ALSACE - France 2014 - page 1422

(chicken or salmon in Riesling sauce) with Spätzle (soft egg noodles), or medieval “pub
grub”like choucroutegarnie (€20-40 menus, indoorseatingonly,closedWed-Thu,23Rue
des Marchands, tel. [phone]).
La Maison Rouge, with a folk-museum interior and sidewalk seating, has tasty,
reasonably priced, beautifully presented Alsatian cuisine and an understandably loyal fol-
lowing. You'll be greeted by manager Cecile and jambon à l'os —ham cooking on the
bone—but they take their vegetarian plate seriously (€24-40 menus, try the veal cordon
bleu with Munster or the tarte flambée au chèvre-basilic, closed Sun-Mon, 9 Rue des
Ecoles, tel. [phone], http://maison-rouge.net ).
Hôtel-Restaurant le Rapp is a traditional place to savor a slow, elegant meal served
with grace and fine Alsatian wine. While busy with locals during the day, it may be quiet
at dinner. If you want to order high on the menu, this is the perfect place to do it (great
Baeckeoffe or choucroute for €19 that makes a whole meal, three-course menus from €30,
add€10foraglassofwinetomatcheachcourse,goodvegetarianoptions,closedThu-Fri,
air-con, 1 Rue Berthe Molly, tel. [phone], www.rapp-hotel.com ) .
La Soï (“The Sow”) is tiny, rustic, and real. It's a hole-in-the-wall place with an
open kitchen serving meat-heavy Alsatian specialties at reasonable prices. Husband Régis
serves while wife Gabby cooks, and both take their cuisine seriously (€10-17 main dishes,
€15 choucroute , closed Wed, 17 Rue des Marchands, tel. [phone]).
Le Bistrot des Copains is a casual, young bistrot /café with views of the Church of
St. Martin and your choice of indoor or plain outdoor seating. There are lots of traditional
French—notjustAlsatian—selections (€14-18maindishes,€16-31 menus ,daily,18Place
de Cathédrale, tel. [phone]).
Flunch is family-friendly and serves cheap, cafeteria-style meals in a fast-food set-
ting(€10-15 menus includesaladbar,maincourse,anddrink;goodkids' menu, opendaily
until 22:00, 8 Avenue de la République, tel. [phone]).
Colmar Connections
From Colmar by Train to: Strasbourg (about2/hour,35minutes), Reims (TGV:10/day,
3 hours, most change in Strasbourg), Verdun (7/day, 4-5.5 hours, 2-3 changes, many with
30-minutebusridefromGaredeMeuse), Beaune (10/day,2.5-4hours,fastestbyTGVvia
Mulhouse,reservewellahead,possiblechangesinMulhouseorBelfortandDijon), Paris '
Gare de l'Est (almost hourly, 3 direct, others change in Strasbourg, 3.5 hours), Amboise
(13/day,5-6hours,mostwithtransferinStrasbourgandParis), Basel, Switzerland(hourly,
45 minutes), Karlsruhe, Germany (TGV: 7/day, 1.5-2.5 hours, best with change in Stras-
bourg;non-TGV:hourly,2-3.5hours,changeinStrasbourgandAppenweierorOffenburg;
from Karlsruhe, it's 1.5 hours to Frankfurt, 3 hours to Munich).