Review - Les Chevreuils

This is a special place for me as it was the venue for my wedding reception in 2009. I really enjoyed it then but being at a wedding is different to simply eating in a normal restaurant. So, this review is based on my experience here for a meal in April 2011 (described further in my blog "An Anniversary Treat").

This restaurant, which is also a hotel, is located at Vers-chez-les-Blancs near Lausanne, surrounded by woodland and countryside. It also has views of the French alps from it's garden. It might not be the easiest place to find if you've never been there before, but their website offers advice on how to get there. There is a metro station at Epalinges (Croissettes) and a bus that stops just near Les Chevreuils, so it is fairly accessible if you know where you are going.

The building itself is quite old and homely, giving it a welcoming feel. The staff are helpful, especially when it comes to proposing an aperitif or selecting a wine to go with your meal. Ah yes, the meal. That's where Les Chevreuils really excels.

I started my meal with a little amuse bouche of cauliflower purée with mushrooms and green pesto. It took a couple of spoonfulls for me to appreciate it, but I ended up very satisfied.

Foie gras - yum!

After finishing this, along came the entrée - foie gras. The thought of foie gras might make some people feel a bit queasy, but I decided to give it a go (how do you know you don't like it if you don't try it?).

I made a good decision as it was delicious. It was succulent, tasty, surprising, and very, very moreish. I think I accompanied every bite with contented "mmm" noises, which probably annoyed my wife and any other diners who happened to be within earshot.


Beef and some veg



My main course was a a big chunk of beef with vegetables, and this was very nice indeed. The beef was well cooked and vegetables were nice. The sauce added extra flavour to the dish and complemented the meat really well.

I rounded off my meal with the cheese selection, which I was slightly disappointed with as it was a very standard selection (camembert, gruyere, epoisses and roquefort). I enjoyed the roquefort but the others failed to hit the mark. My palate might have been tainted by the deliciousness of the foie gras though, so the subsequent dishes were probably better than they seemed at the time.

Posh-looking food

The food is always presented in the style that you see from famous Michelin-starred chefs on programs like Masterchef, which peak your interest as soon as the plate arrives.

Some of the combinations can be a bit hit and miss though - my wife had vegetables in lemon grass topped with celery-apple flavoured ice cream. It apparently tasted as odd as it sounds.


Overall though, the experience was enjoyable and the food was a delight. The only downside of the evening was when the bill arrived. As you can imagine with food of this calibre, you are expected to pay a healthy price for it. Hey ho, that's what credit cards are for!

Address:       Route du Jorat 80, 1000 Lausanne
Telephone:   +41 (0)21 785 01 01

Ratings:

07 / 10 - Location - pleasant countryside setting

08 / 10 - Food - very good, although some combinations are weird (vegetables and ice cream, anyone?)

05 / 10 - Price - I won't lie, it is expensive to eat here, so if you want a good meal for less you should look elsewhere; if you are prepared to pay to eat well, look no further!

Overall - 07 / 10 - the food is fantastic (if you've picked the right dish) but the prices are rather high.

Review - La Terrasse

Styled as a kind of Italian restaurant / brasserie, La Terrasse is in the little village of Bussigny-près-Lausanne, home to yours truly. It offers a range of foods from steaks to fondues to pizzas, all at fairly reasonable prices. The pizzas can be picked up for takeaway, and the ambiance inside is very welcoming.

I have eaten here a couple of times and the food is pretty good, although on one occassion (as written about in my blog, "A Quick Visit from Mum and Dad - Part II") I took a friend's advice and asked for the garlic sauce with my steak. I was expecting a juicy steak with a sauce that hinted at garlic; what I got was a nice steak covered in chunks of chopped garlic. It was more like a spread than a sauce, and the vapours from the garlic started making my eyes water before the waitress had even put the plate in front of my eyes. I couldn't quite finish my meal on that occassion, and stank of garlic for several days afterwards.

Despite the garlic setback, the quality of food at this restaurant is above average, as evidenced by a nice steak with peppercorn sauce (not a garlic clove in sight). It isn't particularly expensive, and pizzas are a good price at around 18.- CHF each.

I haven't been able to find a website for La Terrasse, but I managed to find one that has a fair amount of information for anyone who is interested.

Address:       Rue de Lausanne 9, 1030 Bussigny-près-Lausanne
Telephone:   +41 021 701 11 59

Ratings:

05 / 10 - Location - easy to get to as it is on a main road into the village, but not otherwise appealing

07 / 10 - Food - good, as long as you don't have the garlic sauce

08 / 10 - Price - Very reasonable, a two course meal would come to around 30.- CHF

Overall - 07 / 10 - a nice place to come for a pleasant meal with good food and reasonable prices.

Review - Le Deck

 This restaurant / café / bar is superbly located in the vineyards of Chexbres, and benefits from stunning views of lac Leman and the French alps. As you sit down and gaze out at the glorious surroundings in this peaceful bar, you can almost feel relaxation coming over you.

Relaxing at Le Deck

I have never actually eaten in this restaurant, partly because it's quite far out of my way and quite expensive, but also because no one has ever recommended it to me (I tend to rely on word of mouth). The reviews on Trip Advisor are not particularly inspiring either.

I'm told that if you do want to eat here you should make a reservation, as the demand is high in the summer months whereas the number of tables available is very low.

Service at Le Deck is somewhat slow. Maybe the staff prefer to spend time admiring the view as well? The seating areas are comfortable but can get very warm in the summer on a sunny day - the plexiglass panels used to block sound and wind trap the heat on the terrasse, so t-shirts and shorts are preferred to jumpers and jeans on these days. As the main attraction of Le Deck is the stunning views, it is only open between April and October each year. I doubt if anyone wants to sit on a terrasse in the cold rain anyway.

The drinks at Le Deck are fairly average prices for Switzerland, perhaps just a bit more on the expensive side. They do have a good choice of beers available from various countries around the world, so that's a nice touch. Local wine from Lavaux is available here too.

The website for Le Deck has a few nice photos and some information, but as it is only a "spin-off" from the Baron Tavernier hotel and restaurant most of the website focuses on that rather than Le Deck.

Address:       Route de la Corniche, 1071 Chexbres
Telephone:   +41 21 926 60 00
Open:           Mon – Sun: 11:00 – 23:30

Ratings:

09 / 10 - Location - stunning views and modern fittings, very nice indeed

xx / 10 - Food - unrated as I have never eaten here

06 / 10 - Price - as usual for most Swiss bars, drinks are fairly expensive but not excessively so

Overall - 7.5 / 10 * - Le Deck is a very nice place to go for a relaxing drink on a sunny, summer day.

* Overall rating averages scores for Location and Price, excludes Food as this could not be scored due to not being tested. 

Review - Holy Cow!

With two locations in Lausanne, Holy Cow! is essentially a gourmet burger restaurant. As someone who likes the kind of food served in McDonalds and Burger King, this is right up my street. In all honesty though, it doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as those fast food peddlers - Holy Cow! is in a league of it's own when it comes to burgers.

I have eaten at the Holy Cow! a few times since I moved here, and I have never been disappointed. My brother-in-law first described the food to me in 2009 as delicieux, and convinced me to try it with him (didn't take him long to convince me, to be fair). The Holy Cow! prides itself on sourcing it's meat locally from the canton of Vaud, and burgers are freshly prepared on site, adding to the succulent taste of the food.


Elvis Blue Cheese pic borrowed
from The Burger Blog

The burgers all have different names, such as the Elvis Blue Cheese and the Smokin' Holy Cowboy (both of which I have tried and loved). The menus are written in French and English, as is their website, and the staff can all speak English to help out hungry tourists.

Meal deals originally came with freshly-made potato crisps as an accompaniment to the burger, but have recently changed to being chunky chips. I quite liked the idea of having crisps with the meal instead of chips, but apparently they changed due to customer demand. Stupid customers...

Price-wise, Holy Cow! is not particularly cheap. I had a Smokin' Holy Cowboy burger and meal for 24.- CHF. Admittedly this was because I paid an extra 5.- CHF to have a double burger, but even at 19.- CHF it's still pretty pricey. However, the old saying that you get what you pay for is certainly true here, as you are paying for sheer quality.

In terms of seating, the newer restaurant has a few tables with benches, but these fill up really quickly at lunch and dinner times. I arrived at 12:05pm once and the tables were already full. The original site has one small area inside the restaurant for eating, basically big enough for about three people, so you are pretty much obliged to take your burger away with you. In fairness, every time I have eaten at Holy Cow! I have eaten my burger elsewhere (which is fine if it is a sunny day).

Loads of information about Holy Cow!, including the menu, can be found on their website.

As mentioned above, there are two Holy Cow! restaurants to choose from in Lausanne, so I have listed both below.

Site 1 - the original Holy Cow!
Address:       Rue Marterey 1-3, 1005 Lausanne
Open:           Mon – Sat: 11:30 – 16:30

Site 2 - the newer restaurant (with better opening hours)
Address:       Rue des Terreaux 10, 1003 Lausanne
Open:           Mon – Wed: 11:00 – 22:00, Thur – Sat: 11:00 – 23:00

Ratings (overall for both sites):

06 / 10 - Location - the Rue des Terreaux site is a ten minute walk from where I work! By car neither site is particularly easy to reach (not many nearby parking spaces)

09 / 10 - Food - I cannot fault their burgers, and portion sizes are very generous, but they miss out on a perfect score because they now serve meals with chips instead of crisps

05 / 10 - Price - the burgers are pretty expensive... but worth it!

Overall - 6.6 / 10 - it is expensive and you'll have to eat your burger as takeaway, but the deliciousness of the food makes it worth the trip.

Review - Restaurant les Berges de Vidy

This restaurant has a generous-sized terrasse as well as indoor seating, and benefits from being located at a camp site right next to lac Leman, giving a peaceful and scenic place to enjoy lunch, a drink or an ice cream. I have eaten here a few times since moving over to Switzerland, and it was in fact the place where I had my first lunch as a Swiss resident (see blog entry The Big Move for evidence of this).


Filets de perches

The menu has a fairly wide choice of meals, including steaks, tartare, fondue, pizzas, pasta dishes and a variety of salads, but I have only ever tried the filets de perches (like a healthier, Swiss version of fish and chips), mainly because it is absolutely delicious. These little fishies live in the lake and are supplied fresh to the restaurant, no doubt one of the reasons why they taste so good.

Priced at 36.- CHF, they are not the cheapest filets de perches you will find in Switzerland, but having eaten the same dish in other places I can assure you that you will get your money's worth here.

The full menu for the Restaurant les Berges de Vidy is available on their website.

The restaurant is open from March/April to October, depending on the weather (although the campsite is open all year round). Reservations are advised during the busy summer periods, particularly at the weekend. Staff here do speak basic English as it is a popular destination for campers from all over Europe, as well as visitors enjoying a stroll along the lakeside.

Address:       Chemin du Camping 3, 1007 Lausanne
Telephone:   +41 (0) 21 622 5005
E-mail:         info@clv.ch

Ratings:
09 / 10 - Location - gorgeous scenery and peaceful setting
09 / 10 - Food - (based solely on the filets de perches) delicious
06 / 10 - Price - a bit expensive for some dishes
Overall - 08 / 10 - a very nice place to eat that will leave you satisfied with your choice.

The trouble with teething

Just when you think you're starting to get the hang of being a dad (or a mum), with your baby starting to smile and giggle and generally seem more peaceful, suddenly something else emerges that upsets the entire rythym and puts you almost back at square one.

I'm talking about teething.

Well, actually I'm talking about the bit that comes before teething, when the little teeth are beginning to form in the baby's gums, which understandly hurts the poor little thing and causes a lot of screaming and crying (mostly from the baby). For the last week or so, Lydia has seemed to be in a lot of pain in her mouth, giving such heart-renching screams that it really shakes you as a parent as you feel so completely helpless.


A teething aid, which
looks a bit like a
pair of balls...



We have tried rubbing a soothing gel onto her gums, another gel that is supposed to numb the pain, massaging her with soothing oils, and giving her a variety of refrigerator-chilled teething aids to chew on. None of these seem to work particularly well, as Lydia still seems to be in a lot of pain. It is hard to see our little girl in such obvious discomfort, knowing we - her parents and therefore protectors - can do nothing to make her feel better, aside from giving her lots of cuddles and reassuring words.

My mum told me that my first teeth started to poke through at around 5 months of age. That means we probably have another month and a half before we see the first of Lydia's gnashers, so can look forward to a few more screaming fits before then. If anyone has any tips on ways to ease teething pain I would be sincerely grateful to hear them.

Seriously, send me your tips.

Now.

Thanks!

Penguins!

Here Pingu, have a fish

For my birthday last year my parents-in-law gave me a unique opportunity - to feed the penguins at the Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, England. Those of you who don't know me might not know that penguins are my absolute favourite animal in the whole world, so this experience was something I was truly looking forward to.

I was made to wait for it though. I had booked the experience for last summer, but unfortunately we were informed by the people at Paradise Wildlife Park that they had to close the penguin enclosure for maintenance, so my experience would have to be re-scheduled at a later date. So, I rebooked it for this summer, after the wedding of my brother James and his new wife Kelly (see my last blog, "Congratulations James & Kelly").

Congratulations James & Kelly

Following on from my last blog, we all headed over to England for the wedding of my brother James and his fiancée Kelly.


The bride and groom

 It was a fantastic day that everyone seemed to really enjoy. The ceremony at Sopwell House in St. Albans was both beautiful and humorous, and even the reading I did ("Blessing for a marriage") went off without a hitch.

The aperitif after the ceremony was great, with delicious amuse bouches and champagne (or Pimms for the more traditional English-types). It was interesting to go from the ceremony room to the conservatory and veranda where the aperitif was held as the corridor between the two is lined with signed football shirts in frames.

It turns out the Sopwell House has been used to host various international football teams over the years (including a number of England squads), with the players relaxing in the luxury rooms and making full use of the spa treatments.

Fortunately, the weather held out for the whole day, as it was cloudy with some sunny patches but absolutely no rain (amazingly for an English wedding!). It meant the happy couple were able to take the wedding photos outside in the lovely gardens of the house.

Growing up too fast?



Lydia playing with Bugs

It's been a whole month since my last post. Lydia is now three months old and seems to change a little bit with each passing day. Time has simply flown by, and I am beginning to understand why people always say you should enjoy every moment with your child because they will be grown up before you know it.

Ok, so Lydia is still a baby. It's not like she has suddenly started walking, dressing herself, taking whatever she wants out of the fridge, and so on and so forth. She still needs us to do everything for her, and as such is still as helpless as the day she was born.

However, she is growing up fast. Over the last few weeks since my last blog entry Lydia has started to get much stronger. We can see her trying to sit up a bit whenever we have her laying down in our arms. She is also getting closer to being able to roll over. We lay her down on her back, she kicks her legs up in the air and rolls onto her side. At the time of writing, she hasn't quite managed to roll all the way onto her front yet, but I think that will come in the next few days.

Thoughts on being a Dad

It's now two months since Lydia was born. Two months since the day I became a father and my life was changed forever. The day I began a new journey that promised to test my resolve and push me to the very edge of my limits, bringing me love, anxiety, stress and delight in equal measures.

A happy, 2 month old baby

A lot has happened in those two months, as I'm sure you can imagine. I, along with my wife, have had the pleasure of watching our little girl grow in both size and in character, already going from a helpless newborn to a smiling, cheerful little lady who knows how to get what she wants from us. Seeing this growth has been amazing, and prompted me to reflect on what we have experienced and learnt from the beginning of our new life as a family, which is the goal of this blog entry.

Here is a list of some of the things I have learnt about the responsibilities and rewards of fatherhood.