Alpe d'Huez Apres Ski Report: 25th March 2010
SpIt's been a very quiet week here in Alpe d'Huez, with very few visitors in resort. Traditionally, mid-March is quiet anyway, as tourists save themselves for the Easter break. This final winter holiday weekend marks the beginning of the end of the season and it occurred to me just how many restaurants whose menus I've not yet sampled. So this week I ate out twice in Alpe d'Huez, at Les Epiciers and Altibar.
Les Epiciers is just off the resort's main street, the Avenue des Jeux, tucked next to the entrance to the Ours Blanc covered shopping area. The varied menu covers almost all eventualities, with the options of traditional mountain dishes such as fondue and tartiflette, fish, burgers, beef and salads. They even offer veggie burgers, but I didn't spot these straight away as they were in the meat section.
I opted for a Tapafondue, which is a mini-tartiflette with all the accompaniments (charcuterie, gherkins, salad etc) plus boiled potatoes covered in raclette cheese. The French are generally very dismissive of vegetarians but at Les Epiciers the chefs will create veggie versions so I had veggieflette (tartiflette without the lardons) and vegetables to replace the cold meat. The meal was huge but delicious, and I only just managed to slide down a scoop of tangy raspberry sorbet as dessert.
The Boyfriend had a tasty Côte du Beouf followed by apple crumble with vanilla ice cream. Fully stuffed, we rolled ourselves to Smithy's Tavern to watch local boys Still Nameless play their set of classic Indie and Rock covers to an enthusiastic mainly French audience, celebrating the first day of Spring despite the drizzly weather.
Spring returned on Tuesday morning and I woke to clear, blue skies and bright, hot sunshine. The forecast had predicted a mere two-day break in the cloud so everyone in resort was determined to make the most of the sunshine.
There are plenty of restaurants on the mountain and in resort that have sun terraces; afterall this is the Isle de Soleil! But when the weather's this good it's a shame to leave the slopes to stop for lunch. Sometimes, however, a mixed group means that lunch on the hill simply isn't possible, in which case the restaurant at the Altiport provides a perfect venue.
Altibar is accessible by the Altiport piste from the top of the Romains chair, by bus or on foot: simply the follow the road past Bergers and up towards ClubMed. Altiport Henri Giraud is a fully functional – if tiny – airport, providing landing and take-offs for helicopters, microlights and tiny planes. It can be a little noisy sometimes, but watching the planes make their descent onto the tiny alpine runway is breathtaking.
It's a good idea to book a table at Altibar (00 33 4 76 80 41 15) as it's popular with locals. The menu is varied, with a focus on seafood and superb salads, which can be upgraded from starter to 'mega' for an additional 3€. The temptation to relax on the terrace after lunch was nearly overwhelming, but my newly serviced skis were calling me back to the pistes. We left the rest of the girls swapping seats to avoid sunburn while perusing the dessert menu.
Later that afternoon, I popped down to The Underground for their weekly barbeque. This is only the second they've managed this season, as the rest had to be cancelled due to bad weather. But the rarity of the occasion seemed to work to their advantage and the terrace above the bar, next to the Chamois Hotel was packed. Captain Sandwich's solo chef Rachel was flipping burgers by the dozen, keeping the hungry pre-BUSC students at bay.
Tomorrow marks the arrival of 2,000 British students for the annual Main EventBritish Universities Snowsports Council. We already have the Committee and workers in resort, acquainting themselves with the bars and pistes.
If you're coming out for BUSC, you'll no doubt be attending the three main evening events on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday with an incredible line-up of Nero, the Stanon Warriors, the Ordinary AllStars and the Urban Knights. There are also plans afoot for an Après Bar at the base of the Snow Park.
If you're coming out next week and you're not a student then don't worry, there will still be plenty of student-free venues to relax and wind-down after a hard day on the slopes. I recommend drinks at the bar of the Dahu Grill, dining at Au P'tit Creux and the Alpages, après ski on the terrace of the Soleil d'Or and afternoon tea at Framboise on the Avenue des Jeux.
For a full list of this week's events, check out our What's On Calendar. You can also find full Bar and Restaurant listings in the Dining and Going Out section of the site.
