Minus one at 10am. Damp and cold and grey. Two years ago today the story of Jonathan, Carmine Superiore's favourite seagull, came to a sad end.
To a tiny gem of a restaurant on Brissago's waterfront, Ristorante Graziella, for lunch.
An interesting starter salad including an orange-based dressing, grape halves and pumpkin seeds made a change from the usual four-leaves-and-an-olive, and the fish was sumptuous, caught as it had been in the Lago di Lugano not long before it was on the plate. The alternative main course was a stroganoff that melted in the mouth and tasted somehow familiar, like home-cooking back home. Pudding choices included - did my eyes deceive me? - apple crumble served with homemade ice-cream that had both Mama and B-in-her-best-dress jumping up and down.
Swiss co-owner Bea Graenicher served with elegance, switching effortlessly from Italian to German to English while scoring ten out of ten for common sense when she produced a bib to protect B's best dress. The mystery of the apple crumble was solved with the news that the powerhouse in the kitchen was English cook and co-owner Barry Kingman.
One small criticism is that the decor is slightly lacking in character, slightly too clean-cut. Think about the eminently forgettable faces of the agents who flank the US president and you'll know what I mean. We could also have done with some music to make our conversation a little less public, and to partially camouflage the chidren's rising rambunctiousness towards the end of the meal.
However...
Our guest, himself a chef of some repute and many, many years experience, tells us that he has been a patron of Ristorante Graziella since it opened seven years ago and has never eaten badly here. And if you care about food more than you care about decor, that's quite a recommendation.
Ristorante Graziella
Lungolago, 6614 Brissago
Tel. 091 780 93 19 : 079 516 35 88
Open daily, closed Wednesday. Saturdays open from 6pm onwards.
Seats only 14, so reservations strongly recommended.
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Saturday 3 January 2009
Ristorante Graziella, Brissago
Minus one at 10am. Damp and cold and grey. Two years ago today the story of Jonathan, Carmine Superiore's favourite seagull, came to a sad end.
To a tiny gem of a restaurant on Brissago's waterfront, Ristorante Graziella, for lunch.
An interesting starter salad including an orange-based dressing, grape halves and pumpkin seeds made a change from the usual four-leaves-and-an-olive, and the fish was sumptuous, caught as it had been in the Lago di Lugano not long before it was on the plate. The alternative main course was a stroganoff that melted in the mouth and tasted somehow familiar, like home-cooking back home. Pudding choices included - did my eyes deceive me? - apple crumble served with homemade ice-cream that had both Mama and B-in-her-best-dress jumping up and down.
Swiss co-owner Bea Graenicher served with elegance, switching effortlessly from Italian to German to English while scoring ten out of ten for common sense when she produced a bib to protect B's best dress. The mystery of the apple crumble was solved with the news that the powerhouse in the kitchen was English cook and co-owner Barry Kingman.
One small criticism is that the decor is slightly lacking in character, slightly too clean-cut. Think about the eminently forgettable faces of the agents who flank the US president and you'll know what I mean. We could also have done with some music to make our conversation a little less public, and to partially camouflage the chidren's rising rambunctiousness towards the end of the meal.
However...
Our guest, himself a chef of some repute and many, many years experience, tells us that he has been a patron of Ristorante Graziella since it opened seven years ago and has never eaten badly here. And if you care about food more than you care about decor, that's quite a recommendation.
Ristorante Graziella
Lungolago, 6614 Brissago
Tel. 091 780 93 19 : 079 516 35 88
Open daily, closed Wednesday. Saturdays open from 6pm onwards.
Seats only 14, so reservations strongly recommended.
To a tiny gem of a restaurant on Brissago's waterfront, Ristorante Graziella, for lunch.
An interesting starter salad including an orange-based dressing, grape halves and pumpkin seeds made a change from the usual four-leaves-and-an-olive, and the fish was sumptuous, caught as it had been in the Lago di Lugano not long before it was on the plate. The alternative main course was a stroganoff that melted in the mouth and tasted somehow familiar, like home-cooking back home. Pudding choices included - did my eyes deceive me? - apple crumble served with homemade ice-cream that had both Mama and B-in-her-best-dress jumping up and down.
Swiss co-owner Bea Graenicher served with elegance, switching effortlessly from Italian to German to English while scoring ten out of ten for common sense when she produced a bib to protect B's best dress. The mystery of the apple crumble was solved with the news that the powerhouse in the kitchen was English cook and co-owner Barry Kingman.
One small criticism is that the decor is slightly lacking in character, slightly too clean-cut. Think about the eminently forgettable faces of the agents who flank the US president and you'll know what I mean. We could also have done with some music to make our conversation a little less public, and to partially camouflage the chidren's rising rambunctiousness towards the end of the meal.
However...
Our guest, himself a chef of some repute and many, many years experience, tells us that he has been a patron of Ristorante Graziella since it opened seven years ago and has never eaten badly here. And if you care about food more than you care about decor, that's quite a recommendation.
Ristorante Graziella
Lungolago, 6614 Brissago
Tel. 091 780 93 19 : 079 516 35 88
Open daily, closed Wednesday. Saturdays open from 6pm onwards.
Seats only 14, so reservations strongly recommended.
3 comments:
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Anonymous said...
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Apple crumble! Delicious... and quite easy to make at home too when feeling homesick...
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Saturday, 03 January, 2009
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Anonymous said...
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Apple crumble - what is it about apple crumble that makes it so English?
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Saturday, 03 January, 2009
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Anonymous said...
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Just wanted to wish you the best for the new year. Your blog is always interesting, always a very good read (with recommendations for other good reads) and I thoroughly enjoy it.
May the sun rise high and kiss your home every day....and kick that lil' ole mercury up a bit. -
Saturday, 03 January, 2009
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3 comments:
Apple crumble! Delicious... and quite easy to make at home too when feeling homesick...
Apple crumble - what is it about apple crumble that makes it so English?
Just wanted to wish you the best for the new year. Your blog is always interesting, always a very good read (with recommendations for other good reads) and I thoroughly enjoy it.
May the sun rise high and kiss your home every day....and kick that lil' ole mercury up a bit.
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