Shameless self-promotion

For those of you who haven't noticed the new link over on the side bar, I just wanted to mention that I have started writing the vegetarian blog Veggie Chic for b5media as of last week. I basically write about all things vegetarian: recipes, news articles, my own experiences, etc. I didn't name the blog, so feel free to make fun of the name all you want.

It's probably no coincidence that right after I started, b5 was offered gobs of funding money. Those Canadian VC companies know a good thing when they see one. :)

So please check it out if you're so inclined, and tell all your vegetarian friends about it.

Autumn eats in Zurich

How do I know fall is here? The Wild [German for ‘game’ – the kind you eat, not the kind you play] menus posted outside almost every single restaurant in Zurich told me so. Despite the title, even vegetarians like me can rejoice in these seasonal culinary offerings. Good restaurants offer at least one fall vegetarian option, and the ones I’ve tested so far have been pretty delicious.

Seasonal starters include soups such as creamy porcini or pumpkin. For the main course, flakey pastries filled with wild mushroom ragù are popular, as are pumpkin ravioli. Or you could just go for a big plate of seasonal vegetables served with some spatzle. These fall vegetable plates can include red and white cabbage, chestnuts, chanterelles or other mushrooms, poached pears, Brussels sprouts, braised grapes, and cranberry sauce.

For the carnivores, there’re offerings such as deer schnitzel, jugged deer, and some sort of wild boar. These freshly-hunted meats are usually served with some sort of the vegetables I listed above.

The dessert menu swings a little seasonal, too. There are lots of berries and berry sorbets, and several other perfectly acceptable offerings. But there’s one I feel it’s my duty to warn you about. Even if you’re a chestnut aficionado, as I am, don’t get suckered into ordering the ‘vermicellis’ dessert. This is basically some sort of chestnut-sugar paste extruded into wormlike shapes and served with a meringue and a dollop of whipped cream. I don’t know exactly what they do to the chestnuts, but they come out tasting awful.

Apparently the Swiss don’t share my distaste for chestnut worms, because the stuff is EVERYWHERE. Not only has every restaurant in town added it to the menu, it’s also prominently featured in every pastry shop and supermarket. If only fresh roasted chestnuts were this easy to come by…

German word of the day: Reformhaus

I know what you’re thinking… it’s where naughty, naughty little girls are sent. At least that’s what I thought the first time I walked past a Reformhaus sign when I lived in Germany.

It was only after I had been living there for a year that I finally figured out what they really are: shops that carry health foods of various sorts, as well as herbal remedies and wacky things of that nature. For a vegetarian living in former East Germany (where bananas were still a novelty), discovering the true nature of Reformhäuser was a dream come true. Tofu! Cranberry juice! Vegetarian Wurst! None of these things were sold in grocery stores in Halle.

Now that we live in Zurich, I am once again in the land of Reformhäuser. I haven’t been shopping at them very often, since normal supermarkets here offer a wider range of foods than those in Germany did. I often just forget they exist.

But the other day I was in the mood to try something new, so I headed towards the Reformhaus in our neighborhood, only to find it had closed down. Feeling guilty for not having given it more of my patronage, I changed course towards the only other Reformhaus I was aware of, the one in the underground mall at the main train station.

There I browsed for half an hour while picking out a couple goodies from the vast array of foods (many of which I have never seen before). I steered clear of the dinkel burger, but I left with my seitan, organic tofu-and-grunkern ravioli, and mung beans chips vowing to return again soon, or at least to find a new Reformhaus in my neighborhood.

Eating vegetarian in Zurich

Zurich is not exactly a restaurant-goer’s paradise. Firstly, like everything else in this city, most restaurants are overpriced. Seeing the prices on a menu, I often get my hopes up about the quality of the food, only to have them dashed by the overly salty and starchy disappointment of a meal that I am later served. Thus I am invariably left to drown my sorrows in some mediocre 9-franc-a-glass (if you can call one deciliter a glass) wine.

Fondue season is long gone, and now Spargelzeit is coming to an end, too. So what’s a vegetarian gourmand in Zurich to do? At most traditional Swiss restaurants, the meatless options are limited to a salad or a lone, overcooked pasta dish (trust me, you don’t want that pasta dish). There’s also often a vegetable and cheese Rösti dish on the menu, but there are only so many fried-potato-based meals I can handle per month.

Luckily, the longer I look, the better options I’m finding. In addition to some decent vegetarian-friendly international cuisines (Indian and Japanese in particular), there are also a couple restaurants in Zurich that cater specifically to the meatless diet. Below are the ones I’ve sampled so far.

Hiltl. This upscale veggie paradise claims to be the oldest vegetarian restaurant in Europe. The menu is extensive and varied, and the service tends to be quite good. There is also a buffet which offers a variety of foods, including many Indian dishes. Its usual location is under renovation (and from the looks of things, will be for quite a while longer), so Hiltl can currently be found in temporary digs just off of Parade Platz. Although the interior is nice, it’s quite crowded and loud during peak times. If you want to eat lunch at 12 or dinner at 8, you’ll need a reservation.

Tibits. The more laid back (and less expensive) version of Hiltl, Tibits also offers an extensive vegetarian buffet. In addition it boasts some impressive tea and juice drink creations, and homemade desserts that at least look pretty good (I have yet to try one). The main drawback in my book is how crowded it gets. If you’re not a fan of sharing a table with strangers, don’t go during peak meal times.

Bona Dea. This vegetarian buffet restaurant in the main train station is OK for a one-time visit, but doesn’t offer enough variety for me to become a regular. Plus, every time I’ve been there it’s almost eerily empty of patrons (pretty much the opposite problem of Hiltl and Tibits). The food isn’t as bad as its unpopularity would suggest, but it’s definitely not something to write home about.

Pot Au Vert. Just across the Limmat from the main train station, this small restaurant offers a limited but creative selection of vegetarian dishes in a hotel-breakfast-room setting. Like most restaurants in Zurich, it’s disappointing for the money, but if you pretend you're paying only half the price, you end up pretty satisfied. Its opening hours are somewhat limited.

Since not all meat eaters appreciate being deprived of Fleisch at a meal, my ongoing mission is to find more “normal” restaurants that offer a wide vegetarian selection alongside all the Wurst and G’schnätzlets, so that neither I nor my dining companions feel deprived. One of my favorites so far is the Linde Oberstraβ on Universitätstrasse. They thoughtfully mark all the vegetarian dishes with a “V” on the menu. One of my favorites is the Mediterranean salad, which is a very filling mix of lentils, chick peas, tomatoes, feta, and some other stuff. Another big draw of this place is the microbrewed beer on tap, with offerings that change with the seasons. In the summer there’s also a nice Biergarten.

Linde Oberstraβ is part of a group of restaurants that offer the same beer and essentially the same menu, but with individual ambiances (which is why I’m stopping short of calling it a chain). If it’s something bigger, hipper, and more commercial-feeling you’re after, check out the Back & Brau near Escher-Wyss-Platz. I’m pretty sure there are more of these style restaurants around town, too.

I’m certainly a long way from finished with my quest for my favorite restaurants in Zurich, but at least I’ve managed to find a couple decent places so far. Although I’m not sure it’s possible, next I’d love to find a good Italian eatery. This is not easy to do when you’ve just spent a year living in Milan having your standards for “good Italian food” raised to impossible heights. I think I might give up soon and just hop on a train to spend a weekend south of the border.