European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 23, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Review there s More than Fondue in the Alps by sgt ret Clement Lounder you just can t talk about bad Luck these Days without mentioning this or. The Bhagwan character who not too Long ago was sitting pretty up in Oregon with about 100 of them High priced English touring cars and All manner of Money and Jet air planes and Little knitted hats. Not to mention a whole slew of very faithful followers who even though they All wore Pink shirts and used the same first name of a seemed to be pretty Good workers. Now i hear the Little Guy s Girlfriend Sheela has left him and that he has had to give up the cars and sell off the air planes and move to a Little dirt walled hut in Nepal or sri Lanka or one of them other used to be British Type places where you could t buy a knitted hat if you wanted one and where everybody sits around weaving and waiting for the Rice to grow. And you do not have to be Jim Mckay to know that the fishing in sri Lanka is probably not one fifteenth of what it is up in Oregon. Why the Bhagwan headed off for Gandhi land in the first place i do not know. But i would be willing to bet my next Cost of living increase that there Are several european Type countries where he could have settled Down and gone right on collecting cars and having the Pink shirts do the gardening. And chances Are if he had moved to a civilized place Sheela would never have run off with this Mapu a fellow. I bring this All up because Brewster Doody and me were tooling around Switzerland the other week and we both agreed that Bhagwan would be a lot better off there where they got truly Safe Banks and Fine chocolate and mountains where the Echo is Good enough that he d probably Only need half As Many followers to pull off the same Quality chant. Not to mention the Swiss food which is also very major. This is especially True in Basel a City that is mostly known for the fact that All its streets run together in such a Way that no one can figure out who has got the Damn right of Way. Brewster and me happened to drop into the Schlussel Zunft restaurant there looking for some Cheek tingling Chow and i got to Tell you right Here that we were not disappointed. For starters the building used to be the Headquarters for the Wool merchant Guild before Rayon and double knit put them out of business so there is your Basic historical Charm Factor. Today there is plenty of exposed Wood and comfortable chairs and a very massive Ceramic oven Type Heater that you can look at for about 15 minutes without even getting bored. The tables Are Laid with White starched Linen a plus in my Book and Fla Wear that looks like it is very old Silver but probably in t. Also you get a bread plate which i have always liked and As soon As you sit Down someone Hustles Over with this big Basket of different breads and you can have your  waiter turned out to be one of the Well trained Young men who Are keeping the Art of service alive so he was not Only very personable but very efficient and like most of the Swiss spoke about 27 languages and English better than Swiss restaurants serve up More Good food than the hot chocolate the country is famous for. Brewster which As i think about it is not that hard. We started off with a chilled half bottle of Dole Blanche a local White wine that went Well with the marinated Salmon Brewster and the liver terrine yours truly that we had is first courses. Brewster said the Salmon was top drawer even though it was not smoked like he is used to but cooked in this slightly oily marinade. The terrine was nothing special it had a Ham Center but hey so does an egg Mcruffin although the very Light and Fluffy Cranberry Cream served on the Side was excellent. Main courses when in Rome do like the italians so Brewster and me decided to order Basel specialities even though the menu has a lot of French and German Type dishes that All sounded Good. I went for the oxtail ragout which features big chunks of Tail meat done with Little carrots and other veggies in a thin Gravy and comes with Rusf potatoes which Are called has Browns in Many other parts of the world. Pretty Good although the meal could have been stewed a few minutes longer to make it easier to get off the Bone As anyone who has Ever itch an undercooked Chicken neck will be Able j appreciate. Brewster went for a Basel Type of calf liver presentation which featured spiced Apple rings and which i tasted and rank very highly. Juicy without being undercooked i agree with Joleen that there is not much worse than looking at liver that has not been cooked properly this stuff was very Well done. It came with a Little boat of Gravy and spaetzle them Little noodles that always look like big pocket lint to me but which Are tasty nonetheless. With the meat course Brewster and me had a half bottle of red Dole a very decent dry red wine considering it is manufactured in one of the germanic countries. Now i got to put a word in Here about the presentation. All the dishes Are served up in French Type Copper pans that they bring to the table and show to you and then they go make up Little Servings on the Side while the pan stays warm on these Little Burner jobs. You end up getting two or three Nouv Kllc Cus be sized Servings which is to say quite a lot of food. I am pretty sure Lumbo Perry would have been satisfied if he had been along. After All that we had some Coffee and a Small Brandy which they pour right at your table although i got to admit the waiter was sort of keeping an Eye on the Little measuring line on tin shifters. Brewster had a Lepanto one of Spain s better exports and i went for an unnamed  Arr Wagnac that was smoother than a silk tie. Leading Back towards the Border Brewster and me figured out our rating. First off the service was Plain excellent. The food was Good very Good in places if you remember the liver and the prices not too bad. You need about $15 a head to  there not counting bottled beverages. The Schlissel Zunft restaurant is on 25 Freie Trasso in Basel a few doors Clown from the City s very impressive City Hall. Reservations Are recommended Call 061-252046. If you Are driving into Lapland for the first time this year remember to bring enough Money to pay the 30 franc Road tax which As i think about it is probably Why or. Bhagwan did t Lake All his cars and move to Switzerland. Me and Brewster give the Schlussel Zunft three and a half pointy fingers. Ratings � awesome eats. We re talking Paradise on a plate Here 2j b q a very Fine dining. Crack service and memorable food and drink. Jtj a Fol solid Chow. Good food of atmosphere and pleasant service. Jujj decent. About equal to a Ponderosa Steak House. 2 path butt. Crummy Chow so so service Semi ratty Interior. January 23,19s6 stripes Magazine 17