FINALLY! My first international adventure since the COVID-19 pandemic had begun was a trip to Switzerland!
My first stop was in Geneva, the city that I flew into. After landing at the airport, I quickly made my way to wander around the city and have a good meal!
LES AMURES
Les Amures, a historic hotel and restaurant, had a lovely ambiance and is known for authentic well made food! Fondue was my choice, as this restaurant is known for serving traditional fondue, a priority for me to experience in the country. I, however, selected the unusual cheese combination of Moitie-moitie, Vacherin, and Gruyere, but with the addition of blue cheese from Neuchatel because it sounded unusual and the waiter told me that I would be unlikely to find that served somewhere else.
Before the fondue arrived to the table, I had smoked white fish from Lake Geneva with beetroot carpaccio and zested lime as an appetizer. It was a nice light dish, but I found the shallots mixed with the fish to be too overpowering. I really enjoyed that lime was the citrus used as it added more surprise to my palate than lemon would have.
The fondue was terribly rich, which I expected, but it truly required the acidity of a glass of wine. I took the advice of the waiter and tried a dry floral white wine, Fendant from the Valais region, which was a traditional pairing for fondue. It helped me to realize how deliberate food traditions can be, This type of meal is typically served with wine and it made all the difference to the experience as the rich fattiness of the creamy cheese was enjoyable only with the wine after the first few bites. Otherwise, it would have been much too rich to continue to eat it and fully enjoy it.
I also tried Petite Arvine, a slightly sweet wine with a citrus flavor, but also with salty mineral notes. I enjoyed it very much and it made me excited to try other regional wines.