We had lunch at this local hotel restaurant in autumn last year. It is one of several restaurants in the Lausanne area that has been awarded at least one Michelin star.
The chef M. Edgard Bovier was very friendly and came out of the kitchen to chat with the patrons, including us, in French and English.
We had the three-courses set lunch (at least one other option is available per course) and it was good. Sue had the Loup de mer with the scent of bouillabaise, fennel heart fondant and tomato confit (pardon our translation of the menu into English).
I had the oven-cooked lamb shoulder, grilled aubergine and condiments Sicilien.
The dessert looked very attractive when the sun filled the dining room with light.
The dessert consisted of pineapple ravioli, white cheese with lime, sable breton and pina colada sorbet. Decorated by mini aloe (with pink spikes).
Half the dining room has a view of Lac Leman just down the hill – it was too foggy to see the lake and the Alps in this photo.
The sun was coming in and out.
This restaurant is recommendable. Here’s their website. We would return for dinner one of these evenings.
The other Michelin-star restaurant we visited a while back was Ann-Sophie Pic’s restaurant in the Hotel Beau Rivage. We did not enjoy that meal and wrote about it in an earlier post here.
Time flies. Lausanne has been our home for the last two years. In the summer of 2010, we left our temporary corporate housing in Peseux and moved into this apartment. Here are some links to our past posts documenting the journey from the US:
When we first moved here, our street was a complete mess. A huge block of modern apartments was under construction down the street. The traffic was choking as our street is the only way for tour buses to access some hotels in a pedestrian-only area. This is what the street looked like two years ago:
Now the apartments are finished and they finally re-paved the sidewalk. At the other end of the street, however, the Lausanne city opera is building an extension which will be finished later this year. Finally, the place will not look like a construction war zone and there will be less dust in the house.
One of the attractive features of this place is a semi-private garden/courtyard where we can do outdoor grilling. Even if it rains, we can retreat into the covered porch and continue cooking.
See the post about Grilling at home. Yes, our pine tree is slanted we noticed too.
For several weeks a year in early summer, a patch of lavender sends a nice scent into our living room.
Today (July 15) is our second anniversary living in this apartment. We are quite happy calling this place home, the apartment is spacious and its location is convenient. We have a spare bedroom and bathroom, and some of you have already visited. Many of you have an open invitation, so come see us soon.
For those who need some persuasion, my friend YS kindly sent us this link to a very flattering description of Lausanne and nearby sights from the New York Times: Following Dickens Through Switzerland
Once a year, Lausanne hosts the night of the museums (La Nuit des Musées) – an event that involves 24 museums in the area. This year’s event took place this past weekend Sep 24.
The admission was CHF10 and the ticket allowed access to all the participating museums, discount at restaurants, and free transportation, all between the hours of 2pm on Saturday to 2am on Sunday.
We saw the Musée Olympique, the one and only in the world, since the Olympic Committee is located here in town. This is one of the main reasons why tourists come to Lausanne. It certainly is worth a visit. We saw an exhibit about “Peau” (skin) with sections on dermatologic diseases as well as tattoo, at the Fondation Verdan’s Musée de la Main – which incidentally is located across from the city’s main hospital. We also saw a very nice collection of paintings at the Foundation of the Hermitage with works by Van Gogh, Bonnard, Vallotton and others. Félix Vallotton is new to me and apparently he was an artist from Lausanne – I like his work more than the others.
The last event of the night was Musée FMR which was really a concert/party. This event was to close the night at 4:30am.
The event was held at L’ Usine-Tridel – a railway terminal completed in 2007 where garbage from Lausanne is transported and transferred to an adjacent incinerator. What a venue to throw a party!
As the terminal is located underground, a massive spiral ramp leads down to its entrance.
One might imagine the terminal to be dirty and smelly. Au contraire, it has to be the best looking garbage train terminal in the world. Smooth concrete walls and clean floors with neat train tracks – there is nothing to suggest the nature of the cargo. The entire space has been re-purposed for the evening’s event. Honestly, nobody would have guessed the actual purpose of the space.
Entrance: Red gate half pulled down for good effects – Chesterfield was sponsoring the smoking area.
Since this year’s theme is “Museums as gardens of culture”, all the promotion materials had a green theme. Here, the lounge space had christmas trees suspended overhead and leaf motif lighting effects. The red and green almost had a chrismas-y feel. The railroad tunnel was just visible in the picture below.
Here is a quick video lookaround :
The vast space included several train carriages that served as makeshift spaces for displaying art (e.g., ceramic turntable and mixer) and VIP seating areas.
The railroad tunnel was obviously blocked off. The stage was at one end of the tunnel with three wide screens. This is the other end – can’t help thinking about Batman’s cave.
The event was opened by MC Ardle from the UK – I arrived at 1030pm and the place was pretty empty. The video materials were provided by Supermafia – a collective from Neuchatel. The music and the video artwork spread out on three screens worked really well in the cavernous space.
Here is a sample of the DJ/VJ’s work:
The first live act came on just after midnight and it was “The National Fanfare of Kadebostany” – not bad but a bit underwhelming for me – but evidently very exciting for some at the front. Their music was a mix of electronic beats with clarinet/saxophone, trombone, and electric guitar.
Do you want to hear the fanfare ? Click below:
I missed the other two acts. When I was leaving, busloads of people were arriving. By the time I got home, I had 11 hours of art and music – not bad for one day and only CHF10.
Here are a few snapshots taken on the two days in mid-July when our stuff from the US was delivered to and unpacked in our apartment. We had been separated from our possessions for more than 6 months and could barely remember what we have in these boxes (more than 200 !). Through this process, we recognized that many of our stuff are not important, old, or useless – some totally forgettable – we are just lugging them around for the sake of possessing them. Before we put them away, we are going to throw some of them out (or will I? – I know Sue will).
To bookend this story, follow these two link back to the posts Packing Up Edgewater and Moving Out of Edgewater, added in March 2010, with photos of these boxes when they were packed in our US home and loaded onto the container.
Vevey is about 20 minutes drive from where we live, and like Lausanne, also located on the bank of Lake Geneva. It has a food museum, known as the Alimentarium. I believe it is sponsored by Nestle, the world’s largest food manufacturer, the headquarters of which is located there. The museum offers a set lunch which showcases Swiss ingredients and techniques, and each course is explained by the chef who assembles the dish in front of you. The restaurant, La Verrière, is of cafeteria style – so after each dish we return to the chef to pick up the next course. The dishes were special and beautifully presented, the flavors delicate, the explanations interesting, and it was inexpensive.
If and when I find the 1-page menu, I will update the post with the names of the dishes. The last two pies are not part of the set lunch but they were on display in the cafe.
It has been a while since I posted food porn – well, here are some links to my earlier food porn posts: our first food porn entry, Telepan in NYC, and DBGB. Have a second helping.
Where available, click on the music link to launch blip.fm in a new window. Press the orange-colored play button near the top to start. While listening, return to the blog by clicking the wordpress window.
Chris & Sue's Excellent(?) Adventures 
