Wednesday, May 20
A leisurely day. I was going to go to the 3 museums that Anne proposed to me, but realized I hadn't had a day of slowness for awhile, so I stayed in and read some, worked out some (yes, it's true! ok, really what that means is I put my iPod headphones in and danced around the apartment for 45 min), went for a 2 mile walk around the big sports park close to Anne's apt.
Funny observation: the stade nautique where the pool is butts up to a McDonalds. Seriously? This entire park is all sports and rec and there is only one restaurant that sits on the grounds... and it's "Mac Do"? Yeesh. Maybe they didn't get "Supersize Me" out on video over here...
Thursday is a holiday (l'Ascension), so Anne proposed that we go to a traditional Alsacian restaurant for dinner. Her boss recommended Ferme des Moines in a little village outside Mulhouse called Jungholtz, tucked into the Vosges mountains. I wish I had gotten pics of the mountainside or landscape, but because the sun was setting behind them, they wouldn't have turned out. As it was, I took a pic of a cool looking temple/church that we drove past on the way up.
The restaurant is actually quite large by French restaurant standards and sits on the grounds of a farm run entirely by Monks (that's what the name means). The decor was fairly rustic (pics) and the theme is strong. The ceiling was completely covered in tapestries that showed the daily life of a monk. Halfway through the meal, the entire restaurant went dark and there was an audio narration of daily life as a monk, illustrated in turn by a dozen wooden monk puppets that lined the walls of the restaurant. As the narrator described each activity, a different monk was lighted and did his action. They were all on automated strings: the wine-making monk jumped on grapes, one monk got his head shaved in the traditional manner, the monk closest to us was writing in a big book with his quill. (pic)
They offer traditional Alsacian dishes as well as a more generic regional/French-German cuisine. Of course, I order the choucroute Alsacienne! Meaning a plate of sausages and pork cuts served on top of a literal mound of sauerkraut with a couple potatoes for accent. It was huge, but delicious. They don't mind leaving the fat marbled in with the pork steaks, so I had to some fancy cutting (most of you know I don't care for the texture of fat!) but the sausage was downright fantastic.
Anne also suggested that we try the cheese of the Munster region which we were pretty much in. I asked if it was Muenster like we have in the States but she insisted it has a much stronger scent. Turns out, yes, it does. The texture is exactly like that of the Muenster I know and the taste isn't that much stronger, but the smell is very strong. We split a slab/serving of Munster with honey drizzled on it and it was very yummy. (of course)
For dessert, Anne went with the conservative lemon sorbet (a respectable choice) and I decided to get another regional specialty: Black Forest Cake. First off, it was huge. (yes I finished it) But it was also lighter and... wetter (?) than the one I'm familiar with. I'm pretty sure it's cause it's soaked in liquor. In any case it was a perfect finish to our traditional Alsacian dinner in a truly adorable restaurant in a sleepy little town that's too small for street lights (there were like 5 total) in the mountains near Mulhouse. A real treat!
Check out the pics on Flickr, including a shot of my new French outfit that I wore to dinner.
I've also added a snap shot of the map in the front of my Rick Steves' book of France that I've marked on for the places I've gone on this trip. Feel free to comment on any pics (you can comment anonymously)!
Funny observation: the stade nautique where the pool is butts up to a McDonalds. Seriously? This entire park is all sports and rec and there is only one restaurant that sits on the grounds... and it's "Mac Do"? Yeesh. Maybe they didn't get "Supersize Me" out on video over here...
Thursday is a holiday (l'Ascension), so Anne proposed that we go to a traditional Alsacian restaurant for dinner. Her boss recommended Ferme des Moines in a little village outside Mulhouse called Jungholtz, tucked into the Vosges mountains. I wish I had gotten pics of the mountainside or landscape, but because the sun was setting behind them, they wouldn't have turned out. As it was, I took a pic of a cool looking temple/church that we drove past on the way up.
The restaurant is actually quite large by French restaurant standards and sits on the grounds of a farm run entirely by Monks (that's what the name means). The decor was fairly rustic (pics) and the theme is strong. The ceiling was completely covered in tapestries that showed the daily life of a monk. Halfway through the meal, the entire restaurant went dark and there was an audio narration of daily life as a monk, illustrated in turn by a dozen wooden monk puppets that lined the walls of the restaurant. As the narrator described each activity, a different monk was lighted and did his action. They were all on automated strings: the wine-making monk jumped on grapes, one monk got his head shaved in the traditional manner, the monk closest to us was writing in a big book with his quill. (pic)
They offer traditional Alsacian dishes as well as a more generic regional/French-German cuisine. Of course, I order the choucroute Alsacienne! Meaning a plate of sausages and pork cuts served on top of a literal mound of sauerkraut with a couple potatoes for accent. It was huge, but delicious. They don't mind leaving the fat marbled in with the pork steaks, so I had to some fancy cutting (most of you know I don't care for the texture of fat!) but the sausage was downright fantastic.
Anne also suggested that we try the cheese of the Munster region which we were pretty much in. I asked if it was Muenster like we have in the States but she insisted it has a much stronger scent. Turns out, yes, it does. The texture is exactly like that of the Muenster I know and the taste isn't that much stronger, but the smell is very strong. We split a slab/serving of Munster with honey drizzled on it and it was very yummy. (of course)
For dessert, Anne went with the conservative lemon sorbet (a respectable choice) and I decided to get another regional specialty: Black Forest Cake. First off, it was huge. (yes I finished it) But it was also lighter and... wetter (?) than the one I'm familiar with. I'm pretty sure it's cause it's soaked in liquor. In any case it was a perfect finish to our traditional Alsacian dinner in a truly adorable restaurant in a sleepy little town that's too small for street lights (there were like 5 total) in the mountains near Mulhouse. A real treat!
Check out the pics on Flickr, including a shot of my new French outfit that I wore to dinner.
I've also added a snap shot of the map in the front of my Rick Steves' book of France that I've marked on for the places I've gone on this trip. Feel free to comment on any pics (you can comment anonymously)!
posted by Jess at 2:27 AM
4 Comments:
Were you looking for the word 'moist' for the cake?
I'm going to have to stop reading your blog. It makes me SO hungry! :)
I want a cheese/sausage gallette please. Sorry to hear about the extra bonus that came with the new bag!! Mom and I were in tears trying to read thru the end of that episode!! ;^D
Really enjoyed catching up with your week. Looking forward to more great picx when you get to StrasB.
Be safe, say your prayers, and have the time of your life this next week!! much lub XOXO u d (m2)
Ok, so what do you think of the sequel (book)? I know, here you are in a gastronomical wonderland and I ask about the book! But, like Jessica, I have to digress or I will have to make a run to the fridge (like there is anything in there even close to what you are experiencing!?!?!) ILY so muchly, Jessica Lauren -
The Rick Steves' Book (Guide to France) has been fantastic actually... I know where to go and spend my time if I have a little or a lot. I know which restaurants are proven to be good ones... I know the schedules and costs of everything going on... And it's all written like I'm just chatting with my best friend who happens to be a France-travelin-pro. I really have relied on it a lot, so Thanks Rick Steves! And thanks to Andrew, who got the book for me :)
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