"Hotel Wistub is a small family run hotel in Sainte Marie-aux-Mines located in the massif of the Vosges Mountains. Very scenic and quite alpine in character. We stayed for the night and ate in the small comfortable restaurant along with several locals – a good sign. Very informal and friendly atmosphere and the staff most helpful.I ordered a full bodied local red (the name now escapes me) and was perfectly happy.I could not resist the escargot and was not disappointed. Lashings of heavenly garlic butter and crusty local bread. Just perfect. My wife’s onion tart was amazing! Certainly the best either of us have ever tasted. The evening was looking good.For mains I went for the fillet steak in pepper sauce, my wife the veal in a sauce I have now forgotten. Seasonal vegetables and what looked like a huge bowl of chips. Both the cuts of meat were generous, tender, cooked just the right side of pink (as the French like them of course), both cream sauces were delicious, and we enjoyed every mouthful. And the large bowl of chips, which turned out to be Frites Soufflé, were just stunning. We ate the lot then wiped our plates clean!For desert I was given a wonderful selection of local cheeses and my wife a lovely chocolate fondant that oozed in all the right places.How is it that a small French hotel in a small town can deliver such a wonderful meal as this? Simple. When the French stick to French food and local ingredients, they are untouchable!"
