When I wrote about dinner restaurants in Telluride, I forgot one place. I shall now rectify that mistake.

La Marmotte - I’m thinking that I probably forgot about this place because the food really wasn’t too memorable. But I sure remembered it when I looked at my credit card bill - it was the most expensive restaurant we ate at in Telluride (although probably close to Allred’s). This is a French restaurant with a prix fixeé menu. I think the initial cost was $40, which seems reasonable, until you start with the supplements. All in all, the food was fine, although I really can’t recommend the fish dishes. Uniformly, at our table, the meat and foul dishes were far better than the fish, as lackluster as they actually were. I would also say that the desserts were pretty unimpressive. But they do have a good wine list, and they do have Chimay, so all was not lost.

If you read the other post, you’ll know that I spent a week in Telluride with eight members of my family. As with any trip, one of the most important aspects is the food. I’m a little amazed to say, the food in Telluride is outstanding. Like any tourist destination, there are some serious traps in there, but if you avoid the potholes, you’ll eat really well.

On the first night, we asked the concierge where to go for dinner. What’s with these guys? Do they get payoffs from the least interesting, most expensive restaurants around? Why are they never reliable? Why are the places they recommend so sterile? So the guy (who was later driving the shuttle bus) recommended La Piazza which was nothing to write home about (you get the vibe about how lame this place is from their contrived website). Just to give you a hint of the tenor of the place, I asked for a Dolcetto on the wine list. “Sorry, sir, we’re out of that one. We do have this one” with a point to a wine far, far down the list. I asked for another wine, between the two, and was answered with a grin, “Ah, no, that is out also. Again, we do have this one.” First night of the vaca, so I took it. So much for that place, and the concierge. I hope he got his cut from the wine choice. I probably should make sure they didn’t rip him off too.

OK - our fault - concierges are useless, at least anyplace where you speak the language. To prove it, the food we’ve had since then has been truly exceptional. Not just on a vacation-in-a-small-town-in-Colorado way, but in a real, world-class way. Maybe not the French Laundry, but really comfortable, delicious, innovative food served in great surroundings with easy, friendly service.

Cosmopolitan - In the Columbia hotel, in the town. Inspired American food (maybe really Californian food) with a big reliance on the meat of the West, but also with flown in seafood. I had three lobster corndogs that were great. We’re going back for seconds.

Second trip: the beignets were amazing! Lemony and light - really ideal! Funny enough, we had those at the next place too . . .

221 South Oak - Probably the best of the trip, and we consider than an honor given the other meals. In an old house in town, with a separate menu full of veggie options, there was no bad place on the table. Again, really great service (how do these places get good waiters in a seasonal vacation town?) paired with delicious food made for a memorable evening.

The Beignets at 221 South Oak

Allred’s - This place is on the mountain, at the gondola stop between town and Mountain Village. We’d heard it was good, with great views, from many people. We figured we’d get great views with overpriced food. The views were, in fact, great. You see across the valley, with the town below. It’s breathtaking. If the food were bad and overpriced, it would still be worth going, and I don’t really care about views. But the restaurant was a gorgeous building itself, and food, while maybe more towards the hotel dining room style, was really worth the expense, even without the views. It seems touristy until you go, but it’s worth it, no question.

Honga’s - Strange to eat in a Thai/Japanese/Fusion place high up in the mountains, but we got over it pretty quickly once we tried the food. The lamb, especially, was delicious - really more middle eastern than Asian, but great. The bbq pork was also a winner, as were the fish dishes. The panang tofu, which I usually really like, wasn’t so hot there. But overall, this place is fantastic, and it’s on a totally different wavelength than the other places in town.

So those are the restaurants for dinner. Lunch is coming soon.

We have a whole set of All-Clad pots and pans, and I like them very much. They basically seem to last forever - except the non-stick ones. The coating doesn’t exactly wear off, it just becomes ineffective after a while. In our case, it became so ineffective that our non-sticks were stickier than regular pans.

So I emailed All-Clad. I had sent a pan back once before many years ago, and I wanted to do that again, based on their lifetime warranty. They sent me back a big form reply, with complete cleaning instructions.

Hidden deep in the email, was this:

“We will be happy to provide a warranty evaluation for replacement. Please write a brief note that explains the problem that you are experiencing with the item(s). Include in the note your name and return address. Please also mark the outside of the package clearly with the number XXX-YYY. Package the note and the item together and return them to . . .”

So I sent in my pans - four of them - for ‘evaluation.’ That was six weeks ago. I forgot all about them until one day we remarked on how great it was to have extra space in the kitchen cabinets. We had totally stopped using these pans since they were so ineffective. I made a mental note to follow up with All-Clad, then promptly forgot again.

Today, a box from All-Clad arrived:

Four new pans, each in a new box. Screaming for eBay . . .

So take advantage of those lifetime warranties!