A Twist on Comfort Food in Breckenridge

Recently, I had the opportunity to dine at Twist in Breckenridge. The restaurant bills itself as a twist on modern comfort food. I am familiar with an acclaimed Denver restaurant that professes to be of the same ilk. Each time I have dined there, I have been served a slab of meat on a watery bed of mashed potatoes or a slab of meat over watery, wilted greens. Thankfully, Breckenridge’s Twist is unlike this Denver impostor.

Just a few short blocks off of the main drag, the way Twist is situated on the block in its old Victorian building and shady trees, I get the sense of being in an artsy town like Salida or New Hope, Pa. It’s hard to believe the slopes are just a few blocks away. Walking inside, the restaurant already feels homey. The front table looks like it could be someone’s breakfast nook. The stunning views of the ski hill are enviable. As I review my photo of what I think of as the breakfast nook table, I know the same hills would have snow today. That is the beauty of our transition from extended summer to winter weather.

A Cozy Nook

Overall, the restaurant’s décor looks like it was done with an artist’s eye and isn’t overly commercial. The restaurant has a sense of soul. My mind is not constantly thinking, “I am in the ski resort of Breckenridge, Colorado.” This feeling wins me over immediately.

Pretty, Not Too Fussy

Twist feels like a gathering place for locals rather than just another restaurant vying for tourist dollars. As I sip my cocktail at the bar, in walks the waiter I recognize from another local eatery, as if confirming my suspicions that local foodies do enjoy Twist. The watermelon lemonade I sample is made with the local Breckenridge Vodka. The first sip is strong, but I rarely drink spirits. Subsequent sips are refreshing and not too fruity. The bartender is delightful. He takes his craft seriously and is pursuing the study of beer through a university program. My dining companion is a beer connoisseur, and the two of them briefly swap beer knowledge.

At the table, I order a sampling of appetizers and entrees to get a feel for the menu. While pork is a less likely selection for me on any menu, the waiter recommends their pork shoulder tacos. These are layered with flavors. The cabbage, salsa verde and asadero cheese make the dish light as well as hardy. These tacos are spectacular.

Pork Shoulder Tacos

The grilled shrimp surprise me. It is grilled with yuzu sweet soy and served over a seaweed salad. I don’t associate complex Japanese flavors with comfort food. Nor is it the type of food I’d expect on a Colorado mountain town comfort food menu. And that is the twist. The right sprinkling of slightly exotic ingredients is delicious and makes you feel good inside. There is nothing on the menu that is too out there or too pedestrian. It’s a great way for out-of-towners to sample modern takes on Colorado favorites like lamb, buffalo, and ruby trout. The mac-n-cheese deserves a mention and can be ordered as a side on its own and appears with a couple of the entrees. This makes comfort food safe for sampling. Everything we have ordered is tasty. The dessert special is a berry tart. Simply put, it is yummy.

Berry Tart

On the down side, a few months into service, the waiters still seemed a bit scattered as they bobbed among rooms and the tiered outside terraces. Why I would expect a synchronized movement among the servers, I don’t know, and it may be unfair to ding them on that account. With the restaurant’s scattered layout, some bobbing is likely inevitable. Over time, this rhythm of the wait staff is something I’ve come to notice in restaurants, especially those I visit more than once. It seems to me that when you can sense joyous ease even when the place is busy, it means the servers are happy, the kitchen is happy, the food is good and I will be a happy diner. But this is venturing too much into mystical speculation.

Our own waiter seems somewhat distracted as he brings out our courses. He glances back at the kitchen a number of times. I wonder whether something is wrong and feel a little like an intruder instead of welcomed diner. At dinner and even more so upon recollection, this distracted quality of the service juxtaposes against the welcoming vibe of the décor. Future visits will show whether my experience was an anomaly.  

Yes, I will be visiting Twist again and hope that it lives up to all that was good in my first visit.

For more information on Twist, visit: http://twistbreck.com.

Copyright 2011. Rocky Mountain Cozy. All photos and content are copyrighted and not to be reproduced without permission.

Family Room Revealed!

When I first toured my home, I saw the potential of the family room, but knew that major changes were needed to give the space a sense of belonging to the rest of the home.

The family room was a tired, sad space that felt like an orphan to the main part of the house. One could think it had been an addition, and while there is an addition attached to it, the family room seems to be part of the original structure of the house. It just felt unloved.


Within weeks of moving into the house, my husband and I decided to neutralize the color of the room even though we weren't ready to renovate the space yet. We rid ourselves of the mocha laced with a heavy dose of rosy mauve that covered the walls, painted the room white, and left the space for another day. 

What I liked about the room was the heavy dose of light granted by a skylight, one wall of windows, and another wall of glass doors that open to our sunroom. The fireplace that strangely seemed to float on the wall and the awkwardly shaped, oversized built-in left me restless and uncomfortable. As a honeymooner, I imagined myself relaxing in a comfortable space to watch a movie, play a board game, or watch the snowfall. Instead, the family room remained a utilitarian space for quickly watching some TV to unwind before bed, and then escape to a nicer part of the house.


While I liked the overall size of the room (the long wall is about 25 feet), not all of the space is usable. Openings to the kitchen and sunroom, as well as a traffic pattern from the garage to the rest of the house, eat up a large portion of the real estate. When I first toured the home, all of the furniture was clustered in one half of the room, with the fireplace and built-in occupying the other half of the room. A narrow "doormat" of tile somewhat protected the carpet from garage traffic.


What I wanted was a comfortable modern lodge feel, enlivened with organic influences and a rich, earthy color palette. I also wanted forgiving materials that would survive the rest of our renovation and our two dogs.

My husband did most of the demolition of the room and constructed the frame for the fireplace. I laid the floor tile. Together, we visited a nearby quarry and selected a stone to have cut into the hearth. My husband also helped our excellent stone mason lay the hearth stone, which weighs approximately 200 pounds. We are still in need of fireplace doors, but these will come in time.

In the rest of the room, Eddie and I handled the drywall repair and painting together. He also did the floor trim. I made some of the pillows and did the design work. We left crown molding and the electrical work to the pros.

Having those elements that Eddie and I worked on together gives us not only a pride of ownership but also that sense of creating a launchpad for the rest of our lives together. We have a cozy space where we can relax and rekindle our energies for the next day and our next projects. We also have plenty of guest seating when family and friends gather with us.


Someday, we would like to open the family room, removing the doors to the adjacent sunroom and making the sunroom our breakfast room/game room. This will be a separate project down the road, as the sunroom is currently a three-season space. The sunroom needs insulation, drywall, electrical, flooring and the works. For now, I am grateful to have a completed family room and look forward to watching the snow fall in the coming months, gathering on the branches of the balsam pine we planted in direct sight from the family room through the sunroom doors.


The deep leather couches, the stone fireplace, the chateau-pattern flooring, and the reclaimed wood coffee table provide those rustic lodge touches we craved. The vibrant gold color reminds me of the color of the aspen trees in the fall. Now the room feels like we live in Colorado and reminds us of our mountain adventures.


The silk drapery, the crystal lamps, the art work, the pillows, and the square swivel glider chair provide a senze of modern luxury. The soothing creams and silvers and the hint of celadon foster a sense of tranquility and relaxation. I think a family room should feel like a warm security blanket that somehow nurtures the future, allowing its occupants both to regenerate and thrive. That is how our family room now feels to me.

One room finally done. Woohoo!!

Copywright 2011. Rocky Mountain Cozy. All photos and content are copyrighted and not to be reproduced without permission.