After a low-key afternoon we decided to go for the complete Swiss experience and head to a popular local fondue restaurant called Edelweiss. I wasn't sure what to make of it - would it be campy or authentic? It turns out there is no real difference between an authentic Swiss fondue experience and a campy one. When you're sitting with a checked napkin on your lap, dunking bits of bread into a bubbling pot of cheese while listening to a Alpenhorn and accordian duet of "Sentimental Journey", you kind of just have to go with it.
We were greeted by staff in smart looking vests, shown to a table and quickly settled on a cheese fondue and a beef with hot oil fondue. The beef fondue came with four sauces that were quite delicious. The cheese fondue was also good, but after the first half dozen pieces or so it start to become a bit much.
The place quickly filled up and you could tell it was the type of joint that local Genevans brought their out-of-town visitors. On every table of 6 or 10 there was at least one person who fondue technique was polished and efficient, if lacking in enthusiasm, who doesn't even turn around when the musicians put down their guitars and start playing a 3 metre alpenhorn. Everyone else had one hand on a fondue fork and the other on a camera button.
The musicians really seemed to be putting in effort, one of them even changed instruments three or four times. Guitar, alpenhorn, a bowl with a marble in it (!?) and wooden spoons. We even got in on the act, having been dragged up in front of the stage to hold a long pole full of hanging bells that "Johnny" used to play a rousing rendition of "Frere Jacques". We were approached after the fact by an American pilot who caught the whole act on video. He asked for our email address so we may be posting video of it soon. If it goes over well with the blogosphere I think we might head back to Geneva and see if "Johnny" wants to team up for a shot at a Eurovision title ...
No comments:
Post a Comment