My Bride and I were attending a wedding for one of her good friends in a northern suburb of Chicago.   As in all weddings there is a lot of ado on the day of the nuptials and this day was no different.  There was a considerable lag time between the church service and the reception that would start early in the evening.  As we were from out of town, we were invited back to the house to start the revelry with the family, and the groom had a spectacular wine cellar mostly of first and second growths of the Medoc and an outstanding collection of wines from Burgundy.  I could have been forced to endure such a hardship, but my Bride felt that the family should be together, so we went out for a little adventure.

She had to pick up a few incidentals, so we stopped at a shopping strip for her to get what she needed.  I noticed a fine tobacconist and decided to pick up a couple of cigars for that evening and to give the groom a fine smoke for his honeymoon.  While I was in the shop, I inquired about if a noted restaurant in the area still had the same cachet for French cuisine as we were going to have a light lunch prior to the reception.  I was informed that they were still excellent, but that if I really wanted a treat I should try this new restaurant a mile or so down the road.  I was told that the principals used to be chefs at the French Embassy in Chicago.  I was intrigued.  When I left the tobacconist and found my Bride, she had a big smile on her face and told me she had heard of a great French restaurant that had been touted to her.  It was the same restaurant that I was about to tell her about.  So off we went for a new culinary experience.

This restaurant was in another shopping strip just past an automobile dealership.  It was not a very glamorous setting, but since we had two distinct recommendations we continued on our quest.   It was early on Saturday and already there were a few people in the restaurant.  As is my wont, I asked if I may look at the dinner menu, along with the lunch menu that was handed to us.   On the dinner menu, was seared Foie gras in a classic style.  We were both excited, and even though the dish is very rich, and probably not the healthiest dish to order, we both ordered the plate.  After all we had the rest of the day to work off the dish.

Next was the proper wine to have with it, and since we were sure to have some great wine later, I opted for something lighter.   There are the wine carte was the perfect choice.  A Gewurztraminer wine from Alsace in France, and a legendary pairing I might add.  I introduced my Bride to Gewurztraminer wines some time earlier as a great wine to drink with Asian style cooking.   The grape varietal has a unique spice and floral quality that is its own.  Up to this time all of the Gewurztraminer wines that we had consumed were domestic, and most of them were from northern Michigan where the grape matures very nicely.   This was going to be a treat.

Some odd notes about the appellation laws of Alsace, they do not delineate by region or town, but by the varietal.  Hence the grape name is what is most important, followed by the negociants or house.  They are not individual chateaus like one thinks of as Bordeaux and the Alsace region almost produces as much wine as Bordeaux.  There are Traminer wines offered from Alsace and the better offered wines are listed as Gewurztraminer.  If you get a chance try a Gewurztraminer from Alsace, especially if you have already tried a domestic bottle of the same.  The Alsatian wines have much more spice and a more floral nose then any domestic wines that I have had, and I must confess to really enjoying this type of wine.

After a fine lunch, we did a little more shopping to keep my Bride happy and then we were off for the reception and a grand evening.  It was and still is a wonderful memory.