(Sunset) -- From urban epicurean retreats to snowy chalets accessed by snowmobile, these lofty restaurants will lift your spirits
Jump into a Sno-Cat and ride to Cloud 9 in Aspen.
Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro
Aspen, Colorado
No need to be a skier to glimpse Aspen's best mountaintop views; just jump into a Sno-Cat and head up Aspen Highlands for an intimate four-course meal.
What's for dinner: Look for elk chops and pumpkin gnocchi, oyster-stuffed roasted Cornish game hen with chanterelles and horseradish purée. INFO: Sno-Cat dinners are held on Thursday nights December through March; $125, including transportation; reservations required; 970/923-8715. --Lori Midson
Fresh Tracks Café
Nelson, B.C.
Sure, locals love the deep, sugary snow, but what we love most about Whitewater Winter Resort in the Canadian Selkirk Mountains is the food. In fact, the clamor for Burgundian-trained chef Shelley Adams's tasty creations has grown so loud that her cookbook, "Whitewater Cooks: Pure, Simple and Real Creations from the Fresh Tracks Café" (Whitecap Books, 2007; $30 U.S.), is already into its fourth printing, and volume two is on the way.
What's for dinner: Whiskey-smoked salmon chowder, burgers piled high with caramelized onions and goat cheese. INFO: Entrées average $12 or less; Whitewater Winter Resort; 800/666-9420. --Deana Lancaster
Timberline Lodge
Mt. Hood, Oregon
WPA-era hand-hewn furniture and unforgettable views converge 6,000 feet up Mt. Hood in the lodge's Cascade Dining Room.
What's for dinner: Dishes like salmon coulibiac, handmade desserts. INFO: Entrée prices average more than $30; reservations required; 503/622-0700. --Bonnie Henderson
Different Pointe of View
Phoenix, Arizona
Who needs snowcapped peaks and alpine meadows when you can see swaying palms, pink oleanders and showstopping views of downtown Phoenix? The Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort's 1,800-foot-high perch on a rocky mountain is the place to get perspective on the desert.
What's for dinner: Classic lobster bisque, truffle-grilled filet mignon. INFO: Entrée prices average more than $30; 11111 N. Seventh St.; 602/866-6350. --Nora Burba Trulsson
Yamashiro
Hollywood, California
Dinner at Yamashiro is as much an escape from reality as any Hollywood film. Surrounded by Japanese gardens and built from teak and cedar, the restaurant high above Hollywood Boulevard is an exact handcrafted replica of a palace outside Kyoto. The rooms within are like a series of scenes, each with a different mood.
What's for dinner: Asian barbecue baby back ribs with ginger black beans and sweet-potato fries, or sushi and sashimi. INFO: Entrée prices average more than $30; 1999 N. Sycamore Ave.; 323/466-5125. --Matthew Jaffe
Parallax Sno-Cat dinners
Mammoth Mountain, California
Like the tanklike Sno-Cat that's been stylishly retrofitted with plush seats, the midmountain restaurant at McCoy Station transforms itself from a chili-and-fries ski lodge into a candlelit enclave with white tablecloths and five-course meals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and holidays.
What's for dinner: Entrées like roasted venison loin chop, macadamia-crusted halibut. INFO: Three-course dinners are $79 per person; five courses with wine pairings for $139 -- transportation included in the price of dinner; December 14--30 (closed December 25) and January 1-5; reservations required; 800/626-6684. --Tim Neville
The Yurt at Solitude
Solitude, Utah
Don a pair of skis or snowshoes for the 3/4-mile trek from Solitude Village to this mountainside Mongolian yurt.
What's for dinner: Granny Smith apple-and-stilton salad, pan-seared Long Island duck breast with balsamic mashed sweet potatoes. INFO: Closed Mon; $100 per person, including equipment rental; reserve two months in advance; 12000 Big Cottonwood Canyon; 801/536-5709. --Kate Siber
Zach's Cabin
Beaver Creek, Colorado
Bundle under blankets for the open-air ride from the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch to Zach's Cabin, high up in an aspen grove at 9,000 feet.
What's for dinner: Elk short loin with roasted fingerling hash and a cherry demi-glace, nori- and sesame-dusted tuna with crispy lotus chips. INFO: Entrée prices average more than $30, including transportation (lunch for members only); closed Sunday-Monday through March; reservations required; in Beaver Creek Resort at Ritz-Carlton; 970/754-6575. --Jane McConnell
Crystal Hut
Whistler, B.C.
Blackcomb Mountain, just 75 miles from Vancouver, British Columbia, is famous for extra-long, thigh-burning runs, gloriously steep powder bowls and waffles. Find the thick and fluffy Belgian-style ones made to order at lunch in the Crystal Hut, a cozy log cabin notched onto a ridge at the top of the 6,053-foot Crystal chairlift.
What's for dinner (or lunch): Waffles. Or, after dark, fondue by candlelight. INFO: Lunch: average entrée prices less than $12; fondue dinner: $169 U.S., including transportation; at Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort; 604/938-1616. --D.L.
Pacific's Edge
Carmel Highlands, California
Okay, it's not really that high up, but vertiginous views of the Pacific crashing against rocks far below make it feel lofty in its own way.
What's for dinner: Local abalone, Hawaiian blue marlin sashimi, beef tenderloin. INFO: Entrée prices average more than $30; closed Tuesday-Wednesday; at Highlands Inn; 831/622-5445. --Margo True E-mail to a friend
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