Ever since Bosq Aspen claimed high country’s first (and only) Michelin star when the Michelin Guide Colorado debuted in 2023, tasting menus have proliferated across town. Copycats abound, but chef-owner C. Barclay Dodge championed the format when he opened the restaurant in 2016—a progression of multiple courses composed of local ingredients, showing seasonality, technique, and always a few surprises.

When Bosq opens for the winter season on December 20, diners can choose between five courses ($195) or the nine-plus-course chef’s tasting ($275) and optional wine pairing, then settle in for a hyperlocal culinary experience guided by nature and chef Dodge’s foraging, pickling, and preserving prowess.

Predictably, when Bosq’s star was announced, the 35-seat restaurant quickly sold out for the season. A year later, after retaining its status in the 2024 guide update, scoring a reservation is akin to winning the lottery. Fortunately, other options exist.

Prospect, a Michelin “recommended” restaurant at Hotel Jerome unveiled its Colorado Journey tasting menu last winter. Spanning nearly a dozen courses—seven small, artistic plates plus a few “bites” like the Above the Clouds amuse-bouche (a tiny, squishy sponge cake incorporating porcini powder, pine nut butter, candied pine nuts, and pine pollen to represent flavors foraged on Independence Pass)—the meal is more like a special event lasting several hours.

“The identity of Prospect is local, not only in produce but in the stories we’re telling,” says chef Connor Holdren, referencing The Rivers course—rainbow trout served on a glass plate set over hot stones, decorated with watercress salad and puree, since the wild greens grow near waterways. “We’re showing guests some innovation. Each element: brining the trout filet, grilling it perfectly; making the dashi out of the trout bones, then the foam; that beautiful pasta [agnolotti] filled with trout farce ... though it looks really simple.”

Recognizing that some diners might not want to spend three hours exploring the Colorado Journey ($225; wine pairing, $175), Prospect now offers an abbreviated, three-course menu, Taste of the Land, ($145; wine pairing, $95). Diners select starters and entrees in slightly larger portions (the playful At the Ranch infuses Montrose beef with smoke under a glass cloche, served with nine accoutrements inspired by Korean barbecue).

Next door at Hotel Jerome’s subterranean speakeasy, Bad Harriet, master chef Kei Yoshino’s summerlong popup, Taikun Sushi, returns to present a winter omakase experience: more than 10 tidy bites of fresh catch from Tokyo’s Toyosu Fish Market, accented subtly with Japanese flavors like yuzu, caviar, seaweed salt, and black truffle ($225).

Meanwhile, at Parc Aspen, chef Mark Connell has launched his first tasting menu: four courses ($225, plus $175 with wine pairing), plus extra morsels at the beginning and end, featuring sustainable Colorado proteins like lamb or elk, plus unexpected elements like sunchokes in a pear salad with hazelnuts or caramelized bell pepper sorbet as a pre-dessert palate cleanser.

“You can challenge the diner by giving them something out of the ordinary,” says Connell, who sought out chef mentors at Napa Valley’s The French Laundry and at Alinea in Chicago when composing his tasting menus. “We’re always trying to teach. As a chef it’s fun because it’s a chance to be more creative, to take bigger risks.” 

Looking for more affordable alternatives? Consider a bar menu.