All of us here at the Lookout will be welcoming our friend Jack Daniel’s back to the Killington for the 21^st Annual “Taste of Tennessee Ski Week” February 23-26.

It is a week filled with special Jack Daniel’s sponsored events, contests, games and excitement. Almost every restaurant and tavern on the mountain gets “in the spirit” when Jack stops by for his yearly visit and the Lookout is one of Jack’s favorite spots.

We will be hosting a Jack Daniel’s Après-Ski Party on Friday, February 24, starting at 4 p.m., and you’ll want to be here for a chance win some great Jack “Swag” and meet the Jack Daniel’s girls.

The highlights of the week are the restaurant contests which include the “Dine Around Town” entrée contest, the “Paint the Town Jack” statue decorating contest and the Jack Daniel’s Drink Competition. The Lookout will be looking to win all three this year to add to our trophy case!

As you may already know, the Lookout is the reigning champion in the entrée category and you can bet that Chef “Sneaky” Pete has a trick or two up his sleeve as he looks to defend our title! Last year’s Jack Daniel’s Surf and Turf, featuring a Teriyaki Sirloin Steak & Maple Jalapeno Salmon was a favorite of Head Judge Lynne Tolley (Jack Daniel’s Great Grandniece) and we promise that this year’s entrée will be even tastier!

Thanksgiving is next week – yikes! Time to get our game on. Things are looking good here at the Lookout. We have an all-staff meeting tomorrow to kick off the 2011-2012 season, we’ve updated our website to a new cooler look (we even have a mobile site to match now!), we’re going to attempt to keep this blog updated with some news about the Lookout as well as what’s going on in the Killington area (we may have some guest posts, too). And, we’ve redone our menu this year, which I think you’ll like.  We changed about 30% of the menu to new items but didn’t do the basic “freshening up.” We actually worked with a lot of the recipes to make them healthier – reducing calories without compromising the quality and taste of what you know and love. It sounds easy but it was pretty tricky. You’ll find less calories in our salad dressings and sauces among other things, but the same great taste. Let us know what you think and stop by for a bite!