Enchanted Evenings
Couples the world over are fond of celebrating St. Valentine’s Day with a romantic dinner. For the young and love-struck, this needn’t be more elaborate than sharing a sandwich and a soft drink on a park bench. But for those who love to travel and experience fine food along the way, here are a few suggestions for romantic dinners and a few sweet treats in cities around the world you can reach on a SWISS flight.
Zurich
Start out your romantic evening with an aperitif at the first-floor bar at the Storchen Zurich. My favorite hotel in the world, bar none, the Storchen has been welcoming couples and every other sort of traveler for over 600 years. Dinner to follow in the adjacent Rotisserie boasts a quiet atmosphere and plenty of little corner tables if you want some privacy. Chef Fredi Nussbaum’s excellent light cuisine blends Swiss classics with contemporary touches. End your meal with one of pastry chef Priska Eichenberger’s sweet indulgences. Every lady receives a complimentary rose on departure. And if you’re planning a trip in warmer weather, nothing compares to dinner on the terrace overlooking the river and many of Zurich’s most beautiful architectural monuments.
www.storchen.ch 
What’s St. Valentine’s Day without chocolate? If you want to experience Swiss chocolate at its best, sign up for one of Kerrin Rousset’s Sweet Zurich tours (in English or French) and you’ll spend a couple of hours sampling some of the best chocolate and other sweets the city has to offer. Tours can be arranged for 2 to 6 participants.
mykugelhopf.ch/sweet-zurich/
Venice
Although few cities can claim to be as mysteriously alluring as Venice, a meal at its most acclaimed seafood restaurant, Da Fiore, can certainly emphasize the point. Chef-owner Mara Martin begins every day by meditatively preparing the bread that she’ll serve to her guests throughout the day and then continues to cook some of the finest seafood dishes in Italy. Of course, all of Venice’s restaurants can take advantage of the best seafood the Adriatic has to offer, but the care of preparation, excellent service, and fine wines of Da Fiore make every visit there a memorable one. Don’t miss Martin’s interpretation of pesce in saor, sardines marinated in a gently cooked onion and vinegar dressing, one of Venice’s greatest dishes. Reservations essential.
www.dafiore.net
Vienna
All of the city’s romance, grandeur, and excellent food meet head-on at the Anna Sacher room of the Hotel Sacher. Recently renovated, the restaurant is all green, black, and gold and successfully conveys all the opulence of imperial Vienna’s glorious past. Chef Werner Pichlmaier’s menu is a veritable encyclopedia of Viennese specialties. The décor, service, and food all contribute to such a romantic atmosphere you can almost hear zither music softly somewhere in the background. Reservations essential.
Anna Sacher Room at the Hotel Sacher
www.sacher.com/en-anna-sacher.htm
Wolfgang Leschanz, former pastry chef at both Demel and the Hotel Sacher, produces chocolates and some desserts that for my money are among the best values in Vienna. His jewel-box shop right behind the Graben is filled to overflowing with house-made chocolate confections of the highest quality, most of them in nostalgic wrappings that recall Vienna’s past. Leschanz spends as much time researching images for his packaging as he does developing new chocolates and the result is both tasteful and exciting. This is the place to load up on beautiful souvenir chocolates that fit easily into your already crowded luggage. A recent add-on are Petra Bacher’s extravagantly decorated Sartori-Torten, seen at every important wedding and special occasion in Vienna. Not necessarily for take-out, but fun to admire.
Wiener Schokoladekoenig
www.schokoladekoenig.at
Shanghai
Romance and glamour meet head on at Michelle Garnaut’s M on the Bund, long lauded as Shanghai’s most elegant outpost of western food. Situated on two floors, below the restaurant is the outstanding and always astounding Glamour Bar where you can begin, end, or spend your entire evening, especially if you’re getting a late start. While you might have eyes only for your beloved, take a minute to experience the breathtaking view of Pudong or “New Shanghai” across the river.
www.m-onthebund.com
www.m-theglamourbar.com
Paris
Who can think of Paris without thinking of love, romance and what 50 million Frenchmen are so right about? Moonlight walks along the Seine are fine, but the world capital of gastronomy expects you to take a little nourishment along with all that emotional upheaval. I can think of no better place for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner than Le Grand Vefour, awash in Michelin stars, original 18th century décor, and a quiet elegance perhaps unequalled by another restaurant in Paris. Chef Guy Martin’s exciting contemporary cuisine is soundly based in the classics and his always surprising presentations do nothing to interfere with the clear flavors and textures of the best French cooking. Reservations essential and only available through the website.
www.grand-vefour.com
Of course you can’t go to Paris without indulging a little, so start at the top and visit one of pastry genius Pierre Hermé’s shops for those macarons everyone is crazy about or some divine chocolates. With 3 locations to choose from, it’s an easy stop. I love the new headline on his website: “2012 will be all chocolate or not at all.” Now that’s serious chocolate.
www.pierreherme.com
New York
In the city of a zillion restaurants it’s difficult to identify a single one in any category, but for sheer elegance, excellent food, and a quiet urbane atmosphere, South Gate at the Essex House hotel rises above all others. Chef Kerry Heffernan, who opened 11 Madison Park, has been similarly manning the stoves at South Gate since its opening and the restaurant gets better and better at every return visit. Heffernan’s food is flavorful, subtle, and visually appetizing while never garish, trendy, or overdone. This one’s a bit of a well-kept secret that deserves to be better known.
South Gate at the Essex House
www.154southgate.com
Take care of your sweet tooth in New York at François Payard’s new location on West Houston Street. Great chocolates, macarons, pastries sweet and savory, and signature cakes and breakfast pastries are tempting, fresh, and delicious. On a perpetual diet, I have to ration my visits, but they’re always a satisfying indulgence.
www.payard.com
Brussels
Old Brussels beckons with lovely restaurants both elegant and down to earth, but I love one above all, a classic brasserie called Aux Armes de Bruxelles. Dark wood paneling, antique silver serving dishes, and tables situated so that each is a little private enclave make for an old-world experience no longer so easy to find in major European cities. The menu boats traditional Flemish dishes such as steamed mussels with cream, waterzooi (a creamy seafood stew) of sole or cod, and perfect sole meuniere, or share en enormous platter of oysters and other raw and cooked seafood, another specialty of the house. The restaurant’s quiet elegance and excellent food make it a perfect choice for that special dinner.
www.auxarmesdebruxelles.com
Bangkok
While Bangkok is awash in pseudo-trendy western restaurants that cater to an international clientele I have to admit that I wouldn’t be caught dead in a single one of them. Until recently I might have diplomatically left Bangkok off a list of places for a romantic evening, but now, thanks to world-renowned Thai food expert David Thompson, you can have it all. Nahm, Thompson’s relatively new restaurant in the Metropolitan Hotel, is elegantly and surprisingly quiet in a city well know for hellish noise. Nothing I could say could possibly due justice to the ethereal and eruditely authentic Thai food with its surprising contrasts of flavor and texture, sudden alternating blasts of heat, sweetness and saltiness, and gorgeous presentations. This is the single must-have meal in Bangkok, on St. Valentine’s Day or any other day. Don’t miss it.
www.okura.nl/en/okura-gastronomy/overview.html
www.metropolitan.bangkok.como.bz/eat-and-drink/nahm Amsterdam
Outside the fray of tour buses and the famous red light district, you’ll find the quiet reserve of the Hotel Okura, about a 20-minute tram or taxi ride from the main station and the tourist frenzy. While the hotel boasts several elegant Japanese-style restaurants, its top-floor dining room, Ciel Bleu, is a two-Michelin-starred outpost of excellent food and elegant ambiance. Chef Onno Kokmeijer oversees what seems like an enormous staff of cooks to produce delicate flavorful dishes of great harmony and astounding appearance. Dinner only, but worth the wait. And while you’re in the hotel, don’t neglect to stop by for a taste of pastry chef Iiro Heinila’s excellent desserts.
www.okura.nl/en/okura-gastronomy/overview.html
Recipe: Devil's Food Cupcakes with fluffy white icing
Elegant and refined are great, but let’s face it, no one ever refuses a cupcake. These cupcakes are so easy to prepare they’re almost instant.
Makes 24 cupcakes
2 cups sugar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, soft, cut into 12 pieces
1 cup boiling water (boil, then measure)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
Two 12-cavity muffin pans, sprayed, and the cavities in each lined with papers
- Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk the sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda together.
- Put the chocolate and butter into a medium mixing bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Wait 2 minutes, then whisk smooth.
- Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then whisk in the vanilla and sour cream.
- Whisk in the flour and sugar mixture a third at a time.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cavities in the prepared pan, spooning it in.
- Bake the cupcakes until they are risen and firm, and a small knife point inserted in the center emerges almost clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then unmold and finish cooling right side up on racks.
- If you’re not going to frost the cupcakes right away, cover them loosely with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out. Wrap and freeze for longer storage.
Fluffy Egg White Icing
4 large egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
- Half fill a saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over medium heat. When it boils, adjust the heat so that the water continues at a gentle boil.
- Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk by hand to mix. Place the bowl over the pan of simmering water and gently whisk until the egg whites are hot and the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Make sure the mixture becomes to hot to keep your finger in when you test it.
- Whip by machine on medium speed until cooled and fluffy. Spread or pipe on cupcakes.
