Creekside Restaurant
Solitude Mountain Resort, Solitude ; 801-536-5787
(see
map)
Creekside's copious menu could be pared down and executed better. Then it would have great food and a brilliant view going for it.
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| Food |
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| Mood |
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| Kid-friendly |
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Cuisine: Mediterranean, American
Price: $$$
Hours: W-Su, 5-9 p.m.; S-Su, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Liquor: Full Service
Corkage: $ 12
Reservations: --
Accepts:    
Website: http://www.skisolitude.com/dining/creekside.php
Recommended Dishes: Rice croquettes, beef tips with pappardelle and rocky road tarts.
August 6, 2008
By Lesli J. Neilson
Solitude -- Thoughts of visiting Creekside restaurant varied from anticipation to trepidation. I yearned for a respite from the searing summer heat, but could not be too enthusiastic, since so often the food does not match the view.
I was right on both counts. The mountains were 10 degrees cooler, the sights were lovely and the food was so-so.
Creekside's menu is made up of copious appetizers, pizzas, sandwiches, soups and salads, entrees and desserts. When The Tribune visited in 2003, the menu was exclusively Italian. Today, Italian mixes with French and Greek -- all with an American interpretation. There are the usual suspects -- deep-fried calamari, caprese salad and crème brulée. But also some pleasant surprises -- rice croquettes, a special crab and shrimp salad atop half an avocado and a rocky road dessert.
Within the vast menu there are unusual words that go unexplained, such as fondant, while others have redundant descriptors, such as "caramelized sweet onions."
I can get past the quirky menu writing, but I cannot get past the saltiness that plagued many dishes.
Take the calamari ($10.95). Tender and blond, the ringlettes and tentacles came with kicky chipotle aioli and mango-tomato sauce, but the dish was overwhelmed by unneeded ribbons of salty pecorino.
A risotto ($23.95) with zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, asparagus and a skewer of shrimp was mushy (the risotto) and salty (the risotto and the shrimp). And the "crust" on the calzone a la [sic] Solitude ($14.95) was thick and in no way resembled pizza crust. Chock-full of mushrooms, mozzarella and tomato sauce, the bready half-moon became oversalted with the addition of prosciutto and pecorino.
The chef made a thoughtful attempt to make mozzarella for the caprese salad ($11.95). But the cow's milk cheese was gritty and tasteless; it pretty much ruined the salad.
Our affable server led us in the right direction by recommending the special "Smogen" appetizer ($10.95). Crab-shrimp salad nestled in half an avocado received a browned top from the broiler. The creaminess complemented the brininess of the crustaceans while acidity from Dijon dressing cut the richness of the dish.
Rice croquettes ($7.95) also were well executed. Peas, ham and mascarpone are encased in rice balls, rolled in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. The result is a golden crunchy exterior and unctuous, savory middle.
A dish of beef tips, roasted mushrooms and asparagus with pappardelle ($19.95) was one of the better entrees. The smoky notes from the grilled fungi and asparagus added depth of flavor to the cream-based sauce.
Of the desserts, rocky road tarts ($8.75) are worth the calories. Two mini-tart shells are filled with chocolate mousse. A gooey mix of pecans and coconut goes on top, then toasted marshmallows and finally whipped cream. The combination of flavors really works.
Other desserts are not worth the calories -- or the price. Key lime cheesecake ($7.95) was lean on lime, crème brulée ($8.95) lacked a sugar crust and two huge sabayon-topped "forest berry" crêpes ($9.95) were rubbery.
As for the wine list, though there are more than a dozen by-the-glass options, there are only a few thoughtful selections, such as the 2005 Guigal Cotes du Rhone Blanc ($28). That said, the markups are reasonable, with many prices in the $20 to $30 range for 750-ml bottles.
In the end, dining al fresco goes a long way to making a memorable evening. Wouldn't it be even better if the food were as good as the view?
Tribune's rating system
Overall rating
1 star Good
2 stars Very good
3 stars Excellent
4 stars Extraordinary
Entree price
$ Entree under $10
$$ $10-$18
$$$ $18-$25
$$$$ Above $25
Restaurant Noise
1 bell Quiet (under 65 decibles)
2 bells Can talk easily (65-70)
3 bells Talking somewhat difficult (70-75)
4 bells Raised voices (75-80)
A bomb Too noisy for normal conversation (80+)
The Tribune covers the cost of all meals at reviewed restaurants. Star ratings are based on a minimum of two visits. Ratings are updated continually based on at least one revisit. There is no connection between reviews and advertising.
August 8, 2003
By Nancy Hobbs
Solitude Mountain Resort, like The Little Engine That Could, is working hard to rebuild and distinguish itself among the Wasatch Front's numerous ski resorts. In fact, the Big Cottonwood Canyon resort is almost unrecognizable from the place it was only 10 years ago, flaunting the look of an entire town in the European Alps, complete with a quaint thatch-roofed shop in the courtyard's center and mammoth lodging facilities around the periphery.
Our recent destination was Creekside Restaurant, where talented chef Lane Pellinger, best known for his long-term stint as executive chef at Salt Lake's excellent Fresco Italian Café, has taken the helm.
The eatery is found easily enough by following signs up a "cobblestone" road that is a bit of a stroll, although it isn't steep and the stairs can be avoided. If necessary, diners could probably be dropped closer to the door up a side drive.
Once seated at the restaurant, you can begin savoring the advantage resort restaurants have over their urban counterparts: incredible mountain vistas, colorful wildflower fields beside a gurgling creek, and bright blue skies or twinkling stars, depending on the time of day. (We enjoyed a less likely and most memorable scene as we dined at Creekside on Pioneer Day: an incredible light show put on by nature, with successive lightning flashes accompanied by ground-shaking cracks of thunder, seen safely from behind a large window.)
Patio diners get all of that in spades, plus crisp, cool air that is a welcome respite from the valley's heat.
While the landscape is an incentive to visit Solitude, Pellinger's Italian-influenced menu is what drew us. We began one meal with a creamy polenta topped with sautéed mushrooms and Fontina cheese and served with a delicious red pepper coulis ($9). Our attentive waiter who was clearly familiar with the menu also suggested the day's soup, cremini mushrooms and sautéed leeks in a luscious broth ($5).
Entrées include pizzas and calzonettes baked in an Italian wood-fired oven; several pasta dishes, from pasta topped with a traditional bolognese sauce to a potato lasagna with layers of roasted peppers, zucchini, lots of cheese and potatoes; and such hearty fare as flat-iron steak, pork and lamb tenderloin, chicken and grilled salmon.
In the middle of summer, it is hard for me to pass up anything with fresh basil, and the more the better, which made the chicken pesto pasta an easy choice. The pesto was definitely fresh, and the gemelli pasta -- shaped like short, tight braids -- was a nice choice to soak it up. Lots of toasted pine nuts gave a nice crunch, and the roasted peppers were a delicious addition although too skimpy, with only two or three pieces in the dish ($15).
The Creekside calzonette is a grilled pizza crust folded over various ingredients and then baked, more like an Italian quesadilla than the familiar stuffed and baked pizza-dough pillow. For dinner the night we visited, the filling was a delicious combination of four cheeses, Italian sausage and baby spinach. Unfortunately, the crust, although nice and chewy on the inside, was overgrilled, giving it a slightly burned flavor. To see if that was the intended preparation, we again ordered the calzonette at Sunday brunch, this time folded over pork tenderloin, and found that the crust was much better with a less toasty grilling ($12 at dinner, $10 at brunch).
We tried fish at dinner and brunch and found both to be favorite choices. Buttermilk-crusted catfish was the special for our dinner visit, and it was tender, flavorful and plentiful ($19), served with an especially tasty sauce with a bit of pepper bite.
Cherrywood-smoked trout, a house specialty, is on the dinner menu served with capers and onions ($11), but also is the centerpiece of "The Powderhorn" ($12) on the brunch menu, served with a nice basil-mayonnaise sauce and fried potatoes. The delectable fish also is part of the continental breakfast buffet, served with cornichons (tiny sweet pickles) and grilled focaccia.
Also good at breakfast was the French toast made with cranberry-walnut bread and topped with squares of cinnamon butter -- a unique and tasty touch that would have been better if the toast had been hot enough to melt it more. In fact, all of our table's breakfast entrées, although otherwise good, arrived lukewarm, particularly the Yukon fried potatoes. My guess is that the plates sat too long before being delivered as our breakfast server seemed to be scrambling to keep up with tables inside as well as out on the patio.
Creekside offers a continental buffet with beautiful fresh-baked pastries, bagels, a fresh fruit and cheese board, granola with yogurt, and the signature smoked trout, but the $11 price tag seems awfully steep. For $7, you can add the buffet to any of the breakfast entrées, but that is still pricey.
Our table didn't order the buffet with breakfast (who would want cereal or trout when a full meal is on its way?). But it would have been nice to have a small basket of bread or pastry at the table to enjoy while we waited for breakfast; even a little fresh fruit on the entrée plates would have been welcome for the palate and the eyes.
If you are lucky, you will visit Creekside on a day it is offering homemade spearmint ice cream with chocolate chips as a dessert special ($4). Though all of the restaurant's desserts are delicious, this confection is a refreshing lift, with a flavor as strong and cool as fresh-picked mint, complemented by flaky shortbread cookies that melt in the mouth.
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