Restaurant of the Month - May 2012

Mama Africa, Heinrichstrasse 239, 8005 Zurich 
http://www.mamaafrica.ch/mama-africa

For a taste of the southern sun in northwest Zurich, you might like to try Mama Africa for its exotic atmosphere, friendly staff and tasty foods. This South African restaurant has a weekly lunch menu with daily specials and a selection of set dishes, partnered with an extensive wine list. You can choose from gnu, springbok and other local dishes, served with French fries or salad, and there are vegetarian dishes to sample too. The gnu entrecote with chips or salad comes with a selection of dips, and a glass of Shiraz goes down a treat too.

For a working lunch, a group get-together or an original lunch for two, Mama Africa offers a welcome change. The art works on the walls set the scene, there's a bar, a wineloft and plenty of open dining space. The menu changes weekly and you can sign up for an email copy. In the evenings, try more South African dishes from the a la carte menu such as Boerewors, Impala, Bobotie or Meali Pap as well as steaks and seafood cooked on the Braai. The free-range meats are chosen to ensure extra flavour. And the salads, seafood and desserts have a special African theme.

Or if you want to chill out in the bar or lounge, try the tapas menu. The wine list is also extensive and features red and white wines from different South African regions such as Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl. The restaurant is located close to Escher Wyss Platz, close to the market Im Viadukt with its specialist food stalls and niche shops in the up and coming Zuri-West district. Trams 4, 13 and 17 go past.

So check out the link above and make a booking soon. Smaaklicke Ete!

Zurich's literary landmarks

Sunday 22 April was cold and very wet, but 24 ZIWA Discoverers were not deterred from tracking down some of the city's literary landmarks. Bill Hovey, well-known teacher and historian, took the group of members and their partners to explore just a few of the places where famous writers and historical figures passed their time. The runners in the Zurich Marathon probably enjoyed their city tour rather less.

First stop, Cafe Odeon near Bellevue, celebrating its centenary. The pavement tables were empty but the inside is always a cosy place to enjoy a drink. James Joyce, Lenin, Mata Hari and others passed this way, but today we focused on Erich Maria Remarque, a German who later regarded Switzerland as his home and died in Locarno, and used Zurich as the setting for some of his works. Bill read us an extract from All Quiet on the Western Front, his 1929 novel about the futility of war which was later turned into a successful film, but ultimately led to his exile.

Round the corner to the Kronenhalle, a haven for artists and writers at the turn of the century, where artists such as Chagall, Giacometti and Picasso exchanged art works for a hot meal. James Joyce and his wife Nora were also regulars, and after the Irish writer died, the landlady offered his widow cheap meals; nowadays, the venue is definitely up-market but original artworks still grace the walls. Then we progressed up Raemistrasse towards the Kunsthaus, past plaques dedicated to Johanna Spyri, the creator of Heidi, who moved from her home town of Hirzel to settle in the city, and Richard Wagner, who enjoyed his visits to Zurich and the nearby Sihlwald area which inspired his masterwork, The Ring cycle.

Pausing outside the Kunsthaus, we looked across to the modern restaurant Terroir, formerly the Pfauen (Peacock) and another favourite of Joyce's, who was nevertheless know locally as Herr Satan. The next door Schauspielhaus, still know as the Pfauen, often stages plays by Berthold Brecht who fled Germany to Zurich in 1933. After living in the US during World War II, he returned to Zurich during the McCarthy era of the 1950s. His play, A Life of Galileo, had its first perfomance in the Zurich theatre in 1943. Bill Hovey read us an extract from his work. We also heard a few lines from Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse, a novel set in Zurich which refers to the Cafe Odeon and other landmarks. The contemporary American writer John Irving has also read at the theatre from  his own book Until I Find You, a chapter of which was set in Zurich.

Progressing along Hirschengraben we reached Spiegelgasse 14, where Lenin lived as a lodger from 1916-17, and where he hoped that Switzerland would be the seat of his planned revolution. A plaque marks the house; the Russian writer and exile Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn wrote his story in Lenin in Zurich. Apparently when the central library was closed on a Thursday, Lenin and his wife Nadia would walk along the Zurichberg together. Nearby is another plaque to Georg Buchner, the German dramatist and author of Woyzeck, who also died in Zurich.

Along Spiegelgasse past the Cabaret Voltaire, the home of the short-lived Dada movement, whose final performance in 1919 was held at the Zurich Kaufleuten. We learnt that Dadaist Tristan Tzara met Lenin and Joyce in Zurich and their meeting is described in Tom Stoppard's play, Travesties. Then we passed the former Franziskaner Hotel, where Lenin's Skittleclub met; it's now known as Henrici's and the location of ZIWA's current Wednesday-evening Stammtisch. Brief mention was also made of famous German visitors Goethe and Thomas Mann, who is buried in Kilchberg, and whose daughter Erica Mann founded the Pfeffermuehle group at the Hotel Hirschen.

We crossed the Limmat by the Rathausbruecke and heard about the Swiss Renaissance physician Paracelsus, born in Einsiedeln, who met the reformer Bullinger at the Hotel Storchen to ask for money for new treatments:  opposite is the D&G building which in an earlier life hosted Casanova, the famous womaniser. At James Joyce Corner at the corner of Augustinergasse and Glockengasse, we heard that Joyce worked here on his major novel Ulysses, and after he died in Zurich in 1941, was buried in Fluntern cemetary. In Rennweg we paused by an anonymous building which was a the site of a former home to Richard Wagner. Finally, as the sun appeared, we turned into the Bahnhofstrasse and the St. Gotthard hotel, where James Joyce also stayed when his eyesight was failing, which inspired him to write a short poem named after the famous street.

Bill Hovey can be contacted at the following address:






Bill Hovey's Fleet of Foot Zurich Tours, carmencrenshawhovey@yahoo.com

Learn more about ZIWA's Discovering Zurich and Switzerland group's actvities on the online calendar at www.ziwa.com

Restaurant of the Month - April 2012

Restaurant Turm, Obere Zaeune 19, Zurich
http://www.bei-tony.ch/turm/home.html

This exotic bar and restaurant in the heart of Zurich's Niederdorf area is a great venue for lunch or dinner. The food style is Spanish/Mexican and the menu is extensive. At lunchtime you can choose from four daily specials and the menu changes weekly. Or have a look at the full range of delicious dishes such as nachos, garlic prawns, quesadillas, spare ribs and even crocodile. You can just select a tasty starter or dive into a whole meal. And don't miss the margaritas which are served, with lime or strawberry, by the glass or, better still, by the jug. Chillingly good!

The atmosphere is relaxed, there are palm trees, tropical plants and ceiling fans to enhance the Latin mood and it's equally good for a large group or a cosy twosome. Eating alone is also intimate and the staff are very friendly. In the evenings they often have visiting musicians to serenade you. The Turm is located behind the Cafe Schober in Napfgasse, and has an outdoor terrace open in the warmer months. The bar also serves great cocktails before, after or instead of a meal. Prices are reasonable with lunch specials at CHF18 to 24 and main courses around CHF40.

This place is one of a small chain, Da Tony, run by local byword Tony Navarro who even has his own garden centre. Check out the link above for full details. And you can be sure of a warm welcome when you step over his threshold.

Hasta luego!

Restaurant of the Month - March 2012

Restaurant Dapur, Schaffhauserstrasse 373, Zurich-Oerlikon
http://www.dapur-indonesia.ch/

This small Indonesian restaurant is a little gem of a place and well worth the short trip to Zurich-Oerlikon by train or tram. It's located about 3 minutes' walk from the station, and the understated exterior belies the smart interior and the culinary pleasure waiting inside. Here you can taste authentic dishes for one, two or a group of 12.

If you have time, try the famous Reistafel, a selection of tasty meat and vegetarian dishes meant to be shared. At lunchtime, expect to try soup followed by 5 different dishes such as chicken, beef, sweet and sour fish, green beans and aubergine, with rice, sambal bajak and prawn crackers, all placed on burners enticingly in front of you. There is also a daily lunch selection if you don't have time to linger.


For the full Reistafel, you should go in the evening when an array of 11 mouthwatering dishes is presented. Be sure to book the day beforehand.

The lunch Reistafel menu costs just under CHF60; the 11 course feast costs CHF79 including soup and coffee.

For a truly Asian speciality in the outskirts of Zurich, the Dapur is a chic, hospitable venue. Don't wait!

Restaurant of the Month February 2012

Mere Catherine, Im Naegelihof 3, Zurich
http://www.commercio.ch/e/mere-catherine/

This restaurant is hidden away in the French corner of Zurich's old town. It has a Mediterranean atmosphere with its bistro, gallery and salon seating areas and features typical French cuisine at affordable prices. Every lunchtime you can try from two menus of the day plus a vegi menu and a special dish as well as traditional dishes such as moules. In the evening, the atmosphere is more intimate. Good place to try after a film at the nearby Arthouse Movie cinema.

The staff are friendly and welcoming, the seating is not too crowded, and single diners feel as comfortable as larger groups. The house wine list is also quite extensive. A two course lunch with a glass of wine and a coffee costs less than CHF35. They also cater for parties, and in summer you can sit outside.

For a bit of French atmosphere in the German part of Switzerland, the Mere Catherine is very pleasant.

Im Viadukt market in Zurich West is worth a visit

Yesterday I organised a tour for two ZIWA Interest Groups - Discovering Zurich and Switzerland and Dining Around the World, to this market under the railway arches in Josefstrasse, Zuri West, beside Dammweg tram stop (take tram 4, 13 or 17). This unpromising part of town has been transformed by a project which provides subsidised housing as well as a niche shopping arcade and Zurich's first covered food market. 25 ZIWA ladies enjoyed an informative tour of the site from project manager Claudio Fetz, including a bird's eye view over the roof, followed by a cheese tasting with wine provided by the British Cheese stand which has a lucrative site in the food hall. Hot toddy and Godminster Cheddar warmed our cockles after a chiily walkabout. See links on the right.

Underneath the arches is a newly-designed shopping centre

As the PWG project documentation states,

'Year-round market freshness
IM VIADUKT combines the individual resources of more than sixty specialist shops, studios and social and cultural amenities. The heart of this exceptional 500-metre-long building is the city of Zurich’s first market hall. Here around twenty local farmers and grocers bring their fresh produce to market while permanent shops, built under nine of the viaduct arches, have opened their doors to customers. Gone are the days when rain and cold dampened your zest for shopping. Zurich’s first ever market hall holds treats in store for you six days a week. Actually the restaurant at the rear is open daily, all year round.

British Cheese stand in the covered market at Im Viadukt

'Arch after arch stretches from the market hall all the way to the SBB railway tracks. With 39 arches to choose from, variety is inbuilt: IM VIADUKT boasts a cheerful mix of shops, stallholders and traders. Their common denominator is that they serve the highly varied demands of this locality. Under the soaring round arches, shops and studios offer trendy fashion, accessories, furniture, rarities for bookworm and music buff. Vital add-on amenities are a crèche, a restaurant, a coffee bar, a tango club … Everything you need for browsing, shopping, fun, eating and drinking is right here.'


Julia Newton, 20 November 2011, updated 9 June 2012

What's this?

This is my new blog. It will contain tips on what to do and see in Switzerland, how to survive and enjoy life here, what's going on at the moment and lots more. New items are posted at the front; scroll down for older posts.