The Best, Biggest Ski-Day Breakfast

These breakfasts will start your ski day off right (and maybe get you through lunch).

// By Brigid Mander     
// photography by KATHRYN ZIESIG

Few things build appetites and burn calories like spending all day outside in freezing temperatures and likely braving inhospitable winds in order to either lap chairlifts or tour for fresh backcountry powder. Skiing requires serious energy, which is probably why skiers created their own fourth meal of the day: après ski. With this in mind, ski town locals know that to make it to après without wasting any ski time on a lunch break, you need to start with a substantial breakfast. (A substantial breakfast that is also transportable equals extra points.) 

Local eateries, from grocers to markets, cafés, and restaurants have a range of options. Here are some of our favs.

the pocket bagel

Bagels are time-tested fuel for skiers, and Pearl Street Bagels, which has locations in downtown Jackson and Wilson and, as of late last fall, in Vistor, Idaho, has been setting skiers up with fresh-made bagels for 30 years. Mix and match a dozen bagel varieties with seven cream cheese flavors including honey walnut, fresh herb, mountain berry, and Mexican; or reach into the hot case for a premade bagel breakfast sandwich. Sandwiches are on either a plain or everything bagel, and options are bacon, egg, and cheese; sausage, egg, and cheese; and egg and cheese. FYI, the sandwiches are often gone by 9 a.m. or earlier. “I’m there early to get the bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything,” says Dan Simons, a local skier who appreciates the sammie’s generous serving of bacon. Bagels with cream cheese from $4.50, breakfast sandwiches from $6; open daily at 7 a.m.; 145 W. Pearl Ave., Jackson and 1230 Ida Dr., Wilson; 307/739-1218 (Jackson) and 307-739-1261 (Wilson), jacksonholebagels.com

Breakfast Burrito to Go

Home of Jackson Hole’s most beloved breakfast burrito, D.O.G. (Down on Glen) is a no-frills hole-in-the-wall. Its three breakfast burritos have been Jackson staples for 20 years. Each has two eggs, hash browns, pepper jack, onions, and tomatoes wrapped in a flour tortilla. That’s the veggie burrito. Add bacon, sausage, or ham for the meat burrito. If you want a spicy meat burrito, D.O.G. will add chopped jalapeños—which happens to be, by far, the most popular. Whichever one you go for, expect it to be almost as big as an adult forearm. “D.O.G. literally keeps me alive in winter for skiing!” says local skier Barbara Berska, who always gets the meat spicy. Order a “burrito in a box” for a gluten-free option. From $12; open daily at 6:30 a.m.; 25 S. Glenwood St.; 307/733-4422, downonglenjh.com

The Ultimate Sit-Down

A staple of the Jackson Hole ski scene since 1982, Nora’s Fish Creek Inn is a cozy log cabin with Wyoming pioneer and ski memorabilia scattered around inside, countertop seating, and dozens of tables crammed in to fit its many local fans. It’s the place to fuel up for a big ski day after a big night, but it can be busy, so don’t show up in a rush. The huevos rancheros here come on a hot plate piled high with beans, corn tortillas, eggs, cheese, and house-made green chile salsa (add chorizo if you want more protein). From $9 (huevos rancheros are $18); breakfast served daily 6:30 a.m.–2 p.m.; 5600 W. Highway 22, Wilson; 307/733-7662, norasfishcreekinn.com

The Backcountry Skier’s Must Eat 

If you hired a mountain guide for a big day of ski touring in Grand Teton National Park, stop at Creekside Market and Deli on your way north from town for a grab-and-go breakfast sandwich—an egg and slab of cheddar with either bacon, ham, or sausage on an English muffin or croissant. While you’re here, order a deli sammie to throw in your pack for lunch. Creekside has been voted “Best Deli Sandwich in Jackson Hole.” Breakfast sandwiches from $5.75; breakfast daily 6–10 a.m.; 545 N. Cache St., Jackson; 307/733.7926, creeksidejacksonhole.com

A French-Style Alpine Start 

If you’re looking for a genteel start to your ski day, swing into Persephone Bakery in downtown Jackson. Recognized as a James Beard semi-finalist bakery for its French-inspired pastries, the bakery is in a whitewashed cottage listed on the Jackson Town Register of Historic Places (it was built in 1941 as the home of Jack and Hazel Smith). Get a pastry—the brioche cinnamon roll is among the most popular—and also order a croque madame. (Eat the pastry while the café’s kitchen prepares your croque madame). Served on fresh-baked levain (sourdough) bread, Persephone’s twist on the French classic includes a side of house-made tomato jam. Pastries from $4.75, the croque madame is $16; open daily 7 a.m.–6 p.m.; 145 E. Broadway Ave., Jackson; 307/200-6708, persephonebakery.com

A Pre-Tram Line Village Classic 

The Mangy Moose Café, below the Mangy Moose Saloon (one of Jackson Hole’s most iconic aprés-ski spots), opens early to serve both grab-and-go and made-to-order items. For the latter, the café’s classic omelet is hard to beat: three eggs, honey-glazed ham, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, and goat cheese with sides of hash browns and toast from local bakery 460 Bread. Omelette $18; breakfast daily 7–11 a.m.; 3295 Village Dr., Teton Village; 307/733-4913, mangymoose.com JH