A Swiss Restaurant

Today I went and ate lunch with my mates at a restaurant here in Leysin. We enjoyed our meal out on a patio under a number of table umbrellas on a warm day in the middle of the Swiss alps. It was a terrific experience.

There are a number of differences between a European Restaurant and an American Restaurant. The first and most distinct difference between restaurants here and the restaurants back home is the language. Some might take this detail for granted, but the difficulty of communication is all-pervasive when one is in a completely foreign land. Without being able to communicate clearly with those who are serving you, progress is virtually impossible. Fortunately, the owner spoke English and Portuguese, so I was well taken care of.

Lunch was served outside on the patio. This was part of the business model of the restaurant. I do not believe that there would have been sufficient space to seat us all inside the restaurant even if we had asked. There were 30 of us and there was no way to fit everyone inside. Almost never will you encounter an American restaurant that maintains its entire business model on the outside patio. Yes, there are a few that offer patio service for those that prefer to eat in an open-air environment, but in my experience, those restaurants that do offer a patio also offer seating inside--usually much more inside than out.

On the menu for us today was Pizza, but of course we had to have a salad as an appetizer, along with plenty of bread. The bread, as always, was terrific. The salad was equally as good. They had some sort of ranch/vinaigrette dressing on the salad that was perfect; as soon as I finished the salad, I used the bread to clean up what was left of the dressing. Magnifique!

If we were getting pizza in America, forget the salad. What's more, forget the restaurant. Pizza is no longer a restaurant food in America. We get it either on the go or delivered to our homes. In Europe, they still sit down and they still enjoy a hearty lunch. The American attitude is such that eating is a burden and a hassle - we've got more important stuff to do. In Europe, eating is a pleasure and a social experience. Many European cultures take an hour or two off for lunch, closing businesses and slowing the city down.

Anyway, Pizza. The pizza itself was different as well. I ate a few slices of cheese and sausage pizza, mushroom and ham pizza, and bleu and fetta cheese pizza. None of them were bad, but all of them were different from the American variety. Why? Spaghetti sauce. Swiss pizza has none. Also, the crust is much thinner and crispier than American-style crust.

Probably the weirdest thing about the pizza, and the one European eating habit that I refuse to adhere to is that of eating pizza with a knife and fork. Uh uh. No way, sir. I am still going to pick up a slice and eat away with my hands. That's the way that pizza was meant to be eaten. Although, to his credit, my good friend Andrew Arveseth did eat the pizza with a knife and fork. He's very conscious of his surroundings and of Swiss/French cultural practices.

By far, my favorite part of this was after the dinner when I noticed the group on the next table was speaking Portuguese. I stopped and talked to them for about 5 minutes. It was sweet! I love speaking Portuguese. So much fun!