Emily in France 🇫🇷 Back from Strasbourg, On to Frankfurt!
The capital of Christmas.
My aunt and I have long made a tradition of visiting a new city – preferably one home to a phenomenal Christmas market – each year at Thanksgiving. And while these escapades have understandably been paused the past few years, they made a welcome return last week when we met in Strasbourg.
I'd been to Strasbourg a few times before, but never at Christmas. The city undeniably pulls out all the stops, and we ventured into nearly a dozen different markets scattered throughout the city. Some were smaller and more artisan-driven; others were filled with kitsch. All put me irrevocably into a Christmassy mood. We sampled vin chaud and Christmas cookies; we compared lights and decorations. We drank a lot of excellent coffee and even ventured into the basement of the hospice to drink wine. (I swear, it's a thing.)
But perhaps the best thing about visiting Strasbourg at this time of year? The food.
Strasbourg is known for heartier fare, from bacon- and cream-laden tartes flambées to slow-cooked pork knuckle. It's exactly the sort of required dining for a drizzly December day.
We loved our meal at Marcus, which has taken over the space formerly occupied by le Botaniste. Many dishes here are modern reinterpretations of Alsatian classics, like a lighter stuffed cabbage spiked with ginger and green cardamom or a wedge of Munster cheese accompanied by a plum, apple, and cumin condiment.
I also loved returning to Binchstub Broglie, where the local tarte flambée (don't call it an Alsatian pizza...) is reinterpreted in multiple forms, many of them plant-based. We opted to split a Munster-topped one scattered with artisanal smoked bacon boasting all of the tempting sweetness of woodsmoke. We followed it with a sweet-and-savory combo of bleu d'Auvergne, pear, and arugula.
At Le Coin des Pucelles, with its short-and-sweet menu of local delicacies, I couldn't resist ordering the Munster-topped house-made spaetzle (sensing a theme, here?) – and not just because for the first time ever, I was recognized in the wild!
"Sorry to bother you," our maitre'd said, "but don't you have an Instagram about cheese?"
That I do, friends. That I do. (I was also told – by a Frenchman no less – to keep it up (!) so expect even more cheesy content from me moving forward.
I've also scratched my Munster itch for at least the next... oh, let's say the next week or so.
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Cheese of the Week
Washed-rind Munster is the prized AOP cheese of Alsace, and trust me, despite the shared name, this is nothing like the semi-soft iteration you'll find in an American deli case. Footy and fragrant, it's got a lovely chew to it and is often paired with cumin, which can either be added to the cheese itself or infused into the accompaniment, as Marcus did so wonderfully.
Staying on the washed-rind bandwagon this week with another stinker, this time from the North. The Pavé des Flandres is definitely one of the most odiferous cheeses I've ever had the pleasure to try, but at its best, it has almost a caramel flavor.
To discover more of my favorite cheeses, be sure to follow me on Instagram @emily_in_france, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and tune into the Terroir Podcast, where Caroline Conner and I delve into France's cheese, wine, and more one region at a time.
What I'm Eating
I am lucky enough to get the opportunity to eat in a lot of really fantastic restaurants, but I have a confession to make: I almost didn’t tell you about my newest discovery. Chez Marius is barely ten minutes from my home, and I’d been walking past it for months before, last week, I finally paid it a visit. The only thing I could think about the entire time was how much I want to go back. More on the blog.
Discover more of my foodie finds via Instagram @emily_in_france and on the blog.
Where I'm Going
1. Finally – FINALLY – to Chez Georges, rue du Mail, for what I've been assured will be the essential bistro experience.
2. Pizzamarole! (For real this time.)
3. To Frankfurt, to judge yet another cheese competition! (Find out what my first experience was like here.)
What I'm Writing
1. From the archives: French baguette was just granted UNESCO World Heritage status, so to celebrate, I'm resurfacing this story about the best baguette in Paris contest I wrote for the BBC.
2. From the archives: In more recent news, the award for best pâté en croûte was just taken by a Japanese chef for the third time. More on this contest – and the delicacy itself – in this story for Atlas Obscura.
3. Here's why the Wisconsin Old Fashioned should be your go-to winter cocktail. For InsideHook.
What I'm Reading
1. In addition to being a veritable who’s who of natural wine writers and experts, this story delves into our misconceptions around the wine flaw “mouse” while also managing to dilate and distill some of the most complex wine issues of the past century more deftly than I’ve ever seen before. A must read for those intrigued by the world of vin nature. In Punch.
2. As a long-time lover of Russet apple varieties, I love this exploration of weirder heirloom apples. In Taste.
3. This weird and wonderful short story. In the New Yorker.
A bientôt !