June 12, 2005
NEWSLETTER June 16, 1904: "Leopold Bloom ate
with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick
giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liver slices fried
with crustcrumbs, fried hencod's roes. Most of all he liked
grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly
scented urine."
--James Joyce, Ulysses (1922). UPDATE: To
go to my web site, in which I will update food
&
travel information and help link readers to other first-rate travel
& food sites, click on: home page
NOTES
FROM THE WINE CELLAR: Alsatian Wines Gain Cachet by John Mariani NEW
YORK CORNER: Mario's by John Mariani QUICK
BYTES
Travel poster by Roger Broders, 1926
When
I am
very hungry, which is my usual state of appetite after an overnight
flight to Europe, I want nothing dainty to
eat. So when I arrived in Strasbourg, I wanted choucroute à l'alsacienne--that
steaming platter of sausages and sauerkraut cooked in goose fat,
spices, and riesling wine,
served with mustard and horseradish on the side--just the thing to take
the edge off the rigors of the red-eye.
The history of the dish is rich, its local popularity evident from the number of restaurants in Strasbourg that serve it and the crowds of locals that pack them, and the enjoyment of the dish is amply increased with either a glass of Alsatian beer or a bottle of Alsatian wine (see next story). Astonishingly, the latest (2001) English-language edition of Larousse Gastronomique does not even have a separate listing for the dish, nor is there any recipe listed in the index. You have to look under "sauerkraut" (choucroute in French) to find one, provided by the beloved Alsatian artist called "Hansi." We checked into the very pleasant, centrally located Beaucour-Baumann Romantik (5 Rue des Bouchers; 03-88-76-7200; www.hotel-beaucour.com), located just steps from the Quai Saint-Nicolas in an 18th-century timbered building that was once a cane and umbrella factory. Just up the block, we sated our aching hunger for choucroute à l'alsacienne at Au Pont de Corbeau (21 Quai Saint-Nicolas; 03-88-35-6068). So, apparently was everyone else, for the place was packed with locals and businessmen in cramped but convivial quarters, with every square inch done up in wood--walls and ceiling--except for a tile floor (right). We took a cozy alcove with risqué Alsatian cartoons above it, and chatted with the silver-haired owner, Cristophe, a fine fellow who is the very soul of Strasbourg joie de vivre. At lunch there is a remarkably priced €11 ($13.40) menu that includes a generous salade frisée aux lardons, with its typical mix of greenery, saltiness, texture and tang, and an outstanding, creamy onion tart. There was also a delicious sauerkraut tart, and then the dish we'd be waiting for--a huge portion of choucroute à l'alsacienne that met expectations and immediately restored our spirits. Two local fellows at the next table regretted we hadn't tried the restaurant's Alsatian hamburger, a kind of Salisbury steak that they were mopping up with mashed potatoes and brown gravy. But by then but we were on to a good cherry custard tart and a glass of Vendange Tardive gewürztraminer. That afternoon we toured the city, whose interior, historic center takes but a couple of joyous hours to walk around, by which time you will have a clear sensibility about the prim, impeccably proper way of the people here. They keep the historic architecture of their beloved home on the River Ill as intact as could be imagined after thousands of years of warring history, first as an important Roman city called Argentoratum, then, after being destroyed by the Huns, as Strateburgum ("city of roadways"), central to commerce in the Middle Ages. Culturally the city's native son, Gottfried von Strassburg, was the most important figure of medieval German literature, and there is evidence Gutenberg may have invented his printing press here. After the severe deprivations of the Thirty Years War (1618-48), the city came under French rule, then a century later went back to German hands in the Franco-Prussian War, then returned to France after World War I by the Treaty of Versailles. In the next war the Germans exacted heavy damage to the city, but its historic integrity has survived, nowhere better appreciated than in its magnificent Cathedral (right) and fine museums full of medieval and Renaissance artwork. Make no mistake, however, whether the Alsatians think of themselves as French or German, for while many family, town, and street names, including Strasbourg itself, are Germanic and everyone has German relatives, the Alsatians are resolutely French, even if they have a streak of Teutonic reserve about them. (One of the best ways to take advantage of it all is to obtain a "Strasbourg Pass," which for €10.60 [$13] gives you three days free admission or 50% reductions to museums, a riverboat, and more.) Later that evening, my wife and I dined at the city's premier seafood restaurant, L'Alsace à Table (8 Rue Francs-Bourgois; 03-88-32-5062; www.alsace-a-table.fr). Guy-Pierre Baumann is the guiding light of the restaurant (left), which offers a generous three-course dinner at €25.50 ($32.50), with many choices from the menu. Inside the door is a lavish display of seafood on ice, and the decor is a blend of Belle Époque and art nouveau motifs, with figured mirrors and historic photographs on the walls. Baumann claims to have invented "seafood choucroute," which doesn't seem much of a stretch, but I was much happier with grilled and roasted fish done simply or with rich cream sauces. It is difficult not to order platter after platter of grilled langoustines once you see them displayed here. They are sweet and delicious and meaty. There are also several options for platters of fruits de mer--oysters, shrimps, and clams in various portion sizes. The wine list has a good selection of Alsatian labels. The fact that the restaurant is open seven days a week is also appealing for anyone hungry on a Sunday afternoon or evening in Strasbourg. The next day's lunch was at Au Vieux Strasbourg (5 Rue du Maroquin; 03-88-32-4189), located "à l'ombre de la cathédrale," done up prettily on two floors in the traditional decor of this beautiful medieval city, with timbers, simple wood chairs, hanging lamps with grandmotherly shades, and murals of Strasbourg. The red tablecloths are topped with paper mats, there is a daily blackboard menu, and tables outside in good weather. It was hard not to be taken in by the evocative, lovely old façade of the place (left), and we were happy to find that the upstairs dining room was non-smoking and had a good local crowd. The food here was hearty and good--excellent quiche lorraine and a jarré de porc with sauerkraut--though the onion soup gratinée was thin and the onions not well caramelized. There was no attempt at finesse in the cooking, but we certainly did not leave hungry, and the bottle of Zotzeberg Riesling 2001 went down easily. Our bill came to about $60 for the two of us. It would have been easy to linger over coffee and brandy here, but jet lag took its toll and we repaired to bed for a short winter's nap. Strasbourg has its share of Michelin stars, most notably Buerehiesel (three) and Au Crocodile (two), which I've visited in the past and feel they deserve their recognition. This time we went instead to La Vieille Enseigne (9 Rue Tonneliers; 03-88-32-5850), which lost its single star just weeks before our arrival, but it is still a very fine and beautiful restaurant (right) with a good balance of the classic and the modern on its menu. The comfort of the restaurant is ideal; you get a warm welcome without effusiveness, and the place has sophistication without pretense even down to the chairs that move smoothly and quietly over the carpet and the sconces that cast a soft glow on everyone. Tables are nicely separated from each other; wood mouldings are topped with calligraphy of bistro food items; exotic flowers are set in Lalique bowls on a pedestal; and the guests seem as polite as the staff: two gentlemen at a table adjacent to ours asked us if they might smoke. Photo courtesy of La Vieille Enseigne Chef J. Christophe Langs cooks in a thoroughly French style with modern flourishes, So, we began with a shooter of liquefied salmon sipped through a straw and little samosa-like pastries stuffed with crab meat. An appetizer of foie gras with apricots was of the high quality you expect from the region that perfected foie gras, and langoustines were done in a light tempura batter accompanied by a lovely eggplant terrine. Poached pike with a sauerkraut pancake was a tad bland, but squab cooked pink was delicious as a main course. This was followed by an odd shooter of pudding as a pre-dessert, unidentifiable as a flavor, and the meal ended with some decadent chocolate beignets. The wine list is among the best in Strasbourg, leaning heavily on the local offerings but with a good selection of other regional French wines. Prices for a meal here are very reasonable: a 5-course seafood menu is €59 ($72 ); otherwise, main courses à la carte run €27 ($33) to €31 ($38). The next day we were off on the Wine Trail and on to Colmar and Selestat, which are stories for another time in the not-too-distant- future.
Alsatian
Wines Gain Real Cachet
The
wines of NEW
YORK
CORNER Mario's
Mario's
is testament not only to the enduring favor of Italian-American food
but to the notion that a family-run restaurant is likely to express
the best virtues of the American restaurant business. Hard work,
often seven days a week, refinement of dishes over decades,
dependability and consistency, and, above all, a very intimate
relationship with generations of customers--these are the things that
make restaurants like Galatoire's in New Orleans, The Berghoff in
Chicago, Bern's Steak House in Tampa, and Mario's in the Bronx thrive
and become beloved.
Indeed, a few years ago Mario's was recipient of the James Beard Award as one of "America's Classics," which it most certainly is. Located since 1919 in the Belmont section of Fordham (where Dion and the Belmonts began singing doo-wop on a street corner of Arthur Avenue and 187th Street), Mario's has been run by five generations of the Miglucci family, including Rose, now the materfamilias of the clan, who is still there most days and nights making sure all is done as her late husband did it, as his father did it, and as her son Joseph and his son, Mario, and daughter, Regina, continue to do it. It's an unbreakable chain of commitment, day in, day out, six days and nights a week. When the Migluccis go on vacation, Mario's closes.
The
pizzas here are legendary—perfect Neapolitan pies of
impeccable crust, not thick but not too thin, beautifully seared on the
bottom,
bubbly and charred, with a topping of nothing more than fresh tomato,
fresh mozzarella, olive oil,
and basil—the epitome of a great pizza. Mario’s serves pizzas during the day, but in
the evening only as an
adjunct to a meal. And, given the size
of Mario’s portions, the thought of a pizza as an appetizer can be a
little
daunting. Somehow my family and I always
manage, because we are helpless to resist. OY VEY, SAMMY DAVIS JR. IS GONNA PLOTZ! "The
young and
sophisticated have a new place to ‘check-in’ at Motel, 600 W.
Chicago,
KEEP IT QUIET! EVERYONE WILL WANT ONE! In Changsha, China,
restaurant patron Li Juan, upon
complaining
that he'd found a fly in his noodles, insisted to the manager that the
waiter removed
the insect and ate it. According to the Xiaoxiang Morning Post,
the manager refused to acknowledge that the alleged fly was
ever in the bowl.
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS In an article on New York cheesecake two weeks ago, I erroneously noted that Patsy's restaurant no longer makes its own. It most certainly still does, and, as previously noted, it's a great one. QUICK BYTES *
On June 16 at
the
*
On June 19, Father’s Day, the
* On June 22 Gabriel’s Restaurant in *
On June 23 PJ Wine’s Second
Annual Spanish Wine Festival to benefit City Harvest will be held
at Landmark
on the Park in NYC, with Flamenco dancing, Sherry poured by a Venenciador, Spanish cheeses from Cheese
from
Spain; jamon from Redondo
Iglesias USA, tapas from La Naçional, and
other food
purveyors.
*
On June 24 in Woodville, WA, Willows
Lodge, Woodinville Women and Wine, Molbak’s and The
Herbfarm Restaurant present “Girlfriends’ Weekend,” with a
welcome reception on Fr., a Sat. morning mimosa party at The
Herbfarm
Restaurant’s South 47 Farm, a tour at Molbak’s Plant Farm; winemaker’s
dinner with Hightower Cellars, Bergevin Lane Vineyards, Buty Winery,
and
Saviah
Cellars. Call 425- 424-3900 or visit
www.willowslodge.com. Priced from $323.
*
On June 26 The
Oceanaire Seafood Room in Seattle will
host its Second Annual "Sea into the Future" benefit dinner and
silent auction for the Marine Stewardship Council, with Oceannaire’s Chef Kevin Davis and
colleagues, incl. Rick
Moonen of RM in Las Vegas, Greg Higgins of Higgins in Portland, Rob
Clark of C-Restaurant in Vancouver B.C., and Seattle's own "Dessert
Diva" Sue McCown of Earth & Ocean. $125
pp.
*
On June 28 Chef Walter Manzke of
L’Auberge
Carmel in
* On
June 28 in ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Editor/Publisher:
John Mariani. Contributing Writers: Robert Mariani, Naomi
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Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.
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