Dining Information

Crested Butte lays claim to a surprising number of gourmet restaurants , which charge much less than their equivalents in the more glitzy resorts. Good, reasonably priced food is also easy to find; even around the ski lifts, a filling lunch can be had for $5. The early après-ski center is Rafters , right by the lifts. By early evening most visitors have found their way to downtown, for no-nonsense local bars such as Kochevars and The Talk of the Town .

Bakery Café 3rd St and Elk Ave tel 970/349-7280. Oven-fresh muffins, breads and pastries, plus a great selection of coffees and juices make this the best place in town for breakfast.

Idlespur Brewpub 226 Elk Ave tel 970/349-5026. Definitive, cavernous Colorado microbrewery, with roaring fire in winter and hearty, inexpensive bar food.

Le Bousquet 201 Elk Ave tel 970/349-5808. Excellent, imaginative and expensive French cuisine.

Powerhouse 130 Elk Ave tel 970/349-5494. The Mexican food is comparable to nearby Donita's Cantina at no. 330, but this restaurant's setting - a fondly restored 1880s generating station with a huge wooden bar and 65 varieties of tequilla - gives Powerhouse the edge.