Roaring Fork

Roaring Fork Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: Though perfectly emblematic of the restaurant's bold and rustic cuisine, Roaring Fork is actually named after the river which winds through Colorado's Sawatch Mountains and the city of Aspen. It’s owned by a corporation these days, but still has all the feel of the private, chef-driven restaurant it once was.

Food & Drinks: Dishes include skillet gratin of crawfish tails, soybeans and pearl onions; grilled trout filet with lemon butter sauce; and porterhouse with red bell pepper ketchup, mashed potatoes and broccolini. The fare is complemented by a wine list awash in all the right West Coast name-dropping and boutique labels. The Saloon is the watering hole of choice for many of the town's bigger fish who can't resist the bait cast out during Roaring Fork's happy hour: green chile pork stew with buttered tortillas; and a burger that rivals any in town. From the convivial dining room to the slightly raucous bar scene, it all seems to flow together at Roaring Fork, which, like its namesake, has carved a permanent niche in the landscape.