Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
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SO MANY DINNERS (SO LITTLE TIME) Matsuhisa's talented culinary team at work in the sleek exhibition kitchen. The Adam Roll, a local favorite, topped with superchef Nobu's delectable new-style salmon. REZZIE WRANGLING Specialty shochu cocktails are menu highlights at Matsuhisa. season's eatings A spen rarely hides its bling. Diamonds against décolletage. Thousand-dollar windows or dangle as status symbols skis are tossed over shoulders as casually as minks. But unlike at its slick city counterparts, where search- lights and paparazzi signal the latest spot in which to see and be seen, some of Aspen's most high- style restaurants are tucked in low-profile locales. Take Matsuhisa, for instance. Aspen's local shrine to superchef Nobu Matsuhisa's nouveau Japanese cuisine is hidden, of all places, within 100 ASPENPEAK-MAGAZINE.COM IT'S BEST TO HAVE FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES TO SCORE A RESERVATION AT THESE SUPERLATIVE STANDOUTS. BY LINDA HAYES and other shiny baubles glitter in shop Main Street Victorian. Cache Cache, Larner and Chris Lanter's swank Aspen bistro, which actually means "hide and seek" in French, is celebrating its silver (25th) anniversary this season in its original spot: in the secluded garden level of Mill Street Plaza. an unassuming (albeit resplendently restored) Jodi Once you hone in, unless you have a direct line to the powers that be (or have a personal assistant to smooth the way), tapping an appro- priate table can be challenging. That noted, a continued on page 102 Whom to know: Regional manager Todd Clark, who has ruled the front of the house for nine years (and now oversees the new Matsuhisa outpost in, ahem, Vail) and general manager Todd Reese. Find him stationed at the front entrance, where he sees— and knows—all. Top tables: The downstairs sushi bar, of course. Especially the primo seats in front of chef Philip Tanaka, whose sushi knife skills alone are worth the price of the dinner tab. Other options include any table within the sushi-bar glow, by the bar near the host stand for sightings (see below), and the locals' favorite upstairs Lounge bar. Signature dishes: If you've never nibbled Nobu's savory black cod with miso, or "new-style" yellowtail-jalapeño, confess it, you're a newbie. Other rock-star dishes include king crab tempura and hearts of palm and asparagus pomodora (a recipe from the new Nobu's Vegetarian Cookbook). For full-on indulgence, one word, omakase ("in the chef's hands") is all the Japanese you need to know. Sightings: Kevin Costner, Chris Cornell, Robert De Niro, local snowboarder- Olympian Gretchen Bleiler, Paris Hilton, Kate Hudson, Kurt Russell, Kid Rock, and Steven Tyler. Matsuhisa general manager Todd Reese. PHOTOGRAPHS BY JODIE LOVE