Breckenridge Dining: Spencer's Restaurant

Breckenridge Dining: Spencer’s Restaurant

There are so many great restaurants to visit in Breckenridge that are a quick walk or free shuttle from Breckenridge vacation rentals, I thought about avoiding the temptation to focus on one in particular, but I figure, what the heck. I’ll eventually hit upon the highlights of many of Breckenridge’s best restaurants as I continue to blog.

So, I’ll start with Spencer’s Restaurant, which is part of Beaver Run Resort, located at the base of Peak 9.

Beaver Run Resort expanded about two years ago, spending $3.5 million to spruce the place up, and management remodeled Spencer’s in 2002.

The restaurant offers a sophisticated mountain dining experience. As guests enter, a four-sided gas fireplace surrounded by massive stone columns welcomes them. The rounded booths are cozy, and the lighting provides an intimate atmosphere that’s perfect for a romantic night out.

But there are really two main things that make Spencer’s stand out. One is the beef. The second is the buffet.

Spencer’s caters to large organizations and groups staying in Breckenridge lodging, and restaurant personnel understand that when guests come to the mountains, they don’t necessarily want to spend over an hour eating breakfast and then lunch too. So they offer a full breakfast buffet including eggs, biscuits, fresh fruit, sausage, pastries, thick-peppered bacon and French toast, as well as a lunch buffet with a full salad bar, soups, sliced meats and cheeses, vegetables and desserts. The buffet allows people to “load up” and head out for their day of skiing, biking, hiking or other mountain adventure.

Guests can also order entrees off of Spencer’s full menu, which changes seasonally but usually includes New York steak and eggs, salmon lox, huevos rancheros and Belgian waffles for breakfast, and soups, salads and sandwiches such as bison Reubens, burgers and grilled chicken quesadillas for lunch.

Many locals flock to Spencer’s for its nightly all-you-can-eat prime rib specials.

And the prime rib is like nothing else in Summit County. Though other restaurants say they serve Angus beef — and they do — chef Kevin Goodwin is the only one in the county with connections to make Spencer’s the only licensed certified Angus beef provider.

What does this mean to you? It means he obtains his top-choice cuts of steak and prime rib from a registered certified Angus beef distributor. Here’s how it works: Certified Angus beef is held to higher standards. When a piece of meat doesn’t make the cut, it’s sold simply as Angus beef. So when you eat at Spencer’s, you know you’re getting the best steaks and prime rib available.

Their prime rib is specially wet aged for six to eight weeks (as opposed to the standard two weeks), and this creates a more tender, rich flavor. No other restaurant in Colorado, besides the historic Brown Palace in Denver, serves this kind of prime rib.

And chef Goodwin knows how to prepare it just right: He lets the natural flavors come out, while complementing them with various spices and sauces.

And, don’t miss his desserts: In Key West, Florida, where Key Lime pie is a dime a dozen, he won recognition with his frozen blend of lime juice, condensed milk and whipped cream sitting in an Oreo-cookie pie shell. And chocolate lovers, never fear: He has something for you to enjoy in the restaurant, or take home to enjoy later in the evening at your Breckenridge vacation rental.

If you’d like to check out Spencer’s menu, visit www.beaverrun.com/resort.php/BEAVER_RUN/CCM_1060.