About a month ago, only a few days after our steak overload, we indulged again at a local Alsatian restaurant, Sandrine's Bistro*. Sandrine's is a French restaurant with a large influence from the Alsace region - which happens to border Germany. I had always heard about this restaurant, as it's been a staple in Harvard Square for the past 10 years, but I had no real reason to go until I heard that they had a dish called Alsatian Choucroute Garnie au Riesling (I promise, I explain what the dish is later on). OK so that probably doesn't mean much to any of you, but Dave was reading The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten at the time. In the book, there is an entire chapter dedicated to this dish.

Dave says:

I had never heard of anything like this dish before, and for Jeffrey to spend a whole week in Alsace, France tasting this dish and then to try and recreate it back home in NY, I knew it had to be good.

So, the second I saw that Sandrine's had this dish, I knew it was about time we tried out the restaurant.

Before we get to the food, let me just note that I absolutely love the front of this restaurant! The front door reminds me of the metro stations in Paris. OK, now to the food:

Appetizer

I ordered a more traditional dish, the Flammekueche. According to the menu, it is "a crispy flat bread topped with nutmeg scented fromage (cheese) blanc" with bacon and onions. The bread was very very light - perfect for an appetizer. It was almost pastry like - but held up better. Dave orderd the Foie Gras, as he had never had it before (and why not if its on the menu?). Foie gras is not my sort of fun, but Dave thoroughly enjoyed it! For those who don't know, Foie gras is the liver of a duck or goose.

Alsatian Choucroute Garnie de Riesling

Now you see why Dave wanted to go around France tasting this dish?? It is a meat lover's heaven!! The dish literally translates to the Trimmed Sauerkraut in Riesling of Alsace. According to wikipedia, it is a dish of sauerkraut prepared with sausages and other salted meats, often with potatoes. The particular dish we ate had bauernwurst (pork and beef), weisswurst (veal), wiener (beef), grilled smoked pork loin, ham hock, and a hickory smoked bacon wrapped potato all with sauerkraut prepared in Riesling! The sausages were lovely, nothing outstanding, but tasted great with the sauerkraut. The smoked pork loin was great (probably my favorite meat on the dish). The potato was a nice side to the overload on meat! We ate the ham hock last, as it was beneath everything - that was our least favorite meat. The sauerkraut was a bit odd, but that is because it was cooked in a Riesling, which is a sweet German white wine. It did not taste that sour, but still went well with the meats in the dish.

Dave's reaction:

I had a hard time picturing what the dish was going to look like, it was definitely a curiosity satisfied. It was awesome, I loved it! Although the ham hock was a bit hard to eat. I'm not sure if Jeffrey would like this particular dish, as he is hardly ever happy about anything, but I loved it all the same!

Dessert

I can't seem to find my pictures of dessert. We ordered the Creme Brulee (can you really go to a french restaurant and not order this?) and the daily selection of sorbet, which was very refreshing after a meaty, salty meal. The Creme Brulee was delicious as well!

Overall Thoughts

The staff at Sandrine's were amazing, and very nice and helpful. Although the price tag on the bill was not something we could handle once a week, it is definitely a restaurant we will be returning to when budget allows. Eating here felt like we went on a tiny vacation to a small bistro in the countryside of France, which I'm sure is exactly what they were going for! The majority of the other diners actually spoke French, so it even added more to the feel of the place. I loved the whole experience, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a little escape!