Winstub Dinner in Colmar

A winstub (wine bar in Alsatian) is the traditional eating institution of Colmar and all of Alsace: wood-panelled rooms, bare wooden tables, chalkboard menus, and Alsatian wine by the glass. The food is heavy, Germanic, and excellent. Tarte flambee (EUR 10-14, thin flatbread with creme fraiche, onions, and lardons, baked in a wood-fired oven until the edges char) is always the first order. Choucroute garnie (EUR 16-22, sauerkraut with smoked pork belly, several types of sausage, and potatoes) is the winter dish. Baeckeoffe (EUR 18-24, three meats slow-cooked with potatoes in Riesling) is available at some winstubs if ordered 24 hours ahead. The wine is Alsatian: Riesling (dry, mineral), Gewurztraminer (aromatic, floral), Pinot Gris (full-bodied), a glass EUR 4-6. The winstubs in the Quartier des Tanneurs are less tourist-oriented than those on Grand'Rue. Kougelhopf (the Alsatian bundt cake with almonds and raisins, EUR 3-4 a slice) is the correct dessert.