L'Auberge de L'ill was rewarded its 3rd Michelin star in 1967 and was able to keep them to this day.Like Paul Bocuse and Troisgros family, other two French gastronomy legends, Haeberlin family managed to maintain the high level of their Alsatian auberge for decades, although the style of cooking reminds me much more the cooking of Paul Bocuse , than Michel Troigros (which i adore and consider one of the best restaurants in the world).
Have you seen "Le grand restaurant" ,the funny Louis de Funès movie about a Parisian gastronomic restaurant in the sixties? Well, i think that Bocuse and Heaberlin family cooking has remained in those times. Of course, the very warm welcome at L'Auberge de L'ill has nothing to do with Monsieur Septime character, the despotic owner of the restaurant from the movie, but food was nothing that one would expect from a modern 3 Michelin stars restaurant.
I do not doubt the talent of Marc Haeberlin, the chef of the auberge,but also i don't understand why he is content to recreate the "classics"of his father Paul and not bring the cooking to a more exciting level ?
And nothing can be more original than salmon canapés and cheese crisps for amuse bouche :)
One of the entrées , the foie gras d'oie was of phenomenal quality,but would i drive again for it especially from another part of France ? Don't think so.
"Le saumon soufflé Auberge de L'ill", salmon in puff pastry was the dish that reminded most the gastronomy of "old France" . It was good, but nowadays this recipe has become pretty banalized,i think you can even get a bad copy of it in frozen food section in the supermarkets.
" La côte de boeuf Black Angus aux deaux sauces, pommes soufflées" .The two sauces were with red wine and the classical béarnaise. To be honest, I am never against a good "côte de boeuf" with creamy béarnaise sauce.And i thought, ok, as i didn't really like anything else from the menu that night ( you can see the full menu on the website ), a good piece of beef would make the evening. But the quality of the meat was nothing compared to a steak you can get in a decent brasserie in France, not speaking about a starred restaurant.The preparation was good, but i didn't understand why the chef preffers to use the imported Black Angus as compared to French beef which is excellent...
The desserts were actually very good, the home made sorbets were a fresh conclusion of a quite heavy dinner.
I was hesitant to write this review, as the people working at L'Auberge L'ille were very nice, the chef, Marc Haeberlin went out to greet us and the service was perfect. But none of the dishes caused any feelings, neither enthusiasm, nor unsatisfaction. The best feeling to summarize the dinner would be indifference...
