Vintage

PHOTO COURTESY OF EAT MAGAZINE | BY DOMINIQUE TAYLOR

By Kim Fuller Published in EAT Magazine

The scene inside Vintage is revitalized and nostalgic, like an American visiting Paris for the first time. Traveling eyes perusing the new eatery can feast on old world impressionist paintings, and eager ears can almost hear the expired, for-decor telephones ringing a feeling of “remember me?”

“Everybody wants to spend extra money buying vintage jeans and vintage cars,” explains owner and general manager Lawrence Broderick, known by most as Brodie. “People go antiquing and buy vintage stuff because it’s classic, and it never goes out of style.”

Guests enjoying brunch by one of the restaurant’s bay windows, or taking in the evening from an armchair or soft booth seat while clutching a glass of Côtes du Rhône, will feel a touch of the European charm that the town of Vail has always looked to emulate.

Vintage serves brunch daily from 8 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., filling a pre-lunch void that has existed in town for far too long. There’s plenty of starters and sides to share, leaving room to sip your champagne float or crafted bloody mary, the beet-inspired Bloody Gardener.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE VAIL DAILY | BY DOMINIQUE TAYLOR

PHOTO COURTESY OF EAT | BY DOMINIQUE TAYLOR

After all, “without cocktails, it’s just breakfast,” as the cheeky brunch cocktail menu suggests.

Start with an order of prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, served with woodland mushrooms, caramelized onion and sherry gastrique, and topped with a poached egg.

For a decadent meatless main, try the veggie smashbrown benedict. It’s two eggs on sautéed spinach and mushrooms, on Vintage’s signature “smashbrowns” — double-baked, and extra buttery homefries, potato pancake-style — topped with hollandaise sauce. And what’s that earthy extra? A touch of truffle oil.

French toast options play on both sweet and savory, like the huckleberry bacon rendition — brioche bread stuffed with bacon-mascarpone and dulce de leche, smothered with huckleberry syrup and bourbon whipped cream.

The dinner menu runs from 6 to
10 p.m., followed by a limited lounge menu from 10 p.m. until midnight.
Share items like a cheese board or
the Maine mussel frites, or go big with your own filet of Dover sole.

True vintage cocktails, like the Sazerac and Negroni, are readily available alongside specialty drinks, craft beer and wine by the glass. Last call at the bar is at 1 a.m.

“There’s not a lot of places to go out late and get a bite to eat,” says Broderick. “This being a French, European-style place, it’s going to have a late kitchen. I wouldn’t be surprised if this dining room is full at 11 o’clock at night.”

Price
Starters and sides: $7-$18; Brunch Mains:
$10.50-$18;
Evening Mains: $22-$59
•••
Ambiance
French brasserie with a touch of Americana
•••
Signature dish
Brunch: Veggie Smashbrown Benedict. Dinner and late-night: Mussel Frites
•••
Kid-friendly?
Brunch: Yes.
Evening: No kids under 14 after 8 p.m.; no kids under 21 after 10 p.m.