Denise's Art of Burger

Yes, dear reader(s), today we'll be discussing Denise's Art of Burger... because if there is one thing Geneva needs, it's a burger joint. ANOTHER FREAKIN' BURGER JOINT. But here's the thing, contrary to appearances, there is actually no plot to try to force feed the Genevan population burgers -- or "gourmet" burgers as business owners would have you believe -- however, without wanting to get on the conspiracy theory bandwagon, I am fairly confident there is a plot to feed you barbecue sauce and caramelised onions. For, yes, dear friend(s), Geneva's food scene is slowly being taken hostage by unbelievably bad burger toppings. And I am having none of it!

Enter Philippe Chevrier's Denise's Art of Burger, the newest addition to Globus' food court. The burger joint is no exception to the rule, and left to its own devices, it will gladly layer your burger with generous amounts of caramelised onions and barbecue sauce. However, you, the customer, should know that things can be different. You can actually enjoy a burger that isn't overpowered by the taste of toppings that take away from your eating experience... well at least they certainly take away from my eating experience.

Anyway, it turns out that once you ask the right questions, Denise has a couple of alternatives on hand. One of them -- and so far my favorite -- is a béarnaise sauce in lieu of the offensive BBQ sauce.  And as far as onions go, they don't seem to load up on regular raw onions in their kitchen, so I was able to get them to substitute spring onions instead. Fine by me!

The fries are a little unexpected, they come in a curved shape that is probably intended to help you scoop the dips they are served with. Which brings me to my next point: condiments. By default, your fries will come with mayonnaise and a house ketchup. Yep, folks, Denise's Art of Burger clearly makes its own ketchup. And while that is definitely a step in the right direction -- I have, after all, often complained about Geneva's unwillingness to serve up anything that didn't come in a little Heinz container -- one problem remains: their ketchup is... well... not good. So kudos for making the effort, but now let's work on improving the recipe.

Denise's Art of Burger also offers a wide range of desserts. My personal favorite is the cheesecake, it's perfectly fine just as long as you don't try to compare it to anything you may have had, say, across the ocean.

I should also mention that Denise's burgers aren't limited to just beef, if -- among others -- a lamb, salmon, veal or vegetarian burger is what you're in the market for, you're in luck! One word of advice though: I'd skip the chicken burger (truth be told, I haven't actually tried the others). I was somewhat underwhelmed. Just sayin', folks. Overall, if I were to recommend a burger, I guess it would be the bacon & cheese. I'm actually not a huge fan of bacon on my burgers, but the bacon cheeseburger's sesame bun is vastly superior to the plain bun you'd get with the basic burger. Furthermore, I know many of you do like a little bacon on your burgers.

Needless to say -- this is Geneva, after all -- Denise's burgers don't come cheap, a bacon & cheese will cost you CHF 20 and a basic burger menu which includes sides of fries and a salad as well as a dessert and a drink will run you CHF 30.

Pictured below: a bacon cheeseburger, a basic burger, a chicken burger, fries, house ketchup and mayo and a cheesecake at Denise's Art of Burger.

Green Mango

I recently discovered a fairly new restaurant in rue de la Terrassière. Green Mango seems to be the newest addition to the list of Thai restaurants in Geneva. And because I love Thai food yet feel many of the Thai restaurants here leave something to be desired, I was eager to try something new and different. Thankfully, I was not disappointed! The food is fresh, the service is more than pleasant, and the space, while small, is actually rather cosy. I will say, however, when the place is at capacity, the service does tend to be a tad slower than it should be. But as long as I'm in no particular hurry, and the quality of the food remains high, I'm quite willing to forgive the delay.

Pictured below: duck salad, dim sum (which I especially recommend) Pad Thai and a delectable fresh mango and sticky rice dessert

Chez Arsène

Chez Arsène is a new bistro located between Rive and the Eaux-Vives area. It specializes in French cuisine, boasts an art nouveau décor, and a recent visit there left me pleasantly surprised. The food is tasty and the service friendly.

Pictured below: a mixed green salad with an excellent balsamic vinaigrette, lamb stuffed with vegetables (the daily special), filet mignon, a side of fries and raspberry and white chocolate pie.

A Sandwich at Edward's

Middle of the afternoon. Hadn't had lunch. Just wanted to grab a quick bite. Thought I'd get a sandwich. Headed to Edward's. It was good enough I guess. CHF 9.90 good? I don't know. If you ask me, Geneva has yet to make a half-decent sandwich but I guess we'll make do.

Pictured below: a Brooklyn sandwich — pastrami, cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes, mustard and pickles.

BG Café

I hadn't been to BG Café in a while, so when I met up with a friend there a couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd try their parmesan risotto. It was fairly good. To me, BG Café is more like a good cafeteria than an actual restaurant so keeping that in mind, I'm usually quite satisfied with the food there. But I don't really make it a point to go very often either. Pictured below: parmesan risotto at BG Café.

Luigia - a couple of new dishes added to the menu

Well what can I say, Luigia has pretty much been my favorite restaurant since it first opened its doors in 2010. They've recently added a few new dishes to their menu and they are certainly worth checking out - I would especially recommend the sausage and eggplant paccheri.

Pictured below: a four-cheese gnocchi dish, sausage and eggplant paccheri and a cheesecake.

Capocaccia

I'm not a big fan of the ubiquitous Panini. But then again what passes for panini these days is nothing like the real thing. On a recent visit to Capocaccia, I got a chance to sample their pressed sandwiches which I found tasty and fresh, but of course, this is Geneva, and tasty and fresh comes at a price...

Pictured below: a bresaola and goat cheese panini.

Relais de l'Entrecôte

Le Relais de l'Entrecôte is probably one of Geneva's most famous restaurants, but believe it or not I had never been there until a few weeks ago. It is important to note the establishment will be relocating as of 2013 so if you want to get a taste of their famous rib-eye steak in their current location, now is your chance to do so!

Different yet authentic

Do you like Bolognese sauce? Do you order it when you go to Italian restaurants? If you do, chances are you're not getting an authentic Bolognese experience, what you are getting is probably spaghetti drowned in a meat sauce. The authentic recipe, on the other hand calls for much less sauce so the pasta remains the true star of the dish and a wider pasta than spaghetti such as tagliatelle because it does a better job holding on to the sauce.

One restaurant that does tend to respect tradition and serves an authentic bolognese is Luigia -- and yes, those of you who've read some of my previous posts will probably know that I'm quite partial to that particular establishment. And I have to say, their bolognese is yet another dish I am quite fond of even though I do order it with spaghetti -- big no-no...

Pictured below: Luigia's spaghetti bolognese.



According to Wikipedia, the authentic recipe calls for the following ingredients:

• 300 g beef cartella (thin beef skirt)
• 150 g pancetta, dried
• 50 g carrot
• 50 g celery stalk
• 50 g onion
• 5 spoons tomato sauce or 20 g triple tomato puree
• 1 cup (250 mL) whole milk
• Half cup of still, dry white or dry red wine
• Salt and pepper, to taste

The milk definitely gives it great taste and texture and makes it a much richer dish than we typically get when we order bolognese on a night out in Geneva.

Camilo's Place

Even though I never got a chance to sample their food myself, I've been hearing about Espresso Club and their pizza for quite a while. I would still like to pay them a visit but in the meantime, I was recently able to visit their other restaurant, Camilo's Place, located in Rue du Stand. They make an interesting pizza, though I wouldn't rank the crust as my favorite. Furthermore, at CHF 18.- the margherita is a little more expensive than it probably should be. On the other hand, the restaurant is rather conveniently located, the staff is nice, and the menu is absolutely huge! Definitely more pizzas to choose from than most other Geneva joints.

Pictured below: a margherita pizza

Happy New Year (and more dishes from Luigia)!

Is it already 2011? Yes it apparently is -- time certainly does fly when you're trying to review the city's best spots!

Anyway, to kick things off this year, I figured I'd pay a visit to a 2010 favorite, Luigia's. Nothing new to report, the restaurant was packed and the service was quick (though I was unfashionably late)...

Pictured below: calamari, margherita and vesuvio pizzas and Linguine alle vongole.

Another fabulous night at Luigia's

Well I have to say, I've been to Luigia a number of times since it opened, and thus far it has never disappointed me. Though I must confess I have yet to order anything other than the pizza. I apologize to the disgruntled reader who left a comment after my initial Luigia blog post, but this pizzeria continues to be my favorite in Geneva so far. However, I do agree with the reader in question that Geneva's restaurants tend to start out with a bang but are often unable to maintain their efforts and momentum in the long term.

Having said that, I certainly hope Luigia's fate will be different... who knows, it might be one of the very few establishments that starts out really well, and somehow becomes even better over time. Here's to hoping!

Pictured below: a pepperoni pizza followed by a chocolate and almond confection for dessert.

Quick Eats in Geneva

Parfums de Beyrouth

Many shawerma aficionados in Geneva consider Parfums de Beyrouth, located in Paquis, the destination of choice for a shaved lamb or chicken sandwich. A selection of toppings include lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickled radishes, garlic sauce and tahini (a sesame paste).

Pictured below: a chicken shawerma from Parfums de Beyrouth.

Wasabi

A couple of Japanese fast food joints have recently opened their doors in Geneva. One of these is Wasabi, located by Rive. Boxes of sushi, seaweed salad, potato salad, noodles, rice, chicken teriyaki, dumplings and many other items are available at this self-serivce style restaurant.

Wasabi is certainly a suitable chocie for a quick meal, but don't kid yourself, it's definitely fast food.

Pictured below: grilled dumplings, a potato salad, shrimp fried noodles and tempura uramaki.

Luigia - Keep it Up

Before going out for a meal in Geneva, I usually make my peace with the fact that the experience will be lacking in some way, the food might be great, but the service sub-par, or the food and service may both be excellent but the atmosphere drab... wherever you go, it seems something will necessarily fall short of your expectations and make the overall experience a little less than memorable.

However, the occasional restaurant will get everything just right, and the client will be in for a treat: great food, great atmosphere and great service. I recently came across such a restaurant. Luigia, an Italian restaurant located by Rive, is one of Geneva's newer establishments -- in fact it's still in its soft opening stage -- but its pizza is as good as the staff is friendly and helpful, not to mention the restaurant's simple yet modern interior design and lively atmosphere which make for a unique and memorable experience! Oh, if only Geneva had more places like this one.

Luigia's pizza is different than any other I've tasted in Geneva, the crust is charred and blistered to perfection and the mozzarella and tomato sauce complement each other beautifully. If you're craving something sweet -- and rich -- after dinner, I recommend the Nutella pizza, only if you're planning to share it with several other people though, it is highly unlikely one person could finish it in one sitting.

Naturally, it is difficult to judge a restaurant before it's been around for a while, but if Luigia keeps up its current standards, not only will it get an A+ as far as I'm concerned, but it will raise the bar for other restaurants in Geneva, many of whom currently seem to feel they can get away with lackluster efforts because they have no real competition to keep them on their toes.

Keep it up, Luigia!

Pictured below: a margherita pizza followed by a nutella pizza

Bon Génie's restaurant

Want to grab a quick bite while you're doing your Saturday afternoon shopping in town? Bon Génie's fourth floor restaurant might be the ideal spot for a quick lunch break or an afternoon snack, the menu includes a variety of salads, pasta dishes and even burgers. The club sandwich certainly seems to be a crowd favorite and it is rather good indeed. If you order the burger, you'll be served two mini hamburgers -- no cheese. Also fairly good, not to mention kind of cute!

Pictured below: a Caesar salad, two mini hamburgers and their famed club sandwich.

Ladurée

If you have a sweet tooth, right now in Geneva, I don't believe there is any greater food indulgence than Ladurée's sinful macarons (and perhaps gelato from various other places, but that's for another post). Ladurée's delicate macarons come in a variety of flavors ranging from the traditional to the highly unexpected. My personal favorites include vanilla (a classic), mint and rose petal.

Gondolière

Located in a small passage in Rue du Rhône, Gondolière is a popular hangout for a quick bite as it serves food non-stop throughout the day until the early hours of the evening.

Pictured below: a margherita pizza.

Pain Quotidien

Another Saturday morning at Pain Quotidien...

Pictured below: Croque-monsieur tartines, blue cheese, ham pear tartines and mediterranean verrines.

La Boursiere

Anyone who's lived in Geneva for any length of time will have no trouble confirming that only a handful of restaurants will serve you dinner after 10.30 pm in this city. Thankfully, La Boursiere happens to be one of the few places you can enjoy a late meal! This Italian restaurant located in the heart of Geneva right by Confederation Center offers one of the largest selections of salads in the city in addition to many pasta dishes and pizzas.

The wait staff is friendly and helpful and the food is quite good, though I tend to prefer my pizza crust slightly more charred, however that is just a question of personal taste.

Pictured below: margherita and Calabrese pizzas.