Chez quartier

Another tip for a lazy afternoon in the weekend (or any other day of the week except mondays) is Chez Quartier. You can easily spent whole afternoons in this tearoom, drinking your coffee (or whatever you like to drink), reading the journals and serving yourself  from the banquet. In front of the café you'll find a wide range of homemade pastries like small quiches, pizzas,  croissants filled with tuna salad and  fruit cakes. There are also many different small sandwiches: like  ith roast beef , with st moret and watercress or with small shrimps and avocado. The small pizzas with bacon and the avocado shrimp sandwiches are by far my favorites. In the end when you pay the bill, you just tell the waiter all the things you have taken to eat and apparently they trust their clients to be honest in this matter. Personally, I'm always afraid that I forget to name one or two things. This is because often I can't stop taking things from the banquet and I lose count of what I've taken. The cafe is a very popular spot among locals but small, so don't be disappointed when there is no more place inside.

Chez Quartier. Address: 24 Rue Voltaire, 1201 Genève, tel: 022 - 3445321 Open from Tuesday till Sunday from 7 till 7.

Mozzarella burrata

 If there is a God, I think He will eat this mozzarella everyday for lunch. The mozzarella burrata (burrata means literally "buttered") comes originally from the southern Puglia region. The mozzarella has a firm outside and on the inside it is very very creamy (as you can see on the picture). Best is to add as little as possible to this mozzarella. A few slices of  a good tomato (like the italian San Marzano as I use on the picture) and a few leaves of basil or a few slices of spring onion will do the job. You even don't need to add  any olive oil.  You can even eat it just like this, but maybe this more for the pigs among us. Anyway eating this mozzarella is as if "an angel pisses on your tongue" (a Dutch expression).  In Genève you can find this cheese at Manor (my favorite supermarket ever). And as all good things in life, this mozzarella doesn't come cheap: 3,65 per 100 grammes.

Mozzarella Burrata: CHF 3,65 per 100 grammes at Manor food court, Rue Cornavin 6 , 1201 Genève  

Fleurs de Marie

Where to go in the weekend if you want to eat a nice brunch? Well, I know a few nice places. To start with Fleurs de Marie, I just ate there this afternoon actually, so I'm digesting their food right at this moment.We find Fleurs de Marie in the Quartier des Grottes, a nice quiet neighborhood behind the station with many nice bars and restaurants, which for some bizarre reason is a bit left aside by locals and visitors of the city.

The choice of food we find here is quite typical for a brunch café: salads, eggs prepared in different ways (cooked, baked or scrambled) and a wide choice of home made cakes and quiches. As you'll see on the picture above the cakes are beautifully presented together on a table. I tried the quiche à la moutarde ancienne and the crumble aux framboises. Both were very delicious and I'll soon go back to try their Chocolat fondant and their cupcakes. To finish I have to note how very nice this bar is decorated from the inside and the outside. Very colourful and full of flowers: A dream bar for most girls (at least for my girlfriend.)

Opening times (if I understood well, but excuse me if I'm wrong):  From Wednesday to Friday 8.30 - 15.00, Weekend: 10.00-16.00. Address: 8, rue de la Faucille 1201 Genève, tel: 022-7334730. Mail: fleursdemarie@bluewin.ch website: http://www.fleursdemarie.ch

Café des Négociants

In one of the most sympathetic neighborhoods of Genève (Carouge) we find my all time favorite restaurant Café des Négociants. My main reason for this "title" is although they serve great elaborated gastronomic food, they don't become snob and stay casual. The atmosphere in the restaurant is more that of a brasserie, everybody will feel here at ease in it's cozy interior. In contrary to some gastronomic restaurants where  because of the graveyard atmosphere you'll have to try to enjoy your food in total silence. The team of waiters is attentive, very professional, quick and polite but not too stuck from the ass to make little jokes with the customers.

The kitchen is in it's base traditional French. But  here they serve a light and fresh variant of  the french kitchen. I recommend to take the menu saveurs (3 course CHF64,-,  4 course CHF84,-), because to eat here à la carte will be very  pricey. Often the menu starts with a foie gras dish, for example a tasty terrine. Or you can choose the fish starter (or when hungry , you can  just take both starters). I need to note that the fish is always very well prepared. Perfectly baked, crispy on the outside and still juicy on the inside.(in our opinion the starters are always the best part of the menu). Normally the main plate is a meat dish. Often a nice piece of  slowly cooked and juicy veal or pearl-hen with a tasty sauce (for example a creamy wild mushroom sauce) and season vegetables. The dessert to conclude the menu is fresh and not too heavy. If you're lucky a crumble is on the menu accompanied with the best yogurt ice-cream I've ever tasted. After the dessert, I think, you'll have eaten just enough without a too heavy stomach.

For the smaller wallet I advice to take one 3 plate menu and to share the starter of a 4 plate menu. Also if you don't like to spend too much on the wine, you can always choose here a very good glass of wine from the wide range of open bottles. Another good idea is to enjoy here once a 3 course menu during lunch for only  CHf 29,-.The daily menus are published on the website.

Open from monday to friday (dinner and lunch) Reservation is highly advisable 
Address: Café des Négociants, Rue de la Filature 29 (corner rue Saint Victor - Tramway), 
1227 Carouge, Genève
Tel: 0041 (0) 22 300 31 30   E-mail: info@negociants.ch