What’s Arabian barbecue doing at a Nordic setting? Appeasing a new sports segment: gourmets on skis.
Foodies and skiers have not always been bedfellows. But up at Sugarloaf Mountain Resort, the two are getting cozy. So much so that Clayton Norris, owner of Arabian barbecue food truck C.N. Shawarma, created a hashtag: #foodieloafer.
“A Sugarloafer is a famous term through the state and New England. A foodie is someone who is interested in an adventure,” said Norris, whose truck is parked at the base of Sugarloaf this winter. “They have no barriers and are not afraid of Arabian barbecue or chicken-skin doughnuts.”
If greasy burgers, chili and potato skins passed as fancy cuisine the last time you shredded the mountain, it’s time to renew your lift ticket. A growing wave of chefs and creative food entrepreneurs are elevating alpine fare from afterthought to elegant. Food trucks are serving up eclectic eats, and chefs are turning cafes into romantic, candle-lit destinations at night. A trip to a Maine ski resort now is packed with as many thrills on the plate and palate as on the glades and trails.
Inside the blue C.N. Shawarma truck, spit-roasted marinated chicken twirls as the wind whips outside. Succulent meat is shaved and tucked into tasty Iraqi flat bread, topped with pickled vegetables, tahini sauce, lettuce and tomatoes. The Turkish staple, served with a side of fried potatoes sprinkled with sumac and drizzled with homemade garlic mayo, has been a hit this year.
“This is ancient street food at its heart from the Ottoman Empire and the spice routes from eastern Mediterranean and northern Africa,” said Norris, a Bath native and French Culinary Institute graduate who opened his truck in Portland last summer with his fiancee, Jenna Friedman. Now anchored at Sugarloaf’s base lodge, the festive truck sets the scene for global cuisine.
Nearby, the splashy Urban Sugar Mobile Cafe is customizing doughnuts with innovative flavor combinations, such as chicken skin and waffles, paired with Tandem Coffee Roasters java. These trucks are offering hip fuel for snowboarders and skiers looking to maximize their lift ticket and eat in style.
“We get amazing responses. One of the greatest compliments is that we are a Sugarloaf tradition,” Kevin Sandes of Urban Sugar said.
Not bad, considering this is only the second season for the husband-and-wife team.
Their hand-forged, bite-sized gems are an apres-ski hit. “There is a lot of bribery that goes on with children and parents,” said Sandes, whose decadent minis can be a reward for carving out a few snowplows.
Before Urban Sugar Mobile Cafe pulled in, there was a waffle hut that served traditional fare. But skiers today want “food they can photograph” said Sandes, whose doughnut poutine — cheese curd, pork belly, gravy — will be clogging Instagram feeds soon, when they premiere this weekend. “People are looking for food service to reach the next level.”
Paul Cottee, executive chef at Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel’s 45 North restaurant, understands this. Long after the last run, when shussers at Carrabassett Valley have packed up for the day, they recharge with locally sourced pork belly and Delmonico steak.
“The culinary world is now so popular. People want to know what they are eating. Someone can come in and ask me what they are having, where it is from and what’s in it,” said Cottee, who returned to the mountain for his third winter to offer sustenance to weekenders and condo owners. “It is pure, healthy. We are giving them quality.”
Cottee spends as much time in the kitchen as he does talking with diners in the dining room. “I take a lot of pride in my work. Here we are, transforming the classics into favorites again.”
His grilled steak, with garlic confit butter, sauteed potatoes and spinach served on a wooden plank, is one such example.
Formerly the Double Diamond, 45 North experiments with new forms of cooking. “I am using state-of-the-art equipment,” Cottee said. Methods such as sous vide, a temperature-controlled technique that cooks food in vacuum-sealed pouches, achieves optimal outcomes. “I’m all about modern cuisine and the best ways to do things.”
At Saddleback after dark, the lodge, where skiers trudge around in boots by day, becomes as romantic as Valentine’s Day. On weekend nights, which extended to Sunday for the upcoming President’s Day, white tablecloths come out and fireside dinners begin.
Chef Patrick Friel, new this year, is behind the shift.
Fine dining on the edge of the mountain has been popular at Utah resorts for years, said Friel, who has worked his way through many New England resorts. “It has been evolving here for the past five years,” he said.
At the mountain, his signature prime rib, calamari and baked stuffed haddock served before an enormous stone fireplace in Saddleback’s stunning post-and-beam lodge lead the way. “We want to give people another option to pub food. You have all these condos here. Why do you have all go into town Rangeley? It’s a gorgeous spot.”
Speaking of pub food, he overhauled the menu at The Swig ‘n Smelt Pub in December.
Maine-raised beef hamburgers and duck fat fries are top-notch fast fare here now. “We added some soup and chili options that can get to tables quickly, and we removed some menu items that are slow to make,” he said.
Even casual apres-ski fare has been sharpened this season. At the Standard Gastropub in Bridgton, near Shawnee Peak, skiers enjoy gourmet hot pockets in a rehabbed gas station washed down with discounted local ale. How’s that for a filler up?
“Right now, we have a barbecue and beer-braised local pork belly from Maine Family Farms and a smoked brisket and tomato hash,” owner William Henry Holmes said.
Pair this with local potato fries that are hand cut and fried to order every day in varieties such as salt and malt vinegar dusted, if you dare.
“Our food concept is gourmet versions of fast food with street style. These are great little snacks, not really a meal,” according to Holmes, who said foodies are choosing to ski in this western part of the state just to nosh there.
Show your lift ticket from Shawnee Peak — or any mountain’s season pass, for that matter — to take advantage of half-price cans of beer and a dollar off drafts and wine on tap.
“You get a discount for being a skier in the winter,” Holmes said.
And this year, you deserve it.
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