Let me make it clear that Sam in the City does NOT ski. She can, however, carve a mean path to a hearth in search of a crackling fire and a mug of cocoa.

In this spirit, I bring news from the interior of two Salt Lake City, Utah, ski resorts:

1. Chef Michael Richey, a finalist for FOOD & WINE Magazine’s The People’s Best New Chef Award (Southwest Region, 2011), arrived at Solitude Mountain Resort’s fine-dining restaurant, St. Bernard’s, in late November. During Wednesday Wine Dinners, you can order from the full menu or request Richey’s multi-course, prix-fixe menu with wine pairings. I love what Solitude’s PR & Marketing guru, Nick Como, told me when I inquired about Richey’s specialties, saying, “[He] does a great job of incorporating seasonal foods into his dishes, usually with an ingredient or two someone at the table has to Google.”



Inside the remodeled Aerie restaurant at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort. (Don't worry: The wine list is still as thick as always.) Photo by Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort.

2. Aerie restaurant has long topped the Cliff Lodge of Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort, but in late December, it revealed a remodeled lounge, dining area and sushi bar. The executive chef is new, too (Ken Ohlinger, most recently of Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Tabernash, Colorado), and he keeps his local/organic approach playful (as in Pork & Beans starring roasted pork shoulder, pork belly and a white bean ragout). While the menu and look are totally new, Aerie’s wine menu remains more than 950 selections strong. There’s also live entertainment Wednesday and Saturday evenings through April 9.

I’d leave the comfort of either of these resorts for one reason and one reason alone: otters. Twenty minutes south of Salt Lake City in Sandy, Utah, The Living Planet Aquarium has just opened a new, permanent exhibit featuring three North American river otters, a species native to (and protected by) the state of Utah. Stop by the exhibit and you might just catch the little guys swimming, slipping or sliding in their new habitat.



You can see these three male river otters, born at Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead, New York, at The Living Planet Aquarium near Salt Lake City, Utah. Photo by Long Island Aquarium & Exhibit Center, Riverhead, NY.