Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/601986
photography by Michael Moran/otto/aspen art MuseuM (so cafÉ interior); eMilie Kay/aspen art MuseuM (cheese plate); Michael aberMan/aspen art MuseuM (tapas plate); c2 photography (pyraMid bistro) Kunsthalle would be the German term used to describe the Aspen Art Museum's approach to its collec- tion—namely, that it doesn't have one. So when the non-collecting institution opened its Shigeru Ban- designed building in Downtown Aspen in August 2014, the museum's third-foor café needed to refect that same approach. "Our weekly-changing menu was born from [the museum's] philoso- phy—and [the building's] cooking constraints," says Allen Domingos, who owns Epicure Catering, the company behind SO café, with his wife, Julia. The couple already had a longstanding relationship with the museum, providing food service for many of the nonproft's events. So, when AAM approached them to operate the food and beverage components of their brand-new digs, the pair jumped on it—and set off on a world tour to seek inspiration. "Over [the course of] a year, we traveled to check out museum cafés in places like New York and Paris," says Allen. "We saw everything from boring old sandwich counters to Danny Meyer-plated meals at MoMA [in New York]. We [knew we] wanted to do something that wasn't just a sandwich place, and we developed our concept over time." The result is SO, a lunch-only café nestled in the museum's wood- latticed top foor. It features locally sourced food, and a menu that chang- es every week—its Monday closure means patrons can always expect a surprise with each menu's Tuesday debut. "We don't have a plan going in until we get to the Saturday market or see what [vendors] are bringing us," says Allen. But it's not just the markets that drive the cuisine—the Domingoses are always taking the goings-on around town into consider- ation: when Tibetan monks created a sand mandala at the museum last summer, SO served up an Indian- style vegan curry; over the Fourth of July, a throwback Waldorf salad and a salmon BLT made the menu. The museum's limitations—no open fame, minimal off-gassing (to reduce smells)—can make cooking tricky. As a result, Epicure preps most of its food off-site. Luckily, winter items that can be easily transported and reheated, like soups made from potatoes or hearty squashes, make adhering to the building's rules easier—and tastier. But it's also a feast for the eyes. The café is technically a public space, and open 24/ 7 so that locals and visitors alike may take advan- tage of the sweeping views of Aspen Mountain and Independence Pass. And the Domingoses have achieved a similarly inclusive feeling in their handling of the space. "We want the food to make sense and be done beautifully," says Allen. "I want peo- ple to feel like they can come have a coffee, some wine, some food—it's a place for everyone in town." To date, that's just SO. Aspen Art Museum, 637 E. Hyman Ave., 970-925-8050; aspenartmuseum.com AP Va-Va-Vegan Nutritarian Chef Martin Oswald aims for new healthy heights at Pyramid Bistro. Just SO SO Café serves up fresh views and seasonal menus atop the aSpen art MuSeuM. by christine benedetti (Dis)Counting calories! Pyramid Bistro's (from top) sweet potato gnocchi with sundried tomato-lemon chutney and cajun sunflower-seed-encrusted wild salmon both pack a nutritional, nutritarian punch. SO café, settled on the top floor of the Aspen Art Museum, dishes up a short-and-sweet menu of super seasonal bites for museumgoers and visitors alike, such as ( right, from top) a pimento cheese plate with pecans, apples, and rosemary lavash, and a "tapas" sampler of salami, olives, cheese, and quiche. 126 aspenpeak-magazine.com taste Best eats Once Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live Cookbook debuted atop The New York Times bestseller list in 2013, Martin Oswald's career changed forever. Locally, Oswald is known as the owner and chef of Pyramid Bistro, the organic foods stalwart housed inside Explore Booksellers. But thanks to Fuhrman, he's now recognized nationally as the very frst champion of nutritarianism. "It means the most nutrients per calorie," the chef explains. "It's extremely distinct and different from other eating styles." Ingredients like olive oil and but- ter can easily sneak in to purées, sauces, and other items, he says, thus increasing a meal's fat content and providing empty calories. He espouses plant-based eating, instead, and prefers to substitute the pleas- ing favors of fats and other rich foods with inventive favor profles achieved through spices or other bold ingredients, an approach seen in dishes like Pyramid's Indian–spiced lentil galette or Cajun sunfower-seed-encrusted salmon. With more than one million copies of Fuhrman's cookbook sold, Pyramid has now become a testing ground for Oswald and the nutritarian concept. People regularly contact him for recipes or visit the restaurant to get more information on the movement. And it's spreading. There are plans to expand the Pyramid model beyond Aspen, says Oswald. After all, he's seen the effects of the diet frsthand, and hopes to spread that knowledge, one calorie at a time— though, the fewer the better. 221 E. Main St., 970-925-5338; pyramidbistro.com NOVEL PL AC Es!