La Bastille, Saarbrücken
Yesterday, my companion and I traveled to the city of Saarbrücken, of which I have written a time or two. For those who don’t know, this glorious city is near the French border (or what used to be the border). Drive twenty minutes further west and suddenly people say Bonjour, instead of Guten Tag.
It was shopping that took us to Saarbrücken’s long, wide pedestrian street, from the immense Karstadt department store (located in so many large German cities) to long clusters of smaller shops selling everything imaginable, from the inexpensive and mundane to premier fashions that cause you to pause and reflect on whether to buy a suit and shoes or a new car.
Wonderful shopping is what we found, but also a gem of a French restaurant, La Bastille. But before we get to the glory of French cuisine, allow me to give you a thumbnail sketch of Saarbrücken’s heritage.
This city dates back to Roman times and has seen any number of wars and conquerors. It’s a list too lengthy to go into here. But, even in modern times, this city lived through a bouncing ball of hand offs from German to French to German, changing hands more often than a nervous square dancer, most recently in 1920 -1925 as the capital of the Saar Basin (Treaty of Versailles, giving control to France) and 1947-1956 as the Saar Protectorate (French Zone of Occupation, only nominally independent of France). In 1957, it once again became German.
But, enough about Saarbrücken….the word meaning bridges over the River Saar. Suffice to say, there are a lot of nice restaurants in this vibrant city and on our trip, we found one to remember.
Down a side street of the main shopping square, sits La Bastille, a French restaurant that lives up to the French fame for wonderful, glorious, fantastical food. We’ll come to that, but first, your education is important to me, so let’s get a thumbnail of the name, La Bastille. I’m sure you remember from your Modern European History in high school, there was an unpleasantness in France, better known as The French Revolution, a decade long struggle from May 5, 1789 to November 9, 1799, which dethroned and decapitated a king, while revolutionaries ran wild with a guillotine, known as ‘the people’s avenger.’ You may not know it was France’s official method of execution until capital punishment was abolished in 1981, and was last used to decapitate a murderer in 1977.
La Bastille was a castle, used as a prison in downtown Paris. It became the symbol of all that was wrong with France’s royal, autocratic government. The revolutionists attacked it on 14 July 1789 (now a national holiday) releasing seven prisoners, four forgers, two lunatics, and one sexual deviate. But hey, it’s the thought that counts. Later torn down, the site is now a traffic circle known as La Place de la Bastille. In fact, since La Bastille was expensive to run, the government had already decided to tear it down, but if they had, the French would be lacking a holiday.
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| Place de la Bastille today |
But, back (at last) to La Bastille, the restaurant, which on the other hand, was never a prison and I didn’t see any forgers, lunatics, or close friends of mine. It also was not a focus of revolutionaries, and by the way, it serves exceptional food, with exceptional service. It’s not roomy, but small size cleverly gives it the air of an authentic French bistro.
We opt for an aperitif of Crémont, with a peach flavor and crowned with a speared Mirabella plum. Soon mixed olives and thick slices of baguette arrived. You know Crémont, right? I’ve written about this sparkling wine of Alsace, too. Mirabella plums? Yellow, sweet, and only the size of large grapes.
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| the spots are reflections from the polished metal bowl. |
I ordered spaghetti with shrimp, knowing the French would put their own spell on this Italian staple, and my companion ordered potato pancakes with applesauce.
My dish came with a splendid salad, enhanced with light vinaigrette. The spaghetti had the creamy taste of the French cooks preference for butter. Delicious! The shrimp were politely cooked and wonderfully juicy.
As for the potato pancakes and homemade apple sauce….sublime. They’re not what we Americans think of as pancakes. More like hash-browns, festooned with fragrant bits of vegetables.
Halfway through the meal we exchanged plates briefly, a good way to get to know your neighbor. The woman across from me, whom I had never met……only kidding. And, I’m only a bit ashamed to say my companion and I traded a few more bites after the ceremony of the exchanging of plates.
The meal ended with double espressos and the young woman waiting the table came by with an offer of delicious chocolates. A perfect accompaniment to the delightfully bitter coffee.
And now, I offer a few photos to give you the mood, the décor, and to let you know exactly why I will soon return to try more of the menu in this exceptional and historically named restaurant in the heart of Saarbrücken’s shopping district.
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