From what I remember of whatever bar that stood on that same spot before, it was a sleepy place with not much to do happening. Switch owner, name or both --- and now its a hip and happening spot for bankers and hedge fund genii to be seen and to be seen by & with the right people.
The long, old-fashioned bar and the little outdoor patio together probably can't fit more than 70 people. Hence, the sprawl onto the sidewalk into the street and where ever else there is a bit of free-space. Trick is to not end up too far from the epicenter. Doing so would reduce the coolness factor by 10bps.
Drink of choice? Aperol Spritz. The famous Venetian combination of Prosecco, Aperol, a bit of sparkling water and an orange slice. I've been drinking it for years. Suddenly its super cool. Nothing like seeing unbelievably sexy men in crisp suits and starch-white, open collar shirts sipping at a violently orange fruity drink. Hmm, maybe not.
My take on La Stanza's drinks? Not the worst, but not really that good. Warm white-wine, fairly flat Spritzers. But what the heck. One doesn't go for the quality of the beverages or the service. One goes for the expensive meat, one can bring home.
This brings me to the main topic of today's post. I didn't have the delicious opportunity of bringing any kind of packaged suited-goods home with me, but my friends and I were hungry. The P suggested a Russian Steakhouse around the corner, so off we went.
Goodman is not Russian by any means. Not sure where the Russian reference came from. Walking into the place, I felt like I was transported to America, the UK, Australia...anywhere where English is the language of choice and everything has to be big and air-conditioned. The interior had dark wood panelling, ceiling fans and b/w photographs graced the walls. Basically, it looked like a chain restaurant (and I later learned it was), but on the upscale side, and very masculine. Just the place one would expect to feast on a side of beef.
We had a lovely German waitress whose piercings and short, nearly shocking orange hair, (or does one call it strawberry blonde?) made we wonder if she would be able to find employment in a traditional American restaurant. She was lovely though and very knowledgeable, as was evident as she gave us a mini-lesson on the various cuts on offer, pointing to samples through the vitrine she had wheeled to our table. She gave both the German name and the English quasi-equivalent, which was a nice "Ahh" moment for me. All cuts come from aged hormone-free, grass-fed black angus from around the globe (USA, Australia and Switzerland).
If anyone were to find the seated tour of flesh or the price-listing per 100g of meat too much, simply point to the chalkboard where cuts of the day are listed by weight and total price. Keep in mind weight is determined before cooking. We were warned that there would be "Verlust", loss.
We finally placed our well educated order. The P is an old hand at this and suggested we share 850g of Porterhouse between the two of us. The most one could order that day was 900g. I was silently chanting "Verlust", "Verlust" as I said "Ok, sounds good". Dear S's decision was all dependent on the national origin of the muscle mass she was about to order. American rib-eye sold out, Australia seemed not an option, Swiss sirloin it is. 350g please. Sauce? Sauce on aged meat? No thank you. Sides? Cut-fries, grilled vegetable hold the bell peppers, tomato & onion salad and a mixed greens salad.
The porterhouse came to table precut. There was enough meat still left on the bone that if my mother were with us, she would cry "Shame" and start gnawing on the damn thing herself to rip every possible shred of muscle and fat off. Product of the old country, what can you do? Seriously speaking, the meat was delicious and done to medium-rare perfection. This former vegan was in cow-fresser heaven. Yum Yum.
The sides I could have done without. The fries were good, crispy on the outside, light and floury on the inside. The grilled veg did indeed come without the bell pepper, but it had the greyish color and shrivelled look of something that was cooked way in advance and left for dead. The salad seemingly was meant for an American or English palate, which is fantastic if you like sugar in your salad sauce. It really was too sweet in a not nice way. The tomato salad looked as though it was doused in the same sauce, though honestly I did not try it, so can't comment on it.
The meal was rounded off by a small bowl of odd-tasting fruit salad, which was shared among us three. Odd-tasting, not bad-tasting. Neither S nor I could place it. The P didn't notice anything. Some kind of spice or special sweetened water maybe? What it certainly didn't taste like was any of the fruit in the bowl, all of which looked fresh cut. It was left unfinished.
So what did 1400g of luscious meat, 4 sides, 1 dessert, 3 1/2 litre bottles of water and a glass of wine (my friends are going alcohol-free) cost us? A whopping 330CHF. For those not willing to empty your wallets on the table, you don't have to. Goodman has various other less expensive options on the menu. The Goodman Burger for instance comes in at a cool 28CHF and includes fries and a bit of greens. For Zürich 28CHF for a Black Angus burger is a steal (this is not a joke)! You can get crap burgers with mystery meat for just as much or more.
All-in-all, I give it 3.5 out of 5 cow bells.
Meat - 4.5
Service - 4
Sides - 2
Dessert - 2 (for sorting out a non-dairy option for us)
Goodman offers a Master Class where one can spend an evening learning about the various cuts of meats and best methods of preparation, which ends in dinner served with appropriate wines. Total cost is 130CHF. I'm going to sign up for the class myself once wallet recovers from the shock.
Was it worth it? If you can afford it and really want to taste good aged beef, then absolutely...just hold the sides. Did I mention the good service?
Good to note: though not air-conditioned, the ceiling fans do function in the summer. If you're not used to direct cool air-condition-like wind, as most people living in Switzerland aren't, bring a shawl or a light jacket for summer nights.
Goodman Steakhouse
Brandschenkestrasse 20
8001 Zürich
+41.44.280.1880
http://www.goodmanrestaurants.ch/
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