במהלך הטיול ביער השחור “קפצנו” קפיצה קטנה לבאזל לפגוש את חברנו ליביו ולאכול במסעדה שהוא מחבב מאוד, בעלת שני כוכבי מישלן בשם סטוקי. מדובר במסעדה מאוד מיוחדת, השפית משתמשת בחומרי גלם מעניינים ומגוונים ומוגש במקום ארוחת טעימות משתנה לצד תפריט קבוע. לקחנו כולנו את תפריט הטעימות (180 פרנקים שוויצרים שזה בערך 145 יורו), למרות שהיה אפשרי (לא בכל מקום זה כך) לקחת שתי ארוחות טעימה והזמנה נוספת מהתפריט. אחר כך קצת הצטערתי על כך. מילה לגבי השירות והאווירה: לדעתי היה הצד החלש של הערב ומאוד הפריע לי ואף האפיל על האוכל. האווירה היתה מאוד קרירה ולחוצה. מאוד לא נעימה והרגשתי לא בנוח. אולי אני לא קהל היעד הנורמלי של המסעדה, ודווקא אנשי העסקים שסועדים בו מרוצים מסוג האווירה, אבל אפילו בשביל פגישת עסקים לצורך עשיית רושם בלבד – לדעתי המקום לוקח את עצמו הרבה יותר מדי ברצינות. אני לא מתנגדת כליל למסעדות פורמליות יותר, אבל יש דרך לעשות גם פורמלי וגם נעים. למזלי ששלושתינו נהנינו מחברתו זה של זה. ולארוחה:
הארוחה התחילה בכוס אפרטיף ויין. אין תפריט יין אלא הסומלייה הציע לי לטעום משהו ואם אני אוהב אותו ימזוג לי כוס. מצד אחד, אני אוהבת כאלה הפתעות. לראייה ארוחתנו בפייר סנג בפריז. אבל במסעדה כזאת רצינית, להזמין משהו בלי לראות תפריט עם מחיר יכול להיות מפחיד ולבטל את הכיף של ההפתעה. עוד נקודה היא שלבסוף כשטעמתי ואישרתי את היין הלבן שהוצע לי, נחשף התווית וגיליתי שמדובר ביין ספרדי מאיזור הבאסק. אבל אני בשוויץ. למה לא משהו מקומי?
באותו זמן עם היין הגיע גם הלחם, קערה עם שני סוגי לחמניות, אחת חומה ואחת לבנה בצורת באגט קטן. החמאה הוגשה בנפרד לכל סועד שנשאל אם הוא רוצה חמאה מלוחה או חמאה לימונית תוצרת בית. עוד גינון מיותר במקום לשים כבר לכל אחד חתיכה קטנה מכל אחד ולחסוך את חוסר החינניות של ההגשה הזאת. הלחם היה מצויין אבל רציתי להשאיר מקום לאוכל אז כמעט שלא נגעתי.
לקראת הסוף נשארנו אחרונים במסעדה והתחיל להיות שקט ומוזר עם כל מיני מלצרים מתחבאים בפינות ומסתכלים עלינו בחשאיות – מתי נסיים? לא הרגשנו צורך להזמין קפה אבל חששנו שלא נקבל את הפטיפורים. כשהלכתי לשירותים ראיתי את הפטיפורים שלנו מחכים מעבר לפינה ונתתי אוקיי להזמנת חשבון ללא קפה. הפטיפורים היו פרלין, עוגיה פריכה ומשהו על מקל שהיה בו שוקולד לבן וג’ינג’ר והיה מיוחד וטעים.
During the trip in the Black Forest we’ve made a little jump to Basel to meet our friend Livio and eat at a restaurant that he likes, with two Michelin stars named Stücki. This is a unique restaurant, the chef uses interesting ingredients and the tasting menu is served alongside the a la cart menu. We all took the tasting menu (180 Swiss Francs, which is about 145 euros), although it was possible (not everywhere it is so) to take two tasting menus and an additional order from the a la cart menu. After a while I regretted it a bit.
A word on the service and atmosphere: I think it was the weak point of the evening and really bothered me even overshadowed the food. The atmosphere was very cold and tense. Very unpleasant and I felt uncomfortable. Maybe I’m not the normal target audience of the restaurant, and specifically businessmen diners are satisfied with the kind of atmosphere, but even for a business meeting only for the purpose of making an impression – I think the place takes itself far too seriously. I’m completely not against the formal dinning, but there is also a way to make it formal and pleasant. Luckily the three of us enjoyed each other’s company. And for meal itself:
The meal started with a glass of aperitif (for them) and wine (for me). No wine list was shown to me but the sommelier offered me a taste of something and if I liked it, he will pour me a glass. On one hand, I like surprises. For example, see our meal in Pierre Sang, Paris. But in such a serious restaurant, ordering something without seeing it with the price on the menu can be frighting and eliminate the fun of surprise. When I confirmed the wine after the blind taste, the label was exposed and I discovered it was a Spanish wine from the area of the Basque. But I’m in Switzerland. Why not offer me a local wine?
Together with the wine we also received a bread bowl with two types of rolls, one brown and one white in the form of a small baguette. The butter was served separately for each diner who was asked if he would like salted butter or/and homemade lime butter. A bit overdoing in my opinion. The bread was great but I wanted to leave room for food so I barely touched it.
1. Tomato saké gazpacho, chili ricotta, rooibos millet– The Gazpacho soup was poured into our bowls by the waitress at the table, and the dish was … how to say? Strange. Reminded, in my opinion more of a Bloody Mary because of the sake. The soup was served with a kind of red cracker/coral that we were supposed to eat with the soup. maybe it was the millet and rooibos? I have no idea. I didn’t understand this dish.
2. Zanger (Pikeperch) marinated in miso, sesame, fennel, mint oil – much to my delight the meal continued with this course which was my favorite in the whole meal. The dish completely green and beautiful with strong flavors of thinly sliced fennel, raw fish and great seasoning. On the plate there were little green-yellow fennel flowers – it’s also the logo of the restaurant.
3. Chanterelle, cardamom cream, parsley root, hazelnut barley – a totally yellow dish which looks very nice too. Sort of a barley risotto with all sorts of surprises over it. Wintry and earthy flavors. Seasonal Chanterelle mushrooms and roasted hazelnuts – a feeling of the forest. I thought it was appropriate to the weather and place.
4. Langoustine, thyme essence, cherry salt, beetroot, tapioca – I was waiting for this dish because I love langoustine, but the high expectations caused some high disappointments. The Langoustine came in the form of a small fried ball, next to a small ball of tapioca and a piece of cooked beets. Above all, the waitress poured a clear broth which was probably the essence of thyme. The beet immediately overpowered the whole dish and colored everything red. The langoustine I felt was almost lost.
5. Pepperoni saffron lassi, sunflower seed, harissa jelly – the menu read ” peperoni” but the intention, as Livio explained, was pepper and not sausage. What arrived at this dish was saffron flavored yogurt with sunflower seeds. I might have enjoyed it more if it was not mentioned as a course in the menu and just served as a palate cleanser without pompous description.
6. Veal, sansho pepper glaze, basil brioche, lime leek – two pieces of veal in the dish, a glazed slow cooked piece of veal and the other pink and soft. Next to it was a salad of cabbage that was not mentioned on the dish description and a very pleasant side of leek and lime. For me this dish was good or bad.
7. Cheese trolley, black currant mustard, date bread – I’m a sucker for cheese. The trolley did not disappoint and was just wonderful. I asked the waiter for strong and unusual cheeses with a combination of goat , sheep and cow. Apart of one cheese, I really enjoyed the selection – spot on for my tastes. Combined with the date bread, jam and mustard, it was a wonderful dish that warmed my heart, and with it we passed on to the desserts.
8. Cucumber, anis emulsion, pineapple jus, rice caramel – This dish may look innocent but left me excited. Not sure how to describe – it was a brilliant genius creation and a great three small bites. Perfect. In fact this is the effect I had hoped to get from the other dishes.
9. Red berry, juniper gratiné, buffalo yogurt, amaranth brittle – another delightful dessert that combines perfect different things made out of berries. Seasonal and refreshing. I liked it very much .
Towards the end we stayed last in the restaurant which became quiet and quaint with all kinds of waiters hiding in corners and watching us secretly – when will they finish? We did not feel the need for coffee but we were afraid we will not get the petit fours. When I went to the bathroom I saw our petit fours waiting around the corner and so I gave an okay for requesting the bill without coffee. The Petit Fours were Perlin, crunchy cookie and a stick that had white chocolate and ginger gelee and was special and delicious.
I left with mixed feelings. Out of nine dishes of the meal I liked five of them, did not understand at all three, and one was not here nor there. The list of ingredients in each dish left me at times feeling that it’s lacking a clear connection between the components and maybe only there for the sake of being exotic ingredients and not for the benefit of the dish. Sometimes less is more, in the case of the Gazpacho dish, a red edible “stone” on the side was totally unnecessary and not tasty, and sometimes superior components such as langoustine should not be processed too much – they are much more tasty in their original delicate being. But above all bothered me the coldness of the place. There’s a chance that if the atmosphere was more pleasant and comfortable, I would enjoy the food more.
Visited: September 17, 2013
