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City Guide  - Strasbourg  - Food and Drink
Food and Drink

The Alsatians eat slightly earlier than elsewhere in France - perhaps to allow the copious portions to digest. Lunch is taken around midday, and restaurants open at 1800/1830 and tend to empty by 2100. Many close on Sunday and Monday.

Regional cuisine is best sampled at a winstub (pronounced 'veenshtub'), which combines the conviviality of the pub with the rarefied aura of a restaurant. Specialities include choucroute alsacienne (sauerkraut served hot with sausage, pork or ham) and baeckeoffe, (meat and vegetable stew).

Alsace is the most important French wine region after Bordeaux; the four main varieties are Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Tokay-Pinot Gris and Muscat. Beer, best sampled at a bierstub (pronounced 'beershtub'), is made from the hops and barley of the Alsatian plateau.

Vegetarians may experience difficulties in this meat-mad region, but can show off when they order potato salad (served with yogurt) in Alsatian - 'grumbere salat'.

Restaurants
: Alsatian chef and patron, Emile Jung watches over the elegant Au Crocodile at 10 rue de l'Outre (tel: (03) 88 32 13 02). A three-course meal costs about FFr550 but the reward is refined regional cuisine.

Maison Kammerzell
, situated in a sixteenth-century building at 16 place de la Cathedrale (tel: (03) 88 32 42 14), is universally popular, particularly with the local business community. The house speciality is choucroute au poisson and menus start at FFr177.

The riverside Maison des Tanneurs, at 42 rue du Bain-aux-Plantes (tel: (03) 88 32 79 70), must be one of Strasbourg's most picturesque restaurants. The à la carte menu costs about FFr300 and specialities include choucroute and foie gras.

New on the scene of traditional regional cuisine is Le Baeckeoffe d'Alsace at 14 rue des Moulins (tel: (03) 88 23 05 40), whose house speciality is fish or poultry baeckeoffe. Three-course meals cost about FFr140. More established is the similarly priced La Choucrouterie at 20 rue Saint-Louis (tel: (03) 88 36 52 87), renowned for its copious delights.

The best winstubs in town include Chez Yvonne at 10 rue du Sanglier, near the cathedral (tel: (03) 88 32 84 15), famed for its high-quality regional cuisine and good selection of Alsatian wine; and Fink'Stuebel at 26 rue Finkwiller in Petite France (tel: (03) 88 25 07 57), a recent entry in the Michelin guide, whose duck foie gras must be tasted to be believed. Both charge about FFr140 for a three-course meal. Vegetarians and budget eaters may seek refuge at the Poêles de Carottes at 2 place des Meuniers (Petite France) (tel: (03) 88 32 33 23), which offers a wide choice of pizzas and grattins, and an excellent dessert menu, all for FFr100.

Nightlife: The student population keeps Strasbourg's nightlife vibrant. Many of the hot spots are clustered around the cathedral and along rue des Juifs, but it is worth considering other options: an evening tour on a bateau-mouche or the son et lumière performances at the cathedral in the summer.

Bars:
Bars stay open until at least 2330 and often until 0400. Where there is beer, there is usually a high ratio of students. The relaxing Académie de la bière at 17 rue Adolphe Seyboth is open daily until 0400 and serves over 70 varieties of beer. Zum Schluch at 3 rue de l'Outre is a large, friendly and centrally located bierstub, while the Quai des Bières at the pont du Corbeau is best visited for happy hour between 1730-2000. Murphy's House is the new Irish pub, complete with Celtic music and pop, at 9 rue des Frères.

The Elastic Bar at 27 rue des Orphelins is one of the trendiest bars, a step ahead of the popular Tapas Café at 16 rue de Bain Finkwiller. Perennial favourites include Les Aviateurs at 12 rue des Soeurs, L'Annexe at 29 quai Finkwiller and La Java-Le Village at 6 rue du Faisan.

More dignified evenings are in order at the Hilton Hotel, avenue Herrenschmidt, which draws the business community with its ever-so-British Churchill Bar.

Clubs:
Le Café des Anges at 42 rue de la Krutenau seems to be perpetually 'in' and plays salsa with tango on alternate Tuesday evenings, as well as jazz and groove. Another youthful hot spot is Le Sous-Sol, 1 rue du Miroir, which moves to the sound of house, techno and speed garage, for men only on Monday, but open to all for the rest of the week. Traditional North African dance music Zouk is the favoured sound and rum the preferred drink at Le Bambou at 366 route de la Wantzenau. La Salamandre, 3 rue Paul Janet, suits all tastes and ages. Slightly more risqué evenings are in store at Le Cendrillon, 52 rue du Faubourg National and Le Saltimbanque, 36 rue de la 1ere Armée.

Live music:
Le Griot at the impasse de l'Ecrevisse, just opposite the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) on place Broglie, is one of Strasbourg's best jazz clubs. The recently redecorated L'Ange d'Or, 9 rue des Orphelins, is another jazz venue.

Casino:
Casino de Niederbronn is the region's one and only casino, situated to the north of Strasbourg at place des Thermes, Niederbronn. Games include the traditional roulette and blackjack, as well as slot machines.



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