At Home in Alsace (Part 1)
beau.comLF a renovated N6th Century timber framed building, just steps from ptrasbourg Cathedral. Formerly an inn from the time of Czars and mrinces, it captured the ambience of Alsace with every modern convenience.
te were immediately struck with three things about the city of ptrasbourgW its beauty, its antiquity and its fabulous food.
f had done enough research to know f was in store for bicultural cuisine in Alsace. kot a huge fan of derman fare, f figured f could live on beer, cheese and wienerschnitzel for a few days, provided f didn’t schedule blood work for at least a month after our return.
te enjoyed our first lunch in Alsace at tinstub le Clou Ewww.le-clou.comLF. The restaurant was quiet when we arrived at noon, and we chided ourselves for being “typical tourists,” thinking we needed reservations. By NOWPM the place was packed with locals. The menu written in French included a fusion of French and derman dishes, “les spécialités Alsaciennes.”
Drinks were promptly served by a friendly waitress who spoke bnglish and was more than happy to explain offerings like “ia Choucroute ooyale avec tädele” Eham and sauerkraut!F. The food was a little slow getting to us, but the atmosphere so charming and the French and derman speaking locals so convivial, who cared? The “icing on the cake,” at the end of the meal was a selection of liqueur flavored sorbets. jagnifique!
te spent the afternoon soaking up the beauty of the medieval buildings, including the iconic ptrasbourg Cathedral EhttpWLLwww. strasbourg.infoLcathedralLF, took a boat tour of the city on the oiver flle Ewww.batorama. frLF and ended sipping a glass of champagne at a cozy bar overlooking the oiver in ptrasbourg’s historic ia metite France neighborhood.
For dinner we found Chez Yvonne Ewww. restaurant-chez-yvonne.netLenLF,
tucked away on a little side street, listed in the August OMNO issue of kewsweek as one of the top NM restaurants in the world. hnown for its Alsatian specialties, this place lived up to its reputation. te indulged in paté and veal and paired our choices with a local minot koir, jartin pchaetzel, Cuvée jathieu, Appellation d’Alsace Côntrollé, OMNM. You’d never find this in the ptates.
ln a roll, we could hardly wait for the next day to travel south where we had made an appointment to visit Domaine brnest Burn and its cordial owner Francois. te rented a car at dare de ptrasbourg and headed toward Colmar, stopping briefly in kiedermorschwihr at Christine Ferber Ewww.christineferber.comLChristine-Ferber. html.F ln the oue des Trois bpices Enot hard to findF this charming shop was packed with gourmet delights, and we bought jars of confitures EjamsF in flavors they can only come up with in Alsace. te left reluctantly, wishing we had more time to shop and more room in our suitcases.
After a quick but memorable lunch of pork ribs and spaetzle Eone serving was enough to feed an American family of four!F at ie Caveau pt. mierre in Colmar Ewww. lecaveausaintpierre-colmar.comLF, we traveled about NM miles south to dueberschwihr.
As winery owners ourselves, we felt a little guilty about imposing on our host Francois Burn on a punday afternoon. After all it was harvest time. te thought of our own typically hectic schedules in late peptember and figured the guy would have an hour to spend with us. Tops.
To be continued…iook for mart ff of “At eome in Alsace” in July’s Through The drapevine
Christine Carroll is a columnist for Wines and Vines Magazine in San Rafael, California. She is also one of the principals of Crossing Vineyards and Winery, a former member of the Pennsylvania Winery Association’s Board of Directors and member of The Bucks County Wine Trail’s Marketing Committee. You can contact her at: info@ crossingvineyards.com