Let me give a preamble to this description. I was to meet my wife at Hazie's, which is in the Thunderhead lodge on top of Steamboat Ski area's Mount Werner, right in the middle of the entire ski complex. Suffice it to say, I got lost (even with a trail map) and ended up going on an unintended adventure. After a lactic-acid-in-quads draining cross-country ski, a terrifying run down a double-diamond on tired legs, and a interminably long wait to climb up another lift just to get to the restaurant, I arrived at Hazie's about forty-five minutes late.
I met my exasperated wife and an unhappy waitress at the table. As I recovered from my journey to the restaurant, I realized that the decor of the place was quite nice and that the place was packed. (Note: We reserved a lunch table the night before). The windows in the back of the restaurant face down the mountain and show off the sweeping Yampa Valley below.
We ordered "Oysters Selena", which are oysters wrapped in bacon cooked in an artichoke casserole topped with Jarlsberg cheese. (For some reason this dish is very popular in Steamboat). Delicious! We also got French onion soup in a huge crock also topped with Jarlsberg. (We had more Jarlsberg at this meal than we usually consume in a year). I ordered a veal scallopine baguette with mozzarella (change of pace, cheese-wise), onions and peppers. We washed all this down with lots of water, since beers are verboten at a ski area that has pine trees right smack in the middle of some of its runs.
The food was good, if not great (except for the oysters; they were great), but I think this is a very good dining experience to have in the middle of a mountain. For dinner and Sunday brunch, they ship non-skiers up the gondola from a special line apart from the skiers and snowboarders.