Who'da thunkit?

I had the best meal I've ever had in Vail tonight.
Where? Kelly Liken? Sweet Basil? Larkspur? Those are the best and it could have been any of them, but it wasn't ... it was next door at the MARRIOTT! You gotta be kiddin' me ... Nope. Chef Mercer put on a show like you wouldn't believe. The lineup was thus:
Brie soup with truffle oil ... puts the "rich" in richie rich. Paired with the ZMor Gewurztraminer (thanks chef) it was a total tounguegasm.
An awesome tomato soup with marshmallows ... don't knock it till you've tried it ... trust me, you'll be back for more.
Oysters Rockefeller ... Chef says, "you probably haven't had these in about 100 years." He was right, but I promise it won't be two weeks before we're doin' that again ... Evelyn and I practically came to blows over the last one.
White Pizza ... more truffle oil (can't GET too much of that stuff), some fun crispy greens (arugula maybe?) and about a dozen other wonderful flavors on top of a crispy crisp.
At this point we're already saying, "it's too good not too finish, but we know there's lots more coming."
Next ... a sea bass to die for with some kind of super light, crispy coating ... in lobster sauce!
Then came the single best lamb chop I have ever had. Period. I'm 52. I LOVE lamb. I eat it a LOT. This was the pinnacle ... and by more than a small margin.
Ok, I think I can force down some of this seared tuna, wrapped around a super thin daikon radish and rolled in a tempura kind of coating. Take me now lord ... it can't get any better than this. But wait ... it does ...
A dessert medley with a cinnamon phyllo apple wrap thing paired with an eiswine (sp?) that's just too good to be true. Next to that was a soft, warm sinful chocolate cookie and vanilla ice cream, accompanied by some Baileys concoction that they ought to require a pilot's license to drive.
Unbelievable. All of it was just unbelievable. Too good to be true. Any one of those courses was as good as it gets. All together? I gotta be dreaming.
If I live another 52, I hope someday I have another meal as good as that one at Ocotillo. I also hope I can return the favor to Mercer sometime, but it ain't gonna be easy.
Rob