Here we are, in beautiful Switzerland, trying to embrace all the local flavors, traditions, customs and even the language, and that’s why we were hoping for a great culinary experience and ordered in French. Dining out in Switzerland is not cheap… at all! But we needed to try the local specialty, and there’s nothing more Swiss than fondue… right? So, we take our table at a cute little restaurant by the lake, the kids can run around while the food is brought to us… they behave for about 10 minutes, Demian orders the food and wine, we have a salad and we are eager to dip the bread in the melting pot… We chase the kids for 10 more minutes and upon our return, what do we find? Meat… yes, MEAT! “Where is my cheese?” I ask, and since there’s no pot on the table, but a wide array of sauces, I start getting concerned… we wait for some minutes and nothing comes, we are truly puzzled. Finally after some more minutes a pot of hot broth arrives… the meat was good. Lesson learned, that variety of fondue is called Fondue Chinoise, which stands for Chinese fondue. I AM in Switzerland… I want melted Swiss cheese… maybe next time we’ll get it right. Let’s at least hope!
Ahora que estamos en este bellísimo lugar, hemos decidido probar y aprender todas las costumbres, tradiciones, sabores y hasta el idioma y por ello decidimos comer un tradicional fondue, y ordenarlo en francés ! Fuimos a un restaurancito muy lindo a la orilla del lago, perfecto porque los niños pueden correr y entretenerse… se quedaron sentados 10 minutos, mientras que Demian ordeno la comida y el vino… después tuvimos que ir a perseguirlos otros 10 minutos y cual seria nuestra sorpresa al regresar a la mesa cuando en lugar de un delicisos quso fundido para remojar el pan nos encontramos con pedazos de carne cruda, una amplísima variedad de salsas y nada mas ! Como aquí se come mucho la carne tartara, hasta pensamos que habria que comerse la carne cruda simplemente remojada en las salsas, no fue sino hasta 5 minutos después cuando nos trajeron la olla con caldo y aprendimos que lo que habíamos pedido era “fondue chino ” … pero si estamos en Suiza !! Yo quiero fondue hecho con queso Suizo. Ojala que la próxima vez nuestro francés haya mejorado y podamos pedir el platillo adecuado!
While growing up, my family occasionally had the beef fondue you describe; the meat was cooked in peanut oil boiling in a pot over a tin of sterno. My parents likely received the fondue set as a wedding or anniversary present. My 5 siblings and I considered it a treat and of course fought over who would be first to select a fork based on the color of the plastic tip on its end. As an adult, I prefer cheese or chocolate fondues. And the meat version is a meal to linger over as your items are cooking. That fact and a pot of boiling oil probably made it a challenge for you to enjoy the meal with small children. Better luck next time Ursula! I give you lots of credit for trying it.
Here we are, in beautiful Switzerland, trying to embrace all the local flavors, traditions, customs and even the language, and that’s why we were hoping for a great culinary experience and ordered in French. Dining out in Switzerland is not cheap… at all! But we needed to try the local specialty, and there’s nothing more Swiss than fondue… right? So, we take our table at a cute little restaurant by the lake, the kids can run around while the food is brought to us… they behave for about 10 minutes, Demian orders the food and wine, we have a salad and we are eager to dip the bread in the melting pot… We chase the kids for 10 more minutes and upon our return, what do we find? Meat… yes, MEAT! “Where is my cheese?” I ask, and since there’s no pot on the table, but a wide array of sauces, I start getting concerned… we wait for some minutes and nothing comes, we are truly puzzled. Finally after some more minutes a pot of hot broth arrives… the meat was good. Lesson learned, that variety of fondue is called Fondue Chinoise, which stands for Chinese fondue. I AM in Switzerland… I want melted Swiss cheese… maybe next time we’ll get it right. Let’s at least hope!
Ahora que estamos en este bellísimo lugar, hemos decidido probar y aprender todas las costumbres, tradiciones, sabores y hasta el idioma y por ello decidimos comer un tradicional fondue, y ordenarlo en francés ! Fuimos a un restaurancito muy lindo a la orilla del lago, perfecto porque los niños pueden correr y entretenerse… se quedaron sentados 10 minutos, mientras que Demian ordeno la comida y el vino… después tuvimos que ir a perseguirlos otros 10 minutos y cual seria nuestra sorpresa al regresar a la mesa cuando en lugar de un delicisos quso fundido para remojar el pan nos encontramos con pedazos de carne cruda, una amplísima variedad de salsas y nada mas ! Como aquí se come mucho la carne tartara, hasta pensamos que habria que comerse la carne cruda simplemente remojada en las salsas, no fue sino hasta 5 minutos después cuando nos trajeron la olla con caldo y aprendimos que lo que habíamos pedido era “fondue chino ” … pero si estamos en Suiza !! Yo quiero fondue hecho con queso Suizo. Ojala que la próxima vez nuestro francés haya mejorado y podamos pedir el platillo adecuado!
While growing up, my family occasionally had the beef fondue you describe; the meat was cooked in peanut oil boiling in a pot over a tin of sterno. My parents likely received the fondue set as a wedding or anniversary present. My 5 siblings and I considered it a treat and of course fought over who would be first to select a fork based on the color of the plastic tip on its end. As an adult, I prefer cheese or chocolate fondues. And the meat version is a meal to linger over as your items are cooking. That fact and a pot of boiling oil probably made it a challenge for you to enjoy the meal with small children. Better luck next time Ursula! I give you lots of credit for trying it.
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