At this luxe Wyoming ranch resort, think farm and fresh. C&I takes you through a culinary excursion at Brush Creek Ranch.
Out here in the wilds of Wyoming, words like isolated and remote come to mind. Surveying the vast landscape of sagebrush and rocky undulating hills, I have to remind myself that the ranch where I’m staying for some much-needed R & R is just a 20-minute drive from the historic town of Saratoga. “Out here” — a couple of hours from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to the south and Cheyenne, Wyoming, to the east — the senses attune quickly to nature. I pause to listen to the whistlelike song of a western meadowlark perched on a nearby fencepost and catch a whiff of an impending afternoon rainstorm on the breeze. When I look west, I see dark clouds building over the Medicine Bow Mountains.
In contrast to this ruggedness, my luxurious “refined rustic” cabin is all soft rugs, fur-covered throw pillows, and other cozy Western accoutrements. The fire in the massive stone fireplace makes me want to sink into one of the dark leather couches and take a nap. But other tantalizing options await me on today’s itinerary, because as removed as Brush Creek’s location is, there’s a lot going on and much to experience. At present, I’m off to meet the goats.
A tannish-brown Nubian goat basks lazily in the Wyoming sun with a look of pure contentment on his face. Behind him, a few mischievous mini-Nigerian goats climb atop their metal feeder and munch on hay. But when farmer Ben Elzay opens the gate to their spacious outdoor enclosure, the animals make a bleating beeline straight toward him. “Come on, kids,” he says in a high-pitched voice while clapping his hands. “Let’s go.”
I’m waiting nearby in a fenced-in area carpeted with lush green grass. When Elzay ushers this motley crew inside, the goats inspect their new surroundings while Elzay describes the differences between the breeds and explains all the hard work that goes into caring for them.
Later, after some scrupulous hand-washing, Elzay leads me inside an adjacent building, where his wife and fellow farmer Lindsey Washkoviak sets a plate of various goat cheeses in front of me and offers a glass of white wine to go with the tasting.
The licensed goat dairy and creamery is just one stop on my culinary adventure at Brush Creek Ranch, a 30,000-acre working cattle ranch and guest ranch in south-central Wyoming’s North Platte River Valley. Before meeting the goats, I learned how to bake scones with executive pastry chef Keisha Sanderson and wandered through the 20,000-square-foot greenhouse. Afterward, I’m scheduled for a chef-led pasta-making class, a wine tasting led by a sommelier, and a tour of the on-site Brush Creek Distillery.
At Brush Creek Ranch, travelers can live out all their Wild West fantasies, like participating in cattle drives, barrel racing, horseback rides, bird hunts, or simply soaking up the glorious outdoors and indoors. In recent years, the ranch has also become a true epicurean destination, luring travelers who appreciate fine dining, wine, craft spirits, and cocktails as much as they do dabbling in assorted Western activities.
Food has always been a major focus, but the ranch upped the ante in 2019 when it opened The Farm at Brush Creek, a sprawling, culinary-centric complex with a bakery, a rare-spirits vault, a massive wine cellar, a fine-dining restaurant called Cheyenne Club, along with the creamery, greenhouse, and distillery. Since then, the ranch has also debuted the new Pioneer Kitchen, an upscale casual eatery for lunch and dinner.
These and other food-focused amenities are available to guests staying at one of the ranch’s three distinct properties, each offering views of the Sierra Madre and Medicine Bow ranges. The Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch is the largest and most popular, with a mix of 44 private log cabins and lodge rooms; it also serves as the central hub for activities like trail rides and rock climbing. French Creek has a fly-fishing and hunting focus, offering creekside glamping tents and cabins for up to 14 guests, while Magee Homestead is an ultra-luxury, adults-only retreat that can accommodate 27 travelers. At The Farm, where I spent much of my time on a recent summer visit, guests can slow down, engage their senses, and learn something new — about cooking, gardening, raising animals, and more — via an array of delicious hands-on activities, from goat yoga to cheese-making workshops.
Travelers don’t just eat and drink at The Farm; they also learn where their food comes from and get a glimpse of the many steps it must go through before reaching their plate or glass. “The creamery is a great example —you can see the goats and everything that’s happening,” says Drew Anderson, the ranch’s director of food and beverage. “The milk doesn’t travel more than 50 to 75 feet, and you actually get to see the process that goes into it. It’s definitely an eye-opener for guests, and they love it.”
That philosophy carries through to Cheyenne Club, the Farm’s upscale dinner restaurant. Here, executive chef Ricky Biswas transforms ingredients grown or produced on the ranch into delectable dishes, like garden-fresh salads or a chicken tortellini that incorporates the creamery’s ricotta. The cocktail menu is also brimming with spirits made at Brush Creek Distillery, like the Cheyenne Smoked Manhattan, made with Brush Creek’s rye whiskey, vermouth, and bitters.
The real stars of the show, however, are the melt-in-your-mouth cuts of beef from the 200 head of American wagyu cattle raised at the ranch. (Chefs also dry-age the meat to tender perfection right on site.) My favorite dish — one that I ordered nearly every night of my stay — featured thinly sliced wagyu that I seared myself at the table on an accompanying hot stone. No fancy preparation or seasonings — just decadent beef.
Each morning, I wandered over from my cabin to the Trailhead Lodge for bread and pastries made from scratch by Sanderson’s team. In the afternoons, fresh off a mountain bike ride through the rolling sagebrush prairie or still riding the high of catching a rainbow trout in the creek on a guided fly-fishing excursion, I made my way to The Saloon for a refreshing craft cocktail. One evening, everyone staying at the ranch meandered down to the creek for a cookout at the Creekside Dinner Camp. Only this wasn’t your standard campfire fare. We all gorged ourselves on still more wagyu, plus tender fire-grilled asparagus, delicate salads, and juicy roasted sweet corn with herbed butter.
Maybe the food at Brush Creek Ranch tasted so good because I was extra hungry from all the outdoor adventures I tackled each day — but I doubt it. From getting flour in my hair during the pasta-making class to munching on just-picked tomatoes and herbs in the greenhouse, I felt more connected to — and excited about — each meal or cocktail.
“Food just tastes better when you know where it comes from,” Anderson says. After my time on the ranch, I couldn’t agree more.
From our May/June 2024 issue.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy Brush Creek Ranch
