Apr 27, 2012 - 11:27 AM
Rösti is a very traditional Swiss dish, particularly in the mountainous areas so hopefully you won't have trouble finding it in the cities. Otherwise, it is worth a train ride up to Kleine Scheidegg to have lunch at the restaurant right by the train tracks -- they specialize in rösti. And the train trip is gloriously beautiful. Once you reach KS you will have a panoramic view of Eiger, Mönch Jungfrau and the glaciers.
Anyway, rösti is like what we call hash browns in the US -- grated potatoes that are pan sauteed in butter. That's the basic dish, then you can add cheese, fried egg, ham, whatever you want. Absolutely delicious and very traditional.
Another traditional dish is raclette, which is sliced potatoes with melted cheese.
And of course the wurst (sausages).
All of these are relatively inexpensive (by Swiss standards, anyway)