One of Chef Treadwell’s latest experiments at Ranch House Restaurant: Pastrami Salmon with rye crumbs, micro-greens, and orange
Picture a log cabin surrounded by thousands of empty acres ringed by mountains. This is the foundation of the Ranch House Restaurant at Devil’s Thumb Ranch {83 County Road, Tabernash; 970.726.5632}. The original structure now includes an add-on dining room and higher ceilings, built with local beetle-kill wood.
Open only for dinner, the Ranch House sets a mood almost as relaxing as the onsite Ranch Creek Spa. Dark original logs transport you to a cabin deep, deep in the forest in the simpler days of Manifest Destiny. A fire ablaze in the lounge snaps, filling the room with a warm radiance. And the menu sings of special occasions, with poetic tasting options, Executive Chef Evan Treadwell’s most innovative plates, and beef that will surely at least match and probably best any you’ve had before.
A whiskey cocktail is a fitting place to start—perhaps a generously sized Old Fashioned or Manhattan made with 10th Mountain moonshine with a lemon twist—or the woodsy feel may have you craving a piney gin drink like the Taste of the Rockies with Caprock gin, Zirbenz pine liqueur, lemon juice, and maple syrup.
Roasted Beet Tasting
Then select a tasting menu—the Field & Sea for omnivores, or the Garden & Meadow for vegetarians, with optional wine pairings—or chart your own course. Bacon Wrapped Elk serves as the centerpiece of Field & Sea with a Goat Cheese Chese Cake for dessert. Garden & Meadow offers a tour of seasonal vegetables before culminating in a Wild Mushroom Risotto with pea shoots.
Chef Treadwell fills his Charcuterie Platter with pastrami salmon, lamb prosciutto, pickled vegetables, elk sausage, Manchego, gigantic caper berries, and a housemade Dream Cheese made with yogurt, currants, hibiscus, and sumac. He is also experimenting with allspice-ginger-pickled gooseberries, a 30-day paneer-esque cow’s milk cheese, pickled romanesco, and pickled oregano blossoms.
If you choose to order à la carte, make sure to sample some of Chef Treadwell’s ever-changing kitchen experiments found on the Charcuterie Platter or Composed Seasonal Vegetables, and then head straight to the meat.
Possibly the best Filet Mignon you’ve ever had
Devil’s Thumb Ranch raises its own Wagyu from birth until slaughter three years later to supply all of its red meat needs. Sixty head graze on the property, alongside rabbits, donkeys, kittens, goats, and horses. Order your choice of cut (New York, Filet Mignon, or Cowboy Rib-Eye) by the ounce, which will come sauced in a 16-hour red wine reduction made with drippings from cooking the meat alongside an arugula salad and frites. You can also opt to try the beef pure and raw in a Steak Tartare or juicy and topped with house Boursin cheese, bacon jam, and a fried egg on a brioche bun with the Wagyu Burger.
When your meat arrives, stop what you’re doing. Conversation has no place in the consumption of steak this good.
By Maya Silver | Editor
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