Restaurant of the Month - November 2014

Restaurant Mexicano, Niederdorfstrasse 13, 8001 Zurich. 

http://www.bei-tony.ch/mexikano/home.html

'Direct in Hirschenplatz', this Mexican restaurant which is part of the Tony Navarro empire, can easily be missed at first glance. The name of the stag and the old, golden Hirschen sign above the door can be misleading, and if you enter, you will first find yourself in the rather small Cuban bar. But at the back it's another world - palm trees, pot plants up to the ceiling, brightly coloured walls and decorative Mexican murals embrace you in another time and place.

At lunchtime, there is an extensive menu of typically Mexican dishes; the weekly menu and additional specials feature chicken, rice, lamb, Argentinian beef and even kangaroo. The ZIWA Dining Around the World ladies chose fish, chicken fajitas, empanadas and beef taco. The a la carte menu offered even more tempting choices familiar to anyone who has eaten at the nearby Restaurant Turm or another of Da Tony's outlets. Palm hearts, chili con carne, nachos con guacamole, ostrich, chimichanga and a tempting selection of fish and seafood are among the long list of Spanish-sounding dishes on offer. The lunch platters were all nicely presented with accompaniments of freshly prepared guacamole, rice and salad.


After we had placed our orders for these substantial platefuls we were served with wine, water or margaritas to accompany the meal. We speculated on the nationality of our friendly waiter - Mexican, Spanish, Swiss? It turned out he was from Lebanon. That's Zurich for you!

Da Tony has found a successful theme and developed it. As well as the Mexicano and the Turm in Zurich's Altstadt, he has a garden centre, another restaurant in Urdorf and a wine business in Badenerstrasse. But at the Mexicano, you may be tempted by a delicious cocktail or a pitcher of margaritas, or explore the endless possibilities of Spanish wines, with or without a delicious dish.

The Mexicano may suffer from being overlooked, even right in the centre of town. But once you enter the zone of Mexico hidden behind the traditional Swiss facade, you will enjoy the colours, tastes and sounds of another world.

Buen provecho!

Zurich Observatory tour and dinner

On Wednesday 5 November, members of the ZIWA Swinging Sixties group, a large number of ladies, congregated in The Lion bar for a drink prior to a tour of Zurich's Sternwarte or Observatory. You may have often noticed this landmark in Uraniastrasse, and may even have visited the lofty Jules Verne bar, but we discovered a viewing gallery even higher up. Access is possible by lift to the bar and then by a staircase. The 360-degree view on this night was spectacular.

Our guide, Herr Weil, told us about the founding of the observatory in 1907 for the people of the city of Zurich. The 12 tonne steel telescope is housed on a concrete stand which is set into the earth. The telescope rotates to enable a view of the night sky towards the geographic north and Polaris. We were already impressed by the views over the city with its famous churches - the Grossmunster, Fraumunster and St Peter's for example, as well as many other familiar landmarks. In spite of the light pollution, the Zeiss-made telescope lens enables a view of the night sky through two panels which open. The refracting, colour-correcting lens has a magnifying power of 2500 times that of the human eye.

Herr Weil gave us an astronomy lesson about the solar system, the planets and the stars. Closest to earth is our moon, one of over 172 moons in the solar system.  The American Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) which was launched in 2009, is constantly taking photos of the moon and plots its varying distance from the earth during its orbit. Light from the sun takes 8 minutes to reach the earth. We were reminded always to use filters when observing the sun, though. A partial solar eclipse is expected on 22 March 2015.

We also learnt that the eight planets, excluding Pluto, all lie in the same plane, along with the asteroid belt. The sun was formed out of a cloud of hydrogen and dust particles and is 10 million degrees inside. Scientists predict that our sun will die in five billion years' time and become a white dwarf. Comets are formed from ice and snow, and the European (ESA) Rosetta project is planning to land a probe on one on 12 November 2014. The stars are 9.5 billion kilometers away, more than four light years. With our current technology we cannot contact other life forms as the time to reach them, if they existed, would be too great. There are 88 constellations of stars  in our galaxy, many of which we can view with the naked eye. Some of the most familiar are Orion, the Great Bear, Cassiopeia and those named after the signs of the zodiac.

You can visit the Observatory on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings from 20.00 without an appointment. See more at this link: http://www.urania-sternwarte.ch/




After the fascinating tour, group chairlady Vreni Riedler led us over the historic Lindenhof to the traditional Lindenhofkeller for a pre-arranged four course dinner. Our hosts introduced the two selected wines from a French vineyard near Perpignan, before serving us with an amuse-bouche prior to the delicious dinner.


We enjoyed Zander filet in filo pastry with beetroot, apple and horseradish salad, a small pumpkin soup topped with foam, black Angus steak, beautifully served, with roast potatoes and vegetables, and finally a tonka bean panna cotta with mango sorbet and mango and passion fruit compote. It was all beautifully presented and cooked, and the company as usual was also very pleasant.

Read more about the restaurant at this link: http://www.lindenhofkeller.ch/

 En guete!

Restaurant of the Month - October 2014

Weisses Roessli, Bederstrasse 96, 8002 Zurich Enge 

http://www.weisses-roessli.ch/

A small but appreciative group of ZIWA ladies from the Dining Around the World group enjoyed lunch here last Tuesday. The restaurant, which was originally Austrian, now features food with 'French flair and Mediterranean frivolity', prepared and served by Mathieu Bacon and his team. We certainly loved the food and service.

The midday menu features a tempting choice of two starters and two mains using seasonal and original ingredients. Our options were pineapple and lemon grass soup (yummy!) or red cabbage salad with mandarin oranges, and sea bass with lime and ginger butter, wild rice and orange chicory or veal ragout with fresh herbs, mashed potatoes and French beans. At a cost of just over CHF 30, it was very good value,


Optional dessert included chestnut mousse with cranberry jelly. In this autumn season they also offer game, plus seasonal accompaniments such as red cabbage, chestnuts, truffles, mushrooms, and more exotic choices such as curry soup, with dates. The desserts are definitely worth looking at too. And the wine list offers an interesting selection of European wines,


To dine at the Weisses Rossli you certainly need to book, as the place is always full, Worth considering for a business lunch or a special family dinner. And if you hanker after a Wiener Schnitzel, it's also on the menu.


This family business with an international cuisine and a light touch is definitely worth seeking out. It's located one tram stop from Bahnhof Enge and only five minutes from central Zurich.

Zum Wohl!