Driving up the mountain ...for lunch

After spending a day skiing or snowboarding in Tahoe, nothing says decadence like a late afternoon lunch at Manzanita. Of course, I did none of those snow sports as I haven't gotten around to learning them yet. Instead, I went up the mountain for the view and ended up at Manzanita.

Located in the Ritz Carlton at Lake Tahoe, Manzanita is the resort’s signature restaurant where renowned San Francisco chef Traci Des Jardins prepares French-inspired cuisine with mountain resort influences. The food is tasty and creative with dishes ranging from Croque-Monsieur to a hearty duck and wild mushroom stew. I got the stew and it was fabulous.

Naturally, if you do go, you need to get a beverage to go with your meal. I picked a nice cabernet from their expansive wine list, but what I really wanted to try was a glass of their hot butter rum. I've never had this before, but have heard about it in British shows and pirate movies. Don't you think Jack Sparrow would drink hot butter rum? Or maybe he'll just drink any rum.

Alas, I stayed with my red wine selection after my waiter convinced me the butter rum would not compliment my duck stew at all. He was right....but I will be driving back up the mountain and next time I'm getting dessert AND the hot rum.

AAARG Matey!!