Day 1 at Sundance Mountain Resort

That’s Bob beneath an enormous Native American weaving, trying to order dessert before I get back to the table at the Tree Room, Sundance Mountain Resort. The tree is in the foreground.

We are at it again. We leave New York and after a brief stay in Montana, we're heading to Utah. More Ann following Bob as he has business there. It just happens to be in Provo, Utah and we are lodging at Sundance Mountain Resort. Bob's business meetings begin Wednesday evening and into Thursday, so why not arrive Tuesday and take our skis with us? Wednesday will be spent on the slopes. Since the room comes with complimentary lift tickets, we'd be wasteful not to.

Upon arrival Tuesday night, the resort is hard to scope out. It looks... dark. Almost deserted. The Uber driver drops us where he believes the front desk is, but signage and lighting are sparse. He is correct, however, and we finally find reception. The first word that comes to mind is "rustic". And it is rustic by design. This reminds me of a 70's ski lodge, which makes sense, as actor Robert Redford purchased the resort in 1969, and slowly morphed it into a year-round destination dedicated to the arts, nature and western culture, particularly Native American.

We are staying in a mountain home which has two beds, a small kitchen and living room area and two bathrooms. Small, cozy and yes, rustic. After settling in, it is time for dinner (I say this a lot), so we head to one of the (5) or so dining options on site, the Tree Room.

The Tree Room is a little more polished than the exterior of the resort. It boasts a beautiful art collection, most of it Native American and taken from Robert Redford’s personal collection.

The Tree Room dresses things up a bit with an amazing collection of art, primarily Native American in origin and borrowed from Robert Redford's personal collection. We are seated at a table under a large Native American tapestry on the same side of the table facing the room. The menu looks amazing and Bob is a fan of the wine list! He orders some wine and eventually we place our orders.

Appetizers and a salad for the first and second course. It all was as amazing as it looks!

I start with grilled octopus with gnocchi, pearl onions, a black garlic puree and veal demi glaze, which sounds like an odd combination, but works effortlessly. The octopus is tender and charred perfectly. Bob chooses squab with a blackberry confit, parsnip puree and parsnip curls. They are both amazing but Bob's dish wins for sure! We then share a Sundance salad which consists of perfectly dressed tender greens with a goat cheese swipe along the rim of the bowl which is encrusted with candied pecans and currants. It is delicious, and has been on the menu for 25 years!

Our entrees at the Tree Room, Sundance Mountain Resort. The food is fantastic and exceeds our expectations!

For the entree course, I choose the beef duo: braised short rib paired with a New York strip covered in mornay sauce, roasted beet, pickled ramp and a beet puree. While the New York strip is great, the short rib is better and I focus a LOT of my attention on it! Bob selects the duck with roasted squash, preseved peach, chestnut puree, and a pulled honey squash puree (?). It was all exceptionally good and we take our time enjoying.

I go to the restroom before dessert and take the time to photograph some of the art and artifacts that adorn the walls and public spaces. There are some beautiful pieces, as well as photographs from the old West, and from movie sets. Enjoy.

A collection of Native American and Western Art including figurines, basketry, weaving, paintings and photos of the old west with a few movie shoot images thrown in for good measure at the Tree Room in Sundance, Utah.

Surprisingly we save room for dessert and decide to share. This one is called Chocolate Decadence and it lives up to its name. Pretty sure we killed it.

Chocolate sponge cake with some type of creamy filling (white chocolate creme filling?) in the middle, tons of fresh fruit and a berry coulis. Oh yeah, there is vanilla-cinnamon ice cream on the other side. Spectacular!

Time to call it a night as tomorrow the slopes are calling and the snow is falling. Forecast of 10" - 12" in our future. Be sure to check in, and thanks for following Ann.