Le Perolles- 1 Michelin Star, Fribourg

So.. I guess this blog is a dual post. The first thing I should do is apologize for not writing sooner. With all the traveling, school work and turning into an asian popsicle as the weather has take a turn for the worst, I haven't gone to think about what to do next.
Haley and I decided to take a mini Vacay - to Fribourg- yes it's only 30 minutes away and I already go there at least once a week but.. after starving a whole week on dorm food, blowing our entire week's budget on what would have been dorm food on a Michelin experience seemed quite fitting.
The second part of my post is to introduce a new series of photos that I will be taking- food art- the art of what's left on the plate after someone has consumed what they like, dislike and don't want to consume any more of.

Keep posted.. I promise ill get around to all those michelin reviews sooner or later...

Comfort Food

All feeling a bit down that the weather has taken a sudden change for the FREEZING cold, I decided to bring a little bit of home to Bulle. Britt and I had been dying for some good ol, Californian mexican food! Seeing that I hadn't cooked for months... it was nice to get back into the kitchen to make some comfort food...
The result: Chicken burritos, Guacamole, Salsa (with tons of Cilantro of course!) and great company with my girlfriends...

I miss my mexican food! The only thing that was missing was a nice huge tall glass of Horchata...


So instead, I had a nice glass of 10 year old, Tawny Port from Porto courtesy of my friend Nuno, who just so happens to be from Porto! This is his favorite vintage port.

Thank you Nuno!

Spikey Foods

I just realized.. I love food that is protected by spikes! It's probably because I think the hidden treasure inside is worth all that protection..

Chestnuts or marrons here where I live in Switzerland of the sweet variety (only found here in Europe) grow on deciduous trees and come to harvest in the Autumn time. The chestnut is actually not a nut but a fruit- with the burrs of the outside turning yellow and splitting open to release the fruit when ripe.

The creamy, white flesh of the chestnut has to be cooked (most often roasted street side and served in a bag) to soften but has an incredible sweet nutty flavor. One of my mortal sins!

For those of you who know me well, y'all know that my other temptation (besides ice cream) is... Uni! or Sea Urchin. Sorry for not having a picture.. but I don't have on of my own to display. I was just sooooo enthralled by this realization today that I felt compelled to write about it- even without the photo.

Sea Urchins are purple (sometimes brown, green, olive or red but the ones I like to EAT or purple) and considered Echinozoa's with their hard outer shell and globular shape and spikes covering their body. A very distinct flavor, Uni is not for everyone. Essentially eating the 5 perfect tongues of orangy creamy roe- it has a very fishy, distinct sea water taste, and if good uni, very sweet. Although it is mainly synonymous with Japanese food, it is also eaten in many part of the Mediterranean, made into a "cebiche" type concoction in Chile and in part so New Zealand.

Nowadays the best Uni comes from Japan. Small, beautiful tongues of Uni, packed with sweetness and flavor. I pity those who feel the need to cook it- as the slimy creaminess is part of the appeal. Most places in the US have Uni that is farm raised from Santa Barabara (yes and giving me easy access to it at all time whilst in California)

Sweet, delicious and creamy... just like the marron. I see a trend here!

My Favorite Sushi restaurant in San Diego is Zenbu a swanky, upscale small sushi eatery- priding themselves on the freshest sushi. The lounge is good too with great cocktails although the bartender will no longer make Mojito's since it clogs up the dishwasher. The lounge a couple doors down is a great alternative if the actual restaurant is packed. ALWAYS SIT AT THE SUSHI BAR. the sushi chef's take their jobs VERY seriously... and you get your food a lot faster that way ( The service is usually REALLY REALLY REALLY BAD at the tables... a waitress once tried to charge us for Toro when it was clearly just Maguro.. do you KNOW who your messing with missy when it comes to sushi????). If you sit at a table, you will have to wait for them to go out and catch the fish and probably eat your fingers before that point in time...

Zenbu has some definite highlights:
If available: Toro (DUH!)
If still available: Zenbu has a huge live tank in their kitchen- where they have live uni (sea urchin) and live amaebi (sweet shrimp) all taken live out of the tank a la minute and still moving when served to you.
Also quite good are their Tuna tots (not on the menu) with wasabi mayo
AND... although I would never ever ever admit this again- they do have some good rolls- Particularly the Wind-And-Sea (banana and eel- sweetness of the banana compliments the eel very well) and a roll with hamachi and pears (which they no longer have on the menu).

All this sushi speak is making me crave sushi! For those of you "advanced" sushi-ites like myself- don't get irritated by the incompetent scantily clad beach girls who mmmm and aww at california rolls and won't try anything raw.. TRUST me... there are a lot of them there. Enjoy your sushi because it is WONDERFUL.

Zenbu
7660 Faye Avenue
La Jolla, CA 92037
Tel: 858.454.4540
Hours: Sunday- Weds 5pm - 10:30 pm
Thursday- Saturday 5pm - 1:30 Am

It's Marron Time!

After a strenuous two weeks in Financial Accounting, the girls and I couldn't wait to take our road trip to Lugano, located in the Canton of Ticino in the southern, east region on Switzerland. Bordering Italy, Lugano is the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. The weekend coincided with the Autumn festival where chestnut (marron) season is just beginning.

One of the most pleasant surprises was that the headquarters for Münger a Panetteria, Pasticceria, & a Confetteria that has been around since 1923 was around the corner from our hotel in Paradiso. On our morning jaunt down to the lakeside, we stopped in to see what delectable delights the Panetteria ( bread shop), Pasticceria ( Pastry shop) & Confetteria ( Chocolate/ sweet shop) - Yes this one was ALL three combined into one.. had to offer.

It is gooseberry season as well as chestnut season in Switzerland. I was tempted to buy a whole bunch of these chocolate covered gooseberries along with the dark chocolate marron.. but was good and restrained myself.

Münger is really famous for their chestnut based treats around this time. The thing that most people get is the Panettone, a chestnut bread that looks like a giant muffin. The bread only lasts a day or two (well of course!) so I opted for the Marronitorte - something that was gonna last us a day or two for our stay in Praha (prague)

Münger's Marronitorte was a great treat for Cza and I. It wasn't too sweet, with the crust crispy but the torte itself very very moist. The torte had chunks of sweet chestnuts ( not marron glace) that lent texture to the soft moistness of the torte. It was delicious- with Cza and I having to do everything we could not to finish it on the first night.

Some more noteworthy chestnut treats for the season (from Münger as well) are the Vermicelles (chestnut puree of a a cream custard, topped with heavy cream) , Castagne E Panna - or in French Marron Glace- chestnuts macerated in sugar and liquor and lastly the Torta Pane- a chestnut cake with pinenuts- more like a cornbread sort of texture.

Did I mention that I LOVE chestnuts???

Münger

Three locations in Lugano:

Laboratorio Negozio + Tea Room

Via Geretta 7

6900 Paradiso - Lugano

Tel: 091-985-69-40

walk in bakery, pastry shop and chocolate shop

In the heart of Old Town shopping district:

Negozio + Tea Room

Via Luvini 4

6900 Lugano

Tel: 091-985-69-43

Negozio

Lungolago Motto

6815 Melide

Tel: 091-649-74-14

Lever Du Soleil

Cutting my trip to London short one day, I came back to watch the sunrise over Moléson Summit for the last time this year. We drove up to Moléson village and took the Funicular halfway up, then the cable car the rest of the way up. It had been pouring the previous days before- but I was excited knowing that the cumulous clouds would help give depth to this spectacular event.

Much like in Canton de Vaud - in Cully (studying in style post), there is a triangular view point indicator on the Sommet de Moléson. It's a bit of a hike from the cable car and main lodge but worth the view!
I somehow convinced my roomate to wake up at an ungodly hour after having to pick me up from Lausanne the night before (seriously, I got in at 8:30- the next available train to Fribourg was at midnight, then I would have to take the bus and get back at 2am) and wake up at 5 am to accompany me to see the sunrise in the freezing cold mountain top. I also need to thank her for being so tall and thus making such a slender, beautiful model for my photographs of the sunrise.

From my understanding, they only do this a few times a year starting in Spring/ Summer and extending through Autumn. You can check with the Moléson website to see what's going in the town and the summit. They post dates, hours and prices for the lever du soleil- so check back in the spring when the mountain isn't so cold and more feasible to watch the sunrise.

4 Michelin stars, 1 week

Preview on some restaurants I visited this week...

Motto De Gallo, 1 Michelin Star, Lugano, Switzerland, Executive Chef: Jose De La Iglesa



Mraz & Sohn, 1 Michelin Star, Wien, Osterreich, Executive Chef: Markus Mraz


Steirereck im Stadtpark, 2 Michelin Star, Wien, Austria, Executive Chef: Heinz Reitbauer


Motto De Gallo
Via Bicentenario 16
CH-6807 Taverne
Ticino
Tel:0041-919452871

Mraz & Sohn
Wallensteinstrasse 59
1200 Wien
Osterreich
Tel:00431-3304594

Steirereck im Stadtpark
Am Heumarkt 2A
im Stadtpark
A-1030 Wien
Osterreich
Tel:0043-17133168

Brazilian Donut: Sonhos or Bolas de Berlim

So these aren't from any special famous place. In fact- I had the hardest time finding these suckers. Evidently, even though they are the Brasilian version of a Donut... people don't eat them very often. I asked about 5 people where to find Sonhos or Bolas de Berlim and the response was " I don't know".

We happened to have them for breakfast at our hotel in Iguazu Falls.
Sonhos are " Little dreams" that are actually Portuguese in origin (yes yes, I will be looking for them when I go to Portugal). They are usually filled with goiabada or guava jelly.. these guys were alright.. a little too doughy and dense.. but still the Brasilian donut experience!

Picarones- Peruvian Donuts

On my ever quest to try every donut in every country, the peruvian version is the Picarones. Marita took me to Panchita (world reknown Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio's Steakhouse) in her home town of Mira Flores, Lima, Peru to get one of these tasty fried pumpkin dough morsels.

Picarones are made from a yeast sweet potato dough flavored with cinnamon and anise, allowed to rise much like the traditional american donut. It is fried and served with a syrup made from chancaca.

We caught the restaurant in between service and were taken to the back kitchen where they demonstrated not only how the dough was made but fried off the crispy on the outside, moist on the inside flavorful rings of dough that I would consume a few minutes later.



The flavor in the dough make the Picarones more interesting than the american donut. The only problem is that it doesn't get the same yeasty, fluffy consistency that - ok well no one but Stan's can achieve that but you get my picture.

Still very worth it and a two thumbs up to Picarones from Panchita.

Panchita
Avenue Dos de Mayo 298
Miraflores 242-5957, Lima , Peru
Tel: 40 40 41 37

Pisco Sour

I quickly learned that the national drink of Peru is the Pisco sour. Quite frankly, I think that this should be more then a national drink- it should be one of their national dishes.

Using egg whites to create frothiness(how did american mixologists only discover this in the last 5 years?), Pisco sours are a great aperitif.. or after aperitif, or through the meal, or after the meal or just about any time of the day drink. The gorgeous concoction in this photo was at La Rosa Nautica. Since people on my dad's tours don't really drink.. I had.. one, two, three, four.. oh wait.. FIVE of these puppies during lunch. Each one, equally as delicious as the one before.

Frozen Pisco sour with Pisco soaked raisins and a shot of frozen Pisco sour at the gorgeous, green, ultra luxury Sumaq Machu Picchu hotel in Machu Picchu- with menu design by world renown Peruvian Chef Rafael Piqueras.

Pisco is an a liquor distilled from grapes and is the national bitter or liquor of Peru. It is said to have originated from the region of Pisqu back in Inca times with the word having Quechuan roots. It is said that Pisco gained popularity when imports of alcohol were banned in Peru and Chile to eliminate competition for locally grown liquors. Pisco, the harder liquor in comparison to wine became the liquor of choice.

There are a few levels of Pisco that should be noted:

Pure: made from one variety of grape.. no blending allowed! usually used are Quebranta Mollar or Common Black varietals.

Aromatic : Muscat or Muscat varietal grapes. Only one varietal again.

Mosto Verde : Made from partially fermented must (the leftover skin bits from the first pressing of wine). Must be distilled before fermentation process turns everything into sugar.

Alcholado : blended grapes

All pisco is to be aged three months. There are differences between Chilean and Peruvian Pisco. Seeing that I've never had Chilean Pisco, Peruvian tastes like heaven to me!

Real Maize and Cebiche

Corn nowadays has been so genetically altered, it looks nothing like the thumb size, triangular Zea Mays that originated out of South America. Nowadays we are use to seeing perfectly neat pinky size rows of corn. The truth is, Zea Mays was not in perfect rows. In fact, original Zea Mays only had maybe 10 kernels on each stalk. One of the few places to still find beautiful un-adultered Zea Mays is in the Sacred Valley of Peru. A typical train snack, boiled Zea Mays, the size of your thumb can be bought for roughly 30 cents.

The starchy, meaty kernels, plucked off one by one, sweet & delicious make an incredible snack. The kernels, succulent and meaty- yes actually meaty in texture.. incredible!

The national dish of Peru is Cebiche. Cebiche is using the acid from limes to cause a chemical reaction "cooking" the protein. Cebiche can be made with all types of seafood and even some meat proteins. One of the most famous places to eat Cebiche is La Rosa Nautica. An instituion in Lima, La Rosa Nautica has been around since 1983, located on the amazing coastline of Mira Flores, Lima, built on the old pier 4- La Rosa Nautica is the place to be seen - and to watch surfers and enjoy a precisely, peruvian meal made from only the freshest and most local ( in fact La Rosa Nautica has their own farm!) produce coming only from Peru.

I was lucky enough to meet Chef De Cuisine Enrique Blondet who also gave me a kitchen tour- although churning out amazing amounts of covers, by utilizing only the freshest ingredients, produces a meal combined with the setting that anyone visiting Lima for the first time will enjoy. I had two plates of his Cebiche ( I was allergic to the Paella.. sooo Cebiche was my only option) in which he used local Zea Mays to add a different dimension of texture to the spicy, tangy Cebiche.

La Rosa Nautica

Espigon 4 Circuito De Playas

Lima 18, Peru

Tel: 511-445-0149