Ginger Café – Where Passion and Palate Meet

by Michele Angello

Can great pan Asian cuisine be created by a couple from Omaha who have never been to Asia? If the food prepared at Ginger Café in Crested Butte is the food in question, then the answer is a resounding yes. This may sound like the rantings of an aioli-struck foodie, but when you eat food created with love and passion, you feeeeel it – it just seeps out palatably beyond the flavors of sweet or savory. You can watch the movie “Like Water for Chocolate” to get an idea of what that is like, or get yourself up to Crested Butte to experience it for yourself.

Take a seat in the cozy converted Victorian with the curry colored walls. You may find yourself flanked by a big table of ski bums or a four top occupied by a European family on vacation, or both, but either way is quintessential Crested Butte, Colorado. 

The crab rangoon is not anything like the usual doughy, bland creation that is then typically rescued by sweet and sour sauce. This creation is flavored by big chunks of crab that are easily found throughout the cream cheese filling. Couple this with the crispy wrapper and a kicky vinegar dipping sauce and wash it down with a Ginger Café signature mango mojito and you have a unforgettable flavor combination.

Ginger’s mango mojito is sweet, slightly tart and dressed by a slice of crystallized ginger, giving a cheeky bite to a drink that could easily be too sweet, but is instead delightful.

Spencer Hestwood, who co-owns the establishment with his wife Jennifer, has also mastered the art of a tender calamari dish. Most establishments serve up a rubbery squid. Try this quick-cooked calamari and the flaky wonton with the Asian aioli, and you may be spoiled for all future calamari concoctions.  

The pad thai is a heaping, succulent combination of rice noodles, cilantro, bean sprouts, peanuts and a  choice of chicken, shrimp, tofu or a combination of all three. The chicken curry is good as well, but would benefit from the addition of some cauliflower or peas.

The Hestwood's have a wide knowledge and palate for ingredients, and are dedicated to using local and organic ingredients whenever they are available. MSG is not found anywhere in the kitchen. 

Jennifer Hestwood’s concentration is on the desserts, especially now with the addition of a little one at home.  Be ready to fall under the spell of her coconut custard. Break into the light coconut crust with a spoon and dive down into the velvety cream below. Just beware of strawberries tumbling past your plate and onto the table. You’ll want to pair a slice with as many bites as possible and experience the flavor marriage of strawberry and coconut.

What is it about this place? There is sense of peace and harmony that floats through the air. Could it be the mojitos talking? My husband assured me that it wasn’t. Maybe it’s the effect of people who just have a talent for food and care about perfecting the techniques that makes food not just sustenance, but an experience. Hard to tell. But be sure to drop in on your next trip to Crested Butte and come up with an answer for yourself. Trying to find the answer is sure to be a taste bud adventure.