Growing up, my family served up beets as a simple side dish, out of a can. I’m pleased to note that, since moving to Jackson, I’ve had the pleasure of reacquainting myself with this richly colored taproot. Teton diners must have an affinity for beets because they’ve become a menu staple throughout the year. Golden or red in variety, I’ve enjoyed exploring the beet’s versatility, and do not miss those shoestring canned beets from my childhood one bit.
Warm up with Snake River Brewery’s warm beet salad. Once just a winter menu item, the salad became so popular that it is now a year-round menu favorite. The beets are roasted in the wood-fired pizza oven. Tossed in honey-truffle vinaigrette, then topped with tart grapefruit slices, applewood smoked bacon pieces, gorgonzola cheese crumbles, radish sprouts, and toasted walnuts.
Take a fall gondola ride up to Piste Mountain Bistro, and get a bird’s eye view of the valley’s changing colors. Start your fine dining experience with the golden beet raviolis. Each soft ravioli pillow surrounds a golden beet slice. Plated with ricotta, turnip, caraway, dill, and brown butter. The richness of the brown butter flavor emboldens the ravioli’s delicacy.
Also in Teton Village, Spur is roasting baby beets and serving them with goat cheese, honey roasted walnuts, arugula and pomegranate syrup. We’ve long been a fan of Executive Chef Kevin Humphreys, whose dishes always focus on local ingredients. A staple since the restaurant opened several years ago, these beets make a nice shared starter or can be a meal on their own.
Take to another dinner with a view at Dornan’s, in Moose. Watch the mountain tops become increasingly white as more snow starts to stick at the higher elevations. Take a look at the pasta menu, and try out the beet and goat cheese gocce. Gocce is an Italian teardrop-shaped pasta. Stuffed like ravioli, with beets and goat cheese, the pasta is served with tomatoes, asparagus, and garlic. Sautéed in alfredo lemon sauce, the dish is garnished with asiago cheese and basil. Tetons with a side of beet and goat cheese? Yes, please.
At Picnic, they’re using beets to add a textural crunch to one of their breakfast sandwiches. The Crunchy Hippie is served on a gluten free English muffin with an egg white soufflé, roasted broccoli, ricotta, beet chips, and chimmichuri. Picnic’s egg souffles are an incredibly sophisticated version of scrambled eggs. The consistency in flavor and texture is highly unique, and Picnic’s execution is superior every time. This sandwich packs in a lot of flavor, without leaving you overstuffed.
Gather is fitting all the tastes of fall into a single dish with their venison rack. The venison rack is served with a cabot cheddar and farro risotto, a smoked apple and beet puree, and garnished with shaved apple and crispy beets. The apple and beet flavors meld nicely together in the puree, bringing an added warmth to the dish. Also, serving the beets as a puree rather than roasted, gives a new textural dimension to consuming beets.