Alsatian food in New York City - a new trend...

[Megan Blocker]

Is it just me, or is Alsatian food suddenly everywhere? Maybe it's the concentration of Alsatian chefs in Manhattan, or maybe it's the cold weather (the cuisine of the region being particularly hearty and disposed to keep out the chill), but whatever it is, I just can't get away from it!

Wednesday night, I attended a dinner at Les Halles' downtown location, celebrating the beginning of their annual choucroute month, which takes place in February. We feasted on tarte flambee (currently getting the royal treatment over on this eG topic), choucroute poisson, and the more traditional choucroute garnie. Phillippe, the proprietor, made a lovely speech, talking about the history of choucroute and its close relationship to the institution of the brasserie - warm, earthy food for a warm, earthy gathering place.

Clockwise from top left: choucroute garnie, tarte flambee, pear strudel, and choucroute poisson at Les Halles.

Of course, Les Halles is a brasserie firmly rooted in Manhattan, so their choucroute menu is appropriately reflective of our belief in variety, featuring not one, not two, but four kinds of choucroute. Choucroute garnie, the kind most people think of first, is simmered in pinot blanc and comes with smoked pork, pork and veal sausage, and mustard on the side. Next is the aforementioned choucroute poisson, with smoked herring, fish sausage, scallops, and salmon caviar. Of particular interest to many foie-loving eG'ers, no doubt, is the duck choucroute, with foie gras, duck breast, confit...and choucroute royale, with a little bit of everything, the choucroute itself simmered in champagne.

But Les Halles is not the only high-profile restaurant jumping on the Alsatian bandwagon. Gabriel Kreuther, the chef at The Modern, is also Alsatian, and his Bar Room menu reflects his heritage, with comfort food items like tarte flambee (more traditional and cracker-like than Les Halles' tarte a l'oignon-esque preparation) and baekehoffe, a kind of baked meat and potato stew, traditionally made from beef, broth, potatoes and a pork knuckle.

Finally, there's the latest addition to my neighborhood, Yorkville. Cafe d'Alsace has been open for about a year now and is packed to the gills almost every night. Like Les Halles, it's a brasserie, but one specifically devoted to Alsatian cuisine. A rich, herby baekehoffe makes an appearance, along with tarte flambee (not the best, frankly - they don't seem to be using the requisite pizza stone), sweet brioche pudding with cherries, a vast and impressive beer list, and, of course, choucroute garnie.

Is there something about this Frenchified German food that's particularly appealing to New Yorkers? Maybe the combination of hearty food and refined techniques? After all, the dishes all have the hallmarks of foodie-approved comfort food: lots of pork, lots of history, and they come complete with traditional wine pairings.

Besides these three, are there some other places in the city that are joining the choucroute-and-tarte-flambee party?

[Nathan]

Les Halles has been doing a winter Alsatian menu for many years.

I do agree that it is a trend right now (along with Austrian).

[Sneakeater]

Yeah. I think it's part of the general "Germanic" trend we've been having for the last few years.

Although, don't forget, during the early part of my fine-dining life, the best restaurant in New York was Alsatian.

[Megan Blocker]

Yeah.  I think it's part of the general "Germanic" trend we've been having for the last few years.

Although, don't forget, during the early part of my fine-dining life, the best restaurant in New York was Alsatian.

←

Are you referring to Lutece?

It's definitely true that Germanic food in general seems to be making a bit of a showing, what with Blaue Gans opening so strongly. Of course, living in Yorkville, it feels like there's German food everywhere, even though it's just three restaurants in the two blocks around my apartment.

I did a quick MenuPages search, and it looks like the Cafe at Le Cirque serves choucroute royale...

[Sneakeater]

And db Bistro Moderne, with its Alsatian chef, has a Sunday-night Alsatian menu.

PS -- Of course, Lutece.

Edited January 31, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[Megan Blocker]

And db Bistro Moderne, with its Alsatian chef, has a Sunday-night Alsatian menu.

PS -- Of course, Lutece.

←

Hey, I'm a young 'un! Can't be expected to know it all...I was busy sneaking cucumbers from the salad bowl while you were enjoying the magic of Soltner.

[Sneakeater]

Hey, you got it right, didn't you?

[Sneakeater]

It's definitely true that Germanic food in general seems to be making a bit of a showing, what with Blaue Gans opening so strongly. 

←

It's much bigger (and older) than that.

It started with Danube (Bouley sussed that on out, like, EXACTLY).

Then Walsee was warmly received, and Cafe Sebarsky was a tremendous hit right out of the box.

Then, you started seeing Austrian inflections on more standard menus all over the place.

And of course this trend hasn't abated: in the last year there's been Trestle on Tenth, Brasserie Klee, etc.

The only misstep so far has been Scott Conant's Alto, which tried to capitalize on this trend in the Italian context by focusing on the cuisine of the Alto Adige, to mass incomprehension if not hostility (such that they had to modify their menu).

[Megan Blocker]

It's definitely true that Germanic food in general seems to be making a bit of a showing, what with Blaue Gans opening so strongly. 

←

It's much bigger (and older) than that.

It started with Danube (Bouley sussed that on out, like, EXACTLY).

Then Walsee was warmly received, and Cafe Sebarsky was a tremendous hit right out of the box.

Then, you started seeing Austrian inflections on more standard menus all over the place.

And of course this trend hasn't abated: in the last year there's been Trestle on Tenth, Brasserie Klee, etc.

The only misstep so far has been Scott Conant's Alto, which tried to capitalize on this trend in the Italian context by focusing on the cuisine of the Alto Adige, to mass incomprehension if not hostility (such that they had to modify their menu).

←

Fair enough - I still haven't been to Alto, and obviously didn't make it before the menu changes. What sorts of Germanic flourishes (if that's what they were) were there before the modifications?

[Megan Blocker]

Hey, you got it right, didn't you?

←

True! But only round-about, since I knew Soltner was Alsatian, and that he was chef at Lutece...but, then, these are the sorts of problem-solving skills that serve me oh-so-well when playing Trivial Pursuit.

[Nathan]

before the menu change Alto reflected the cuisine of Alto Aldige and the general Dolomite region pretty strongly.

the food in that area is quite Germanic (if you're ever in Venezia the access to Alto Adige is pretty easy)...think spaetzle....heck, the Italians in that area often have blond hair and blue eyes.

[Fat Guy]

Some percentage of French chefs in New York have always been Alsatian (Jean-Georges Vongerichten, anyone?), some have been Breton, some from Toulouse, etc., however I don't think there was ever a marked trend like the one we're seeing now. The old Lutece menus I've seen haven't been particularly Alsatian. There were always two Alsatian items available -- an onion tart and an Alsatian torte -- but the rest seems to have been general haute French.

I also would be more likely than not to separate the Mitteleuropean and Alsatian strands of New York's restaurant history and present. While Alsatian cuisine certainly reflects Germanic influences, it doesn't follow to say that Kreuther is part of the Danube-Wallse trend (nor is it clear that trend has has much success compared to, I don't know, Asian fusion).

[Sneakeater]

Fair enough - I still haven't been to Alto, and obviously didn't make it before the menu changes.  What sorts of Germanic flourishes (if that's what they were) were there before the modifications?

←

Alto was a riff on the food of the Alto Adige, which as the following thread shows, is more Austrian than Italian:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=97446

[Sneakeater]

Some percentage of French chefs in New York have always been Alsatian (Jean-Georges Vongerichten, anyone?), some have been Breton, some from Toulouse, etc., however I don't think there was ever a marked trend like the one we're seeing now. The old Lutece menus I've seen haven't been particularly Alsatian. There were always two Alsatian items available -- an onion tart and an Alsatian torte -- but the rest seems to have been general haute French.

I also would be more likely than not to separate the Mitteleuropean and Alsatian strands of New York's restaurant history and present. While Alsatian cuisine certainly reflects Germanic influences, it doesn't follow to say that Kreuther is part of the Danube-Wallse trend (nor is it clear that trend has has much success compared to, I don't know, Asian fusion).

←

I partially disagree. I think the menus at The Modern and especially The Bar Room at The Modern were purposely designed to reflect Kreuther's Alsatian background, precisely to capitalize on this trend.

I agree that the trend hasn't had as much success as Asian fusion. But I don't think it's a coincidence that all these Germanic-inflected places (and even dishes) started popping up at around the same time.

Ask yourself, how often did you see spaetzle on menus in 1990? How often do you now?

Edited February 1, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sneakeater]

(We also can't omit Cafe Gray from this discussion.)

[Sneakeater]

I also would be more likely than not to separate the Mitteleuropean and Alsatian strands of New York's restaurant history and present.

←

History, yes.

Present, I'm not so sure.

When you're dealing with something as amorphous as a trend, I don't think you can cut things too cleanly. Among other things, diners aren't that knowledgeable and tastes aren't that precise.

To me, the idea behind Alto was, "It's Italian . . . but it's Austrian."

The idea behind these Alsatian or Alsatian-influenced places is, "It's French . . . but it's German."

Same impulse, even if Alsace is a bit west of Austria (although not of Germany). (Hey, if Germany had won World War I, Alcase would be in Mitteleuropa.)

I think this trend (or trendlet, if you prefer) ties in with other trends we're experiencing. The comfort food trend (because Germanic food tends to be comfortable). The pork trend (no comment necessary).

Edited February 1, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[ludja]

It's definitely true that Germanic food in general seems to be making a bit of a showing, what with Blaue Gans opening so strongly. 

←

It's much bigger (and older) than that.

It started with Danube (Bouley sussed that on out, like, EXACTLY).

Then Walsee was warmly received, and Cafe Sebarsky was a tremendous hit right out of the box.

Then, you started seeing Austrian inflections on more standard menus all over the place.

And of course this trend hasn't abated: in the last year there's been Trestle on Tenth, Brasserie Klee, etc.

The only misstep so far has been Scott Conant's Alto, which tried to capitalize on this trend in the Italian context by focusing on the cuisine of the Alto Adige, to mass incomprehension if not hostility (such that they had to modify their menu).

←

Not brand new, but another Austrian spot is Thomas Beisl in Park Slope.

[Megan Blocker]

I also would be more likely than not to separate the Mitteleuropean and Alsatian strands of New York's restaurant history and present. While Alsatian cuisine certainly reflects Germanic influences, it doesn't follow to say that Kreuther is part of the Danube-Wallse trend (nor is it clear that trend has has much success compared to, I don't know, Asian fusion).

←

Well, that's certainly true - the Alsatian and Mitteleuropean trends have never taken off in the way that Asian fusion (influenced so strongly by an Alsatian!) has...I would think that's partly because of the seemingly seasonal nature of the trend. I went to Cafe d'Alsace with my mother last July, and I couldn't stomach the choucroute - just too heavy for NYC summer.

That said, the region has a strong fish culture, what with all the rivers and lakes...

[Fat Guy]

Doesn't the whole brasserie (literally "brewery") concept come from Alsace?

[Sneakeater]

Yep.

But there are a lot of restaurants here with the word "brasserie" in their name that don't have much to do with actual brasseries, let alone Alsace.

Edited February 1, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[Megan Blocker]

Doesn't the whole brasserie (literally "brewery") concept come from Alsace?

←

Indeed. Warm atmosphere, comforting food, convivial conversation, people mingling on one level, etc. Definitely from Alsace...

[markk]

The word Brasserie means "brewery", and when used (properly) in France as a type of restaurant, it always connotes the type of 'brew pub' found in Alsace, with foods that go with beer on tap.

[Sneakeater]

I understand that Adam Platt isn't considered particularly authoritative around here, but I'd like to draw attention to the following phrase from his review of Brasserie Klee today:

"trendy Alsatian-Austrian recipes"

[Todd36]

Brasseries traditionaly do not close between lunch and dinner, continious service, and I believe that is one of the key points that distinguishes them from other Parsian restaurants, as much as the style of food.