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Restaurant - La Petite Palette July 2002 |
 La Petite Palette
16, Rue de Bâle
68600 Neuf-Brisach
France
Tel. +33 389 727 350
Fax. +33 389 726 193
Chef - Henri Gagneux
email. ppalette@caramail.com
The village of Neuf-Brisach despite being only 15 minutes drive from Colmar is a little off the beaten track. The reason for this is because it lies in the plain towards the Rhine and Germany to the East of Colmar, rather than in the hills and wine growing region.
 Within the town walls it should be said that there is not much to see, however, throughout history due to it's location, it has changed hands between France and Germany a number of times. Because of this, the 'outside' of Neuf-Brisach is more interesting than the inside. The town is surrounded by an octagonal arrangement of ramparts and then a further range of ramparts beyond them. From the air the town looks like a star !
Perhaps, the reason the town is off the well beaten tourist track, is also the reason why one of the culinary bargains of Alsace can be found there.
From the outside there nothing to mark out the restaurant for special treatment. On the inside there is an interesting colour scheme of yellow, orange and lime green, with a number of interesting 'modern' paintings. On the whole this works quite well, though the dark colour of the chairs and table legs jarr a little.
So to the menu, available was :
Menu Gourmand @ €41
Seasonal Menu @ €34
Menu Degustation @ €60
 A la carte selection
We all decided to choose the Menu Gourmand. The beautifully presented courses start with an amusé bouche of duck and (probably!) carrot pieces in jelly.
We move onto the 'starter' of foie gras and an interesting pulped carrot in a swirly design - much nicer than it sounds!!
The fish course was white fish (can't remember which) with a saffron sauce which was quite superb. Next a beef fillet topped with mille feuil wrapped onion on a bed of forest fruits - almost as good as the fish course.
A 25cm long test-tube of traffic light coloured, sweet, thick fruity essence followed, before baked peaches topped with a light sponge, which despite their size were very light.
Presentation was always excellent as you can see from the photo of the desert.
The well priced wine menu is not surprisingly quite strong in Alsacienne wines with a number of older (1980's) bottles. The rest of the list concentrates mainly on the regions of France, bottles are usually on the young side though. But how about Drouhin's 1983 Beaune Clos des Mouches (Blanc) for under €50?
I chose a Domaine Spielmann, Reisling Kanzlerberg 1987 for a very fair €33. Nose had a little petrol, but wet wool and lemon too. The palate showed lovely acidity but the fruit was muted. Not as good as a previous tasting, perhaps some bottle variation.
A very hearty recommendation for this restaurant.
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