A fun family weekend

This weekend my parents come over for a visit, and we had a great time. Luckily the good weather continued as it was sunny and warm, making it much easier to find things to do!

On the Sunday we decided to have lunch in one of my favourite restaurants in Vidy (see "Restaurant les Berges de Vidy"), and I enjoyed their delicious filets de perches for the umpteenth time. My mum opted for the "salad de soleil", which turned out to be a salad with sunglasses sitting on top! How random!

After lunch we had a stroll along the lake in Vidy, taking in a pit stop at the playground for some fun before both Lydia and I had a go at climbing a tree. From my point of view it was an incredibly uncomfortable branch to sit on, but I stayed up long enough for a photo or two.

We continued our stroll and we all decided to paddle our feet in the water to cool down. Lydia took this one step further and began walking out into the lake until her trousers were soaked! She probably would have carried on even further if we let her, but as we didn't have a change of clothes that would not have been such a good idea.

All in all, a very nice weekend spent with my parents.

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 - 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.

An Anniversary Treat

April 6th is a special day for Christelle and me, as it was the day we first got together all those years ago on Fraser Island in Australia. It may have been an alcohol-fuelled beginning to our relationship, but even then there was something much deeper that has kept us together ever since.

Chris enjoying our dinner

This year marked our 6th year as a couple. When I look back over our time together, it is remarkable to see just how big an impact Chris has had on my life; if it weren't for her I would not be in Switzerland now, for example, nor would I be impatiently awaiting the birth of my first child.


Cheers!

It has been an exciting journey full of ups and downs (mostly ups, fortunately), but I have the feeling that the real journey will begin when the little one comes out to meet us in the very near future.

 

We decided to treat ourselves to a meal in a nice restaurant for our anniversary, which would also be the last restaurant meal as a mere "couple" before the baby arrives (after which the romance might be somewhat disturbed by the presence of a screaming child flinging food everywhere).

We chose to book a table at Les Chevreuils, a restaurant we know well - it was where we held the reception after our wedding in 2009.