Et may well be that in Munich, after a few sausages, knuckles, dumplings and pretzels, you might want to eat something lighter again. A visit to a restaurant where a whole range of good things come together provides relief: the brasserie of the “Les Deux” restaurant in the Schäfflerhof, not far from the Frauenkirche. There is a gourmet restaurant with a star on the first floor and a brasserie on the ground floor. The food of both restaurants is cooked by the same kitchen brigade. The patron Fabrice Kieffer, who is as distinguished and elegant as he is friendly and knowledgeable, worked for many years as a sommelier and restaurant manager in the “Residenz Heinz Winkler” in Aschau, the famous gourmet restaurant whose legendary chef unfortunately passed away a few days ago.
No banal 50s cocktail
The guest orders the first starter out of sheer curiosity. “Shrimp cocktail, lettuce hearts, brioche, trout caviar” (22 euros) it says, and what is served bears little visual resemblance to the cult dish of the 1950s and 1960s, which was usually served in a cocktail glass. There is a slightly crispy slice of brioche bread topped with a crab concoction that tastes very subtle and mixed with the cocktail sauce identifiably traditional. However, they are rarely eaten on their own, but in tandem with trout caviar, which gives the whole thing a subtle maritime acidity, with the bread and pieces of lettuce heart leaves and herbs. Packed like this, the cocktail tastes extremely good, fresh, “crunchy”, differentiated and not at all banal. Something like this is highly recommended for imitation, especially because of the lettuce heart leaves, whose rugged surface provides stability (and thus crispy texture) and simply allows a slightly sweet and sour vinaigrette to cling better. Edits like this give the impression that a series of small “tricks” can have an enormous effect.