L’Auberge de l’Ill Awards

L’Auberge de l’Ill Restaurant Review:

The Auberge is like a village within the village, starting at the place and extending along the river into the restaurant, garden, and hotel. The dining rooms are both very sunny; one is decorated in Louis XV-style woods and the other features pretty paintings and a rotunda with a view on the Ill. Marc Haeberlin’s cuisine is: spirited, generous, and less classic than is generally thought, especially where starters and fish dishes are concerned. His experience, exacting choice of ingredients, and flair for combining strong flavors consistently add up to success. His pan-roasted frogs’ legs and cabbage ragoût is a dazzling exercise in harmony, as is the superb mix of flavors he achieves with veal kidney and calf’s foot done in aged wine vinegar and served with a rich, dense jus. The most exciting combination is the suprême of squab coupled with cabbage and goose liver in an aged Port jus: an incredible medley of flavors. Desserts look every bit as delicious as they taste, with date soufflé and delicate cherry pancakes among the best. The cellar is well-stocked in Burgundies and Bordeaux and rich in Alsatian wines, including nicely-priced reds.