Archives for December 2007

Every destination offers varied and new dining experiences, some haute cuisine others bizarre local delicacies but all become priceless memories. These five restaurants captured my heart and shaped my palate, and I thoroughly recommend them all to you.

Zur Forelle – Ulm, Germany

The old centre of Ulm offers some of the finest food in Southern Germany, and Zur Forelle is our favorite sitting beside the Blau (Blue) River this cramped little restaurant serves traditional Schwäbische fare including the local egg noodles (Spätzle) and trout from the Blau. After completing our meal with strudel (cliché, perhaps but homemade and extraordinary) and coffee, we headed out into the night to stroll along the banks of the Danube. A magical night for my wife and me.

Dragon Temple Lane – Butterworth, Malaysia

A nondescript side street off Butterworth Road is home to a diverse array of Malaysian cuisine served by colorful locals. Taking an outside table, we order satays from the husband and wife team grilling chicken and beef strips on their small scrap iron hibachi. Sending someone to buy watermelon juice across the road, we order our fill of curries, rice and the local specialty chili crab from the restaurant providing our table. It is scene played out in makan areas throughout Malaysia, small specialty providers working together to give you a fantastic meal.

Robert et Louise – Paris, France

A small traditional French restaurant serving simple comfort food cooked over an open fire, Robert et Louise featured in an episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. Try the boudin noir (blood sausage) or côtes de boeuf (rib steaks) cooked over the open fire in the back of the restaurant for a great French bistro experience.

Bouchon – Las Vegas, USA

Bouchon at The Venetian, a reprise of Thomas Keller‘s Napa Valley bistro serves traditional French cuisine with a finesse that is unmatched anywhere. We worked our way through a magnificent array of French favorites, rich in everything that makes food worth eating. Keller takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary without destroying the simple elegance of the food served to you. We arrived with high expectations that Keller’s staff exceeded to make the most memorable anniversary dinner of our marriage.

Cascadia Restaurant – Seattle, USA

The five o’clock queue surprised us but we found a nice corner of the bar to enjoy our burgers and Cascadia’s signature drink, the Alpine Martini. A small Douglas fir snowball bobbing in Absolut Citron vodka, slowly releasing its sweet goodness into the liquid for an evolving cocktail that tastes like Christmas trees.

Do Cascadia’s miniburgers live up to their Seattle> cult following hype?

We sampled four toppings; barbeque lobster, black truffle butter, blue cheese and green pepper salsa, and each gave the lean beef patties a unique flavor experience. You can also choose wild King salmon or veggie patties if beef is not on your forte. We loved them; the barbeque lobster is a decadent delight and the green chilis a burning sensation but I would pass on the black truffle butter in favor of Oregon blue cheese.