Thursday, April 19, 2012

Le Buerehiesel (Strasbourg - Restaurant Review)



Strasbourg used to have the privilege of hosting two three-star Michelin restaurants: both Au Crocodile and Le Buerehiesel shared this honor. However, recent changes in the local fine food landscape led to a single star downgrade of their red guide rating. I already covered what happened to Au Crocodile in the aforementioned link so it only seems logical to tell the story of Le Buerehiesel.

While Au Crocodile was sold to another chef, Le Buerehiesel continued its family tradition as Eric Westermann (former chef & owner Antoine Westermann's son) took over his father's restaurant. Most critics will emphasize the fact that he followed his father's vision while striving to make this holy temple of food a bit more casual.

So what about the food?

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Best Prepaid iPhone Plan In Moscow (Russia)



During my preparation for an upcoming trip to Russia, I researched and found what I believe to be the best prepaid iPhone plan in Moscow. As you may already know, my lifelong goal is to avoid the outrageous data roaming fees charged by French mobile carriers! So here come my step-by-step instructions on how to use this plan that will give you 300 minutes of local calls (landline & any mobile carrier), 3000 SMS, 3000 MMS & unlimited data (bandwidth capped at 64 kbps after 1Gb) for RUB500 (= US$17) for 30 days.

S' Musauer Stuebel (Strasbourg - Restaurant Review)


This hard-to-pronounce-for-a-non-local restaurant is a hidden gem. Located far from downtown Strasbourg, it is well worth the 15 minute drive. If you love meat, you won't be disappointed by both the quality of the products and their preparation. The staff strives for 100% customer satisfaction and frankly, how could you be disappointed when you see what is in your plate?

Aux Trois Chevaliers (Strasbourg - Restaurant Review)


Aux Trois Chevaliers is one of my favorite restaurants in Strasbourg. The quality of the food is only matched by the dedication of the team to guarantee customer satisfaction (such a rare oddity in France that it is well worth mentioning).

You will love the stripped down decor adorned with huge mirrors that give a contemporary work-in-progress feel to this old Winstub.

Monday, April 16, 2012

PizzBurgers Strasbourg Review


There seem to be no rest for the true Burger lovers in Strasbourg these days and this is a very good thing in my unbiased opinion... Well almost unbiased...

Last november, Speed Burger opened a location in Strasbourg and I reviewed them here. There is now a new alternative to burger home deliveries in our great alsatian city thanks to PizzBurgers. I tried them out twice and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of their burgers. I found them to be more than reasonably good and the selection on their website is quite large. Most importantly, both times I ordered, delivery was fast and the burgers were still burning hot when they arrived!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

An American Hot Dog In Strasbourg


After my lunch at Franky's Diner, I stumbled open a sign in the streets pointing to true American Hot Dogs in Strasbourg at Bagel Avenue. This Bagel joint is my favorite in Strasbourg so I had to assume that their hot dog was as good as their bagels! The answer is simple: YES: their hot dogs are excellent and although not 100% exactly like the originals in New York, they come to a close 95% with a choice of relish, Sauerkraut, American mustard etc... The works!

And while I'm at it, I should also mention their excellent Frappuccinos:

Franky's Diner: An American Diner In Strasbourg



I couldn't believe the news today nor could I close my eyes and make it go away: a full-fledged Diner finally opened its doors in Strasbourg. I had to give it a try and so, it won't come as much of a surprise that a good 22 minutes after Franky's Diner opened I could consider myself one of their first customers.

As I'm used to being disappointed by the usual amateurism associated with attempts to recreate true and great American food, I wasn't expecting much.

First of all, let me say that I was pleasantly surprised with the setting of this Diner in the sense that it pretty much looks like the real thing. Granted there are no napkin dispensers on the table and we can't choose the music but the seats, color theme & atmosphere makes you feel like you're 5000 miles away from the capital of Europe... Well, as long as you're also not paying much attention to the music: Franky: The Stray Cats formed in 1980 and their music mostly consisted of a blend of rockabilly music with punk elements. It is not the kind of music that is usually played in a Diner. I wish I would have listened to some more appropriate music such as: Chantilly Lace or Purple People Eater for instance.

What about the experience ?

Sunday, April 8, 2012

CrowdCall Is The Next Best Thing


As Bono once said: "There's been a lot of talk about this next post, maybe maybe too much talk...". Well he almost said that once actually and it could very well apply to CrowdCall except for the "too much talk" part.

It seems everybody's talking about CrowdCall and now that I've tried I understand why.