Foodstuff: Midday meal

Prospect at Hotel Jerome continues to cater to a variety of different tastes and timetables, with a summer weekend brunch newly on offer. This comes just in time to nurse any potential Food & Wine Classic in Aspen hangover you might be pushing through. The 11:45 a.m. start time and hearty plates of food may be just what the proverbial doctor ordered this morning, so take note. 

I stopped by the historic hotel a few weeks ago following a fun six-mile hike up and through the Hunter Creek Valley. Once the new puppy’s legs were sufficiently pranced out and my appetite was sufficiently worked up, we ordered quite a few menu items to sample the selection across sweet and savories. 

As always, the dining room is airy and comfortable, and the throne-like chairs were a welcome respite for our early summer-season hiking legs. I started with the chia bowl, featuring nut milk, berries, pineapple, bee pollen, coconut and hemp seed, which would have been beautiful enough to photograph, even if I didn’t have to do it for the purposes of this column. I liked that the strawberries were sliced extra-thin and the pineapple was finely diced, so you could scoop the perfect spoonful.  

Not one to ignore my salty side, we also ordered the trout rillettes with tapioca crackers and crudité for dipping. More elevated than your average trout dip and topped with chives and salmon roe, it was a nice counterpoint to the sweet chia pudding and led us to the main courses — but not before I polished off a Bloody Mary topped with candied bacon, naturally. 

I ordered the “BLT” omelet for my main course, and my hike and dine companion went with the steak selection. While the current online menu boasts a country fried steak — or a spendier, dry-aged prime New York strip with white miso, sweet potato and broccolini — our beef, a hangar steak, came with crispy potatoes, broccolini, asparagus and kale pesto. The perfectly cooked meat, while perhaps a bit much for some brunch menus, fits in nicely here and sated our craving for some protein after our trek. The BLT omelet, named as such for the bacon, leeks, heirloom tomatoes and farmer’s cheese that is stuffed inside, also comes with crispy potatoes (the best bite on that plate) and a simply dressed green salad. 

Other selections that caught my eye were the egg sandwich with house-made sourdough, bacon, avocado, Belford cheddar and chipotle aioli … and the huevos rancheros with salsa verde, salsa roja, black beans and avocado. Another time, Prospect! An espresso martini was also in order, and I made the (questionable?) executive decision to share one more sweet treat for brunch dessert.  

We finished the midday meal with a waffle topped with peaches and vanilla whipped cream. While no longer on the menu at press time, I suspect the brioche French toast with berry compote, vanilla crème brûlée and berries would be a fine sweet substitute. While you’re not getting a divey diner discount (entrees will run you about $30 a pop), this would be an elegant option for visiting guests or as an indulgence after a strenuous stint in the outdoors. Bonus, the staff was extremely gracious about the presence of my puppy, who was served a super-special, gold-trimmed water dish but clearly did not appreciate it and slept under the table the entire time. 

For more information, such as hours, menu and reservations, go to auberge.com/hotel-jerome/prospect/brunch. 

Katherine Roberts is a mid-Valley based writer and marketing professional who is happy to celebrate the return of Food & Wine weekend, her own personal Super Bowl. She can be reached via her marketing and communications firm, Carington Creative, at katherine@caringtoncreative.com.