And we’re back. Welcome back to our column, where we approach post-ski (or hike) food stops with a fresh and critical perspective to share our recommendations with the CC community in hopes that your ski days become more delicious.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), “El Niño is characterized by unusually warm ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific.” While the WMO doesn’t recognize the extreme “Super El Niño” “because it is not part of standard operational classifications,” we’re willing to deviate from official sources and start getting excited that the Super El Niño promised this year will bring even more unusually awesome ski conditions than the regular version.
In 2026, Outside Magazine claimed an “early start to the season” in Colorado. While they may not have meant mid-October, we decided to test the limits of this claim – or rather, the early snowfall on the trail we’d planned to backpack over the last Block Break decided for us.
Last week, we ventured to Conundrum Creek Trail and hot springs, located in the famously beautiful Maroon Bells Wilderness in Aspen. Though we managed to carry some good meals in our backpacks, the 18-mile round-trip hike and 15-degree (give or take) sleeping temperatures certainly worked up an appetite worthy of a Pow and Chow feature.
My search criteria for our lunch stop of choice were simple. I typed in “grilled cheese” into the search bar on Apple Maps and scrutinized the websites of each location with a goal of finding somewhere that sold fries for less than $10. It’s worth noting that not one person ended up ordering a grilled cheese and this was expected. The sentiment was that any place that sold grilled cheese, we figured, would offer the kind of fare that we were craving. In the future, I might officially trademark this strategy, but until then, I implore you to use it in your own lives.
520 Grill Aspen was easy enough to find, but the main challenge was braving the (likely imagined) scornful glances of downtown Aspen’s intended clientele: custom cowboy hats and designer boots in a stark, stark contrast to the leggings we’d been wearing under our sweatpants for over 30 hours at this point.
An immediate vote of confidence for 520 Grill was the nice array of sauces up for grabs in a bucket at the front, where you order. Too many places are charging extra for sauces these days (including Otto’s, iykyk, see previous article) and I wouldn’t have even blamed this place for seeking a little sauce-based revenue. The majority of our group of eight ordered some variation of the $20 classic burger combo meal, which included fries and a drink. By the time we’d all come through and ordered, the sauce bucket was basically wiped clean, save a few cups of blue cheese dressing. We weren’t yet that desperate.
I (Olivia) ordered the burger combo meal, with plentiful customizations at no extra cost (!): a burger with added mushrooms and grilled onions, a side of sweet potato fries and a yerba mate. Our friend, Molly Vance ‘27, was the last to get her food, which came out soon after ours. My burger, however, was gone by the time her plate arrived. You can do the math on how I felt about this meal.
As I (Anya) watched Olivia’s food come in, I was immediately sick with jealousy at the sight of mushrooms on her burger. They looked perfect and I was extremely disappointed in myself for not capitalizing on this option. My disappointment was so extreme that it manifested in me loudly complaining about my own shortcomings. So loudly, in fact, that the only explanation for what happened next is that the kitchen staff heard my loud complaints and took measures to make me stop. My burger, lo and behold, came out with a generous heap of mushrooms on top. Do I have an excess of good karma or did the kitchen staff know that we would be reviewing their establishment for our massive audience? The world will never know.
But our good luck streak was, to the delight of our “dessert stomachs,” not done yet. In a conversation with CC alumna Emma Leschly ‘26, who has spent her post-grad months up in Aspen working at the insanely popular Paradise Bakery, I sent this message: “OK, hopefully coming in like 45. Need to pitch it to my tired and grumpy friends cause we just finished a big hike, but baked goods tend to be a selling point.” Are we kidding? Baked goods aren’t just a selling point for this group; they are the be-all, end-all. Signed, sealed, delivered. We were at Paradise Bakery in 30 minutes sharp, ooing and aahing at the heaping gelato and towering cookie stacks. Emma briefly hugged us hello before escaping to the back room and re-emerging with a 12-count sampler box of the establishment’s fine cookies. While enjoying the delicious (and free) treats, we also decided to indulge in gelato — Olivia got the blood orange sorbet, while Anya tried the mint chip. Everything we tried was perfect. And the cherry on top was the huge line that developed immediately after we sat down to enjoy our provisions. Much thanks to Emma!
Safe to say, Block Break provided us with some delicious new spots we hope you all take advantage of if you find yourself in Aspen this coming ski season. Nonetheless, we are stoked to get back at it. Ski you soon.