© Roberta
Muir 2001
Not Italian, despite the name, but named for Switzerland’s most famous
Opera singer. Downstairs is more rustic
and upstairs, more formal (after a fashion).
Known for dishes such as calves’ head vinaigrette, bollito misto of
tongue, snout, knuckle & brisket, and a “haggis-style” sausage. Downstairs serves nothing but these types of
meats, which are selected from a large trolley and accompanied simply by bread. Upstairs, although the theme continues, the
range is more varied. Soups show a
penchant for alcohol, with cream of tomato and gin, marrow bouillon with
whisky, and oxtail with brandy. The
pan-fried liver was excellent, cooked beautifully rare, and the Tournedos
Rossini were so well rested that they melted in the mouth. A cep ravioli in a creamy walnut sauce was
moreish and surprisingly not cloying despite the creamy walnut sauce, although
the Red Epesse from the Lake Geneva region (50% Gamay 50% Pinot Noir) helped
cut through the richness. Quirky
Teutonic service, which becomes amiable by the end of the evening, adds to the
atmosphere. Don’t be surprised if a
second serving arrives just as you finish the first, or that initial reluctance
to accept it meets with some persuasion: come hungry! Desserts are also tempting.
A panna cotta, creamy, vanilla seed-studded and just holding together,
was excellent, despite the passé presentation of swirled coulis and fruit
pieces.
Schauplatzgasse
16, Bern, 031 311 2142
An amuse-bouche
proves to be more of an “amuse d’oeuil”, quite mild in taste, but presenting a
stunning display as a green glass plate divided into 4 sections held a small
quenelle of salmon tartare with dots of reduced balsamic; a scalloped
millefuille of herb paste with a thin beetroot strip curled around it; 2
slivers of smoked salmon with dill and mustard sprouts; and tiny cuttlefish
tentacles with a dice of red and yellow roasted capsicum. An accompanying white merlot from Ticino
(Bianco di Merlot, Ticino 1999, from Delea in Losone) was such a novelty, that
I almost forget to think about the taste.
Like most Swiss whites it is a dry, palate-refreshing wine.
Margrit Schürch
describes her husband’s food as “not Bircher muesli cuisine”, going on to
explain that he likes to keep each dish to a combination of only 2 or 3 tastes,
rather than complicate them with a challenging clash of flavours.
An entrée of
“giant” prawns with calves’ head in a crustacean sauce was two perfectly cooked
prawns (still translucent), with the succulence of the small cubes of
gelatinous calf’s head echoing the texture of the prawns. Duck livers, perfectly seared in a very hot
pan, were served with a smooth, sweet, slightly smoky onion purée providing a
perfect foil. Scottish lamb was served
rolled in a herb crust, rare, but well rested.
The herb crust was quite salty (the way the Europeans would expect it)
but provided a perfectly crunchy textural contrast to the very tender
lamb. The only disappointing dish was a
“chicken in half mourning” using Emmentaler truffles. The chicken (from Bresse) was dry, due to the European obsession
with not undercooking chicken and the truffles had some aroma but fell short of
expectations. The accompanying sauce
(salty, savoury and mushroomy) and buttered spinach were, however,
excellent. A perfect tarte tatin for
two was cooked á la minute and well worth the wait, served with an interesting creamy
thyme ice cream. Good coffee and petite
fours followed an excellent meal.
Kirchbergstrasse 70, Burgdorf, 034 422 2275
A visit to the
Emmental show cheese factory in Affoltern (6km from Burgdorf) can
include a self-guided tour of the cheese making process. Nearby, climb to the Lueg lookout for
fabulous views of the Alps on a fine day (and great walking tracks if you’re
feeling fit) or an eerie view of the higher alpine peaks and trees poking
through the “fog sea” on overcast days.
Restaurant
Lueg
This rustic “inn”
at the bottom of the Lueg lookout, offers the best rösti, fabulous roast pork
and true country hospitality. Here you
can sit in the bar and enjoy coffee or a regional wine, beer or schnapps with the
local farmers or dine on authentic Swiss country fare in the restaurant. This is some of the finest country cooking I
have encountered in Switzerland.
Lueg Strasse 535, Kaltacker 034 435 1223
Between Affoltern and Burgdorf is the village of Heimiswil.
Restaurant Landgasthof
Taverne zum Löwen
Rustic formality
best describes the dichotomy evident in this traditional Gasthof. Silver cloches are ceremonially removed from
the main course plates, yet paper towels are provided in the bathrooms. The building is typical old-style Swiss with
dark wood and lace curtains, but an eclectic art collection hangs on the walls,
as Heimiswil has long been an artists’ haven.
Linen, cutlery and glassware are all fine but butter is cut off from
large, locally made, blocks at the table.
The complex menu of local specialities and modern touches (wasabi makes
several appearances, but was undetectable in the actual dishes), also offers a
4, 5 or 6 course degustation option.
Noodles (which
usually means fettuccine in Switzerland) with smoked salmon, dill and Noilly Prat
sauce was very tasty and a leek soup was rich and satisfying, without being too
creamy as Swiss soups often can be. The
most impressive dish however, was a sparklingly clear bouillon with bone
marrow, beautifully clarified with superb depth of flavour. A hot-smoked, local trout came unadorned
except for a half lemon, but accompanied by a plate of minced onion,
horseradish cream, diced olives and caper berries. A dessert of “Äpfel Chüechli” was the most memorable dish of all:
slices of apple in a very light beer batter served with a crème anglais. Other desserts also looked appetizing, but
be warned that Swiss “crème caramel” are generally disappointing to a palate
used to the sweeter, softer French style.
The wine list here is very comprehensive covering both old and new world
well and includes a number of Australian wines (from de Bortolli, Brown
Brothers, Tyrrells, Penfolds, Ninth Island and Passing Cloud), and some French
Première Grand Crûs at very reasonable prices.
The house wine is a red made from the vines growing on the side of the
building, which produce about 500kg grapes, or 100 bottles, per year. An extensive range of marc and schnapps are
also offered and the coffee is good, as can nearly always be expected in
Switzerland. While the service is not
5-star by Australian standards, it is informed and friendly.
Dorfstrasse 2, Heimiswil 034 422 32 06
Sumiswald is a village at the base of the Bernese and Luzerne Alps. Within a short drive from here there are
many mountain roads, which in good weather offer spectacular Alpine scenery,
and nearly all reach a restaurant or inn where the view can be enjoyed over a
restorative coffee or schnapps before the return journey.
Landgasthof Bären
This is the place
to enjoy good Emmentaler cuisine in comfortable surroundings with friendly
service. Here you’ll find a reasonably
extensive menu, including the usual rösti, wurst, soups and salads all very
well done, and a good wine list. Very
reasonable bed and breakfast rates, and a delicious breakfast buffet, make this
a great base from which to conduct day trips into the surrounding countryside.
Marktgasse 1,
Sumiswald, 034 431 1022 (www.baeren-sumiswald.ch)
Chrüteroski’s
Moospinte
The directions to
this restaurant, deep in the countryside, are almost as interesting as the
menu, but don’t let that put you off this unique experience. “Chrüteroski” (Herb Oskar), as he is known,
spent many years as a cowherd in the alpine pastures, learning the culinary and
medicinal secrets of the Alpine herbs, before deciding to open his own
restaurant cooking with these products.
He follows a strictly seasonal pattern (and has in fact published 4
cookbooks, one for each season) and adopts an almost Asian philosophy of food
combinations, life-force and healing properties of food. To ensure diners properly understand his
detailed menu, he personally comes to each table and gives an impassioned
description of the entire menu before orders are taken. Here he expounds his philosophy: ‘to feed
the body winter foods, for example, in the height of summer, is unhealthy, this
is when the body needs more fluid and, therefore, when foods such as tomatoes
and cucumbers (high in water and minerals) are abundant’.
While awaiting
this description we sipped a local aperitif, a very tart pink sparkling drink,
made from local wild berries and white wine (and, be warned, quite
potent). Good linen, flatware and
glassware are used and the service is friendly if not always polished. The room differs from most Swiss country
restaurants in its absence of heavy woodwork; instead light walls are decorated
with pencil sketches of local herbs.
Prices are higher here than would be expected in such a remote location,
but people travel from far and near to try this unique experience. Three set-menus are offered vegetarian,
“nostalgie” (traditional) or seafood.
An entrée of tuna
carpaccio is accompanied by wonderful caper-like pickled wild garlic flower
buds, and an unnecessary bland terrine of leek, tomato and olive mousse. A yellow pea, white truffle and tapioca soup
is velvet smooth, sweet, creamy, truffley, salty and very good. Next is a firm, translucent fillet of
Scottish wild-caught salmon smoked in-house over tobacco, hemp and pine, served
with an excellent rich, salty, sweet/sour sauerkraut and cranberries. A wonderfully coloured beetroot risotto
accompanies al dente “dorsch” (a local fish) cheeks and wafer thin slices of
dried lemons with a wonderfully intense flavour. Emmentaler beef fillet arrives very rare, perfectly set, but
nicely seared on the outside, with a meltingly good leek and lentil
fondue. The cheese selection, as always
in Switzerland, is impressive, with 19 soft and 10 hard cheeses, nearly all
unpasteurised. A sheep’s milk white
mould from Zurich stole the show, although a sweet Austrian blue, reminiscent
of King Island Roaring 40’s, was also very good, as was a Parmesan-like 5 year
old Sprintz. The dessert cart features
no less than 20 desserts. All are made
in-house, and all looked very good. A
tangy lemon tart, vanilla caramel flan and summer-pudding-style berry gratin
all tasted very good too.
Presentation is
still very 1980’s with sprinklings of herbs and spices around the edge of the
(often unusually shaped and coloured) plates and unnecessary swirls and
garnishes, but this is still found throughout Switzerland. It’s worth the trip to try some of the
unusual ingredients and experience Oski’s passion. He does also market himself rather well with his cookbooks,
children’s story books (based around travel and food), all only in German
unfortunately, and a range of house made herbal preserves, syrups and the like,
for sale.
Münchenbuchsee, 031 869
0113
This Gasthof is
situated at the foot of the Stockhorn Mountain with a view of Switzerland’s
most famous peaks, the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Built in the late 1600’s as an inn, it has been in the hands of
the current owner, Alfred Zurbrügg, since 1982.
Alfred prides
himself on providing as much of his own produce as possible. He raises pigs, which become smallgoods,
including the prosciutto-style ham and ribs seen drying under the eaves near
the entrance. From his dairy comes the
delicious butter, which arrives at the table in giant 4kg blocks.
Entering this
restaurant is like walking into a museum, many antique documents and everyday
necessities of past Swiss life are displayed.
Copper pots and old waffle-irons adorn the walls with bunches of drying
herbs, all lit by candles and carbine lanterns. Racks of dusty wine bottles, including some rare Swiss varieties
such as Humagne, cover one wall. The
low ceiling, dark wood, lace runners and curtains, and network of rooms from
which to choose, all maintain the feeling of stepping back in time. The menu is compiled using fresh and
seasonal produce, to create what Chef Zurbrügg calls “good plain cooking”. A choice of 5 or 6 main dishes is offered
daily, with a buffet selection of entrées and desserts.
An amuse-bouche
demitasse of bouillon, served with a local sparkling wine based on cider, was
followed by platters of local hot smoked trout, Norwegian smoked salmon &
prawns, cold cuts (most produced in house) such as Bündnerfleisch, prosciutto
& smoked udder, and lettuce & tomato with a typically creamy Swiss
dressing. Rösti, the house specialty,
accompanied Geschnetzeltes (thin slices of veal in a creamy mushroom sauce),
along with the deliciously sweet local yellow carrots (Pfälzer Rüebli) and
braised fennel. Second (and third)
helpings of all dishes are brought around to the table until guests are truly
sated. But make sure you save room for
the dessert buffet, which, in Swiss style, is nearly all cream-based. The meringues with fresh cream and the
‘burnt cream’ are must-try local specialities, but the chocolate mousse, mango
cream, and raspberry cream were also very good.
This restaurant
is popular for functions and large family gatherings as they can also arrange
yodellers, alphorn players, flag throwers or even William Tell plays (the
fiercely patriotic Swiss can’t get enough of their own folklore), so don’t be
surprised what you see on a visit here.
Uebeschi, (10 minutes off the “Thun-Süd”
motorway exit, on the road to Allmendingen/Amsoldingen) 033 345 1522