22 Nov DINING OUT: SPUR RESTAURANT & BAR

At first glance, Spur Restaurant & Bar seems like just what you’d expect from a newly renovated, high-end — but still family-friendly — restaurant at the base of one of the best ski mountains in the country.

The rustic-modern exterior, clad in reclaimed corral boards, has four multi-paneled glass doors that fold and stack to the edges for an immersive indoor-outdoor dining experience. An expansive terrace with granite-edge high-top fire tables allows for outdoor dining, even in winter. Multiple seating arrangements with cushy upholstered sofas and chairs provide the perfect place to put your feet up at the end of a day in nature and enjoy a creamy cup of cocoa or creative cocktail. Inside, the restaurant is spread across two levels and opens on one end to the lobby of Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa, its highly rated hotelier host.

The recently renovated interiors by John Im and Cliff Lin from LoveCraft Designs feature wood and leather; metal screens reminiscent of snowshoes offer a sense of privacy with openness between banquettes.

What one expects, then, is warm, efficient service and a delicious menu that has something for everyone. And on that premise, Spur delivers under the guidance of convivial General Manager Chris McKone, a native Utahn and committed outdoors person whose sense of delight at finding himself in Jackson, Wyoming is palpable. But the restaurant goes a step beyond in the quality of food produced by the gifted hands of Chef Anthony Bruno.

Glass doors open wide to the outdoor patio. Sun streams in during the day; fire tables provide convivial warmth and allow for outdoor dining even in winter.

The Portland-raised foodie learned in the kitchen of his Italian grandmother (in fact, one of his signature dishes is named after her) and from his father, also a chef. After graduating at the top of his culinary school class, Bruno trained under some of the most famous chefs in the country, including those at Chez Panisse in the San Francisco Bay Area and The French Laundry in California’s Wine Country.

Spur Restaurant is ideally located at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and adjacent to Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa.

When his mentors advised him to travel and experience as many different regions and types of restaurant settings as possible, he took the advice to heart. He spent years cooking under various personalities, some Michelin-starred, in Las Vegas, Florida, Texas, Portland, San Diego, and Colorado. He worked in urban restaurants, country clubs, and even at Disneyland. Over time, he found himself drawn to outdoor destinations such as national parks and ski resorts where he could indulge his passion for snowboarding, making Teton Village the perfect long-term landing spot.

Bruno’s dishes are delicious, inventive, and equally pleasing to the eye and palette.

The renovation of Spur Restaurant — undertaken at the same time Teton Mountain Lodge received a makeover — was completed in the early winter of 2024. One of Noble House Hotels & Resorts’ 25 properties, the space is inviting in all seasons. In the summer, planter boxes arranged as dividers between outdoor seating areas overflow with lavender, mini evergreens, salvia, and blooms in shades of white, green, and purple. In fall and winter, fires flicker indoors and out, while glass shelves with integrated lighting above the long bar set against the back wall draw in customers. Inside, a fresh take on log-cabin-style walls, with slim metal panels instead of the traditional chinking, establishes a modern-rustic vibe. The aesthetic is carried out with marble countertops and stylized metal screens reminiscent of snowshoes, creating a sense of separation between two split levels of comfortable booth seating.

Chef Anthony Bruno is a Portland-raised foodie and passionate snowboarder who learned to cook in his grandmother’s kitchen, attended culinary school, trained under world-renowned chefs in the Wine Country, then worked in different environments and cuisines before settling in the mountain mecca that is Jackson.

The ambience is further enhanced once the food is delivered. Nonna’s Meatballs are one of the chef’s favorites and are adapted from his grandmother’s recipe. Chef Bruno replaces Nonna’s beef with a 28-day dry-aged ground beef and serves it with spicy Arrabbiata sauce and housemade focaccia with San Jimenez olive oil. The meatballs are deliciously flavorful and moist, the sauce delivering a just-right kick. Focaccia is always a crowd-pleaser, and Bruno’s is light and chewy, with crisp edges and fragrant olive oil. The chef makes his “pig’s wings” from the tail end of baby back ribs, which he confits overnight and then fries crisp. His Korean-style Bulgogi sticky sauce, made with Asian pear, hoisin, white miso, soy, and tamari, is perfectly balanced. The result? Utterly addictive.

Unlike many restaurants located far from urban areas, Spur surprises and delights vegans as well as meat eaters. The chef’s roasted garam masala cauliflower is dressed with Medjool dates, garlic, vegan aioli, and an obsidian-hued housemade whipped tahini made from black sesame seeds. Another original recipe in the works is conceived as a jackfruit Merguez sausage wrapped in rice paper.

Dessert is worth waiting for — if one can still make room after the main courses. A bruléed chocolate-and-hazelnut pot de creme is garnished with chocolate cookie “soil,” salted candied pecans, and praline whipped cream. Each bite is a delicately balanced combination of creamy and crunchy, salty and sweet.

In the summer, families flock in at breakfast time before their outdoor adventures like rafting, hiking, or spending a day in Yellowstone National Park. During the winter months, the après ski hours are particularly busy, with skiers spilling off the mountain in search of elevated food, craft cocktails, and mingling with others.

The menu changes seasonally, but the offerings are always attuned to place, explains Bruno. “Fusion mountain fare is what makes the most sense here. People want something that’s familiar, and in mountain towns, people want to eat what they can see. Bison, deer, anything like that is a huge hit. Huckleberries, too.” Part of the chef’s job is sourcing high-quality, hard-to-find ingredients, like bison from Prairie Harvest Specialty Foods in Spearfish, South Dakota. The huckleberries are hand-
foraged by a company in Oregon.

Through food, decor, and attitude, Spur never forgets its place in the shadow of the Tetons. General Manager McKone has lived and worked in many ski communities in the Mountain West, but he says Jackson is different. “The vibe here is much more Western and less about glitz and glamor. Here, there’s a much more relaxed lifestyle. In the winter, it can become a ghost town at night because everyone is going to hit the slopes in the morning. It’s more of a family destination, too, especially in summer. And what better place to bring young kids to experience cowboy culture and the national parks?”

Spur is the perfect spot to cool off after too much sun, warm up after a day in the snow, or simply enjoy an inspired meal carefully prepared. It opens its arms wide to families, whether they’re arriving from a nine-hour drive touring Yellowstone or a full day of exhilaration on the slopes. It also serves up the romance for couples, while offering a convivial seat at the bar for solo travelers.

It’s even a place to make new friends, says one online reviewer after a visit this past summer. “This place was perfect. The food was delicious, and the bartenders [were] among the friendliest people I’ve ever met in my 39 years on planet Earth. I loved the mountains and the hiking, but I’m going to miss Spur more than anything else when I fly home tomorrow.”

Nonna Bruno’s Meatballs

Inspired by Chef Anthony Bruno’s culinary lessons in his Italian grandmother’s kitchen, these meatballs are among his signature dishes at Spur Restaurant & Bar. At the restaurant, they are served with spicy Arrabbiata sauce. They are also great on a meatball sub.

1 pound Italian sausage
1 pound ground beef
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
½ cup milk
3 whole eggs
1½ cups breadcrumbs or panko
1 tablespoon dry oregano
1 tablespoon dry basil
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
3 tablespoons salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix until fully combined.
Portion into 4-ounce mounds and roll in your hands till smooth.

Brown the meatballs on all sides in a large oiled skillet on medium-high heat.

Transfer meatballs to a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Check the internal temperature; if they are under 160°, continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160°. Enjoy with your favorite sauce and pasta.

Chase Reynolds Ewald has been writing about Western design, food, art, travel, and rustic style for more than 25 years. A consultant, editor, and freelancer, her books include American Rustic; Cabin Style; At Home in the Wine Country; and, with photographer Audrey Hall, the multi-award-winning Bison: Portrait of an Icon. Her latest book, Modern West, is coming in 2025;
chasereynoldsewald.com.

Photographer Lynn Donaldson shoots regularly for National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler, Travel & Leisure, Sunset, and The New York Times. The founder and editor of the Montana food and travel blog The Last Best Plates, Donaldson lives outside of Livingston, Montana with her husband and three children.