With each issue of Covered Bridge, your brave culinary explorers, Russel Reuben and William Montecristo, scour the Valley for handheld wonders and edible treasures. When mountain mornings turn crisp, leaves paint the ridgelines in technicolor and the peaks catch their first dustings of white, our minds wander to winter.
Writing this winter and spring’s feature during leaf peepin’ season has us peaking and daydreaming of what the changing seasons are bringing. If you’re going to daydream, you might as well go big: BFF bro trips to Japan, bottomless powder runs and bottomless après beers.
In Japanese, ikigai refers to your purpose in life, the thing that gives you a reason to get up every morning with joy and enthusiasm. This concept elevated and inspired our mission for this ninth issue of Covered Bridge to search our souls for meaning. We came back wiser and resolute in our vision. As your trusted guides to delicious eats and secret stashes, we found validation in our humble calling while sampling the Valley’s top ramen and fueling our endless winter fantasies.
Gold
The Rose, Edwards / Lib Tech SweetFish
Ramen crafted by a shredder, and it shows.
Russel: Dropping in on The Rose Ramen is like dropping in on my favorite line — it accelerates fast. The miso-rich broth wraps you like a down puffy straight out of the dryer. Each slurp carries weight, depth and a ginger shimmer that hits like first tracks off Genghis. The crispy pork, the chewy noodles, the steam fogging your goggles … it’s a full send of flavor. Paired with Lib Tech’s Sweetfish, a swallow-tailed surf stick made for floating in the white room, this is more than dinner. This is a pilgrimage. If the bro adventure of a lifetime in Japan ever calls, this combo is my boarding pass.
William: The Rose doesn’t just serve ramen. It serves reverence. Perfectly chewy noodles, a broth you want to write haiku about and toppings so thoughtful they could be life coaches. And the Sweetfish? She’s the dreamboat. Wide nose, tapered tail, built to glide across pow like silk sheets in a Hokkaido hotel suite. Together, they’re proof that joy comes from matching depth and float. (Thanks, life coaches). If slurping hot soup and smashing cold beers in soft boots isn’t peak mountain culture, what is?
Silver
Makoto, Vail / Burton Family Tree Smooth Operator
Balance is the secret to happiness.
Russel: Makoto’s Chicken Ramen is the “shred-ready” buddy that actually shows up. The broth is clean, bright and deeply comforting, with just enough salt to keep you thirsty for another Sapporo. Not too flashy but spicy in just the right way, like Burton’s Smooth Operator. Perfect flex, a tapered directional camber, a board that carves clean lines and floats with zero fuss. Japanese wisdom says forget about how many likes this might get on Instagram.
William: More than just a lunch, Makoto serves up chicken soup for the sentimental shredder’s soul. It’s restorative, like pressing your reset button for a fresh start. A personal wellness retreat without any trust falls or gurus. And the Smooth Operator? That’s your emotional breakthrough board. It won’t fight you, won’t punish you. It’s just here to carry you forward in this journey. Simple. Smooth. Fast. Focused. Banzai!
Bronze
Glo at Avanti, Vail / Spring Break Powder Twin
Spice makes the adventure.
Russel: Glo’s Spicy Miso Ramen is the wildcard. The broth lights a fire on your lips like chili-fueled fireworks. Noodles whip like pow slashes in the aspens, and by the time you hit the bottom, you’re warm enough to unzip the bibs and defog the googles. It’s a bowl with personality, a little chaos, a lot of joy. Playful, chaotic and a little unhinged. Just like William’s ex and like the Spring Break Powder Twin. Built to spin, slash and brave riding switch in the trees. A true twin adventure in spirit and spice because sometimes the best runs and the best ramen don’t follow a trail map.
William: The Japanese say gaman is the virtue of patiently enduring what is seemingly unbearable. Sounds like what I experienced, stretching my stinging lips into a smile at Glo. The heat keeps you guessing, sweating and stoked just like the Powder Twin. It wants you to play, spin and charge in powder like it’s a pillow fort. Not the fastest, not the stiffest, but who cares? Sometimes the most funnest ride is the messiest one. So get your bibs on. It’s when your heart is pounding, your tongue is tingling and your nose is running that you know you’re really alive.
Disclaimer: These rankings are anecdotal samplings of some of the food we ate with our hands and are by no stretch of the imagination an all-inclusive or accurate encapsulation of the Valley’s cornucopia of offerings. If you have a suggestion of where we should eat next, please email us: eatwithyourhandsvail@gmail.com.
