You can find executive chef Carson Kennedy walking Aspen farmers market booths and chatting up growers to shape Meat & Cheese’s seasonal menus with Two Roots Farm’s mixed greens and to-die-for carrots, and Osage Gardens’ Thai basil and obscure kaffir lime leaves.
“I feel like every season has its own personality,” he says. “Not just in the food, but in nature itself. Different colors, smells, even sounds. When you smell that fresh summer air, it motivates you to cook fresh and design fresh dishes.” Like many Aspen kitchens, Kennedy places weekly orders with Hotchkiss-based Farm Runners, which handselects and delivers Western Slope and valley-grown ingredients.
Sample the bounty with a chef’s choice meat and cheese board, where rotating selections span Denver-born Elevation Charcuterie’s fennel pollen salami and Spanish chorizo by Basalt-based Il Porcellino Salumi. The cured meats are piled high next to Colorado and imported cheeses, housemade pickles, and jams made with regionally farmed cherries and peaches. Boards are best adored over generous pinot pours while people-watching on the restaurant’s shaded sidewalk patio. 319 E. Hopkins Ave., 970.710.7120