor John Hickenlooper performing the ceremony.
Woo and Hick are pals from way back. She ran into him while playing the recent Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, and he agreed to do the nups.
City spirit
Lawrence Covell is one of a handful of stores that carry John Malkovich’s clothing line, Technobohemian. And the actor himself will be here Friday to meet clients at a private reception. . . . Sez who: “I don’t want to be boring. But that’s not always easy.” John Malkovich
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. You can reach him at 303-954-1486 or at bhusted@denverpost.com. Take a peek at Husted’s next column at .
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting error, Aspenite Michael
Goldberg was incorrectly identified as a billionaire who’s wine cellar contained
millions of dollars’ worth of wine. The wine served at
the Aug. 18 charity dinner at Goldberg’s house was provided by the
vineyards of Randy Lewis, not by Goldberg.
