February Is Chocroute Month At Brasserie Les Halles

FEBRUARY IS CHOUCROUTE MONTH
AT BRASSERIE LES HALLES
Four different Choucroute dishes and an Alsatian wine list featured for the entire Month of February

January, 2006 - With the creation of Choucroute Month seven years ago, Les Halles helped to spark the come-back of the venerable Alsatian dish, and brasserie staple - Choucroute. "We wanted to celebrate one of the most original and authentic brasserie dishes - Choucroute," notes Les Halles proprietor Philippe Lajaunie. Choucroute has earned its popularity because it is not only delicious, but represents the spirit of what is a brasserie - conviviality, comfort, good food and beverages. "We began the Choucroute Month as something small and fun," notes Lajaunie. "But it really took off because people were ready for a fresh authentic rustic comfort food experience," adds Lajaunie. At around the same time, the wine world was experiencing a new growing interest in Alsatian wines. "The Choucroute (and all of the food here for that matter) is so authentic I've seen old French people weeping tears of nostalgia," notes Les Halles Chef-At-Large Tony Bourdain.

The origin of the brasserie goes back to the early beer halls that moved to Alsace from Germany. Soon food was introduced to these establishments, originally bar bites of sausage and pork morsels, small bowls of sauerkraut (not unlike "Tapas"), were served with the beer. Eventually, these nibbles were all put together into one delicious heaping dish - and thus Choucroute was born. The sense of a convivial, lively meeting place for people of all walks of life remained an integral part of the brasseries as they moved from Alsace to Paris. In the nineteenth century, the beautiful Belle Epoque designed brasseries that we now associate with the vibrant centers of night life for intellectuals, artists, and boulevardiers, came into being. The 1890's were an exciting time when marvels like the Eiffel Tower, Electricity, the World's Fair dazzled. The flourishing Brasseries were truly "democratic" places where high society in black tie mingling with artists and writers, out till "oui" hours, might overlap with the workers, fishmongers, butchers, and office workers having their breakfast.

Les Halles has preserved another true Brasserie hallmark - table-side service, another trend gaining popularity which Lajaunie anticipated. At Les Halles, patrons have been delighted in the spectacle of having dishes such as Steak Tartare, Crepes Suzette and sliced Ctte de Boeuf prepared in front of them - heightening the authentic Brasserie experience for the last 15 years.

Beginning Wednesday, February 1st, for the entire month (as every year), all of the Les Halles restaurants (New York, Miami, Washington D.C.) will offer four different Choucroutes. Featured of course is the classic Choucroute Garnie, a mountain of tangy sauerkraut that has been slow cooked in a Pinot d'Alsace white wine, with juniper berries, heaped with white veal sausages, smoked pork breast, and served with boiled potatoes. For the seafood lover there will be Choucroute de Poisson with smoked salmon sausage, sea scallops, smoked herring and salmon caviar, slow cooked in a Riesling wine. Also on the menu are a traditional Duck Choucroute with duck leg confit, foie gras and duck sausage on a bed of sauerkraut, slow cooked in Gewurztraminer, and the Choucroute Royale, slow cooked in Champagne.

An extensive selection of hand-picked Alsatian wines are available by-the-glass or bottles, including the wines of Domaine Ostertag, the 2006 inductee in the Choucroute "Halles of Fame" for wine producers.

* * *
February is Choucroute Month
Brasserie Les Halles & Market - 411 Park Ave. South (29th St.) Phone: 212-679-4111
Brasserie Les Halles Downtown - 15 John Street
(Between Broadway and Nassau near the Fulton St. subway