Off the beaten path
We recently traveled to lovely little Ribeauville in the Alsatian region of France. Thanks to my wicked online research skills, limited trip time and a small yet specific list of must-haves, we got an awesome family room at Le Clos Saint Vincent. sshhh, this Chapotin family-run hotel is the best kept secret in Alsace! Really! Can you tell we just loved our stay there?
Ok, before I get to the Gourmet Meals & Wines, let me just say that none of the Jean Sipp or Louis Sipp wines offered by our host Emmanuel Chapotin was anything short of phenomenal. The Sipp family has a large footprint in the region and we could even see the Jean Sipp vineyard from the dining terrace. Just in case I fail to mention this, our hotel was IN THE MIDDLE of vineyards. The only noise that interrupted the incredibly peaceful and beautiful surroundings were the occasional barks of our crazy Travel hounds whenever someone walked by enroute to the stairs or the pool next door.
Our room
We were lucky to get a family room on relatively short notice, especially since we were bringing our 2 dogs. The room was down a small flight of steps and right next to the indoor pool, which Bella loved. We walked right out into the lovely garden and take in breathtaking views of Ribeauville and the Alsatian countryside. There were vineyards all around us and a few castles atop nearby mountains.
Breakfast Buffets, Gourmet Dinners
Breakfasts were the typical European fare with lots of protein (egg omelet, meat, cheese, yoghurt), fruit, cereals and bread to sustain you until the next meal. The local yoghurt with seasonal fruit like raspberries and strawberries were definitely the most popular food choice. Personally, I loved the fresh baked mini chocolate croissants. I didn’t even miss my normal toast with Marmite! A typical breakfast for us also included a pot of coffee, a small pot of homemade hot chocolate for Bella, and a selection of fresh squeezed juices: orange, apple or white grape.
The daily delight though for me and hubby were the gourmet 2 to 4 course suppers. (For Bella, it was the swimming pool) We really looked forward to the culinary delights offered each night and found it impossible to limit ourselves to anything less than 3 courses. After all, it isn’t often that we got a true French gourmet meal. In fact, the last time may have been our visit to Aux Trois Rouelles in Belgium, which really deserves a dedicated post.
Each evening at Le Clos, Emmanuel presented menus that were fresh, creative and lovingly curated. We always deferred the wine choice to him as the expert. After all, he grew up surrounded by the vineyards. During our 3 evening meals, we did not stray far from Jean Sipp and Louis Sipp. There was a lovely dry 2009 Jean Sipp Pinot Noir and a perfectly crisp, not too sweet nor dry Riesling, also from Jean Sipp. On our last evening, I tried a lovely dry Pinot noir, 2009 Grossberg from the Louis Sipp Vineyards. We usually shared a bottle between us, but on at least one evening, we shared 2. Isabella amassed quite a cork collection during suppertime as well since the terrace was full of guests who also decided to eat in after a long day touring the area’s vineyards, castles and parks.
A Little Gourmet in the Making
Isabella would even get her own carefully prepared gourmet meal, either off the menu or off the cuff. They really went out of their way to make sure Bella had a culinary experience, not just supper. Our daughter is a curious child and definitely uses her smell and sight in the few seconds before she opens her mouth. Too much of any particular spice offends her little nose and she doesn’t hesitate to wrinkle it. She’d make a great food critic one day. We only ask her to at least try something new at least once, a trick we learned from family in nearby Belgium. During this trip, she usually liked something off one of our plates and loved the artichoke soup so much that I asked if the chef could make it again the next night (no, we never told her what it was).
Sadly, she still wouldn’t try escargot. Granted she has seen it on the dinner table only twice in her life (she is just shy of 5). She knows her cousins love it but still won’t take a bite. I’m unsure if it was the snail shells on my plate or the wonderful but pungent scent of garlic butter that waved her off. At least she tried nearly everything else from appetizers to desserts. Maybe she’ll try escargot on our next visit to Ribeauville because we are sure to return.
Sigh… I’m still dreaming of some of our meals there. Here are some photos of the different courses to stimulate those salivary glands. I only wish I could have captured the scents on film.
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