July 21, 2003
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Cover Story:  VITZNAU AND LUCERNE by John Mariani

New York Corner:  AIGO

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VITZNAU AND LUCERNE by John Mariani

Switzerland seems a very deliberate puzzle.   On the one hand it is the nation that founded the Red Cross; on the other it has resolutely withdrawn from the rest of the world except as a hoarder of other people's money.   Its notorious neutrality is troubling. (How, by the way, does it work? You simply declare you don't want to fight with anyone and everyone says, "OK, we won't invade you"?)  In Graham Greene's The Third Man the amoral Harry Lime explains his indifference to the world's ills by noting that during the Renaissance, Italy was torn by barbarity, tyranny and bloodshed, yet it gave the world Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo. "Switzerland's had 500 years of social democracy," he says, "and what has it given us? The cuckoo clock."
       Yet Switzerland remains, inch for inch (all 16,000 square miles of it), perhaps the most beautiful country in Europe, possessed of mountains and valleys and crystal clean lakes that you might think God created it last, after perfecting his style.  It is indeed a magical place, serene and green in summer, white and mystical in winter.  It makes underrated (though overpriced) wines, its cheeses deserve their renown, and its restaurants rank with the best in the world, like Le Pont de Brent in Montreux, the Hôtel de Ville in Crissier, Bruderholz in Basel, and Ermitage am See in Küsnacht. Recently I spent three days nestled in the valley of Vitznau at the Jahre Park Hotel Vitznau (41-41-399-6060; in the U.S., 1-800-323-7500; www.parkhotel-vitznau.ch) venturing out to Lucerne and dining splendidly throughout, always choosing good Swiss wines to drink and always sleeping soundly with my windows open to the extraordinary air that blankets the region.
       The Hotel this year celebrates its hundredth anniversary.  (On October 3rd a grand dinner will be served at the prices charged back in 1903.)  The hotel developed from a small boarding house in 1866 named Villa Pfyffer, and additions have been made ever since, with every one of the 104 rooms, 26 junior suites, and seven deluxe suites remodeled in 1986, so that even the staff quarters resemble the Belle Epoque fairy tale castle-like architecture of the hotel.  There is a gorgeous pool, located both within and without the hotel, which in summer months is the site of a weekly barbecue, and dinner cruises are offered on Lake Lucerne.

    There are several dining options here, beginning with the Swiss restaurant Panorama overlooking the lake. Downstairs, opening onto the pool and terrace where you may also dine, is the Restaurant Quatre Cantons, overseen by executive chef Michael Grassl, here since 1994.  I enjoyed two meals here, one beginning with a sheer carpaccio of very lightly smoked marlin marinated in lime-olive oil and some delicate gravad lax, served with a Petit Arvine '01 from the Valais. Next was an intense flavor of springtime in white asparagus soup with lemon grass, accompanied by a Frassa Chardonnay from Thomas Donatsch, '00.  Truly extraordinary was the red wine that followed--a Carnalin de Sierre '01 from Simon Favre-Berclaz, one of the few producers of this noble, ruby-like example of modern Swiss winemaking.  It was poured with a dish of roasted medallions of deer with wild mushrooms in a Port sauce, with wild garlic gnocchi and spring vegetables. Dessert was a light tiramisù of mango with mango sorbet.                                                                                              

   On another evening there was an appetizer of sweet white asparagus with delicious Puschlav ham, accompanied by an Aigle "Les Murailles" '01 from Henri Badoux, followed by grilled fillet of turbot (turbot always tastes better in Europe than when it travels), with a foamy wild garlic sauce, green onion ragoût and potatoes, served with a Malanser Weissburgunder '00 from Gut Plandaditsch, Familie Lauber.  I've not had better lamb than the juicy chops served here, the animals raised in the Alpine hills, served simply with perfect green beans and a glass of Syrah du Valais, Maître de Chais '01.  There were some fine Swiss and French cheeses from the trolley, but then an assortment of unusually dull desserts, none with much flavor, from a lavender semi-freddo to a chocolate mousse.
    The winelist at the hotel is one of the finest in Switzerland, with plenty of Swiss regional bottlings to sample.
    Dinner at the restaurant runs between 94 and 170 Swiss francs (about $70-$125) per person, tax and service included.                                                                                                                                

 Lucerne

         I ventured back along the lake to Lucerne, one of my favorite small cities in Europe, each street a little gem of Swiss history, from the two pretty wooden bridges, the Kapelbrűcke with its 17th century wood paintings and the Spreuerbrücke, originally built in 1408, with its fantastical painted panels of the "Dance of Death," to the sober facade of the Jesuits' Church with its fine stucco interior and the charming Wine Market Square surrounded by gaily painted antique houses.  After walking the narrow streets and along the river, I pushed through the old doors of one of Lucerne's most famous restaurants, named after a beloved, not-too-frightening folk figure of the area, Wilden Mann (Bahnhofstrasse 30; 041-210-1666;  www.wilden-mann.ch )--"The Wild Man," a statue of which hangs above the doorway of this hotel and restaurant.

    Upstairs is The Romantic Room, where they serve a five-course dinner; downstairs, where I dined, is the very traditional German-Swiss Burgerstube, reflected in the decor, with its beamed ceilings, stone fireplace, rustic chairs and antlers on the wall.  Chefs Andreas Stübi  and Tobias Schraner offer an array of options that include a businessman's lunch at 45 Swiss francs ($33), a light lunch at 22 ($16.50) and yet another at 26 ($19), with a vegetarian menu at 19.50 ($14.25). (Prices include tax and service.)  For starters we sampled a carpaccio of boiled veal with a lime dressing, asparagus and salad, and a goat's cheese tartlette that had been marinated in olive oil with garlic, asparagus dressing, and radishes.  I was very happy to have a simple, impeccably roasted chicken with risotto, though lamb fillets with asparagus and rosemary-dusted potatoes was nothing more than all right.  But a perfect rendering of Wienerschnitzel  (here called  Riesenkalbsschnitzel paniert) proved again why this is such a popular dish everywhere--crisply fried breaded veal cutlet, accompanied by good French fries.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

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NEW YORK CORNER: AIGO
by John Mariani

When chef Richard Farnabe was cooking at the glitzy nightclub-cum-restaurant Lotus, the former drowned out the latter both literally and figuratively.  The place was a beast of noise, and the late night crowd was often so crushing as to make getting out the door a major commitment.  The food was far more than it needed to be for a crowd that seemed content to subsist on mixed green salads and Cosmopolitans, yet Farnabe earned widespread praise from the critics for his inventive, beautifully composed cuisine,  the result of ten years cooking on the French Riviera, as well as stints at Ledoyen in Paris, and both Daniel, Jean-George, and Mercer Kitchen in NYC.   I knew he'd show up in finer quarters soon.
    He has happily alighted at Aigo (1608 First Ave.; 212-327-4700) , together with patîssier Gregory Gourreau and sommelier Hervé Pennequin, Farnabe has made this into the most exciting restaurant on the Upper East Side--territory that could certainly use a bright, imaginative place like this.  The name Aigo refers to a restorative garlic soup of Provence, l'aigo boulido, which is the signature dish here. Its interior stresses rich colors of Mediterranean blue, copper, and polished wood, with fine golden lighting and an enchanting garden patio.  Pennequin has chosen a wide swathe of Mediterranean and California wines that go well with Farnabe's olive-and-lemon scented cooking, but the list is toppling over with wines above $50, with precious little under that figure.  Mark-ups tend to be very high: Pio Cesare L'Altro '01 is $19 in the stores, $50 here; Chậteau Montus Cuvée Prestige '99 retails at $30, here $90.
    Farnabe's touch is light, but his flavors have considerable depth. The garlic-sausage namesake soup is a delicious starter that delivers on the palate without being too pronounced.  Ravioli of rabbit with a tomato and olive sauce was one of the best starters, and very fine indeed was a plate of sea scallops gently sautéed with red beets.  You rarely see fougasse on any American menu, though it's a favorite among cooks of southern France--a brioche stuffed pastry of vegetables, olives, and a hint of anchovies, the kind of thing you could eat about three of and call it a night. Lobster scented with vanilla and served with a fennel salad was a delightful summer appetizer that might also be ordered here as a main course.
    In a city whose Italian restaurants compete at a very high level for veal chops, Aigo buys a splendid example, and Farnabe gives it a tangy citrus crust and serves it with falafel.  Loin of lamb served with curry sauce was simple and delicious, fragrant and pleasantly chewy, but there was nothing to get excited about in a dish of monkfish with merguez sausage in clam broth. Neither did some rather bland sweetbreads gain much from the intriguing marriage with cloves and orange bark.
    For dessert Gourreau manifests his French training in items like chocolate hazelnut craquelin with coffee ice cream and a lovely pineapple carpaccio with fromage blanc sorbet.
    Menu prices are pretty reasonable, especially for this high quality cooking.  Appetizers run $7-$14, entrees $19-$25, which assures Aigo that many people in the neighborhood will become regulars at this superb effort by a chef who was bound to show his talents in full.

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SO THEY ALL NAMED THEIR BABIES “MICKEY” AND LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Taiwanese restaurateur Lin Chia-ho told the Taiwan News that he has helped couples become fertile by serving them sperm-producing organ meats like mouse testicles.

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QUICK BYTES 

* On July 21 through Aug. 3 Berry Fest in Boston celebrates the best of local summer berries as interpreted by Bambara's Executive Chef Tom Berry (25 Edwin H. Land Blvd.), with a berry-focused appetizer, entrée and dessert at dinner.  Twenty percent from the cost of each item will be donated to the East End House, a not-for-profit, multi-service community
center and social service agency . $35 pp and a la carte. Call  617-868-4444.

*On July 24 The Beverly Hills Hotel (9641 Sunset Blvd.) celebrates summer with Cuban Night at the Pool, an evening of Caribbean cuisine and live Cuban jazz at the Cabaña Club Café, for just $75 pp.   Call 310-281-2919.

 * From Aug. 18-22 diners will have plenty of options to choose from during Boston Restaurant Week, with  $20.03 lunches and $30.03 dinners and scores of local restaurants. For further information, visit BostonUSA.com/RestaurantWeek or call 1-888-SEE BOSTON.

* On Aug. 28 Hemingway's Restaurant (Route 4; 802- 422-3886) in Killington, VT,  will celebrate its  20th year in with a dinner featuring older and new vintages of Tablas Creek and Château de Beaucastel.. .  On  Labor Day Monday a mushroom forage through Vermont woods with mycologist, Georgette Roberts, will be followed by a luncheon at the restaurant. $50 pp.

 * On Sept, 13 the Staglin Family Vineyard (1570 Bella Oaks Lane) in Rutherford, CA, will holds its 9<sup>th</sup> annual “Music Festival for Mental Health,” with a symposium, wine tasting, concert and dinner created by Wayne Nish of NYC’s March restaurant. Concert & tasting, $250; full day, $2,500 pp. Call 707-944-0477.

* On  Sept. 13 DC's top pastry chefs pair with champagne producers to raise funds for the Humane Law Enforcement Program, of the Washington Humane Society, at the Melrose Hotel Ballroom (2430 Pennsylvania Ave., NW). $75 pp. Call  202-331-8118

* On Sept. 19  DC's Equinox ( 818 Connecticut Ave., NW) Chef Todd Gray continues his Guest Chef series, presenting a 4-course dinner highlighting the harvest flavors of fall, with Chef Christopher Prosperi of Metro Bis in Simsbury, CT.  $90 pp. Call 202-331-8118 . . . "Sips and Tastes" Virginia Wine Tasting will be held Sept.  21 at Equinox, an afternoon of wine and food pairings featuring Virginia wineries and Washington-area restaurants to benefits the Capitol chapter of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.  Cost $30 WCR members; $40 non-members; Call  202-331-8118.

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John Mariani is a columnist for Esquire, Wine Spectator, Diversion and the Harper Collection. He is author of The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink (Lebhar-Friedman), The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink (Broadway), and, with his wife Galina, the award-winning new Italian-American Cookbook (Harvard Common Press).

 copyright John Mariani 2003