Sunday 22 April 2012

Copenhagen - Ché Fè

We have discovered that one of the better restaurants in our neighborhood, Acquamarina has been closed and another one opened in its place. As usual we have researched a little and found out that it is the same team that are behind the new restaurant. The team is famous in Denmark, mainly for their gourmet restaurant Era Ora, which has a certain significance for us. The former restaurant, Acquamarina had a concept of "Fish from heaven and wine from Italy". That certainly appealed to us, but so does the new concept of Ché Fè: Organic Italian food and so it has been just a question of how long the wait would be, before we visited the place. Not very long.
The menu has 4-5 antipasti, 4-5 primi and 4-5 secondi. Whereas we often select the same on this occasion we select as much as possible. For antipasti we select 7 small antipasti, "O Sole Bio", which on this occasion is

  • A small ball of crumbed black rice
  • Tuna on black bread
  • Umbrian ham on toast
  • Roastbeef powdered with breaded crumbs and orange zest
  • Focaccia with a mild gorgonzola
  • Umbrian sausage with fennel
  • A small souffle of broccoli and capers
Everything was very nice, well-balanced and tasty.

For primo we ordered Creole which was pumpkin gnocchi with tomato sauce, chilli and basil. The gnocchi were not heavy and the tomato sauce was very good. The other primo was Piemonte proibito. This was a risotto of red and black rice with artichoke and Monteveronese cheese (and some orange zest). This was also very good, but considering the sizes of the dishes it was actually much more than what we could eat. And maybe too big a serving in general for a dish of "just risotto", but we cannot really complain about this as it was very good. With the primi we had a glass (well, actually a glass and a half) of the Verdicchio superiore, which we cannot recall and cannot find on the wine menu, but it was commendable.

We tried to order Perlizie, but that was no longer available, which we suppose is OK, since we arrived very late on a Sunday night. Instead we had the Tagliata di Vitello (veal steak with rosemary potatoes and a salad) and Pesando a domani which was braised veal with porcini. Both courses were good, but the steak was a bit too rare for T and we would have liked the otherwise very polite waiter to have asked how it was to be cooked. The braised veal was both very tender and tasty.

We had a bottle of Umbrian Villa Fidelia Rosso 2005 from Sportoletti. This was a Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Very potent nose, but still unmistakably Italian. We were aiming for some Sangiovese, but since the Chardonnay based Villa Fidelia Bianco is one of our long time favorites we had to try the red and we didn't regret it.

The restaurant is a welcome option when the fridge is empty and the shops are closed (or we just need to spoil ourselves a little on Sunday) and we will be back soon.

Saturday 7 April 2012

Val Thorens – Le Sherpa

Skiing was postponed until Easter this year. A busy work schedule and a funeral for T's mother meant that March culminated in one of the busiest days ever. After returning from Paris, working hard to make the deadline T continued on to the cemetery and from there on to a 75 year birthday before starting the car and heading down south.
We realize that driving all the way to the Alps from Copenhagen is not everyone's cup of tea, but we feel it is an integral part of the vacation. One of the reasons is that we have purchased and downloaded audio books that we listen to while driving. One summer we even considered driving a few rounds around Siena to be able to listen to the end of the book we were listening to at the time.
This year we are going to Val Thorens in France. The destination is chosen as it is 2300 m above sea level.  This late in the season we need to have some altitude to be assured of snow. And we are not disappointed, even if the heat will turn the Plein Sud into slush ice during the afternoon. Sitting in the sun feels well above 20 degrees centigrade.
We have booked a stay at the Hotel Le Sherpa. K has stayed here before and recommended it warmly and T quickly agrees in her assessment. The hotel is very cozy and kept in raw wooden materials. Access to the skiing area is just outside the door. We walk out in the morning and put on skis and continue down to the Ski Square from where we can run down to a number of lifts. Similarly, by the end of the day we just stop outside the hotel and take off our skis and find a place on the patio and order a cup of Vin Chaud (which is too sour, however it is served with sugar on the side to adjust the sweetness).
The stay is booked as half board, which is a bit of a test for us because we don’t have opportunity to try something else (unless we want to pay for it of course). As it turns out there is no need to worry. The food is excellent. Most nights we get soup, starter, main course, cheese and in the end there is an abundant table of cakes and desserts.
Not all nights follows this pattern as we have to taste the famous Savoir dishes: Raclette, Tartiflette and fondue. All seem appropriate for people who have returned from a hard day’s (work) in the snow, but for us they increase the need to go on a diet when returning home. For now, there is no way we are going to avoid it.
The wine list is full of very nice French wine. It is not a big wine list, but it is fully satisfactory and we get around Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Chateauneuf and Hermitage, but also some of the wines of Savoir. All were good, some were excellent.
We are certain to return one day. 8/10