Tupelo Honey Cafe

Tupelo Honey Café, a locally owned sole proprietorship, offers old southern favorites with creative twists. It has quickly distinguished itself from other regional restaurants by presenting familiar, creative, comfort fare, healthier options, fresh ingredients, and large portions at a fair price. A pleasant dining experience begins with utterly delicious food and is heightened by great ambiance. Tupelo Honey Café has an upscale, yet casual environment with touches of an authentic Charleston/New Orleans style. The New York Times describes the interior as "an old fashioned tea room." During the warmer months, guests can take in Asheville's colorful street scene while dining on our covered patio. Inside, black and white photographs of Asheville's people and places, lush potted and hanging plants, and original paintings adorn the restaurant's walls and quaint nooks and crannies. A sleek mahogany bar lines the open kitchen, inviting customers to get up close to the hustle and bustle of our culinary constructions.

Montagna

Overlooking the courtyard and facing the natural beauty of Aspen Mountain you will find Montagna, The Little Nell’s understated yet elegant home to full-flavored delights courtesy of Executive Chef Ryan Hardy. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, this longtime favorite of Aspen’s locals and frequent visitors has played an integral role in shaping Chef Hardy’s unforgettable cuisine. The mainstay of Chef Hardy’s farm fresh cuisine is his three-course, prix fixe menu designed around the freshest and most intriguing, locally grown and harvested ingredients. This fascinating Rocky Mountain Artisan cuisine mixes and matches tantalizing flavors that challenge and excite Chef Hardy’s palette as well as the tastes of his guests. A commitment to his original creations makes each meal a memorable culinary adventure. The Little Nell’s 20,000 bottle wine cellar has consistently earned Montagna the Wine Spectator Grand Award in recognition of the restaurant’s deep passion for wine and the art of matching Chef Hardy’s delectable menu with each guest’s taste. These accolades are the result of Master Sommelier Richard Betts, a vintner himself and one of only 56 Master Sommeliers in the United States. With his expertise you are assured of an extraordinary dining experience.

Poppy Hill Tuscan Cafe

Poppy Hill Tuscan Kitchen is a seasonally charged, Tuscan inspired restaurant with a casually refined atmosphere. With Poppy mahar-familyHill Chef Scott Mahar marries his New England sensibility with the lighter sauces, roasted meats and fresh pastas from the Tuscan region of Italy. Each dish is prepared from scratch with only the most wholesome, farm fresh ingredients. All pastas are made on site daily; all fresh herbs are locally grown without chemicals. Chef Mahar incorporates organic products whenever possible and is dedicated to the integrity of the food he prepares daily. Our staff is warm and gracious, presenting a service which is designed to be unobtrusive yet knowledgeable and pleasing. We have focused our wine list primarily on Italy and California with an emphasis on small production, value driven wines. Behind the wine you enjoy at Poppy Hill there are people, families and earth. Just as with our food, the utmost care is taken to choose not only wine that is desirable to the palette but also maintains a certain standard; whether it be following ancient winemaking traditions or honoring chemical-free farming initiatives.

Cinque Terre

AR Valentien

A.R. Valentien, the signature restaurant at the Lodge at Torrey Pines, maintains a breathtaking location overlooking the 18th green of the famed Torrey Pines Golf Course and the Pacific Ocean. But that feast for the eyes is only one of the ingredients that comes from the best California has to offer: a magnificent setting, superior produce, authentic Craftsman-style architecture, and the rich history of California Impressionism, A.R. Valentien is the latest and brightest entry into the Southern California dining scene. At the helm in the kitchen is Executive Chef Jeff Jackson, formerly of Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, California. Jackson’s menu draws inspiration from the best local provisions available each season and changes daily depending on products offered at local farmers’ markets, and from other local growers, ranchers and fishermen. Jackson places emphasis on basic ingredients, and prepares food with minimal handling, and in simple combinations to highlight the textures and flavors inherent to each element. The restaurant itself is a tribute to Southern California heritage and Craftsman architecture, with a metal-strap post-and-beam structure, handcrafted wood-framed windows, stained-glass lanterns, and a frieze painted with pine boughs. The layout of the restaurant is suited for elegant dining, with several small rooms and plush booths to lend intimacy. Another highlight of the restaurant is the display of significant works by A.R. Valentien and memorabilia from his estate. Albert R. Valentien was the chief decorator of renowned Rookwood Pottery in Ohio for more than 20 years, before moving to San Diego in 1908. Shortly after, Ellen Browning Scripps commissioned Valentien to paint 1,000 native wildflowers for her private library in La Jolla, a project that took him 10 years to complete. Following his wildflower studies, Valentien began painting landscapes in the California Impressionist style. His botanical watercolors, renowned for their realism, are perhaps the finest representations of California flora. A.R. Valentien is located at the Lodge at Torrey Pines, which is owned and operated by Evans Hotels, San Diego. For reservations at A. R. Valentien call 858-777-6635

Chester Creek Cafe at Sara's Table

Times sure have changed for environmentally aware chefs. "I am 61 and was a hippie farmer in the early '70s," says chef and cafe co-owner Carla Blumberg, and "that was a very frustrating and disorganized time. Food prices were very low, it was difficult to compete with big stores, and there was no infrastructure. If you wanted to sell your stuff, you either had to have a stand or try to make a deal with a local grocer. The grocers were all about price—'local' was not a concept. The scene was so alternative that it had no credibility, and nobody was willing to put any money into it." Nowadays, there are distributors that focus exclusively on farm-to-chef and farm-to-grocery customers. "In Minnesota, we have the Heartland Food Network, an agency that focuses on the middleman problem," she says. Blumberg and her co-owner, Barb Neubert—and staff—support local farmers and promote ecological balance through their food. "It gives us pleasure to be able to help assure that conscientious stewards of the land have adequate income for their labors," she says. On the menu: Blumberg uses aged regional cow's and goat's milk cheeses in her Cheddar Trio Salad, accompanying those items with fresh pear and a mix of toasted walnuts and pecans, spring greens, and Dijon croutons, with a rhubarb vinaigrette. Whiskey-soy-glazed free-range organic roast chicken is served with black barley zushi and gingered green-top carrots.

Woodfire Grill

Trellis

North Pond

Manresa