I had a good feeling about elle m'a dit even before stepping inside mainly because I have a soft spot for restaurants in quaint houses; they give me this warm, cozy, safe fuzzy feeling inside (ok maybe not fuzzy). It's kinda like going home but in this case, going home to eat... Alsatian food.
elle m'a dit on Baldwin St (left), its huge mural on the right (right)
elle m'a dit opened in June 2011 and serves "modern Alsatian cuisine". Chef Gregory Furstoss was born in Alsace (a region in the northeastern part of France) and was a sous chef at Bistro and Bakery Thuet before opening elle m'a dit with his wife, Tory Yang (the two met at Bistro and Bakery Thuet).
Several tables surround the bar on the ground floor. It is a very intimate and romantic space.
The second floor is where the main dining room is. The simple and uncomplicated decor continues here with the white walls and red trim accents. The "wine list" is written on the big chalkboard.
A very meat-heavy menu at elle m'a dit.
Pimm's Queen - Pimm's No1, quince syrup, lemon juice, sprite (2oz, $8)
APPETIZERS
French Onion Soup: Grilled bread, gruyere cheese ($10) - It looked promising but we didn't end up liking it at all. The toast was burnt and for one reason or another, the soup tasted burnt as well (or maybe it was supposed to be that way? "Smoky"? Not sure). There was a lot of gruyere in it though which was great.
Hand Chopped Bison Tartar with Crostini ($15) - Tasty but nothing special.
Traditional Tarte Flambée: bacon, onion, fromage blanc, gruyere cheese ($10) - With six styles of tarte flambees available, we chose the traditional one. This was the thinnest flatbread I've ever had in my life! With its super crispy edges, this tarte flambée was as thin as a cracker. We all loved this...it was so addictive.
Sauerkraut: Grilled pork loin, pork belly, smoked sausage, fingerling potato ($21) - SO.MUCH.MEAT! Not complaining as this was actually our favourite entree. I really wish it came with some veggies though; I know there is sauerkraut but it just didn't' cut it - whether it was because there was too little of it or it tasted bland - I wanted something else to balance out all the meat here.
Braise Beef Tongue: Purple sweet potato gnocchi ($20) - The dish was very flavourful but I thought it lacked texture; everything was soft and I couldn't tell the difference between the tender beef tongue and the soft potato gnocchi.
Baeckeoffe & Salad: Alsatian meat casserole, beef, lamb and pork with potato ($19) - Delicious and tender meat all sealed inside layers of potatoes on top. Real good comfort food here (with a side of salad! Yay!).
DESSERTS
Chocolate Bomb & Roasted Banana Ice Cream: Dark chocolate mousse, hazelnut dacquoise, toasted house made marshmallow, chocolate genoise, hazelnut crunch ($10) - You know how sometimes when a dessert plate comes with several kinds of desserts there's always something you're just not crazy about? Well not here because I loved everything on the plate. These are not your standard, everyday desserts, especially the roasted banana ice cream and hazelnut crunch....WOW =D
Apple Tarte Flambée: Sliced apple, cinnamon sugar, cinnamon fromage blanc, baked in oven. Alsatian traditional dessert ($7) - I thought the flatbread here was not as thin as the flatbread earlier but it was still very good. I also felt great eating this, you know why? It was delicious yet so thin and light, it was like I wasn't eating anything fattening at all. Wonderful!
I highly recommend elle m'a dit because it serves really good food, really good Alsatian comfort food that you can't find anywhere else in the city (I heard elle m'a dit is the only Alsatian restaurant in the city). If and when you do go, make sure you order the flambée and the pork belly / pork loin / sausage plate!
