Mini-Review

Ranch 616

Dinner: Sunday-Thursday, 5 (bar), 5:30 (kitchen)-10pm; Friday-Saturday, to 10:30pm

It had literally been years since I’d eaten at Ranch 616 when I heard that Katherine Clapner had been hired to produce their breads and desserts, as well as help chef/owner Kevin Williamson overhaul the menu. If all goes as planned, Williamson and company will open their second Ranch outlet on Main Street in Aspen, Colo., just in time for ski season next year. The new menu is central to the expansion plans. One dinner to check things out turned into several lunches and dinners because the menu’s new direction and Clapner’s flourishes are my kind of food. Deviled-egg lovers will be thrilled to find a platter of Pam’s Funeral Eggs ($5.95) new on the lunch menu. Six perfectly spiced, creamy egg halves arrive on antique platters garnished with a sassy pico de gallo. The Ranch Caesar ($6.95) offers hearts of romaine lettuce, shaved Parmesan cheese, and a savory fried grit cake with their house Caesar dressing, which is very good, or your choice of homemade bleu cheese, Green Goddess, or Thousand Island dressings. The Green Goddess dressing, redolent of anchovies, is absolutely divine and my newest culinary addiction. (If you’re lucky enough to get a plate of off-the-menu VIP vegetables, be sure to have the delicately battered, fried green beans and asparagus spears with the Green Goddess dressing, and you’ll be hooked, just like I am.)

Williamson’s new menu offers a selection of hearty sandwiches and burgers at lunch, and each comes on a variety of Clapner’s homemade breads. There are homemade burger buns, a moist potato focaccia for the Daddy-O and the Roger’s Special, and a buttery brioche-inspired Border Bread for the Loose Meat and Steak Sandwiches. One memorable lunchtime, we had the Daddy-O ($10.95) with a delectable fried soft-shell crab and dainty fried onions, as well as a medium-rare steak sandwich with a giant pile of fresh-cut french fries. The huge sandwiches come with such savory condiments as chipotle mayo and a tangy tomatillo crema. It’s all very tasty and more than enough to eat at one sitting. Dinner entrées are every bit as hearty and satisfying. Each meal starts with a pan of Clapner’s homemade hot biscuits with butter and honey. The Mixed Grill ($21.95) offered pork loin, spicy sausage, and tender grilled quail one evening, all on a bed of poblano mashed potatoes. The Quail Nest ($17.95) surrounded by crispy fried pork medallions is a standout, as well.

Be sure to save room for dessert, however, as they are Clapner’s real specialty. Her wondrous Fried Pies ($5.95) offer seasonal fresh fruit encased in puff pasty and fried to crisp perfection, served with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and a fruit compote made with Becker Vineyards Viognier. Two of my lunch guests swooned over the coconut cream pie with a tall, elegant meringue, and there’s also a brownie concoction with ice cream and peanut brittle that inspired the same response another day. After a hard day’s trail ride, I’d suggest you mosey on into the Ranch. Wet your whistle at the bar and have them hustle you up a plate of grub. The new bill of fare could have you signing on as a regular with their outfit.

This article appears in September 19 • 2003.