Ember at the top of the world

Finally! A civilized dining experience at Snowshoe! Don't get me wrong. I love The Junction and Foxfire Grill, but when you have a child and don't want to sit at the bar with him for three hours waiting for a table they get a little old. This is the bar at Ember. It's located at the Top of The World complex. Note the lack of hooligans at the bar.

This is a view from our table. This is a nicely put-together restaurant. The materials and design set this place apart from other restaurants on the mountain. Although aesthetically pleasing, I'd suggest that they install some heat lamps on the line. The food was not as hot as it could have been. It was very tasty, but just not quite hot enough when it got to the table.

This is the amuse bouche. Tasty little buggers. I'm not quite sure what they were.

They serve sushi here! They normally do rolls, but Alex was in the mood for some plain sushi. It was surprisingly fresh tasting. Alex scarfed down everything except the eel.

Hello from the mountain! As a side note, service here was good. I called the reservationist too late to secure a reso. I called back and asked her to put us on the reserve list should anyone cancel. Sure enough, the next day she called back and said, "It appears you were meant to dine at Ember, we've had a cancellation at the time you requested." Our server was very patient and gracious as well. All of the staff we came in contact with were friendly. This is also a departure from some of the other establishments on the mountain. This year there wasn't the joi de vivre you normally get up at the resort. I'm guessing the economy isn't helping these folks.

This was Cheryl's steak. The picture doesn't really do it justice. What you have to understand is that this plate was about 12" across. This was a hunk of cow. There was not a bit of gristle or fat on the entire filet. Nicely done. The potato was mashed Yukon Gold with a Maytag demi glace. Never heard of Maytag demi, but it sure tasted good.

I went adventurous. This is The Huntsman's Grill, which had elk, wild boar sausage, , and French Game Hen. The potato was mashed sweet with pecans. There was also a Vidalia, macintosh and ginger conserve. This was a nice touch with the sausage.

We only had one bottle of wine, but it was a good one. This is a David Bruce Pinot. I usually have a hard time remembering what wines we have with dinner because most are just mediocre (especially in the price range I usually stick to), but this stood out.

This is a shot of one of the tables that was near us. Obviously someone is getting their feng shui on.

To finish the meal, what more could you ask for than house-made cotton candy? This particular confection was Black Cherry. This was all Alex was looking forward to as he remembered from last year that they have cotton candy. They actually brought him two as the bartender overheard Alex asking for it so both he and our server made one.

Cheryl and I had a Lemoncello panna cotta with blackberry coulis. Nice.

In summary, a nice place to go for dinner when you're at Snowshoe. You can actually make a reservation. The portions are good. The food is adventurous. The staff is courteous and friendly.

If you need a break from The Junction happy hour crowd, take the shuttle up to the top of the mountain and check it out. It's worth it.

Thanks for reading.