Award-Winning Chef Sandy Dee Hall Opens Momo's Chinese in Basalt

The scent of frying garlic and searing pork hits you before you even see the sign. It’s a specific, heavy aroma that cuts through the thin, dry air of a Basalt afternoon. Two weeks ago, that smell started drifting out of a storefront on Main Street, signaling that Momo’s Chinese had finally opened its doors.

It wasn’t just another restaurant opening. It was the return of a staple, filling a void that had lingered since Ho Palace closed in 2021. But more importantly, it was the arrival of award-winning chef Sandy Dee Hall, who traded the concrete jungle of New York City for the mountains of the Roaring Fork Valley nine months ago.

“I came to the valley because I wanted a different life than what I had in New York for myself and Momo,” Hall said, referring not to a person, but to his husky. The dog shares her name with the restaurant, a branding choice that feels less like marketing and more like a personal tribute.

Hall didn’t just move here for the views. He moved here because he saw a gap in the market that needed filling. He looked at the local food scene and saw a disparity between quality and cost that he couldn’t ignore. Good food here was often expensive, and affordable food was often processed. He wanted to change that equation.

“I saw that there was a huge disparity between the food that was available and its quality and cost,” Hall said. “I want to give people the best quality, seasonal food that I can, and at a price that is affordable.”

That affordability isn’t a gimmick. It’s rooted in his own history. Growing up as an orphan, Hall knows what it’s like when good food is difficult to attain. He spent years in New York, working as a chef, getting featured in The New York Times and the Michelin guide, and running a non-profit called Sourc[ed] that taught urban kids about food access. He knows the system. Now, he’s trying to fix it for Basalt.

The menu is simple, which is often the hardest thing to do well. There’s no twenty-page list of fusion experiments. There’s pork dumplings, lo mein, fried rice, and egg rolls. Everything is made from scratch in-house. They roll the egg rolls. They make the mushroom and pork dumplings. The freshness comes through because there’s no middleman freezing the product.

Most of the meat comes from Colorado. In the summer, the vegetables will come from local farmers markets. It’s a commitment to the valley, not just a place to park a business.

Currently, Momo’s is take-out only. Delivery is in the works. But the demand is already there. Locals who missed their Chinese fix since Ho Palace closed are lining up. And Hall? He’s already looking ahead. He wants to add an Asian market to the space, importing goods that aren’t readily available in the valley. He’s thinking about experimenting with Indian cuisine next.

But for now, it’s just dumplings and the smell of garlic. It’s a small change in a big town, but it matters. It means you don’t have to drive to Glenwood Springs for a decent meal. It means the food on your plate might actually be fresh. And it means that sometimes, the best things in life really do come from a husky named Momo.