Colorado Springs' SUMMIT--some good, some bad (8-10-24)

 For our trip to the Santa Fe this summer, we decided to start in Colorado Springs at the famed Broadmoor Hotel and Resort where I had not visit for almost 35 years. It is still a beautiful resort and location and even bigger than it was before with many dining options. I had heard that Summit, designed by Adam Tihany, has an AAA Five Diamond rating for many years and that the food was fabulous, I also assumed it was at the top of the hotel with a great view of the Rockies. WRONG! Summit is located across the street in the hotel's Convention Center Complex and while quite a beautiful setting, the only view is of the sidewalk. We had a really exhausting travel day so we moved our reservation so 530pm as we had been up since 3amEDT (1amMDT), which was a blessing. We were seated at a beautiful teak wooden table with cuts n each side so that runners could intersect in the center run across the rectangle and drop through the slots and hand just above our laps. The chairs matched and there were many large circular beige-ish chandeliers than ran the length of the narrow space; a classy bar was on the other side of the room.

The place was fairly empty at this point, although we were told they were booked solid and indeed did fill up as we dined.  We perused the menu and chatted with melody about the options, though she never mentioned any specials. 

An amuse of Cucumber Gazpacho came which was very refreshing. We placed our order and the appetizers arrived which were the same for us both: Crispy Duck Confit Tostadas with Pueblo Chile Mole, Peach Brulee, Serrano Slaw and Hatch Chile Beehive(from Utah) Cheddar (a spiced cheddar if you will). We loved them and they were large three tostada portions, but we felt confident as we had asked Melody for a long break between courses. As the plates were cleared, she said our mains should arrive in about 10 minutes, but arrived before she could finish her sentence. We were not happy.

On top of this, as other folks were seated, we heard the servers offering the speicals and were quite upset as some of them sounded wonderful and might have been our first choices. 

The Alamosa Country Striped Bass with Anson Mills Wild Rice, Olathe Corne Puree (& corn bread) came with a Poblano & Onion Criolla and was a superb fish with yummy crispy skin as well thought the corn bread (not on the menu) was as dry as could be.

The Prime Certified Angus Beef Tenderloin was perfectly cooked and as tender as could be and came with Hudson Valley (humanely produced) Foie Gras, Potato Puree, Brioche and Bordelais Jus, a nice homage to our new home in France! I also had a glass of Babylonstoren Chenin Blanc 2022 from Simonsberg-Paarl that was citrusy and acidic and quite fun; a special treat as we shall stay at this winery in Stellenbosch, South Africa in December.

As we finished, we mentioned to the manager about the short break, even though we asked for a long one and the fact that we never heard the specials. He was in shock and offered us complimentary desserts, but we were so stuffed as we had downed the amuse, the fabulous bread and butter and both courses in under 65 minutes! We did get a 30% discount on the food and Melody apologized profusely and said that she was taking care of the cost of the glass of wine. We left feeling a little better as the food was really good, even if the prices are OUT OF THIS WORLD.