Ketchum

Grill at Knob Hill, Ketchum, Idaho, 9/5/20

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outside of hotel

The Grill at Knob Hill is a restaurant featuring Northwestern food in the Knob Hill Inn.  It has a large dining area including an indoor/outdoor terrace dining room with floor-to-ceiling glass folding doors and lawn seating on the large area on the side of the inn.   Otherwise the inside is just the bar where you can enjoy a craft cocktail while you wait for your table.  They offered a regular menu that would suit any taste and also a few daily specials.  We were on the lawn just outside the terrace dining room and it was a beautiful setting with a large display of flowers along the exterior wall.  The white cloth covered tables were small and set with black napkins and well spaced.  There was good lighting while the sun was up but it got a good bit darker when the sun went down.  The many tables covered with umbrellas and set further from the terrace got pretty dark with only a small candle.  Servers were friendly, helpful and masked. Continue reading →

Cristinas, Ketchum, Idaho, 9/5/20

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exterior

Cristina’s was opened in 1993 by Cristina Cook, 5 years after she moved here from Italy.  She has written 2 cookbooks.  The place is open for breakfast, lunch and brunch and is using their large outdoor seating area rather than the interior.  You enter into the small salmon colored house to find a counter filled with sweet and savory foods which are available for purchase.  There were a couple room inside but outside they have a large tent complete with chandeliers over the wood deck and individual tables with umbrellas on the lawns around the house.  The white cloth covered tables were well spaced and set with white cloth napkins.  Lots of plants and flowers surround the diners.  No music is in the background.  The small menu has the daily specials written in.  Chef Cook was in the kitchen but she never came out to greet guests.  Seating was only by reservation or waiting a couple hours.  Servers wore masks, were friendly and all seemed to work together to take care of the tables. Continue reading →

Michel’s Christiania, Ketchum, Idaho, 9/4/20

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Michel’s Christiania Restaurant was opened around 1994 by Chef/Owner Michel Rudigoz.  The French raised chef actually moved to Ketchum to coach a Sun Valley Ski team.  He also coached Picabo Street the year she won her first Olympic Medal.  His love of classic French cuisine is the basis of this restaurant.  It is a large A-frame building with a good sized patio in the back.  The interior also has a bar and upstairs party room.  Tables were well distanced inside and out, covered with white clothes and set with black napkins.  The patio was even nicer than the outside, to me, with a center fountain (no music in the background to compete with the sound of trickling water) and a large awning over the section adjacent to the building.  Greenery surrounds the patio and a small wall separates diners from the street which was not that busy.  Lighting under the awning was better than further out, but that matters most if you want to take photos.  The menu features some local ingredients and also there were a couple nightly specials.  Servers wore masks and were friendly but service did not live up to the standard the place wants to be – timing was variable and after placing our champagne in an ice bucket the server never refilled our glasses without being requested to do so. Continue reading →

Grumpy’s, Ketchum, Idaho, 9/4/20

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exterior

Grumpy’s opened in May 1978 in Ketchum, Idaho and is a favorite of tourists and locals.  It’s a simple menu but it has evolved to now offer tuna, salmon and ham & cheese sandwiches.  It’s frequented by many ski folks as well as the bike crowd in summer.   The walls and ceiling inside are covered with items that each have a story.  You order inside and then can choose one of the booths inside or tables outside.  Inside there is a plexiglass between each booth and outside the tables are distanced and many have umbrellas.  We got there around 3 in the afternoon and there were no empty tables outside.  It’s popular and does not take reservations but does do to-go orders.  They now even have a phone which apparently they didn’t for some time.  They are open daily 11 – 8.  Inside the first thing you notice are the beer cans lining the walls and up the ceiling.  You can easily spend the time waiting for your order checking out all the interesting items or finding obscure cans. Continue reading →