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…
ewww, those chesnut worm things are so gross.
but they dont sell the real deal in teh streets? they are everywhere in geneva in the winter.
We do have real roasted chestnuts at a couple street vendors, but they’re not as ubiquitous as the worms. We had some at the zoo the other day – they were tasty!
Just come to Basel if you ever need a roasted chestnut fix – pretty soon there’ll be a stand on just about every street corner roasting chestnut. I agree with you – that chestnut vermicelli stuff is AWFUL!
I think we might have to organise a Swiss Bloggers conference! A get together to discuss the state of Swiss Expat blogging and of course it’ll be held in a pub!! That way you too will be able to experience the “having a pint with the big Finn” phenomenon!!
Excellent idea, Barry. So how was meeting the man behind the blog? Everything you dreamed it would be and more?
If you wait for a few weeks until the weather gets cold again you can find roasted chestnut all over Zürich. And how can you not love vermicelles? That stuff is delicious – but then again I’m Swiss…
The first time I saw those vermicelles, I remember thinking “I don’t know what that is, but it looks disgusting.” (It somehow reminded me of ground beef, but with a different color.) Then I finally tried it and I have to say…it was even more disgusting than I thought it would be.
And TBF is right–once fall and winter roll around, you can’t go 10 feet in downtown Basel without bumping into someone selling roasted chestnuts.
Oh yum! I love brussel sprouts, and all those pumpkin dishes sound great:)
Sounds lekker all those soups and veggies! Oh, my husband loves the chestnut worms, but I think it’s gross!!!
Jul – I can’t speak for Barry, but I had a good time last night downing a couple of pints with him and eventually grabbing a bite to eat. He’s a good “kid”. I call him “da kid” because I realized after I got home that I was 17 years old when “da kid” was born.
Good idea about the blogger get-together.
This all sounds so nice. I would give anything for mushrooms to be as popular as “spuds” (pronounce that like shpuds to really get the Irish effect going) here in Dublin!
Is that photo from the Zeughauskellar? Am I starting ro recognize Zurich landmarks? How exciting!
It is indeed Zeughauskeller. We make all our guests eat there (mainly because we’re too lazy to come up with new restaurants).