New dining options with celebrity influence coming to Cripple Creek
New dining options are coming to Cripple Creek.
Nathan Dirnberger, executive sous chef at Bronco Billy’s Casino and Chamonix Hotel, 233 E. Bennett Ave., and his chef tournant, Jeremy Gomez, have been busy creating menus for restaurants at Bronco Billy’s and the new Chamonix Hotel.
Earlier in December on a tour of Bronco Billy’s restaurants and a peek at the hotel construction, I heard about the great dining options on the horizon for Cripple Creek and sampled dishes from the new menu at Baja Billy’s Cantina.
“I’m especially pleased with the birrias taco,” Gomez said. “I’ve been working on the recipes since starting here a few months ago.”
It was an outstanding version of the popular taco. The meat was fork tender and the dipping sauce was delicious with layers of flavor with a spicy chili finish. But even more impressive was the sweet finish for the lunch: the New York-style sopapilla cheesecake.
“We’re super excited about the pastries Johnny is making,” Gomez said. “I’m from Connecticut and know what a New York cheesecake should taste like and he has nailed it. Johnny used sopapilla in the crust.”
Gomez was talking about Johnny Iuzzini, from New York City, who is a pastry chef, television celebrity and cookbook author. He has trained in some of the top restaurants in New York including Daniel and at Jean Georges. Iuzzini is on board to produce the sweets for all the property restaurants.
On Tuesday, Chamonix Bistro was scheduled to be the first restaurant to open in the new hotel addition to Bronco Billy’s Casino.
“We will be serving a daily breakfast buffet, a la carte lunch and dinner menu at the bistro,” Dirnberger said. “And there will be a huge brunch on weekends. 980 Prime is a steakhouse we are planning to open Feb.1 and the large Italian restaurant will open next summer. The name for the Italian restaurant has not been selected yet.”
Dirnberger said 980 Prime is from Barry S. Dakake, another celebrated chef known for his Barry’s Downtown Prime and N9NE Steakhouse in Las Vegas.
“980 Prime will be one of the best upscale restaurants in Colorado,” Dirnburger said. “Dakake is known for creating restaurants with amazing guest service and incredible cuisine. He has won all sorts of awards for his eateries. ”
So, it’s time to set your sights on an unforgettable culinary experience in Cripple Creek. Visit chamonixco.com/dining and broncobillyscasino.com.
Jeremy Gomez, left, chef tournant, and Nathan Dirnberger, executive sous chef, have created menus for Bronco Billy’s Casino and Chamonix Hotel.