No, Tony wasn't there...

Last Wednesday, I had dinner at Les Halles, where they inducted R.W. Apple and Peacock Alley chef Cedric Tovar into their Choucroute Hall of Fame and simultaneously kicked off their eighth annual choucroute month. Previous hall of famers include one of my all-time favorite food writers, Jeffrey Steingarten, inducted in 2005.

Tony Bourdain did not make an appearance, but we had a pretty good time without him.

The event was great fun, attended by a few people I was honored to meet, including Andre Soltner, the legendary Alsatian chef, and Bryan Miller, the former New York Times restaurant critic. I will admit that I couldn't quite forget Ruth Reichl's descriptions of Miller in her latest book, Garlic and Sapphires, where she takes him to town a bit on his reception of her as his replacement at the Times.

In any case, it was a wonderful evening, and you can read all about the musings it prompted on Alsatian food in New York over here!

A preview:

Les Halles is a brasserie firmly rooted in Manhattan, so their choucroute menu is appropriately reflective of our belief in variety, featuring not one, not two, but four kinds of choucroute. Choucroute garnie, the kind most people think of first, is simmered in pinot blanc and comes with smoked pork, pork and veal sausage, and mustard on the side. Next is the aforementioned choucroute poisson, with smoked herring, fish sausage, scallops, and salmon caviar. Of particular interest to many foie-loving eG'ers, no doubt, is the duck choucroute, with foie gras, duck breast, confit...and choucroute royale, with a little bit of everything, the choucroute itself simmered in champagne.