L'Auberge de L'ill was rewarded its 3rd Michelin star in 1967 and
was able to keep them to this day. Like Paul Bocuse and Troisgros
family, other two French gastronomy legends, Haeberlin family
managed to maintain the high level of their Alsatian auberge for
decades, although the style of cooking reminds me much more the
cooking of Paul Bocuse, than Michel Troigros (which I adore and
consider one of the best restaurants in the world).
Have you seen "Le grand restaurant", the funny Louis de Funès movie
about a Parisian gastronomic restaurant in the sixties? Well, I
think that Bocuse and Haeberlin family cooking has remained in those
times. Of course, the very warm welcome at L'Auberge de L'ill has
nothing to do with Monsieur Septime character, the despotic owner of
the restaurant from the movie, but food was nothing that one would
expect from a modern 3 Michelin stars restaurant.
I do not doubt the talent of Marc Haeberlin, the chef of the
auberge, but also I don't understand why he is content to recreate
the "classics" of his father Paul and not bring the cooking to a more
exciting level?
And nothing can be more original than salmon canapés and cheese
crisps for amuse bouche :)
One of the entrées , the foie gras d'oie was of phenomenal
quality,but would I drive again for it especially from another part
of France ? Don't think so.
"Le saumon soufflé Auberge de L'ill", salmon in puff pastry was the
dish that reminded most the gastronomy of "old France" . It was
good, but nowadays this recipe has become pretty banalized,i think
you can even get a bad copy of it in frozen food section in the
supermarkets.
" La côte de boeuf Black Angus aux deaux sauces, pommes
soufflés". The two sauces were with red wine and the classical béarnaise. To
be honest, I am never against a good "côte de boeuf" with creamy
béarnaise sauce. And I thought, ok, as I didn't really like anything
else from the menu that night ( you can see the full menu on the
website ), a good piece of beef would make the evening. But the
quality of the meat was nothing compared to a steak you can get in a
decent brasserie in France, not speaking about a starred
restaurant. The preparation was good, but I didn't understand why the
chef prefers to use the imported Black Angus as compared to French
beef which is excellent...
The desserts were actually very good, the home made sorbets were a
fresh conclusion of a quite heavy dinner.
I was hesitant to write this review, as the people working at
L'Auberge L'ille were very nice, the chef, Marc Haeberlin went out
to greet us and the service was perfect. But none of the dishes
caused any feelings, neither enthusiasm, nor unsatisfaction. The
best feeling to summarize the dinner would be indifference...
