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28 restaurants celebrate Taste of Vail’s 20 years

Caramie Schnell
cschnell@vaildaily.com
Vail, CO Colorado
Dominique Taylor/Vail DailyGinger Reilly, 2, tastes a lamb carnita from Grouse Mountain Grill Thursday during the Taste of Vail Lamb Cook-Off in Vail Village.
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VAIL, Colorado — This year 28 restaurants are participating in the Taste of Vail, which began on Thursday and wraps up Saturday evening with the glitzy Grand Tasting. It goes without saying the Taste of Vail couldn’t happen without their participation.

What some people might not realize is that the restaurants attend the festival on their own dime, donating all of the food and time spent preparing the food and delivering it to hungry attendees.

Avon eatery Vin48 has been taking part in Taste of Vail since the restaurant opened in 2008. They competed in Thursday afternoon’s Lamb Cook-Off in Vail Village and will also be at Saturday night’s Grand Tasting.



“It’s a good time of the year to showcase what we’re doing for the locals, because that’s who is here, and that’s who we like to reach out to,” said Vin 48 co-owner Collin Baugh. “We consider ourselves a locals restaurant and competitions are fun. The camaraderie, the wine, the food, it’s all fun, and if it is nice and sunny out, that helps too.”

So far so good on the sun part. Both the Lamb Cook-Off and the Mountaintop Picnic, the two outdoor events, took place on spectacular spring days.

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Along with the sun, the restaurant owners and chefs enjoy visiting with each other, as well as with the food-loving crowd.

It’s no secret that most restaurateurs spend most of their lives inside their restaurants and rarely get a chance to see what other chefs are cooking, Baugh said.

Taste of Vail provides a welcome reason to get out-of-doors, eat some tasty food and sip on wine and beer from around the world. “(Taste of Vail) is for a good cause and it benefits everyone involved, too, that’s the cool thing,” he said.

High Life Editor Caramie Schnell can be reached at 970-748-2984 or cschnell@vaildaily.com.


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