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home > dining > france > alsace > ammerschwihr

A l’Arbre Vert – A hotel restaurant, and while the dining room is nice enough, it feels frozen in time; full of musty throwbacks rather than the traditional charms of, say, Zum Pfifferhüs. Our hostess is warm and welcoming, but the rest of the staff is rather cold and prone to unaccountable (though non-major) lapses, especially the restaurant is not exactly overflowing with patrons. Worst of all, the food is somewhat indifferent.

I start simply enough, with a slab of pâté de foie gras that’s a little over-spiced and lacks soul (that is to say, it tastes completely divorced from its animal roots)…and yet, even mediocre foie gras is not the worst thing. The same can’t be said for my scallops, which are overcooked in a sloppy, oversalted broth, and accompanied by vegetables with their own saline issues. Thankfully, there’s a bit of redemption in a tasty chunk of beef, slow-cooked and drenched with a creamy morel sauce. Dessert (I have an assortment of choices, though I don’t actually get to do the choosing) is fair enough, but unmemorable.

With the foie gras, I have a glass of a muscat that’s more than half-oxidized; lurid and floral with unrestrained, spiky acidity. It’s rather unpleasant. Since the restaurant has clearly left this bottle open too long, and seems disinclined to fix the problem, I’ve left the producer unnamed; it’s not his fault. With the rest of the meal, I make a selection from a list dominated by locals, yet pockmarked by sold-out bottles.

All-in-all, this is a disappointing experience; rarely actively bad, but certainly not worth a return visit. (3/06)

   

Copyright © Thor Iverson