Eating Well in Geneva

Eating Well in Geneva

Geneva's many restaurants teem with innovative, experimental menus and chefs with lofty pedigrees, but its traditional cooking is simple, earthy, full of flavor, and solidly middle class. Cardon (cardoon, a locally grown vegetable related to the artichoke and available in winter) is baked with cream and Gruyère cheese. Lac Léman yields abundant fish -- perch, trout, féra (related to salmon), and omble (char) -- in summer. La chasse (wild game) turns up on menus between late September and mid-December. The culinary influence of Lyon, 150 km (94 mi) to the southwest, can be felt year-round in dishes such as pieds de cochon (pigs' feet), longeole (unsmoked pork sausage stuffed with cabbage and fennel), petit salé (salt pork), fricassée de porc (simmered pork), abats (organ meats), andouillettes (chitterling sausages), and boudin noir (rich, rosy-brown blood pudding, best eaten in cold weather). Potatoes (often served au gratin) are a favorite side dish. Pears, in the form of a spiced compote, a delicate tart, or a light eau-de-vie, have a well-established role come dessert.

Think local when choosing your wine. The Romans planted vines in Geneva; by now area vintners produce red, white, and sparkling wines that consistently earn high marks. (Bartholie, a boutique sparkling wine, has been known to trump French champagnes in international competition.) Small, ancient chasselas grapes lead the charge of whites; the round, generous taste of gamay dominates the reds. There are also excellent local bottles of chardonnay, pinot blanc, pinot gris, gewürztraminer, Aligoté, pinot noir, Gamaret, and cabernet sauvignon. The hilly area around Satigny, Dardagny, and Russin (known for its annual harvest festival) is by far the canton's most productive.