Restaurant Römerhof, Aarbon, Thurgau
Sep
2011
19. September 2011
Amuse bouche
Amuse bouche
Entenlebertörtchen, gebratene Entenleber, Entenleber mit einem Hauch von Schokolade und Passionsfrucht, Entenleber Catalana
Apfel-Curryschaumsuppe mit Apfelchutney, St. Jakobsmuscheln im Knuspermantel
Zweierlei von Lamrücken, Baumkuchenkartoffel, Marktgemüse
Dessert
My colleagues are getting older (somehow it seems more rapidly than I am) and are thus becoming more set in their ways. Some of the dining philosophies I’m surrounded with are “If it don’t taste like Schnitzel, I won’t like it” or “Risotto? Nahhh, don’t like rice mush”. Always up for a culinary challenge I proposed to grab a fancy dinner together and try out something new (and of course I wanted to try out the Römerhof since a couple of years). Surprisingly after a modest amount of kicking & screaming of some and plain enthusiasm of others we were on our way. The big bulge under the suit of my german colleague was his backup sandwich in case he’d leave hungry. Our group was big enough that we were shown into a small private dining room of the restaurant which has a good size for party of 6-10 people. After a couple of amuse bouches we dived right into the dishes. The selection of foie gras was a nice showing, four different preparations paired with a Gewürztraminer. I’ll be very picky and have to call out that I’ve made a better fois gras brûlée than the Catalana version here. I would have liked a herb on top which would have given the dish more depth. The rest of the component were up to par, nothing to complain an honorable mention goes to the chocolate roll with foie gras in the center. The next dish was my favourite of the evening. A very well balanced Apple Curry soup with a Coquilles St. Jacques (scallop) in a crunchy wrapper. If you compare this dish to the foie gras plate you can clearly see, that sometimes less is more. The main course was lamb and I guess as with many main courses in topnotch restaurants this falls into the same category – great handicraft, solid showing but not truly exciting or surprising. I personally believe there are two driving factors at play – alcohol and tiring palate. By now you’ll have drunken 2-4 glasses of wine and are starting to feel a certain buzz, also after four challenging plates you’re palate is not as fresh as it used to be. With most people these factors call for stronger, more trusted and well known flavors as well as a subconscious urge for comfort. Hence the main course tends to be less imaginative than the appetizers. Dessert included a nice sorbet and set a good ending point to the meal. At the end of the meal even Schnitzel guy was no longer hungry and was full of praise for the food. The evening was deemed an overall success and even I had to conceed that my face lights up when I see Schnitzel on our Cafeteria’s menu. In summary the Römerhof is well worth a visit, its cuisine and service are up to par and deliver what you can expect for this type of price (7 people including drinks):
Rechnung