Food Traveler Magazine Winter 2013 | Page 27

mountain getaways yogurt dip or playful salads, like the brightly flavored watermelon with feta. The Grill’s brick-fired pizza oven pumps out pies with toppings like Italian meatballs or a mix of kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, and garlic-infused olive oil. The Grill is known for its hearty host of pastas like cannelloni stuffed with wild mushrooms, mozzarella, and béchamel or the baked lasagna with creamy mornay sauce. But the menu extends far beyond pizzas and pastas. Chef Chris Popovich took the helm last fall, expanding on the Grill’s traditional Mediterranean offerings to include more French and New American influences. The 12-year Grand County resident is a long-time chef and former co-owner of Mackinaw’s on Lake Granby. “I Marise wanted to create a place that embodied the authenticity of the local landscape and was a place where families could revel in the outdoors and come together. The Grill is the perfect place to gather. want to provide people with a little more variety,” he says, “and for them to know this is a place where they’ll get good food time and again.” Dishes like Smokey Chicken, a light hickory-smoked paprika grilled chicken Breast with apple-jack bbq glaze, or grilled dry-aged New York strip with roasted shallot demi-glace and mashed potatoes add hearty, comforting options to the dinner menu. On the lighter side is Chef ’s favorite entrée—the fish grill, a mix of scallops, salmon, and shrimp in a lemon-basil beurre blanc. Any part of mountain cuisine means celebrating the region with dishes including locally 6