Where to get excellent hospital food

Are you looking for a hospital that provides gowns that actually cover your rear, that lets you stay until you feel well enough to return home, and that - get this - gives you excellent food three times a day?

My friend Lilliam Hurst is currently being treated at the Clinique Générale-Beaulieu, which not only does all of the above, but also offers breathtaking mountain views from her window. Here's a sample of what Lilliam has been eating:

Breakfast: whole grain bread, yogurt, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, coffee

Salad: arugula with pine nuts

Another salad - and the flower is edible

Feuilleté d'asperges vertes

Parmentier de canard au céleri

Dessert: Canary Island bananas with berries and caramel sauce

Dessert: terrine de mangues et framboises

Lilliam's hospital is in Switzerland, a country where health care is 12.5% less expensive, per capita, than in the United States - and where every citizen is insured. She is allowed 10 days in hospital for a procedure that in the United States is usually performed as outpatient surgery. Despite the fine food, however, she plans to leave sooner. She says she sees no reason to contribute to rising health-care costs.

Here's a glimpse at this week's menu:

Lunch

Dinner