Tuesday turned out to be a very, very different day from what I had planned when I woke up. We had dinner reservations at a Micheline 1 star restaurant in Colmar, JY's, for 8pm so I assumed we would have a lazy day about the house till it was time to get dressed up and head down for our 7 course tasting menu.
Nope!
Nita decided she was bored and wanted to get out of the house. Digging around online she found a museum and silver mine in the mountains near here that had been in operation in the 16th century. It was less than an hour away so she convinced us to pack into the car for an adventure.
An adventure it was. We were expecting a museum and displays of history and local mining lore. Instead we got an hour long multi media presentation of the diary of one of the mine owners from the 16th century from his escaping Venice to landing in Alsace looking for a silver mine. Nice bit of history that covered all aspects of early mining work.
The second part of the tour involved strapping on hard hats, lights and raincoats and spending an hour with a guided tour of the mine itself, at times several hundred feet into the mountain. Lots of mud, lots of water and some passages from the earliest part of the mine that were just barely large enough to squeeze through. All in all it was a very cool tour. Hard to imagine working in a mine like that with nothing more than a tallow lamp for 8 hours a day.
After the tour we had time to drive back to Colmar and get ready for dinner.
Our meal at JY's was near perfect.
Starting with local sparkling wine, we were treated to a miniature olive tree that was festooned with different spiced and coated olives hanging from its branches for us to nibble on. Fun...
When we ordered the tasting menu, our kind waitress helped us pick a Grand Cru Riesling, Kitterle 2008 from Domaines Schlumberger. A very wise choice, we went through 2 bottle during the meal. Shockingly, the wine list was not expensive at all. We chose one of the more expensive bottles at 52Euro expecting to see wines well into the hundreds of Euros. Nope, all reasonable and respectful.
An amuse bouche arrived with several light preparations to awaken the palate. My favorite was a buttered popcorn mousse piped into a little tart shell with a popcorn kernel on top. Pure popcorn fun.
After, we were presented with smoked sturgeon under a citron vodka creme and a quenelle of caviar, all served in the caviar tin. Splendid!
Third of our 7 courses(which was actually more like 10) was white asparagus in a morel mushroom sauce. Light and perfect for the spring menu. We openly debated licking our bowls, but they make a substantial home bread loaf that was kept warm and ready for any sauce emergencies.
Next was a calamari ravioli in an interesting seafood and vegetable sauce. Not my favorite, but a very nice dish.
We were treated to a very nice next dish of lake trout crusted with potato souffle, capers, citron sauce and a pool of bagna caude, a warm olive oil and herb sauce. A spectacular dish.
Sweetbreads arrived next in a massala and butter sauce with a bit of toasted bread at the bottom. Sweetbreads, or a cows thymus glands are a delicacy we don't much see in the U.S. apart from hipster foodie hangouts. Too bad. Properly cooked they are a marvel of butter rich goodness.
Slowing down the meal at last was a nifty little bit of goat cheese whipped and then rolled into a spiral log with a tomato gel and then sliced across to reveal a cute spiral of cheese and tomato goodness. Sprinkled with sun dried tomatoes and pesto made from wild spring garlic, it was a very nice nod to the traditional cheese board finish to a meal.
Then, the desserts started. Apparently hobbits took over the kitchen and started throwing out desserts.
First dessert was a palate cleansing shot glass of sangria wine granita. Basically a frozen sweet wine slush.
Second dessert was pink grapefruit gel set into the fruits skin. It was like eating grapefruit candy after the meal. They served it on a glass plate with a recessed area holding dry ice. The server poured water into it and our table was blanketed with fog for 5 or 6 minutes. Nifty, fun, dish.
Third dessert(told ya) was poached rhubarb over fresh alpine strawberries, balsamic vinegar, a vanilla creme filled cookie and a nice dollop of raspberry sorbet. That may the one of best thought out desserts I have ever put a fork into.
We honestly thought the meal was over. When we ordered coffee(espresso) for some talking and reviewing the meal, we had no idea what else was on the way. Along with our coffee we were given 2 little, 3 drawer "jewelry boxes" that each contained 4 macaroons, 4 candies and 4 little treat for the baker. Just an array of little sweets to finish off coffee and the evening.
All in all I think we all enjoyed the hell out of the meal. The price for the 7(10, whatever) tasting menu was very reasonable for what we enjoyed dining on. I have paid a hell of a lot more for a hell of a lot less in the U.S. Michelin stars are awarded for very good reasons, JY's deserves the star they have.
As we were leaving the chef and his staff were closing down the kitchens and goofing around the front doors. We had a chance to spend a few minutes chatting with them(turns out or waitress is his wife) and thanking them for a tremendous evening.
I hope to get back there soon. Very soon.
Sorry for no pics of dinner, but I am fairly sure they will set you on fire our back in an alley if you start whipping out phones to take pics of everything!
Very happy...
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Germexican!
Well we finally did it. Monday morning we woke up, goofed off and bit and hopped the bus for Breisach Germany and the fabled El Sombrero! Mexican eatery. The bus ride there is really quite painless, only a few Euros round trip and a comfy 45 minute ride through the countryside and we are in Germany.
Gotta confess I was hoping our experience at El Sombrero would be a bit of humor for the blog. Surprisingly, it turned out to be pretty good. Who knew a Pakistani family on the French border of Germany could pull off some reasonably decent Mexican food?? Well, they did.
We opened with good German Weiss-beer, always a good choice to go with chips and salsa. Matt opted for fajitas while Laura, Nita and I cheated and got the "Mexi-plate" combo option.
I really, really enjoy dining outdoors while the weather is nice. We lounged in the dappled sun awaiting our meals with no little humor and dread.
Turns out we were in for a bit of a treat. The fajitas were, well fajitas. Perfectly serviceable. Our Mexi-plats were big, really big affairs sporting 3 different burrito kinda things with chicken, beef and all veggie respectively. The whole mess was served up with lots of veggies, pico de gallo, guacamole(from a jar) and some odd chicken wings that didn't make a whole lot of sense, but were tasty.
All in all it was a really passable meal. The food and beer were great and people watching in Germany has its own charm from time to time.
We swung through the town a bit to do some shopping till we realized we had just a few minutes to get back to the bus stop or be stranded. Made the bus and got home with no problems.
That evening we had a light dinner of cheese and sausages along with some terrific buffalo mozzarella based brushcetta that Matt made. Nice way to end the day.
No big plans tomorrow, might rain. We shall see that comes.
Gotta confess I was hoping our experience at El Sombrero would be a bit of humor for the blog. Surprisingly, it turned out to be pretty good. Who knew a Pakistani family on the French border of Germany could pull off some reasonably decent Mexican food?? Well, they did.
We opened with good German Weiss-beer, always a good choice to go with chips and salsa. Matt opted for fajitas while Laura, Nita and I cheated and got the "Mexi-plate" combo option.
 |
| Chips and salsa for 4. They don't quite have this one right. Salsa was really good tho! |
I really, really enjoy dining outdoors while the weather is nice. We lounged in the dappled sun awaiting our meals with no little humor and dread.
Turns out we were in for a bit of a treat. The fajitas were, well fajitas. Perfectly serviceable. Our Mexi-plats were big, really big affairs sporting 3 different burrito kinda things with chicken, beef and all veggie respectively. The whole mess was served up with lots of veggies, pico de gallo, guacamole(from a jar) and some odd chicken wings that didn't make a whole lot of sense, but were tasty.
 |
| Yep, fajitas in Germany |
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| All this was 13Euro. Not bad considering none of us could come close to finishing it. Tasty! |
All in all it was a really passable meal. The food and beer were great and people watching in Germany has its own charm from time to time.
We swung through the town a bit to do some shopping till we realized we had just a few minutes to get back to the bus stop or be stranded. Made the bus and got home with no problems.
 |
| Breiasach really is a pretty town. |
That evening we had a light dinner of cheese and sausages along with some terrific buffalo mozzarella based brushcetta that Matt made. Nice way to end the day.
No big plans tomorrow, might rain. We shall see that comes.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Sunday Fun
Sunday the 17th we awoke reasonably early to head out for a few adventures. Nita, Matt and Laura dropped me off in Ingersheim so I could finally get another run to Niedermorschwihr and back under my belt. While I was torturing the locals with my sweating and staggering about for 4 miles, they all went off the Eguisheim to do a little sight seeing. Apparently many consider it to be one of the most beautiful towns in France with a splendid 13th century cathedral and a lot of extant homes from the middle ages.
After their little jaunt, which they enjoyed immensely they picked me up at the pastry shop(yes, I begin and end my long road runs at a pastry shop) and we went back to the house.
Matt and Laura headed into Old Town to explore while Nita and I stayed at the house to get caught up on laundry and house chores, and just perhaps a nap.
At 6 we met Matt and Laura down at the bridge in Little Venice for dinner at the one remaining canal side restro we had not tried yet.
Finally we got to eat at Le Comptoir de George on the canal. Basically a Comptoir is a simple counter where you can get a quick lunch and a drink during a busy moment, but these folks have expanded into a really nice restro in addition to the lunch counter and butcher shop.
Dinner was superb. I had lamb chops while Matt had a really nice veal cutlet in cream muchroom sauce. Laura had baeckeofe,(a stewed veggie and meat dish with pork, beef and lamp. Kinda like pot roast and taters) while Nita had the best steak tartar we have ever encountered.
The evening was spent laughing, eating, watching the ducks and the muskrat go about their business in the canal. A thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Back at the house we talked into the night till it was time to get some sleep and prepare for Monday.
That's right, Monday we are headed back to Germany for Mexican food at El Sombrero!
How bad could it be, really?
After their little jaunt, which they enjoyed immensely they picked me up at the pastry shop(yes, I begin and end my long road runs at a pastry shop) and we went back to the house.
Matt and Laura headed into Old Town to explore while Nita and I stayed at the house to get caught up on laundry and house chores, and just perhaps a nap.
At 6 we met Matt and Laura down at the bridge in Little Venice for dinner at the one remaining canal side restro we had not tried yet.
Finally we got to eat at Le Comptoir de George on the canal. Basically a Comptoir is a simple counter where you can get a quick lunch and a drink during a busy moment, but these folks have expanded into a really nice restro in addition to the lunch counter and butcher shop.
Dinner was superb. I had lamb chops while Matt had a really nice veal cutlet in cream muchroom sauce. Laura had baeckeofe,(a stewed veggie and meat dish with pork, beef and lamp. Kinda like pot roast and taters) while Nita had the best steak tartar we have ever encountered.
The evening was spent laughing, eating, watching the ducks and the muskrat go about their business in the canal. A thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Back at the house we talked into the night till it was time to get some sleep and prepare for Monday.
That's right, Monday we are headed back to Germany for Mexican food at El Sombrero!
How bad could it be, really?
More Market Saturday
Saturdays are becoming our favorite days in Colmar. The open market at St. Joseph seems to be ever evolving with new vendors all the while our old faves are still in their predictable spots.
We started the day with coffee at the house and then wandered over to pick up groceries and scrounge for food. Matt and I opted for crepes with ham, egg and cheese while the girls went around the way to find the tasty pastry folks and their offerings. Nita is addicted to some kind of sausage and egg in puffed pastry thingie. Not my favorite, but what the heck, its a warm French pastry kinda thing so it can't be all bad.
The big score of the day was the beef tongue we ordered from our butcher friends. Along with a big bad of root veggies and some raspberry tarts for dessert we had the evening meal well planned out.
Back at the house we cleaned out the fridge and did a restock and generally relaxed for most of the day. There was much reading and napping. Vacation, remember?
Matt worked on a blue cheese savory cheesecake to snack on throughout the afternoon which didn't turn out perfect, but was still a real treat on fresh baguette.
Around 3, Nita threw the tongue into the stew pot for its 3 hour cookathon while the rest of us raided the wine, cheese and sausage. Later, we threw together the taters, turnips, onions, garlic and celeriac with good olive oil, salt and pepper and rosemary sprigs from our balcony garden.
Dinner was a blast. The tongue was perfect, falling apart like pot roast and the veggies came out really nicely for once. I think we are getting a handle on this damn oven at last.
Dessert tart from our new friend at the market was superb. She is an adorable little old French woman who grows all of her own fruits and produce, proudly showing us pictures of her gardens and her husband helping in the kitchen. She knows a little English, so combing our little French with her merits some cute conversations. Cannot wait to see her again next week.
We started the day with coffee at the house and then wandered over to pick up groceries and scrounge for food. Matt and I opted for crepes with ham, egg and cheese while the girls went around the way to find the tasty pastry folks and their offerings. Nita is addicted to some kind of sausage and egg in puffed pastry thingie. Not my favorite, but what the heck, its a warm French pastry kinda thing so it can't be all bad.
The big score of the day was the beef tongue we ordered from our butcher friends. Along with a big bad of root veggies and some raspberry tarts for dessert we had the evening meal well planned out.
Back at the house we cleaned out the fridge and did a restock and generally relaxed for most of the day. There was much reading and napping. Vacation, remember?
Matt worked on a blue cheese savory cheesecake to snack on throughout the afternoon which didn't turn out perfect, but was still a real treat on fresh baguette.
Around 3, Nita threw the tongue into the stew pot for its 3 hour cookathon while the rest of us raided the wine, cheese and sausage. Later, we threw together the taters, turnips, onions, garlic and celeriac with good olive oil, salt and pepper and rosemary sprigs from our balcony garden.
Dinner was a blast. The tongue was perfect, falling apart like pot roast and the veggies came out really nicely for once. I think we are getting a handle on this damn oven at last.
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| Tongue, salad, roasted veggies and blue cheese cheesecake. Best meal yet! |
 |
| Yes, its tongue. Tastes like the best pot roast you will ever have. Just try some already. |
Dessert tart from our new friend at the market was superb. She is an adorable little old French woman who grows all of her own fruits and produce, proudly showing us pictures of her gardens and her husband helping in the kitchen. She knows a little English, so combing our little French with her merits some cute conversations. Cannot wait to see her again next week.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Rainy Friday
Yet another rainy damn Friday in Alsace. I had planned to get up early and go for a run, but rain set in quite quickly and pretty much ruined that plan. Could not even get around to doing laundry as our drying capacity is pretty much just outdoor laundry lines.
Nita, Cris and Tess headed off in the rain to explore a few castles and perhaps a winery or two. Matt, Laura and I opted for a quiet day of reading and napping, which we succeeded at admirably.
Mid-afternoon, we were sitting about waiting for the girls to return from whatever international crimes against history they were out committing, talking about this and that. The topic of food, as always came up and we started tossing around ideas for dinner. Kinda sick of German and French, we though perhaps tapas might be a nice change.
When the stalwart adventurers got back, we took some time to run to the grocery for a few necessities and then back to the house to freshen up. Apparently pastries made it onto the "necessities" list.
We all trooped down to a little Spanish place in Old Town. Unfortunately the outside tables were full, but we found a nice spot inside for the 6 of us. Ordering was easy. We got a 3.5 litre "girafe" of sangria and asked the waitress to bring us one of all 14 of the tapas on the menu. Not surprisingly, the sangria made it to the table well ahead of the food. Nice to have some time to make it through our industrial vat o' wine!
The food was quite good. I'm embarrassed to say we got so into picking through the many small plates of sausage, roast pork in spicy sauce, marinated herring, roast peppers, air dried ham, etc we got no pics of the meal itself. After 3 weeks of fairly bland food, the spicy and lively Spanish food was exactly what we needed. A few things were ordered again, and again, particularly the meatballs in a spicy red sauce that were as soft as clouds!
The meal was quite nice. Not amazing, but very satisfying and I'm glad we took the time to try it out. Badly craving gelato or a "road pastry" to help us get home, we mooched through the darkening streets of Colmar. Unfortunately, it was so late everything was closing up so there was nothing to be had. We just had to wait till we got back to the house to attack our grocery store pastry purchase.
Not a bad decision! We had 4 different mini fruit tarts(blueberry, raspberry, citrus, strawberry), a ruhbarb tart and a little white mouse of unidentified nature that was too cute to pass up. Down side for him we were not drunk enough to pass him up in the frenzy.
Matt sliced everything into 6 bits and we ended the evening with coffee and "pastry tapas". A grand end to a soggy, relaxing day.
Tomorrow is open market at St. Joseph and we are picking up our whole beef tongue to cook for dinner!!
Nita, Cris and Tess headed off in the rain to explore a few castles and perhaps a winery or two. Matt, Laura and I opted for a quiet day of reading and napping, which we succeeded at admirably.
Mid-afternoon, we were sitting about waiting for the girls to return from whatever international crimes against history they were out committing, talking about this and that. The topic of food, as always came up and we started tossing around ideas for dinner. Kinda sick of German and French, we though perhaps tapas might be a nice change.
When the stalwart adventurers got back, we took some time to run to the grocery for a few necessities and then back to the house to freshen up. Apparently pastries made it onto the "necessities" list.
We all trooped down to a little Spanish place in Old Town. Unfortunately the outside tables were full, but we found a nice spot inside for the 6 of us. Ordering was easy. We got a 3.5 litre "girafe" of sangria and asked the waitress to bring us one of all 14 of the tapas on the menu. Not surprisingly, the sangria made it to the table well ahead of the food. Nice to have some time to make it through our industrial vat o' wine!
The food was quite good. I'm embarrassed to say we got so into picking through the many small plates of sausage, roast pork in spicy sauce, marinated herring, roast peppers, air dried ham, etc we got no pics of the meal itself. After 3 weeks of fairly bland food, the spicy and lively Spanish food was exactly what we needed. A few things were ordered again, and again, particularly the meatballs in a spicy red sauce that were as soft as clouds!
The meal was quite nice. Not amazing, but very satisfying and I'm glad we took the time to try it out. Badly craving gelato or a "road pastry" to help us get home, we mooched through the darkening streets of Colmar. Unfortunately, it was so late everything was closing up so there was nothing to be had. We just had to wait till we got back to the house to attack our grocery store pastry purchase.
Not a bad decision! We had 4 different mini fruit tarts(blueberry, raspberry, citrus, strawberry), a ruhbarb tart and a little white mouse of unidentified nature that was too cute to pass up. Down side for him we were not drunk enough to pass him up in the frenzy.
 |
| Cute and tasty! |
Tomorrow is open market at St. Joseph and we are picking up our whole beef tongue to cook for dinner!!
Tasty Thursday!
Thurs morning we took Matt and Laura down to the open market as per our normal Thursday habit. We were not dead sure that the market was even open that morning, it was yet another national holiday here in France. Luckily, there were up and running.
Breakfast was a couple of crepes with eggs, ham and cheese while wandering through the open stalls in the bright morning sun. Matt picked up supplies for seafood romanesco and the girls grabbed salad makings. For my part, I bought even more damn cheese and sausages for snacking.
Nita, given the chance decided that oysters and white wine were a dandy idea for a snack while we were out. 6 fresh oysters and a glass of white wine ran 10euro(not bad) and thusly fortified we headed for home. There may have been a little wandering about the town as well.
Back at the house we unpacked and basically hung out relaxing. Seems to be a lot of that going on around here.
Mid evening, Matt started in on his seafood romanesco over pasta. Basically a seafood vodka/cream sauce with lobster stock and parmesan, it turned out to be one of the best things we have had yet on the trip! Along with the salad, it was a near perfect evening.
Breakfast was a couple of crepes with eggs, ham and cheese while wandering through the open stalls in the bright morning sun. Matt picked up supplies for seafood romanesco and the girls grabbed salad makings. For my part, I bought even more damn cheese and sausages for snacking.
Nita, given the chance decided that oysters and white wine were a dandy idea for a snack while we were out. 6 fresh oysters and a glass of white wine ran 10euro(not bad) and thusly fortified we headed for home. There may have been a little wandering about the town as well.
 |
| Happy Diners! |
Mid evening, Matt started in on his seafood romanesco over pasta. Basically a seafood vodka/cream sauce with lobster stock and parmesan, it turned out to be one of the best things we have had yet on the trip! Along with the salad, it was a near perfect evening.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
The Great Change!
Wed morning I got up at 4am to take John and Terri to the train station for their trip back to Paris. Things went smoothly and we got them to the station in good order by 5 or so.
We will miss them, it is always nice having people filling up the house with us!
I went back to the house and back to bed for a while till we got up and Nita, Chris, Tess and I packed into the car with every intent of touring some castles and wineries from the very south end of the wine route back to Colmar.
We drove to the small town of Thann with the intent of viewing the castle ruins there. Unfortunately it is a bit of a hard walk to get to, so we opted for a walk about town and found one of the best cathedrals we have come across in this part of France.
Heading north, we wound our way back toward Colmar trying to find a winery or two to visit for a tasting. Somehow we hit every damn one while it was closed for lunch. The castles were sparse down south, so we headed back up to Colmar and the little town of Niedermorschwihr. Again, damn near all of the cave' that were supposed to be open had locked doors. What the hell?
Finally we found a tiny little cave' , Justin Boxler, that was open for a tasting. Charmed by the woman running the tasting while the winemaker ran about doing whatever winemakers do all day, we purchased several cases of wines. That should hold us for a while!
Back to the house by 3pm, we unloaded and went to pick Matt and Laura up from the train station.
The walking dead made it to the car with their luggage and we got them safely installed at the house. After showers, wine and unwinding we took them into Old Colmar for dinner at Maison Rouge. Again it was a nice evening out, apart from the cold rain that set in and drove us form our outdoor seating into the warm comfort of the dining room. At one point the raid turned to large hail that we could hear from inside. Luckily for us the rain stopped in time to guide our near dead travelers back to the house so they could crash at very last.
A busy, busy day.
We will miss them, it is always nice having people filling up the house with us!
I went back to the house and back to bed for a while till we got up and Nita, Chris, Tess and I packed into the car with every intent of touring some castles and wineries from the very south end of the wine route back to Colmar.
We drove to the small town of Thann with the intent of viewing the castle ruins there. Unfortunately it is a bit of a hard walk to get to, so we opted for a walk about town and found one of the best cathedrals we have come across in this part of France.
 |
| A small part of the remaining bastion above Thann |
Heading north, we wound our way back toward Colmar trying to find a winery or two to visit for a tasting. Somehow we hit every damn one while it was closed for lunch. The castles were sparse down south, so we headed back up to Colmar and the little town of Niedermorschwihr. Again, damn near all of the cave' that were supposed to be open had locked doors. What the hell?
Finally we found a tiny little cave' , Justin Boxler, that was open for a tasting. Charmed by the woman running the tasting while the winemaker ran about doing whatever winemakers do all day, we purchased several cases of wines. That should hold us for a while!
Back to the house by 3pm, we unloaded and went to pick Matt and Laura up from the train station.
The walking dead made it to the car with their luggage and we got them safely installed at the house. After showers, wine and unwinding we took them into Old Colmar for dinner at Maison Rouge. Again it was a nice evening out, apart from the cold rain that set in and drove us form our outdoor seating into the warm comfort of the dining room. At one point the raid turned to large hail that we could hear from inside. Luckily for us the rain stopped in time to guide our near dead travelers back to the house so they could crash at very last.
A busy, busy day.
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