New flavours in old Zurich
Walking the old town in Zurich, one passes a great range of small cafes and restaurants, as well as the usual assortment of homogeneous multinational chains that present a uniform blandness in the disguise of food and drink. Fortunately, a healthy contempt for the latter enables me (and you!) to find something more authentic, and far more enjoyable.
Pulcino Restaurante Courtyard View We’d had a great afternoon walking the narrow lanes and alleys of old Zurich, and spotted Pulcino Restaurante mid-afternoon, noting in particular the fabulous little balcony that overlooked a small market square off the main pedestrian street (and so away from the tourist throng).
Steak so good, they named it twice
Any establishment that declares “Steak” as part of its name is staking its reputation on one thing: its steak. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the stake/steak play on words there). As a Japanese steak restaurant, Steak Rosso Rosso declares its “steakiness” in the most demanding market in the world for gourmet beef, though its location in a ski resort probably saves it from some of the fierce competition found in Tokyo and the other great cities of Japan.
Long saught-after indulgences of Long Island
Nestled away on the rocky beach on the “North Fork” of Long Island, La Plage attempts to re-create the atmosphere of a French bistro with some success. We found ourselves there on a bitterly cold winter’s night - minus 10 celsius and a howling wind blowing off the Sound. We were hoping for a warm welcome, and we weren’t disappointed.
As you’d expect for such a maritime location, seafood featured prominently: clams, local oysters, fish in abundance, and more.
Guillaume at Bennelong...
…or, a Farewell to Sydney (with apologies to Hemmingway).
In preparation for a few years living the life of the gourmet nomad, we thought we’d finally (belatedly) try dinner at Guillaume’s at Bennelong. For those who don’t know it, Guillaume’s has perhaps the most envied restaurant location in the world, being inside one of the “sails” at the Sydney Opera House.
The view to Circular Quay from Guillaume Now, I’ll be the first to admit that location can be a blessing and a curse - we’ve usually been lucky to avoid the “place over plate” pitfalls.
Pasta for the True Believers - in London!
Every once in a while, I get pleasantly reminded that people with a passion and talent for food can overcome stereotypes, adversity and even the odd cynic like myself, achieving something immensely satisfying in the process. We found ourselves at Bertorelli one night after finally realising that Charlotte Street in London (where it is to be found) really was the most convenient place to eat while we were staying in our usual digs in Bloomsbury.
New York's Greatest Deli?
In every gritty Police Procedural drama I’ve ever seen on TV, the protagonists end up at that icon of all things New York - a deli! And New York certainly has a lot of them. When I told friends I was heading to New York, they recommended several delis considered the best of the best. One of them was Carnegie Deli.
Carnegie first opened in 1937, and a look at the decor and staff suggests it hasn’t changed much since then.
The Quest for World's Greatest Burger Continues
In a world saturated with chain and franchises of every conceivable kind of burger bar, finding an authentic independent burger joint is getting harder and harder. The quest continued in New York, where I was sure I could find something close to the perfect burger joint. Strolling for a few blocks past Times Square, as the ubiquitous chain stores petered out, I spotted The Counter, which proclaimed itself the custom burger bar.
Raku - The Perfect Izakaya
The Japanese have many great ideas, and wonderful traditions. Chief amongst them (at least from a gourmand perspective) is the Izakaya - 居酒屋. There’s no perfect translation into English, but a good approximation is “Bar with awesome side dishes and snacks”.
Raku is one such Izakaya, and sits in the ski fields of Hokkaido, in Niseko / Hirafu. I normally don’t worry with giving florid descriptions of the locations, and I only mention it at length this time because I couldn’t work out a way to smuggle this entire bar home in my luggage.
Hot In The City
Every city in the world worth its salt has a China Town - that quintessential part of the city to which countless generations have flocked from the Middle Kingdom, enriching us all with foods, fashion, enterprise and a certain spice of life.
Melbourne is particularly blessed with a vibrant and funky China Town that stretches several blocks of Little Bourke Street, offering every conceivable style of Chinese food from Szechuan, to Yum Cha (Dim Sum to most of the rest of the world) and more.
An Old Favourite
Alternatively titled "Un Grand Classique"
For the many years we’ve visited or lived in Sydney, we’ve had a few trusty favourites where one can always rely on a great meal, relaxed atmosphere and memories of years gone by.
La Guillotine is almost an institution in the city, having survived buildings being demolished and rebuilt around it, and the many waves of culinary fads that sweep the city. But it’s always great for simple French classics done extremely well (we could even say, très, très bien!