Saturday, February 24, 2007

Mammoth Lakes - LuLu's and Parallax

I was able to get a good sampling of the food at both LuLu's (located in the Village) and Parallax (located at McCoy station) this week.
LuLu's does a Mediteranean menu served family style on large platters. It is one of my new favorite places in town. The food selection is something special for the High Sierra, with such specials as roasted rabbit over white beans, braised beef short ribs over root vegetable puree and pizzas from their wood fired oven.  The antipasto choices all freshly made are a welcome sight.
Fresh oysters, several varieties, all from WA, are offered and are quite expensive.  I wish I could say they were worth the price of shipping them to the mountain top, but 7 of the 12 we ordered (which came to at least $30, NOT A TYPO) contained a bit of shell.  LuLu redeems itself with a low key yet polished atmosphere and a wine list that is devine.  The large and diverse list contains choices from all over the world (they own the wine bar which is also in the Village).
We hit Parallax three times for lunch. The service is always spotty (NEVER enough staff) but friendly and even includes a sommelier (whom we ran into on a ski lift on day two). The fresh corn chowder with scallops was rich and creamy with perfectly poached scallops and fried shallots on top.  The strip steak special with Cabrales cheese was perfectly cooked to order.
There are three very great reasons to visit Parallax.
One - guaranteed seating for lunch on the hill.
Two - most ambitious menu to be found while still in ski boots.
Three -  There is nothing like watching the weather blow over the top of the mountain as tiny skiers drop down the Cornice run, gondolas coming and going, snowboarders catching rails, all while sipping a wonderful Italian Valpolicella.
So beautiful.
 

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