Eataly - Asti

The shop:

Eataly in Asti arrived about a year ago and we have been a little disappointed in the scale of the shop compared to Eataly in Turin. The Turin installment of Eataly is a mega-store and the Eataly in Asti is a more the size of a service station convenience store. Selection is limited and seems to be mostly focused on gift items like luxury chocolate and expensive jars of preserved vegetables rather than the raw ingredients that a serious cook wants to see. Gone is the huge vegetable stand and the beautiful salumis you see in Turin, not to mention the fantastic butcher's counter and fish market. In Asti we are treated to a half dozen different types of vacuumed-packed cuts of meat, an equal number of salamis and no fresh fish. In Switzerland when a big grocery store puts in a tiny convenience store they call it Coop Pronto instead of Coop or Migrolino instead of Migro. Eataly Asti is a mere shadow of Turin.

The restaurants:

On the up-side, they do offer two restaurants at the location. A trattoria that is open for lunch and dinner and a more formal restaurant that is only open for dinner. We met friends Canan and Umberto for lunch so our only option was the trattoria.

The trattoria consists of two rooms, both are light, airy and unpretentious. Menus for both restaurants can be found here. 

For starters:

Umberto ordered the Energetica vegetariana (picture below) a salad with mixed leaf lettuce, tomato, carrot, corn, fennel, artichoke and pomegranate, which he seemed to enjoy very much.

Canan, Melanie and I ordered La battuta di Vitello de "La Granda", which is essentially steak tartar accompanied with a mache, tomato, fennel and carrot salad decorated with a balsamic glaze. The Granda is an association of stockbreeders from the region around Cuneo raising the Piemontese breed of cattle. http://www.lagranda.it/index.asp (only in Italian). Eataly is among their selected retail network. They do not feed their animals food from animal origin nor food stored in a way that modifies their pH (ie no fermented food as the silomais (corn choped and kept under plastic to promote fermentation) and they promote phytotherapy and vaccination rather than traditional medicines. La Granda is the best Piemontese beef available. Granda is the Cuneo province. The dish was delicious. (thanks Umberto for this information)

For the main course:

Canan ordered Faggottini ai carciofi al profumo di timo which turned out to be very under-cooked and was sent back after a "discussion" with the waitress. Apparently, she wanted us to believe that they are supposed to taste like flavorless little balls of hard dough!

Umberto really enjoyed his Agnolotti "Antignano prodotto tipico" alle erbe fini, which are small meat-filled ravioli made by a local company and available around the world at your nearest Eataly location.

Melanie and I had Filetto di Maile al pan speziato which turned out to be a piece of rather chewy pork coated in a non-descript, mushy, bread-crumb coating. There was a hint of Chinese five-spice in the sauce and I enjoyed the flavors but the presentation was weak because of the breading on the pork, a rather sad re-warmed baked potato and some dessicated aubergine.

The wine:

Eataly has a very good reputation for stocking good wine so we decided to opt for the house white and the house red. The wine list is viewable here.

We tried to order the house white but it was sold-out and they did not offer us a substitute, so we ordered a half-bottle of nondescript Gavi. I don't know how much it cost, there was no price listed.

The red was a Barbera Sfusa Cantina sociale Castelnuovo Belbo which was good but not remarkable. The pricing was curious however, 2€/glass, 4€/2.5dl, 5€/5dl and 6€/liter. Needless to say, we opted for the liter.

Just desserts:

The dessert selection was written on a chalkboard without prices. Melanie and I just had a coffee for dessert and Canan had creme brulée which was soupy and slightly curdled. (sorry, no picture) Umberto had coffee-flavored panna cotta which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Service:

Considering that the restaurant was only about 40% full, service was slow, mildly impersonal and we were disappointed that we had to debate the fagottini with the waitress. The total was 104 euros after we asked them to remove Canan's fagottini which was still calculated in. When we paid we asked the cashier to split the bill 50/50, which he did, but we were not given an itemised version of the bill, only told what to pay and then given a receipt for what we paid. We had no idea how everything tallied.

In summary:

Eataly prides itself on presenting exceptional quality food carefully prepared. We have eaten in Turin and it has always been a pleasure. Using the Turin model as a benchmark we were disappointed in our experience in Asti. It wasn't that bad but we had hoped for more.

Thank you to Canan and Umberto for taking  the pictures. (my camera's battery was dead)

Le Bouquet Garni in Village-Neuf, France

Melanie and I had to go to Basel on business today, so we decided to hop the border to France and have lunch at A L’Aigle in Village Neuf where we had had a fantastic dinner back in May.

Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed, but the restaurant “Le Bouquet Garni”, located right across the street, was open and it looked charming, so we decided to give it a try.

Lucky decision for us! The restaurant is as charming on the inside as it looks from the street. Although the decore is out-dated and well-used, we found it a delightful change from those “not-a-hair-out-of-place” restaurants we usually encounter in Switzerland.

When we arrived at 12:15 the restaurant was about 1/3 full. By the time we had our apero, there wasn’t a seat left in the house. Everything, from our aperos to our desserts, was hand-made and executed with a high attention to detail.

Here are some of the highlights: (click on any of the pictures to enlarge)

Above: a slice of foie gras with a salad of endive and sprouts with a fig and nut compote and orange peal marmalade.

Above: Escalopes of pan-seared foie gras de canard served over a tartelette tatin of apples.

Above: a feuillete of wild champignons.

Everything was just perfect, including our 22 Euro bottle of Saint Chinian.

For all of you frugal gourmets, the lunch menu will be irrestible! For an amazing 10.50 Euros you get:

• A lovely pumpkin soup with smoked bacon lardons…
• A very delicious (but slightly plain looking) plate of incredibly tender pork ragu and spiral noodles…
• And a delicious, home-made, apple strudel.

Here is our bill. Click on it to enlarge.

We have programmed the address into our GPS and we will return soon!

Le Bouquet Garni
94, rue du Général De Gaulle
F-68128 Village-Neuf
France - Alsace
Tél +33 (0)3 89 69 88 05
email contact@bouquetgarni.fr

Open for lunch from 11h30 to 14h, dinner from 18h30 to 21h30
Closed Sunday evening and Monday. Call for reservations or you will get stuck in the backroom (like us), which is ok, but the main room is nicer.

Restaurant Le Corte in Odalengo Grande

Piedmont is a place where extraordinary restaurants are not rare and yet, once in a while, you stumble on a restaurant that completely catches you off guard and thoroughly delights you in every way. Le Corte is just that sort of restaurant.

We had eaten at Le Corte once, and it was good, and we had been meaning to return but for one reason or another we never got around to doing it. Well recently some friends visited and we decided it was high time to go back. A quick check on the web page and it was easy to see that everything had changed. Formerly owned by Anna Cortevesio and Corrado Calvo, Le Corte has been operated by chef/owner Marco Casalini since March 2010.

Le Corte is an old school house and is well off the beaten track in Vallestura a frazione (comune) of Odalengo Grande. It’s remote country location ensures you of a quiet dining experience, especially during the week. We arrived on a Wednesday evening and Marco greeted us at the door with an enthusiastic welcome and from the first introduction we felt his natural honest warmth and graciousness. We were seated on the screened terrace which seats 15 or 20 people in a tasteful minimalist modern décor and we had the terrace to ourselves.

Moments after we were seated, Marco brought us a bottle of “Corteranzo Spumante” a delicious sparkler made just a few kilometers away at the winery Isabella http://www.isabellavini.it/ in Corteranzo. Made of Chardonnay and a touch of Moscato, it was refreshingly dry and delicious and the perfect way to start the evening.

Although there is a menu on the webpage, we were happy to put ourselves in Marco’s hands and let him bring us a tasting menu of everything he had prepared that day.

To say Marco is a passionate Italian chef barely scratches the surface. He is a local produce fanatic and spends all of his spare time looking for interesting and seasonal local ingredients. Marco cooks and serves all the dishes himself with the help of Simone Gennaro his sous-chef. During the evening’s conversation he told us about finding an outstanding source of eggs nearby and confessed to paying one Euro each for them, but ‘the price isn’t important, quality comes first’ he told us. One of our courses contained one of these precious eggs and I can vouch for their outstanding quality. His Euros were well spent!

Course after course, the food came out. Some of the highlights were: A poached egg topped with a fillet of “tinca gobba” (a local fresh water fish) and guanciale a kind of bacon made from pig's cheek. (sorry, no picture)

A roasted red pepper flan, over roasted yellow peppers and very mild anchovies and onions (I think). (unfortunately my picture did not come out very well). We drank an outstanding Isabella Carpe Diem Chardonnay with the first few courses.

Then came the main course which was house made Tajarin with black truffles, bacon bits and a fonduta di toma (local cheese) sauce. Tajarin is a fettuccini type of pasta and the traditional recipe is 40 egg yolks and one kilo of flour and a pinch of salt.

We drank a beautiful bottle of 2008 Ruché by Cascina Tavjin 14% with the pasta course. The food was delicious but there was simply no way we could eat a roast course on top of all this.

Dessert was a tartlet filled with crème anglaise and topped with poached apple and gianduja chocolate.

 
Followed by two very nice grappas from Antica Distilleria di Altavilla. The first was a 1997 Grappa di Moscato and the second was a 2001 Grappa di Ruché. Both were lovely but the Moscato was softer and easier to drink.

The price was 45 euros per person wine, tax and tip included and worth every penny, but just as important as the food was the warm and passionate reception we received from Marco.

MARCO CASALINI - OSTERIA LE CORTE

ttp://www.lecortedicasalini2010.com/

Via Odalengo Grande, 2

15020 ODALENGO GRANDE (AL) Fraz. Vallestura

Telephone: 0142 949044 - Marco understands a little English but is shy to speak. If you say "prenotazione questa sera per quattro, ad otto", he will understand and you reservations this evening for four at 8:00.



Boccondivino - Bra

It has been a few years since our last visit to Bra so we stopped by Boccondivino again...
Click on the pictures to enlarge (it's worth it).











I needed to take a test picture to start things off... so this is the bread basket ;)











This is "Lardo, salsiccia di Bra e carne cruda battuta al coltello": €8.00.











My picture of " Insalata di pomodori e fagiolini" didn't come out very well but I hope you get the idea. €4.00.











Coniglio "Grigio di Carmagnola" allArneis: €11.00.











This is "Tortino di zucchine con burro e parmigiano": €8.00.


















Our wine was a Roero Arneis from Cascina Pioiero: €11.00.


















A special treat was a glass of the 1927 Alveria sherry at €4.50.










Semifreddo al croccante e pistacchio di Bronte: €5.00.











Budino al torrone e miele: €5.00.

In summery: everything was perfect but we were surprised to see that there were only 14 covers for a Saturday lunch (about 1/3rd full).

Lanterna Blu in Gaminella

Pasquetta is the day after Easter when most Italians in our area head for the country side and have a picnic and barbecue but we were short on time and decided to visit Lanterna Blu in Gaminella.
Since we had stuffed ourselves at the Canon d'Oro the day before we decided to give the frito-misto a miss but we ate everything else. The place was packed with jovial locals, the food was just as good as the Canon d'Oro and the service was very friendly.
Antipasti:
- A soft cheese spiral rolled in prosciutto cotto
- A puff choux filled with Montemagno mousse
- Cotechino
- Insalata de carne crudaParmigiano flan
- Asparagus terrine
- Pastry nests with fonduta and a fried quail egg
- Branzino in a puff pastry shell
Primi:
- Veal lasagna
- Mushroom risotto
Secondo:
Big platters of Frito misto were offered but we gave it a miss.
Dolce:
- Pistachio cake
- Bunet
- Pineapple cake
The Wines:
- 2 bottles of Barbera Monferrato (vivace)
- 1 bottle of Malvasia
- 1 bottle of sparkling brut

30 Euros per person all inclusive (it would have been 5 euros higher if we had eaten the frito misto).

Lanterna Blu
Frazione Gaminella
15020 Mombello AL
http://www.ristorantelanternablu.it/default_eng.htm
info@ristorantelanternablu.it
Tel: 0142 944120
Fax: 0142 944120
Google map
GPS: 45.1196283, 8.2435416

Canon d'Oro in Cocconato

We had Easter lunch at Canon d'Oro in Cocconato yesterday. It was my first time at this restaurant and we had a great time. Food quality was very high and service was very friendly and presented table-side.
The courses were as follows:
Antipasti:
- Liver paté with toast points and a tiny salad
- Castelmagno cheese mousse sandwiched between dried apples
- Insalata de carne cruda with parmigiano and celery slivers
- A tiny salad with a sliver goat cheese wrapped in Bresaola
- Artichoke flan
- Asparagus with fonduta
Primi:- Agnolotti in broth
- Risotto Parmigiano
- Tajarin with vegetable sauce
Secondi:
- Guinea hen with Carrots
- Bolito (cotechino, testa, lingua, reale)
- Roast leg of lamb
- Veal roast
Dolce:
- Vanilla gelato
- Bunet
- Fresh fruit
- Lemon torte
Wines:1 bottle of Bava Cortese.
3 bottles of very nice 13.5 % house Barbera
1 bottle of Malvasia
1 bottle of a spumante brut
Bosso grappa (open bottle on the table)

Note: you can eat every course there is no "or" in this list
The total was 48 Euros per person, all inclusive.

Cannon d'Oro Hotel & Restaurant
Piazza Cavour 21
14023 Cocconato (Asti) Italy
e-mail: cannondoro@cannondoro.it
Tel. +390141.907794
Fax +390141.907024
Closed on Monday and Tuesday
http://www.cannondoro.it/
Google Map
GPS: 45.0860831, 8.0401561

Cascina Martini in Coteranzo

We have been continuing our string of fine dining and the latest restaurant on our hit-list was Cascina Martini in Coteranzo where Gianluigi Giachino bends the traditional Piemontese ingredients into stylish and fresh new creations. Amazingly there were only six covers (including us) the Thursday night we were there. The restaurant decor is what I would call sophisticated Italian country and a great deal of attention is paid on all levels without becoming fussy or pretentious. There was a 40 Euro tasting menu but we had all been spending too much time at the dinner tables over this Easter weekend so we decided to just have a starter and a main course. In retrospect I think this was a mistake and we should have ordered the tasting menu but that is how it goes, sometimes you just can't go that extra mile.

The food:
Amuse bouche was a frito misto of assorted fried things: cod balls, aubergine cubes and asparagus, accompanied by an herb frittata and thick sliced of salami.

Primi: We all ordered the delicious duck breast salad and we all very happy we did.

Secondi: Melanie ordered a orozotto made with whole wheat orzo, fresh peas and cream. It was superb. Our friends ordered the rabbit with tajarin pasta. I didn't try theirs but it smelled fantastic and sent their eyes rolling back. I ordered boccatini of veal which turned out to be large chunks of veal in two sauces and was delicious and delicate.

Dessert was a grappa for me, Melanie had a 67% dark chocolate souffle with a soft gooey center. It was perfect.

Ristorante CASCINA MARTINI
Via Gianoli
1515030 Murisengo Fraz.Corteranzo (AL)
Tel:0141.693015
Fax:0141.693015
cascinamartini@cascinamartini.com
http://www.cascinamartini.com/
Closed on Monday - dinner only - lunch by appointment
Their home page is a bit difficult to navigate but there is a really nice blog entry with lots of good pictures: here
Google map
GPS: 46.1644103, 10.0657473

Cascina Rosengana in Cocconato

Cascina Rosengana is a lovingly restored farm that has been converted into a restaurant and B&B. The food is locally grown and organic and all of a very high quality. Our waiter was Massimo and I suspect one of the owners. He spoke English well and was warm and welcoming. The dishes were presented without fuss or pretention and the whole experience was a delight.
The full menu with all the dishes listed below, grappa and coffee was €24 per person.

Antipasti:
Salami crudo & cotto. (No picture)

Crispy parmesan cannolli filled with a goat’s cheese mousse.

Spinach quiche with cheese.

Carpaccio with a creamy gorgonzola sauce.
FYI: Carne Cruda Monferrina means ground or chopped raw meat (like tartar) and Carne Cruda “Albese” means slices raw meat (like carpaccio).

Primi:
Agnolotti plin with sage and butter. 

Tajarin with ground veal sauce.

Secondi:
Vitello con salsa nocciola.

Roasted Guinea hen with its sauce.

Fried potatoes and spinach was served with the meats.

Dolce:Bavarian cream with moscato raisins.
Hazelnut torte with a thick cream sauce.
Chocolate torte with a thick cream sauce.

Our grappas and coffee were included in the price of the meal.

Cascina Rosengana

Via Liprandi 50

14023 Cocconato

Italy

Tel.: +39 0141907857

Fax: +39 0141907914

Webpage: http://www.cascinarosengana.it/
Google map

GPS: 45.0830724, 8.0573741

The Pizzaiolo of Sessant

“Tell me” Paolo asked reflectively “do you like pizza?” It was a simple enough question and easily enough answered. “Of course I do!” I replied, knowing full well that we have not even scratched the surface of the question. To me, pizza is a measure of a connoisseur. Pizza is complicated and complex, great pizza cannot be completely understood in only one day. Pizza takes time, much more time than you might think.
Most of us think of pizza as fast food but in reality it is a true slow-food. Great pizza takes years….perhaps a life-time to perfect. Pizza is ancient and there has never been a dish created that can compete with the popularity of pizza.
“I know a place,” he told me…“it is a special place...” Now, when an Astigiani tells you something like this you need to pay attention. What he is really telling you is a secret and secrets don’t usually flow easily in the Monferrato. “I know a pizzaiolo that is champion of all of Europe,” he informed me “and he has a little place near here.” This revelation surprised me because the north of Italy isn’t that well known for pizza. Usually you hear about great pizza coming from Naples or Sicily.
Some days passed by with no mention of pizza so I thought I would ask again about the famous pizzaiolo. “Yes, yes,” Paolo assured me “we can go there." “How about this Thursday?” I asked, and with a quick phone call the date was confirmed.
We met at a crossroads north of Asti and Paolo guided us up the hill to the restaurant. It was an unassuming place with a sign hanging out front that did little to indicate the greatness that was contained within the four walls.
For me, walking into a restaurant with a trusted friend that knows the owner must be one of the most satisfying feelings in the world and this was certainly our case. Paolo introduced us and there was a comfortable feeling between Mario and I right from the beginning.
Mario is Sicilian, he and his attractive Spanish wife Alicia, from Marbella, run the place single-handedly. It only took a matter of minutes for us to become friends, in spite of the language barrier. He took us upstairs to see the extra dining room and we discovered that the entire stairwell was covered with his awards and certificates. He has one degree after the other and countless awards including no less than three European championships. “I won first place three times in a row so they decided I can no longer compete. I have to allow someone else a chance.” he told me. It is a good thing they didn’t apply the same logic to Michael Schumacher or Tiger Woods, I thought out loud!
Back downstairs the wall were covered with pictures of Mario posing with various celebrities including famous footballers and several with the various reigning Miss Italys. Apparently a good pizzaiolo has more staying power than a beauty queen!
We got a chance to see his work station and the wood burning oven. He had a chilled mise-en-place set up with all the toppings and a big marble work surface. The oven was roaring with burning wood and the balls of dough were all lined up, limp and ready to be worked into pizza crusts.
“Ok, let's go.” he said and he slapped down a ball of dough. He moved incredibly fast and the pizza crust was formed in a matter of seconds. A quick drizzle of olive oil and the whole thing was scooped up with a big stainless steel peel and in one quick movement, deposited on the floor of the oven. "Test pizza," he said "just to check the temperature." The crust immediately began to bubble and in a minute or so it was brown and delicious. Out it came and was cut up and piled on a plate for our “apero”.
Happy with the temperature, he started our order. In seconds he had formed each crust and almost as quickly he had the tomato sauce spread and the toppings distributed. He worked with lightening speed. Paolo told me he can build 10 pizzas at a time and not miss a beat. I never saw a wasted movement nor a single mistake.
Now, I have to admit, I become immediately infatuated when I encounter brilliance. I am often nearly in tears when I hear a perfect aria by Maria Callas and I can stare at a good painting for hours without feeling the time. I have paid huge sums of money for the opportunity to try the food of a famous chef and the experience I had at Mario’s was no less important than those things. Was it the best pizza I ever had? Easily! But what was more important was that it came from such a nice guy, whose entire life has been devoted to making the best pizza possible. A true artisan! I couldn’t have enjoyed the pizza more if my own brother had made it!

Mario and Alicia Giangreco
La Malagueña
Piazza Umberto 1,
37-Fraz Sessant str Asti - Chivasso (a few kilometers north-west of Asti
Tel/Fax: 0141 21 05 47 or Cell 339 32 54 11 10
ma_giangreco@hotmail.com
Open for lunch but he only serves pizzas in the evening.

Comments:
Dear Edorovio,
I wanted to share the experience with someone who would appreciate it. I was enthralled with your blog on Mario's that I stumbled into doing research for our vacation to the Langhe. We were moving from our 3 day stay in Neive down to La Morra and I decided to go up through Asti and try to find Sessant in the daylight. You know how that goes at night in the region. Well it was about 11:30 am and there was the yellow building in your photo. I'm a pizza fanatic and I go everywhere that I can to try the latest and greatest. Your blog got me fired up. So we pull off on the right hand side and I walk up to the building. The metal door was still down and I was reading the hours for a nighttime return. I turn around to get back in the car and out comes a guy who looks like he just woke up dressed in his pizzaiolo whites. My Italian is non existent but I blurted out something stupid in half Italian/half Spanish about "Hey you are el Campione Pizzaiolo del Mundo and we came all the way from California "blah blah. I think he got the gist and was flattered/incredulous.
Anyway, we returned that Sunday night after spending 3 hours at the annual Barbaresco tasting and not spitting very much. Probably not advisable, but I'm not missing Mario's for nothing. Well, It was jammed that night but we got the little corner table for a great view of the man in action. Fantastic to see a real pro at work in any field of endeavor. The one minute in the oven was a mind-blower also. My wife put her digital in movie mode and now we have a 2 minute or less film of Mario making 6 pizzas. He made 50 or 60 while we ate ours. The people of Asti region are so lucky, a lot of them probably don't even realize what they've got there. Anyway, we got up to pay our respects upon leaving and he stopped what he was doing (very busy) and poured some Limoncellos and we went to the stairway to look at the hall of fame. Mama brought the bambino up at this time to put him to bed.
Class act all the way around and fantastic pizza.
Thanks for your blog.
I told him Edorovio sent us.
Jeff M. from California

Dining in Interlaken and the Berner Oberland

We lived in Interlaken for 4 years and I suggest:

Gasthof Alte Post
3764 Weissenburg
Tel. +41 (0)33 783 15 15
Fax +41 (0)33 783 15 78
On the road from Interlaken to Gstaad. Old coach stop. Very charming dining room. Very good food, served table side and you get seconds. Prices are moderate.

In Interlaken there is a good wine bar near the "West" train station:
Vineria Grapperia "Per Bacco"
Rugenparkstrasse 2
3800 Interlaken

Have had many very fine meals at the beautiful
Grand Hotel Beau Rivage
Höheweg 211
3800 Interlaken
Tel +41 (0)33 826 70 07
Fax: +41 (0)33 826 70 08

The best wood-fired pizza in Interlaken is definitely:
Pizzeria Horn
Harderstr.35
3800 Interlaken
Tel. ++41 33 822 92 92
Fax ++41 33 823 50 80
A bit off the beaten path, but worth it. Be sure to order the antipasti.

A must is:
Restaurant Bären
Seestrasse 2
3800 Unterseen (by Interlaken)
Telefon: 033 822 75 26
Fax: 033 822 75 28
Traditional Swiss food in a tiny ancient chalet.

Another must is the Restaurant Hirschen
Hauptstrasse 11
3800 Matten (by Interlaken)
Tel. ++41 (0)33 822 15 45
Fax ++41 (0)33 823 37 45
They grow most of their own meat and veg and source everything locally.

One tip in Interlaken...skip all the restaurants on the main strip in the center of town. They are expensive and packed with tourists...except McDonalds which is full of locals. You probably already knew that though.

Café Gourmand in Geneva

A warm and inviting restaurant with a bright Indo-Moroccan decor. The aroma of exotic spices welcomes you in as soon as you enter the front door. We went for a Monday lunch and nearly every table was occupied. Café Gourmand is a small restaurant run by Bea and Sergio, there is one waiter and one sous-chef. Attention to detail is paid especially in the cooking department. It was recommended we order the 55 Chf "Menu Gourmand" and we started things off with an outstanding and very unusual apero made with ginger and fruit juice. The spice from the ginger is surprising and you will almost think you are drinking a high-octane cocktail but in fact there is no alcohol in it at all.

Here is Sergio's recipe:
"COCKTAIL DE JUS FRUITS AU GINGEMBRE FRAIS"
200 gr. fresh ginger
6 oranges
1 small pineapple
6 mango
1 lemon
cane syrup to taste
Pass the fruits through a juicer, add syrup to taste and leave to rest in the fridge for 6 hours. Serve cold in a champagne flute with a cub of ice.

The first course was a very nice pasta dish called "Linguine Camélia", it was a spiced saffron tomato and cream sauce with filets of oranges and tiny shrimp served over linguine.

The main course was slices of filet of beef in a spicy cream-based sauce served with steamed Basmati rice and steamed spinach.

Dessert was the decadent "Fondant au Chocolate" which was like a warm and very rich chocolate mousse.

We had a lovely glass of Chasselas de Peissy AOC "les Perrières" Genève at 3.20 a deci and a second glass of a delicious Syrah-Grenache, Pont du Gard 2003 vigneron d'Estezargue at 4.90 a deci. I always feel a good house-wine speaks volumes about the restaurant.

Although we had the 55 Chf menu, there is a daily special that starts at only 18,50 Chf and So you could get in and out with the plat-du-jour and a glass of wine for under 22 Chf and that is really a bargain for Geneva!

Sergio manages to cook a very successful French-Indo-Arabic fusion and it was a pleasure to be there and he and Bea made us feel very welcome.

Café Gourmand
35 rue des Bains
1205 Genève
Tél: 022/328 56 56
hours:11h30 to 15h00
and 18h30 to 24h00
Closed on the week-end
http://www.cafegourmand.ch

Le Cheval Rouge in Saint Menehould France

We were coming back from England the other day on the A4 and stumbled on to a little find! The restaurant is called Le Cheval Rouge in the town of Saint Menehould (pronounced "Menou") between Châlons-en-Champagne and Verdun where Dom Pierre Pérignon was born. The town is famous for "Pied de Porc à la Sainte Menehould" pork trotters bound and boiled for 12 hours in stock with white wine, herbs and spices, according to a centuries-old recipe. As the story goes, when Louis XVI tried to flee France in 1791, he was undone by his love of trotters: He stopped in Sainte Menehould to sup on pieds de porc and was recognized by the post master and later arrested by Revolutionary Guards. Ever since, pig's trotter's have been the edible symbol of liberté, egalité and fraternité. A democratic dish with a revolutionary pedigree. But the truth is I didn't see anyone eating them in the restaurant. What I did see on every plate was a big pile of the most beautiful golden brown pommes-frites cooked in the pork fat from the above mentioned pigs. I watched as fifty year-old business men ordered extra plates of frites and ate them one by one with their fingers! The kitchen is a serious one, knows how to make their clients happy and pays close attention to detail. They offer a packed brasserie (where we ate) and a formal dining room. Deserts looked fantastic but we didn't have room for it because of all the frites. We will definitely return!
http://www.lechevalrouge.com