Young meat

Geneva and Lausanne are only 70km apart, both on the shores of the lake with magnificent mountain views.

But Lausanne's architecture is more Montreux-style Swiss riviera, it's a fair bit hillier and definitely colder. And, unlike Geneva's bankers, diplomats and expat families, Lausanne seems to be largely populated by students and singletons. 

Our most recent visit took us to Happy Days, a warm and woody bar and restaurant famed for its burgers.

The waitress's corseted look should have given us a clue to the nature of this place but we dismissed it as a Halloween costume (far too sexy, you see). But by the end of the night, young long-legged ladies were strutting along the bar to the sound of "You Can Leave Your Hat On", a sight I wouldn't have expected in Suisse Romande.

 

Before all that happened, we had some excellent burgers, which easily outdid any I've had in Geneva (sorry, Road Runner). I can never resist anything with the word "Mexican", so I had one with guacamole and chilli, while the other four all had the American with bacon and cheese. The meat was seasoned and cooked to perfection and served with a choice of salad (no coleslaw here, a real salad with balsamic dressing) or a very generous helping of fries.

Then off we went to a Halloween party where, fittingly for youthful Lausanne, Monsieur Gourmand was the oldest person there.

Happy Days, Rue Saint-Pierre 3, 1003 Lausanne
+41 (0)21 324 0606; www.myhappydays.ch
 

Good imitation

How much would a small diner in the Geneva suburbs have to pay Warner Bros. to use the image of one of their cartoon characters, Monsieur Gourmand and I pondered as we chomped into our tasty burgers at Road Runner. Too much, it would seem, as they have created their very own cartoon bird to sit alongside the red neon logo, which, to an untrained eye, looks just the same.

The same philosophy applies to the food: the first bite reveals a juiciness that could be a real, genuine, American burger. It's flavoursome, it comes in a nice sesame bun, there are gherkins and onions, fries on the side and even coleslaw.

Diners can choose from such tempting options as the Texan (cheese and bacon), Mexican (with chilli and nachos), French (with tomato and herbs) or just keep it simple with cheese. There's no New York style low-carb burger wrapped in a lettuce leaf, but I doubt this would catch on in bread-loving Switzerland where everyone is effortlessly thin despite a diet of cheese and chocolate.

The key difference between the burgers here and those at a Stateside burger joint is the size. Monsieur Gourmand was still peckish after his Texan so ate my remaining fries, while I allowed myself a chocolate Mr Whippee after my delicious but not very filling cheese burger. 

But big doesn't necessarily mean good and this is the best burger I've had in Geneva (apart from L'Armoire which no longer exists) and deserves to have survived 40 years. That's got to be nearly as long as the Road Runner himself?

Road Runner, 63 route de Chene, 1208 Geneve
+41 (0)22 735 6420; www.roadrunner-restaurant.ch

Tip rip off

It started well at La Plancha, where I had long yearned to dine under the awnings on a sultry summer night, amid the bustle of Place des Eaux-Vives.

The seemingly friendly and attentive waiter brought us some crusty bread in what looked like an upside down hat and an adorable sack of flaky fleur de sel. But then came the first sign of trouble. They didn't have the wine we wanted so the waiter suggested another. Naturally, it was three times the price. Nice try, scumbag!

When our starter platter of viande sechée arrived, our crafty server muttered something about the cheese coming soon. Cheese? What cheese? Oh, of course, the cheese on my cheeseburger, i.e. my main course, which came one minute later. One minute too late to realise what they had done and cancel the now unnecessary starter...

Grudgingly, I must concede that the burger was juicy and flavoursome, served with red onion, melted cheese, a rather measly rasher of bacon hidden behind the top half of the bun, and tasty frites. But Monsieur Gourmand's steak was disappointingly dull and not seignant by anyone's standards.

The wily waiter tried to hurry us along by repeatedly filling our already full glasses, which only made the wine warm up in the balmy evening air. In a final attempt to fleece us, he suggested we might like to add a tip. Even if they weren't already included in Swiss restaurant bills, which they are, it would have been an empty saucer for this guileful garçon.

La Plancha, 2 Place des Eaux-Vives, 1207 Geneva

+41 (0)22 735 2250; www.laplancha.ch