Wood Food 2, Langstrasse, Zurich

Pop-ups have almost turned into a commodity in Zurich and one is no longer able to attend all of them. But when the Godfather of Pop-Up – ValeFritz – revamps his very successful Wood Food sensation, it’s one of those events you cannot miss. Judging by the buzz in the press this is the opinion of most interested diners.

The biggest elephant in the room is that Wood Food is now running two seatings every night, one at 18.15 the other at 20.45. This is an indication of an increased professionalisation of the pop-up scene, a focus on maximizing revenues (fair goal for any entrepreneur) and that the focus on the culinary aspects is smaller (fewer courses, focus on turning tables).

So naturally I was getting cranky at 21.15 because a) our table was still occupied by the earlier dining shift b) my drink was empty and c) I don’t like to stand around waiting like I’m queueing to get into a discotheque when my stomach is growling.

Growling at the hipsters around me, suffocated by the heated atmosphere on a stuffy summer evening my mood turned foul. But… the food arrived and I was blown away – moments of pure bliss! Boy oh Boy! If I was ever wrong then it was to doubt ValeFritz’s culinary ethos. A Schlangenbrotbrioche (Brioche on a stick, baked over fire) with fantastic douglas fir butter (Douglasien butter), Arvenwood sausages, pickled vegetables… I could have eaten and eaten. The only thing we didn’t enjoy was the Schwartenmagen, too much acidity and the fact that it fell apart didn’t please us.

Second course was a smoked fish with grilled salad and mayo – a good summer dish, maybe a bit heavy with the mayo. The different flavors of the salad (bitters, smoke, brightness) were truly inspiring and took the Wood Food topic to the next level. Main course was a tavolata with five side dishes and a flank steak served with a wood food rendition of chimichurri. I couldn’t stop eating the bean paste with herb salad and was thrilled by the wild portulak porridge.

But the star was the dessert dubbed “barefoot in the woods” (Barfuss im Wald). I didn’t care much for the forrest floor soup, it was too chlorophyllic and high on acid. But… the fir tree ice cream cylinder was out of this world! It included a honey made from pine tree sprigs, frozen and pulverized pine needles and some chocolate power. It was sweet and delicious it tasted of pine and was conceptually and execution-wise way ahead of anything I ever had in a Zurich pop-up restaurant. It reminded me of Stefan Wieser and had Michelin star quality.

So…. I guess the whole discussion around two seatings in a single night is moot. While I don’t like it, the food made up for it. ValeFritz and his crew showed that they have the chops to re-invent their succesful popup idea, make savy business decisions and even improve on the food. 85 CHF (prepaid online) is a fair deal…. Personally I’d hope to see ValeFritz in a proper restaurant again just like the good old days in the Daikini.