Telluride, Colorado is known for many things. Among that is it’s stunning natural beauty, distinct box canyon location, high altitude, awesome people, skiing, hiking, mountain biking….. The list is endless. Thankfully I call this slice of heaven my second home, I always want to call it simply home. Among the praise I have for this gem of a town, the amazing food has me jumping for joy every which way I turn. I love to cook when I am there and I also enjoy the good eats in spots like The Butcher & Baker Cafe located on Main St.
It thrills me that I can indulge my active lifestyle and food even more when in Telluride…the altitude and views enhance every single experience!
Do you think the mountain is the bump they are referring to?
One of the main reasons I love escaping to Telluride is because of it’s rustic charm. The people that live here take great pride in preserving it’s history. They appreciate the finer things in life with true mountain grit mixed in. Great food fuels the culture in a big way.
You burn a lot of calories when you live at nearly 9,000 feet.
No matter what season I visit I am always inspired to really live. In Telluride there is always a reason to celebrate life & even more reasons to host a festival!
There are festivals for festivals. These folks celebrate everything from Hot Air Balloons, to the Wild West, Mushrooms, Chocolate, Yoga and every kind of film, music and the arts. Throughout the year there are amazing sporting events to challenge the toughest athlete.
You can take a peek at my experience at Mountainfilm. A truly life changing experience. I did not attend the Horror Show, though it sounded tempting. And spooky.
With the magical mountain back drop it is no wonder this town is often noted as one of the most beautiful places on Earth. This place is filled with creative thinkers who have open hearts and minds. That is why I need to be there as often as possible.
Throughout the day you just need to stop everything and gaze at the natural beauty that surrounds you everywhere you look!
These are the two ladies who co-own this neighborhood deli cafe, Megan Ossola (the butcher) and Cinda Simons (the baker)Â How cute are these gals? And that precious baby!
They source local ingredients when available & organics are menu staples.
It is very obvious why kids and adults love coming here for their homemade desserts and pastries. I mean really obvious…
The Butcher & The Baker’s catch phrase is Fresh and Friendly in Downtown Telluride That sums up the vibe in this town and the aesthetic of the restaurant.
The Butcher & Baker Cafe serves up fresh and friendly food for breakfast, lunch, dinner and take-out.
Take a peek at my lunch….a local + organic curry, vegetable stuffed bell pepper. A beauty huh!
I also dabbled in a whole lot of protein with the hearty egg salad & the chicken salad. Can you believe the huge pieces of Italian parsley & dill?! These salads were in the deli refrigerator and I asked to have them both side by side in a bowl. I then asked for garnish for the photos. Out came giant pieces of fresh herbs…
I love the bread board menus. Homemade is the key word for everything.
I also love the handmade napkins with brightly colored fabrics. It’s all in the details…
Mindful details.
Beyond the ever changing menu options they have a large catering menu and are open to all kinds of creative thinking as well.
Let’s not forget about all of the nibbles you can feast on for snacks too! The pastries, breads and treats are beautiful!
After a long day of hiking, skiing or mountain biking perhaps a large frosted cupcake is due…It almost resembles the snowy cover peaks. Yes?
A few last glamour shots of my favorite town. Can you see why I never want to leave once I arrive? I mean really?!
In the fall it glows…
And glows some more…
Have you ever had the dream to open up a cafe or bakery? What is your favorite town & great escape?
More about Telluride
- Foraging For Mushrooms in Telluride MarlaMeridith.com
- Mountain Film 2011Â MarlaMeridith.com
- Telluride, Winter 2011 MarlaMeridith.com
- Telluride’s Latest Gold: The Butcher and the Baker Edible San Juan Mountains
- The West’s Best Ski Towns Sunset Magazine
- Visit Telluride.com
I need to get to Telluride, can you believe I’ve never been? It must change! Those mountain pics take my breath away!
Kelley, you would go NUTS for this place. Truly heaven!
super cute – lucky you(and your kids) for having this escape to retreat to!
Oh my goodness Marla, what gorgeous shots! I’ve been all over Colorado, but never to Telluride. What a shame. Love the concept of the butch/baker shop. It would be the first stop on my list!
Amazing pictures. I’d love to visit there someday. Now I wish I had a cupcake 🙂
Magnificent clicks, places and landscapes! Thanks for sharing them with us. You just made me travel from my chair…
Cheers,
Rosa
I thoroughly enjoyed these pictures, Marla. All breathtaking.
And yes, I have had dreams to open my own cafe! I think it would be the best think…a lot of work, though!
Telluride looks like an awesome, beautiful place! I’ve never been, but would love to go visit someday. The Butcher & Baker Cafe seems like a really neat place, and the food looks delicious! Love that they source local ingredients when available and use organics.
I have never been to Telluride and really need to change that. It sounds like an amazing town and I’m pretty certain I’d want to eat every meal in the Butcher and Baker Cafe, starting with those curry stuffed bell peppers. Fantastic post, Marla!
Hi Dara! You would love those veggie stuffed peppers…so light & healthy. I think a post on those alone are worth the effort. Yes you do need to get to CO for a visit!
It’s all just so beautiful Marla……….I feel like I was there with you!
Wow. The light there is just INCREDIBLE. Amazing photos and great review of the Butcher and Baker. I wanna go there! Thanks for the beauty.
Brooke, no matter what time of day or season – the light in Telluride is amazing! A photographers dream indeed. The place is like a freaking supermodel!! Glad you liked to meet the Butcher + Baker!
This post really makes me want to go here. I really want one of those cupcakes (C:
Kirstin, I do think you need to book a trip immediately…just to get a cupcake!
Marla, the images are just beyond gorgeous. Magazine-worthy, indeed. Now I have the visual to accompany the story you told me about clicking away and just being on a creative burst….you outdid yourself!
(and now I know why you had lots of photos to edit, too!)
Averie, the creative burst in T-ride is amazing no matter what the season. Yes the edits take forever & I have about 600 more clicks from that week! Perhaps I need to make a calendar next!
Gorgeous pictures! We recently moved to CO, going to have to make a point to go to Telluride soon!
Erin, congrats on your new home! Where are you guys living?
so beautiful. I just love to drool over your pictures 🙂
Why thank you miss Heather!
i think i have to head back to the gym. What beautiful photos and those pastries, I mean, who could say resist them.
Roxana, sometimes it is a heck of a lot easier to look at these goodies in photos. Well then again…my kids might argue me on that 😉
Aw… love this, Marla! Thanks for sharing… NOTHING beats Telluride in Fall… except maybe Telluride in Fall paired with gorgeous food photos!!
Hi Jennifer, coming from you that means a whole lot girl. Soon I get to meet you there, yes?!
What a great story! You are a fabulous travel writer and photographer!!
Oh gorgeous Colorado, how I miss you so! I used to live in Boulder, CO and that is still my favorite town. I never made it to Telluride, but now you have convinced me that a trip in the near future is a must!
Wow. You’ve exposed me to so much about Telluride. I feel like I’ve been there, but in reality I haven’t. I am going to look at flights and make it a point to visit…or stay!
Your Telluride posts are so captivating. All the time. I must convince the Husband to go here for our next road trip 😉 We might bump into each other 😀
I haven’t been to Telluride but I’ve been all around it. I used to go to Montrose, CO each year to visit family. We would pick cherries in Paonia, watch fireworks in Ouray, and swim at Ridgeway. I love there!
Telluride is absolutely beautiful ! I’ve always wanted to go there! Love all of these photos!
XO. Britt
The Magnolia Pair
🙂
Thanks Britt! Sounds like you need to book a trip 🙂
How gorgeous! My favorite place to go is Stinson Beach in California it’s so beautiful and peaceful with the smell of the ocean! I also love going to Malibu, there’s a little cove called Paradise Cove, you can eat breakfast under an umbrella with your feet in the sand and watch the sun rise. There breakfast is just wonderful! Nothing like sipping a cup of coffee or have a freshly squeezed orange juice as you see dolphins swimming and seagulls flying around.
Jennifer, thanks for sharing your happy place with us. The visions of the dolphins swimming while sipping tea is perfection! Must find that Paradise Cove you speak of.
Again, I need to go there!
Gorgeous photos, Marla. I love hearing of your trips to Telluride — it seems so quaint!
Stop! You’re killing me! My mouth is watering I want that curried veggies stuffed pepper! Yum! Marla, those photos are so incredibly beautiful.
Love the speedbump mountain. xo
Haha, I thought the same thing about the speed bump (mountain) before I read your caption! Great minds…
I’ve always (and still do?) dream of opening a bakery someday. I’d love to do it in a small town where everyone knows each other.
Just lovely.
Beautiful! So inspiring!
I feel like hopping on a plane right now!
I love Telluride and Ouray. Very beautiful. Thanks for sharing your pics!
What a lovely write up on Telluride!! Haven’t been there in years and now I see what I’ve been missing!
Lovely! You sound so happy when you talk about the mountains.
Oh wow, Marla! I just started following your blog and I have to say these pictures are nothing short of perfect!! I’ve been wanting to take a trip to the west coast, but hadn’t started researching where to go yet…I may not have to look any further. I’m sold!
Hi Danielle! I am so happy you found my blog too. If you venture out to Telluride let me know so we can talk details!!
Honestly, if I were to ever open up a cafe, that is EXACTLY what I would want it to be like. Simple fresh delicious food that appeals to all. Food for the soul.
Joanne, you would be the perfect person to open up a cafe like this. I would request my own full time table if you did!!
Stunning photos; So vibrant! I can understand how it’s easy to be inspired when you live in a town like that.
Alyssa. Crazy amounts of inspiration there that never ever cease to amaze me!
Oh wow, this place looks like heaven. I hope we get to go together one day!!
Love those bread board menus and well those cupcakes too!
Sylvie, I know it. Those bread board menus are quite eye catching. Love that they add a bit of whimsy!
That is just gorgeous! I’m especially digging the bread board menus – very cute! My favorite getaway it Camden, Maine – cute little eclectic shops, good food, mountains, and sailboats… it’s like a post card.
Jen, I have heard that about Camden, Maine. I have never been though it sounds like the kind of town I would adore. When I grew up we would take occasional road trips to Maine, usually for L.L. Bean though 😉
Love these shots…and, of course, I zoned in on that cupcake. Wow! Of course, that would only come after a hike up the mountain…then it’s a well-deserved cupcake. Thanks for sharing about your trip!
Fabulous post Marla! The pictures are simply breathtaking.
I so love your travel photos from Telluride, so pretty! I need to get use to lugging the camera around when we’re on vaca, it’s so heavy and I’m so lazy though, lol.
Angie, I agree the camera can be a nuisance to lug along ~ but I am always happy when I do bring it. I do need to set boundaries with it though. Sometimes it needs to be left behind. That’s when the iPhone & Instagram happen!
So breathtakingly beautiful! Glad to see the product of your telluride inspired creativity! I bet the coffee was delicious too. xxoo, Andrea
Love Telluride! This brings back memories.
I spent two weeks there in the summer of 1983 during my solo bicycle touring expedition in the Southwest. I visited with a friend who lived there at the time, and we hiked up past Bridal Veil Falls and beyond. And, then with my family we drove there in March of 2002, with several feet of snow, fun place anytime of year.
Bon appetit!
CCR
=:~)
Ryan, it really is splendid in Telluride every time of year. Bet you have great memories of that solo bike ride. I would love to do something like that one day.
Bridal Veil Falls is such an awesome hike ~ especially when you cross over the mountain to see Mirror Lake (I think thats what it’s called?!)
Thanks for sharing 🙂
I’m in love! This place looks absolutely beautiful! Your photos are incredible!
Thanks Lauren! It is truly my favorite place on Earth. Missing Telluride fall like crazy right now.