Swiss delish

Alpenhaus offers fondues galore

By SPANKY HOROWITZ

 If I remember correctly, which I hardly ever do, it was at a swingers' ball that someone first asked me if I had ever "been to Alpenhaus." I thought maybe they were talking about some new technique I was unfamiliar with, but as it turns out they were just talking about a restaurant. Alpenhaus, or Alphuesli if you speaka da language, is not just any restaurant, but a Swiss-style eatery that has been around since 1967.

 As you approach the corner of St-Marc and Ste-Catherine streets, Alpenhaus appears as a gargantuan structure of Swiss villa architecture. But its cozy cluttered interior makes it seem much smaller and more comfortable, with the front room resembling a small, one-room log cabin. From here one can wander in to one of two main rooms, the Alphuesli or the Heidi, or you can aimlessly drift into the kitchen, as I did. I was following the sound of slapping and pounding, which I thought might be some naughty Swiss spanking but turned out to be the chefs hard at work turning plump pieces of veal, pork and chicken into much larger, and considerably thinner, cutlets.

 Decorated with wagon wheels, barrel-sized cowbells and bullhorns, the Alphuesli room is all about dark, varnished wood and privacy. If your table is not yet ready, there is a bar at the back with a wide selection of tonics and potions. Among the imported beers on tap are Heineken, Tuborg, Beck, Warstiner, Dab and Swiss Mountain. We opted for Old-Montreal, a local micro-brew made in the European tradition. I had never heard of this beer and found it refreshing, with that slight, good bitterness that accompanies most European beers.

 Once at our table, we ordered a first course of Swiss cheese fondue ($12). As we swirled cubes of chewy bread into an enamelled cast-iron pot filled with molten cheese, white wine and a little kirsch, we noticed that Alpenhaus's menu boasts five different fondues, not including the Swiss chocolate fondue for dessert. The lunch menu offers about 10 different main courses ranging from $6-12, which start with a salad or soup and end with coffee or tea. If you order from the regular menu, you can get away with spending as little as $10 or you can treat yourself to a gluttons' ransom where the sky is the limit.

 Once our bellies were coated with a primer of beer and Swiss cheese, we began our (hopefully long) wait for the mains, which was actually not long at all. I had the Schublig St-Gall ($10) and my date had the breaded veal cutlet stuffed with ham and cheese ($15). The Schublig is a beef and pork sausage, smoked a little and then cooked a little, served on a bed of topnotch sauerkraut with a side of rosti. Rosti, if you're not Swiss, is like a latke, which if you're not Jewish, consists of coarsely grated potatoes shaped into large, round discs and fried to perfection. Aided with a little dijon from Dijon, the sausage was divine.

 The veal was flattened to over twice its original size, filled with top-quality ham and Swiss cheese, folded over, breaded and then lightly fried, also to perfection. With it came some marvellously braised carrots and, of course, a rosti. This dish is not for the timid eater, so bring along a doggie bag for the leftovers. :

 

Alpenhaus

Address: 1279 St-Marc

Phone: 935-2285

Hours: Mon-Wed 12-3pm, 5:30pm-midnight; Thur-Fri 11am-11pm; Sat 4:30pm-midnight; Sun 5:30-11pm

Best features: Cozy atmosphere, affordable European specialties

Vegetarian friendly: yes

Credit cards: yes

Wheelchair access: yes

Alcohol: yes

Price: Lunch from $6 and dinner $10-50 per person, before drinks, tax and tip
Rating: HHH out ofHHHH