This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Aerie Restaurant, Lounge and Sushi Bar at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort has a new chef and a new menu to match its newly remodeled interior.
The remodel was part of a recent renovation of the Cliff Lodge, that included changes to conference rooms, lodging, the Cliff Spa and common areas.
The most visible addition to the Aerie, on the 10th floor of The Lodge, is a standing bar in the middle of the restaurant. It features 3-form countertops, which are clear on top and frosted on the sides. The back of the bar is constructed of glass so customers can get a clear view of the mountain in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Comfortable barrel chairs and couches also line the restaurant signature 15-foot-high windows.
The Aerie's new chef is Ken Ohlinger, who most recently worked at Devil's Thumb Ranch in Winter Park, Colo. He has planned a new modern American gastropub menu. A graduate from The Culinary Institute of America, Ohlinger was an apprentice for Michelin three-star chef in Germany and in 2003, he was named one of Bertolli's Top 10 Sous Chefs in the United States.
The Aerie Sushi bar continues to offer fresh seafood and there are still more than 950 offerings on the award-winning wine list. But the Aerie is the first restaurant in the United States to implement a new beverage dispensing technology from Australia for its beer.
The Aerie is serving a skier's breakfast buffet in the winter and is open for dinner Sunday-Thursday from 4 to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to midnight