Swiss Ice Cream: Movenpick

After hours of walking around Lausanne and arriving into Geneva in the sweltering heat, we needed something to cool down. After much asking around and searching we finally found a Movenpick stand.. and after much contemplating, I finally settled on a cacao and orange ice cream. I also had their seasonal banana ice cream with chunks of bananas.. It ain't no Ben and Jerry's but I guess it will have to do!!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I can NEVER pass up ice cream. Thankfully here in Switzerland the land of moo cows and thus anything dairy, they are quite famous for their ice cream. The creme de la creme here is Movenpick ( yes as in the hotel chain)

Movenpick first entered the ice cream world through production for their restaurants. In

1968, Movenpick decided to centralize their ice cream production for the entire company- and within a year, Movenpick ice cream became the companies' number one branded item.

By 1982, Movenpick ice cream became it's own branded sector within the company- spinning off from the parent company. In 2003, Movenpick Ice Cream brand was sold to Nestle ( as in the parent company to Cailler.. which hopefully I will be walking to from my dorm this weekend!)

Movenpick has always maintained strict standards with using all natural ingredients and not using any articificial additives in their ice cream- always using the traditional Sabayon base for maximum creaminess and richness. Fruit and vegetable juices are used in lieu of artifical coloring. Fresh, clean , natural = yummy!

When in Switzerland you must try Movenpick ice cream.. at least once. .It is worth every calorie!

Swiss Fondue!

When in the land of moo cows, cheese is ALWAYS in abundance. For the swiss national holiday, my girlfriends and I headed down to Lausanne to enjoy the festivities.

One of the must haves when in Switzerland is.. Fondue!

Fondue is based off the french word Fondre or melt.. and yes that is exactly what Fondue is.. a big melty pot of... CHEESE!!

Typically, fondue is a combination of Gruyere and another cheese. This ranges from region to region ie- Vacherin in the Fribourg region to the "Traditional" Emmenthaler cheese. This is typically done to try to balance out the flavors of the cheese. White wine or Kirsch (in addition to a variety of other flavors) can be added to add flavors and keep the cheese from directly frying over the heat.

Fondue is also typically eaten with a dry white wine to cut the heaviness of the cheese and a variety of local cured sausages (talk about calorie count eh?)
My girlfriends and I were lucky enough to meet some very hospitable Swiss boys from Zurich- Jurg on the right and Martin on the left who invited us to have some of this calorie rich, but very delicious traditional dish with them. They also explained to us the premise of the crazy festivities that were happening around us... some boat race thing that is in San Diego every year (crazy how I lived there for 10 years with NO clue about it). It was a great way to finish up our day in Lausanne- Great weather, great food and very very friendly people who opened a little bit more about their amazing culture to us!

Creperie D'Ouchy

One of the recommended places to go eat while in Lausanne (albeit super touristy) is Creperie D'Ouchy in the heart of D'Ouchy old town. This creperie is known for hanging out on their terrace, enjoying the lake, sun and oh yeah.. a super tasty crepe using regional ingredients.

Crepes are originally from the Brittany region of France, orginally made with Buckwheat flour, and called Gallettes. Gallettes are a crisper, harder more brittle crepe that is harder to handle and to fold. At the turn of the century with the price reduction of soft white flour, the batter for the crepe was adapted to make the texture softer and more maliable with the addition of white flour.
In my quest for "local" regional food, my eye was immediately drawn to the vaudoise crepe. The price tag (not shown) was a nice sucker punch to the stomach (at 23 chf for one) but.. you only live once right? The classic regional combination of leeks, sausage and cheese made my mouth water at the thought.
After a bit of a wait (almost 45 minutes~!) our crepes finally came. We were a little baffled by the fact that most people were not ordering food, just drinks.. but the crepes still took so long to come out... The smell of the warm batter,melty cheese and leeks immediately hit me.
I must admit although expensive and a long wait- this was a very good savory crepes. The crepe batter was flavorful, crisp yet slightly chewy and the melted cheese, leeks and sausage combination was awesome and surprisingly well seasoned!

If you have some extra $$ and want great atmosphere with good food, I would recommend going to Creperie D'Ouchy!

Creperie D'Ouchy

Place du Port 7

1006 Lausanne

Tel: 021-616-26-07

Temperamental

I'm quickly learning that the weather is quite temperamental round here...

We had some crazy lightning storms- taken from my dorm window...

but after the rain subsides, one understands why the land is so lush and green!

When Dorm Food just doesn't cut it anymore

Life isn't so bad when the next town over happens to be Gruyere....

Gruyere Cheese, fresh chevre, fresh bread, some vino, and some charcuterie... Way better then whatever slop they were trying to feed us at the dorm restaurant....

Five Guys

One of the advantages to airports these days is that they aren't simply limited to the huge fast food chains. After boarding my airplane from Washington Dulles to JFK, we all got kicked off the airplane. This was a perfect chance for me to get some much needed, good old fashioned american burger and fries.
Five Guys is an institution here in Washington DC. With a variety of toppings, what Five Guys is REALLY famous for are their french fries. My burger was good.. not great. Needed seasoning but the melty sauteed onions, mushrooms and jalapenos... all the things I miss about America. I tried to limit myself on the french fries but OMG! these french fries were AMAZING! Crispy on the outside, moist and soft on the inside and full of flavor.
My take on five guys- go for the fries.. It's definetly worth the wait...

Five Guys
Numerous Locations including Washington Dulles Airport- in the commuter terminal.

Last Supper..

For my last meal before I headed off to Switzerland, I decided I really needed to get some good mexican grub.

Since Nick's Crispy Taco is in the city and I had a craving for Fish Tacos, this was the instant winner.
Needless to say- this is my favorite fish taco joint in SF. Yes, It is much better then Rubios. Needless to say if you use good ingredients, you just get good tasty grub.
The guacamole is delicious, creamy- everything I love about avocados.
One taco with their sweet, smoky, spicy hot sauce is always enough to fill me up. An obvious delicious last meal choice (besides Stan's donuts...)

Nick's Crispy Taco
1500 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94109-2516
(415) 409-8226
just past broadway tunnel