Main Street Café, Aspen, Colorado
In what looks like a cozy house on , you’ll find the heartiest, least pretentious breakfast in Aspen: homemade corned beef hash with two eggs, grits, and a buttermilk biscuit, eggs benedict with smoked salmon and dill hollandaise, or pancakes topped with rum-and-sugar-soaked bananas foster, all a not-too-far walk from the gondola at Aspen Mountain. You can pop in for coffee and a glazed donut from the counter, but it’s worth waiting for a table if you’ve got the time.
Fire Sign Café, Tahoe City, California
En route to or from a backcountry ski mission on Lake Tahoe’s West Shore, stop into the , a woodsy, nearly lakeside breakfast nook that’s been a Tahoe locals’ favorite since 1978. The Rubicon Scramble, named after a nearby peak, is topped with sausage, cheddar, and onion and comes with a side of home-baked coffee cake. Or grab a breakfast sandwich (add avocado) to go.
Michael’s Kitchen, Taos, New Mexico
You could stuff yourself with bear claws and apple fritters at the bakery inside , but then you wouldn’t leave much room for their egg-filled breakfast enchilada, smothered Christmas-style with red and green chile and served with saucy pinto beans and rice. Michael’s, a Taos landmark since 1974, is a must-visit on your way into the mountains of northern New Mexico.
The Kingfield Woodsman, Kingfield, Maine
There’s nothing fancy about the , the locals’ breakfast joint of choice on your way to ski at Sugarloaf. Order at the counter, grab a table made from rustic hunks of hardwood, and wait for your $3.50 breakfast sandwich (options: treehugger for no meat, crosscut for bacon, or chainsaw for ham). A $5 special gets you two eggs, toast, home fries, sausage, and a cup of piping hot coffee.
Cottonwood Heights Café, Salt Lake City, Utah
Now in a new location, the no-frills is a convenient stop on your way up to skiing in Utah’s Big or Little Cottonwood Canyon. A Greek-inspired breakfast menu includes a gyro and feta cheese omelet or an Athenian omelet, which comes with a gluttonous amount of sausage, bacon, and ham. Portions are massive and don’t forget to smother your potatoes with the house-made fry sauce in the bottle on your table.