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This would get my vote as the prettiest setting for any restaurant. Nestling on a bank of the river Ill, just by a bridge and overlooking some of the lovely old buildings of this picturesque village. You sit out for drinks and coffee under the weeping willows, which is a truly enchanting experience. There are now rooms here also, which are fine if pricey. Sadly the Auberge has hit that all too common decline that afflicts a lot of 3 star places. You have a distinct sense of being processed, and our most recent meal (June 2002) was a sad decline from our previous visit six years earlier. Here are notes on the most recent meal.
The first warning sign was when they were completely unable to deal with my request for a glass of dessert wine with my foie gras starter (hardly a bizarre idea in France). I ordered a half bottle at the start of the meal but only the main white wine arrived. When I pointed this out the waitress went off to confer and eventually turned up with the wine, then offered some to Stella (who was having a normal starter) and then forgot to pour Stella’s wine altogether. In general they seemed slightly understaffed and a little harried throughout. Bread was a simple white roll or a similar one with poppy seeds; this was under-salted and really not that good (4/10). Amuse guele consisted of a little quiche Lorraine with light pastry (9/10) a tuile with pistachio (5/10) and a sliver of toast with herring and onion (5/10), so overall maybe 7/10 for the amuse guele.
My starter was one of the specialities of the place, a goose foie gras terrine with truffle. This took simplicity in presentation to a new level, with just three slabs of roughly served pate and a slice of brioche. The terrine was fine with a rough texture and certainly had some truffles, but this was really only 6/10. Stella had red mullet with three nicely cooked langoustines each resting on a slice of artichoke. The mullet was timed well but was a pale imitation of the fine mullet we had just eaten in Germany, and was topped with a spoonful of artichoke puree with pepper. There was also a simple side salad with French dressing, topped with artichoke crisps (7/10).
The main course was shared, and had wild turbot filleted at the table and presented in a pool of remarkable dully, watery red pepper sauce, plus a half pepper hollowed out and filled with chewy squid and some finely chopped Mediterranean vegetables, garnished with a sprig of Rosemary. I would mark the sauce as about 1/10, the fish as perhaps 6/10, correctly cooked but having no great flavour The vegetables were the best element of the dish, which was overall again very weak for food at these prices.
Cheese was also below par, by no means all in perfect condition; they even made the unforgivable error of putting out an unripe Munster, here in the heart of Alsace, with the village of Munster just a few miles down the road. The only element of the meal that was above 1 star level was an old classic here, the crepes with griottes. At this time of year the cherries in France are stunning, and here they are cooked in a crepe filled with crème vanille, which is flambéed in Cherry brandy at the table (a bit of a cliché but it works here) and served with some additional cherries. This was cooked perfectly and had great cherries (10/10). Coffee then reverted to the barely 1 star level that was the feature of this meal, with a few modest petit fours. Overall, a sad reflection of former glories, which we experienced in 1996 (they used to have a pet stork but even that is no more – maybe it has gone in search of better food).
Sunday 23/6/96 (dinner).
The little town of Illhausen can be found off the N83, north of Colmar. The village is tiny, and the restaurant can be found on the banks of the river Ill. The dining room overlooks the river, with pretty gardens. There are eleven rooms here in all (called the Hotel de Berges, but all part of the same building), which looked most attractive. We began with was a slice of stunning quiche (10/10) and tiny pizza (6/10) with a local speciality, brawn, which is a particularly unpleasant offal - no doubt this was cooked well, but I feel unqualified to mark it, as I have never had it before and never will again. Bread was either white rolls or poppy seeds rolls (7/10). I started with a terrine of foie gras in gelée, which was very fine indeed (10/10). Next was sandre (pike) in wild celery sauce topped with truffle - this was much better than the version at Troisgros (10/10). My menu continued with a lobster served in its shell with a creole crust and lobster sauce with a little sauerkraut - beautiful lobster (10/10). Stella had “salmon soufflé”, fresh salmon topped with a cheese soufflé, served with a beurre blanc, tomato puree and puff pastry (8/5). For main course Stella had a stunning sea bass, cooked in the same way as my Sandre (10/1/0). I had venison, served with wild mushrooms, noodles (the only let down, a little tasteless), and assorted cherries and grapes (8/10).
For cheese we tried: Munster (10/10), Epoisses (10/10), Brie de Meaux (8/10), chevre au ciboulettes (10/10), Fourme d’Ambert (8/10), a garlic and pepper cheese (9/10), Pont l’Eveque (8/10), all with a fruit and nut bread (6/10). We were then offered some fresh cherries with cinnamon ice cream (8/10).
For dessert,, my menu had a millefeuille of raspberries, but without any fuss they swapped this for poached pear with champagne sabayon and pistachio ice cream (8/10). Stella had a remarkable dessert: crepes cooked in front of us on a little burner, stuffed with vanilla custard and wild cherries, flambeéd with kirsch; this tasted quite incredible, perhaps the dish of the whole summer
(10/10). Coffee was superb (10/10). With this were: an éclair (8/10), sugared pastry (6/10), a macaroon with lemon filling (10/10), a lemon meringue tart (10/10), a milk chocolate nut cluster (10/10), chocolate and coffee mousse (10/10), a Florentine (10/10), a tart with bitter chocolate (10/10) and an almond tuile (10/10). These were remarkably consistent, perhaps the best petit fours of the trip.
To accompany the meal we had Zind Humbrecht Riesling Grand Cru 1992 at FF 250, and a glass of vendage tardive Riesling Dopff (not that great) at FF 50 for a glass. The total bill was FF 180 and the set menu was FF 720 Service was wonderful throughout (10/10) and this was without doubt one of the very best meals of the summer. |
