Ever fancied a peek behind the scenes of a restaurant? Now’s your chance. On Ash Wednesday (February 9) Forum Café and Restaurant is holding a traditional fish buffet, served in the restaurant kitchen itself, giving guests a chance to watch the chefs at work. The evening costs € 22.50 per person. Call 26 88 18.
There again, you could just invite the experts into your own kitchen. Munich’s “mobile gourmet chef” Thierry Roussey will turn up, ingredients in hand, and serve a creative meal in the comfort of your own home. And, he’ll also clean up his mess afterwards, with prices starting at € 45 per person for a three-course meal. Contact Thierry at 72 05 94 64 or see www.thierry-roussey.de. Or how about hiring your own personal cocktail whizz? Launched at the end of 2004, Cocktails and Dreams is based on the concept of the takeaway pizza, according to owners Anna Regenberg and Tobias Kronwitter. Within 20–40 minutes of receiving your order, they’ll arrive at your house to prepare your chosen cocktails before your eyes. Cocktails range from € 6–€ 14 (and you get to keep the glass!) and there is a minimum order value of € 18. The pair can also be hired for an entire evening. Call (0163) 423 68 24 or visit www.cocktails-n-dreams.de.
And speaking of gastro show … the cat fight between Munich’s two gourmet kings continues. Both Eckart Witzigmann and Alfons Schuhbeck have announced they are extending their palazzo events to meet huge public demand. Witzigmann’s cabaret dinner show will now run until March 26, and not early February as previously announced, and Schuhbeck’s will finish on March 27, instead of the end of January. Miaow!
All good things, though, must come to an end. Last month, Munich’s legendary bar Kay’s Bistro announced it was closing after 28 years. The establishment in Utzschneiderstrasse, at the Viktualienmarkt, which attracted the world’s glitterati in its heyday, including Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jon Bon Jovi and Leonard Bernstein, was put up for auction on January 26. Gastro sources claim owner Kay Worsching had had enough of spending long evenings behind the bar and wanted to concentrate on his new venture, “Prosecco Teatro,” which is due to open in the renovated Schrannenhalle soon.
The Glockenbach gastro whirl continues… Orangha in Klenzestrasse has closed to make way for a new joint—Rubico. Not the place to go if you’re after a succulent Schweinshaxen, Rubico offers what could be dubbed as 21st-century creative cuisine—anyone for port risotto with pecorino cheese and pink grapefruit or tagliatelle in a pink vodka sauce with crayfish? Klenzestrasse 62, Tel. 20 20 78 28, www.rubico.de.
In fact, if you enjoy checking out different restaurants, treat yourself to a copy of Mercussini. This newly launched voucher book costs € 29.50 and contains money-off tokens for 30 quality restaurants around Munich. With the majority of coupons offering two main courses for the price of one, you can make substantial savings, and the book is a great incentive to try out places you may never have previously considered. See www.mercussini.de for details.
Thumbs up to Thomas Vogler, owner of Jazz Bar Vogler. Last month he and his staff donated an evening’s takings to tsunami relief efforts, raising € 1,750. However, on finding out that this would buy only half a boat for villagers in the ruined fishing village of Chinnamudaliyarchavadi, they decided to hold a second event, on February 14, in the bar at Rumfordstrasse 17. Go on, sacrifice your romantic Valentine’s evening—and give a little love to the world instead. <<<
