hillvalley

Indeed, one of the few things I am looking forward to about winter is raclette. In January there is a mandatory ski retreat and apparently we eat enough that week to fulfill any craving one might have. There will be fondue in my future as well. On another cheese note...this week there was a wine and cheese for parents and teachers*. There was a platter of what we would call Swiss cheese but when I made a comment about the Swiss cheese I was quickly corrected that I ate emmental now. *Back to school night is much more fun for all involved when there is wine and cheese in a relaxed setting.

Checked the website for the first time in a while. Clicked where the DC forum used to be and was very confused. If you want to retain DC members and continue to be the DC one stop shop on the interwebs you need think about what to prioritize. Just my thoughts.

I inadvertantly found the local cheese bin at a nicer Swiss grocery store (Manor) and discovered Tomme de la Venoge nature. It's made by Fromagerie de MM Bory in the town of Dizy, Switzerland. It comes in a variety of flavors but I stuck with the "natural" version. I have a new favorite cheese. Left to soften, it is creamy and pungent, although not as strong as Epoise. The rind has a soft bloom that helps cut the sharpness of the cheese. It is runny enough that I had to use a spoon to enjoy. If I was able to bring home cheese as gifts this is what you would all receive.

Before I left I went to Casa Luca, Komi, and Sushi Taro in a three week period. I'd pick Sushi Taro over the other two; it was the most unique and special of the three restaurants, and not just because of the company.

You're getting old. A couple of years ago you, the Misses, and I went looking for Slavins during one of our eating adventures and discovered it was closed.

Saw it and will do research on the market but since the post is almost a year and half old and others have been there since then I was hoping for some more current info.

It is about $1 to .94chf so it's about even. The portion sizes are about the same as you see in DC, maybe a quarter pound I think. Big enough that when I tried the grocery store version and added a salad it was a nice dinner.

I've got three days and a tight budget. Where should I eat?

In Switzerland you can by steak tartare in all the major grocery stores. It's about 9chf per serving, which is basically free when you consider that at the restaurants they charge 28 chf for the same portion. That being said, there is a butcher up the street who has beautiful meat so I plan on hitting her up to make my own. Once I figure out how to appropriately ask her to grind my meat*. I don't have a food processor and the only one I've seen couldn't combine olive oil with the hummos we were making so I doubt it will be able to grind the meat for tartare.

That wasn't a typo. No burrata should be subjected to what this poor cheese must have gone through. Rubbery, tasteless mozz, runny, uninspired inside. I promise to make it up to the poor thing and find some good burrata, hopefully in an affordable price range. I miss 2 Amy's burrata.

Tonight I learned that you can purchase sad burratta an hour north of Italy. No matter how good the tomatoes, basil and olive oil, nothing makes up for sad burratta.

I'm pleased to report that in Ticino I have yet to see a Pizza Hut (nor a Starbucks for that matter!) and one can get an excellent pizza for between 13chf and 30 chf (Swiss franc) depending on the toppings. For 20chf I can get what I am told is a better than average delivery pizza and a cold beer delivered to my doorstep, which is impressive when you realized that Chevy Chase, MD makes my village look big.

Squids, I wish there had been time for a HH. One of the hard parts of uprooting your world in less than eight weeks is not getting to say goodbye to everyone you hoped to see one last time. Tonight I drink local red plonk* to my nephew who finally arrived. And to my 22 month old niece, who whispers to everyone, "Shhh, Baby sleeping" anytime they talk around him. And to my new neighbor, a grandpa aged man who smiled wide as he watched me navigate the bus system back to our village yesterday and is the only person I have seen pull off a wife beater with grace. And to his wife, who hasn't smiled at me yet. *Around here, they cut the plonk with a lighter version of Sprite, making it almost drinkable.

With the exception of the power plants, and it was raining so we didn't have a good sunset, your pic looks like some of the villages I drove through today in Switzerland on the way to a hike in the Alps.

Latish night snack of white and milk chocolate spread and peanut butter on Italian spelt. Washed down with Italian lactaid milk. I would never have any of these items in my kitchen in the States but when in Switzerland....

My last meal and date night, in the states was the traditional kaiseki. The meal took about three hours and one of the best eating experiences I have had in DC. Sophie, our waitress, was fabulous. We know each other and she helped make the meal a special occasion, but as I watched her serve her other tables it is clear she is an expert in her profession. Each dish was deliberate in it's execution and place in the menu. We started with chilled homemade tofu with uni and a cold dashi broth. Simplicity at its best. A week later the dishes that stick in my mind were the oyster, scallop and barnacle on the half shell, flawless tempura, a dish with 8 bites including scallop, and a fried edible flower, sushi of our choice which for me included hamachi and ikura, cold noodles in a delicate broth, and Japanese cheesecake which is light and fluffy. The meal was an absolute splurge, one I would never take in ordinary circumstances, but worth every penny. If you are looking for a traditional Japanese meal this is the place to have the experience.

To those who made Saturday night perfect.

I find this thread quite mean*. Yes, there are obese people in the US. Yes, the US has crappy eating habits. Yes, our nationa as a whole needs to exercise more. Yes, many of you are lucky to not have an obesity problem. What gives us the right to virtually gasp and make disparaging comments about those with a weight problem? It's off topic from the article and a conversation like this does nothing but hurt people and prove that this board can be elitist. *Barbara's post not included.

This is one of those things where I am pretty sure of the answer but thought I would consult those who no more about the topic than me. I found a bottle of homemade infused berry vodka. It's at least three or four years old. Can I use it at festivities Friday night?

They won't do it.

This pisses me off. I have suffered in this land of culinary blah for over a decade. Yes, there's Bucks, Comet, Jake's but that's not saying much anymore. Growing up, we used to drive across the city for a loaf when he opened the first bread shop and now he's bringing it to my soon to be former neighborhood. That's just wrong.

Never mind

Don't thank me until you've read the book. The Yiddish Policeman's Union, where the quote is from, is one of the few books I never finished. I only made it all the way through Kavelier and Clay because of peer pressure. Don, no need to see a picture; they are quite easy to ride. That being said, you have not lived until you have driven down Pennsylvania Ave. toward the Capitol on a Segway in the pouring rain.

Thank you for all the kind words. john, thanks for posting the article. I would not have read it and it's the best explanation of Swiss health care I have found. I'll post about eating in Switzerland but given that a grande latte in Zurich is $7.55 and I am not going to work for some rich company, I won't be able dining out a lot. As for a HH, unfortunately I don't think there will be one. This is all happening in a very short time frame leaving me little time to see everyone I want. If it does happen it will most likely be spur of the moment, sometime late next week. I'll keep you posted. For now I'm back to packing my little boxes on the hillside. Anyone want to help?

Post of the day goes to Keithstg I rode one recently and thought of you, Nadia, and Bistro Bis.