L'Alsaco

I make myself nuts. Tonight I planned to go Moroccan but when I got to the bistro “Chez Omar”, I chickened out and decided I wanted Alsatian. I am now on the train going the wrong way to a place in a neighborhood I don't know. It's near Gare de l'Est.

And this is not the first time I have gone the wrong way.

L'Alsaco was recommended in one of Patricia Well's books and in a few other books about Paris. I fear my choice because the review says it is too small, too smokey and Zagat only gives it a 16 for food.

I finally arrive at L'Alsaco which is in a grubby neighborhood (walk fast) and not near the Metro. The inside is very small (this isn't Bofinger) and intimate. The walls are all in wood with moulding  details painted on them. The ceilings are low and the lighting is horrible. The waitress doesn't speak English but the menu is in French and English. The atmosphere is true Alsatian “winstub”.

Alsatian food is a real treat. It is sort of like French meets German. A few years ago I visited the Alsace region and had the time of my life.

The set price meal here is €30 and includes an entree, house choucroute, dessert and a mug of beer.

For my entree I order the famous alsatian specialty “flammekuchen” which is like a pizza or a flatbread tart but topped with bacon, cream and caramelized onions. The crust here is wafer thin and the tart has a nice smokey flavour from the chunky bacon. It is served on an old cutting board from which I am sure I will get samonella poisoning from.

How the hell does everyone here stay so thin?

The choucroute maison was no disappointment. Choucroute is french for saurkraut. What you get is meaty chunks of por, pork knuckle, a frankfurter (not a hot dog) and a spicey sausage (like a bratwurst). This is all served atop a mound of saurkraut with yellow mustard and horseradish on the side. Sauerkraut, you ask? This isn't Libbys canned sauerkraut, from what I read it is fresh made in the Alsatian village of Krautergersheim. It's fresh fermented cabbage and not sour at all.

Oh, there was a boiled potato on the side.

After the main course I was served a plate of cheese. There were 4 very good size wedges and the best part was that they were all from the French Alsatian village of Muenster. This is not you grocery store muenster cheese. Each piece had a different flavour ranging fron soft and ripe to semi-hard. It was served with a “confiture” of unknown origin.  I think it was fig.

I didn't realize the set menu included cheese and dessert but after the cheese I was served a tart made with plums. It really wasn't that good and I didn't want to eat it. I got something in my room for later...

I actually think the cheese was a gift on the house.

I agree with Zagats rating of only 16 for this place. The food is good and has a home cooked quality. The atmosphere is casual and can be loud, as this is a winstub which is like a pub. If your husband is tired of eating foie gras and canard and fancy little pastries, this is a good place to take him for a manly meal.

You can also get similar meals at other Alsatian brasseries around the city (such as Bofinger and Brasserie L'Ile St-Louis. Both are in better neighborhoods).

This was not the friendliest restaurant I have been to but it also wasn't unfriendly either. I also find it difficult to believe that Patricia Wells recommended L'Alsaco.

Rating? 3 for atmosphere, 3 for food and 3 for service (Out of a max of 5 points).

L'Alsaco, 10 rue Condorcet, 75009 Paris

I am glad I have Gas X in my hotel room. Blogging from Europe via Blackberry and AT&T Wireless

Comments

[micky]

Jeffrey Steingarten has a theory presented in "the Man who Ate Everything" that might answer the old question: how do French people stay so thin?
I think it has to do with little or no processed foods, regular meals and portion size. America fails at all 3. Of course, generally speaking.

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