AUBERGE DE MAITRE PIERRE - Sarrebourg

Full disclosure, I cannot claim a routine experience, but my husband and I have eaten twice at L'Auberge du Zoo/L'Auberge de Maitre Pierre, in Spring 2012 and in Spring 2013. In both cases we were guests of the owner (the cousin of a very casual friend here in Maryland), so we probably had special treatment, but the food came from the menu and out of the same kitchen. We were embraced the first time, when we had not met anyone in the restaurant, like old friends--the French are NOT normally stand-offish and rude if you try to follow French customs. We had delicious flamme kueche (NOT pizza, although that's on the menu in some form). A house speciality, this is a crisp crust tart with crème fraiche, lardons, cheese, caramelized onions and other options. It's cooked in a wood oven and absolutely delicious. We had it as an appetizer (entrée), but it would be a meal with a salad and wine. It was followed by spectacular filet de boeuf, also cooked in the wood oven and, for me on the second visit, with garlicky, cream-rich, herbed frogs legs (cuisses des grenouilles) eaten with my fingers. My husband tells me potatoes and a vegetable were also delicious, but for me they were eclipsed by the main courses. This is a very French place--from what I could see and by the noise level, large and local, including families. It's a little upscale, but unpretentious. Menu prices were equal to what we would pay for a similar place at home, of course there INCLUDING tax and tip. The staff seemed equally brusque and informal around us--we did not seem to be treated with particular deference. I suspect for many bad Tripadvisor reviews the writer had an unusual and unfortunate experience, unreasonably expected to be treated with special attention, or was in a genuinely bad restaurant. I assure you the last is not true here. Try it, enjoy it, and don't expect to be treated like royalty. This is not a Michelin 4-star--it's a very good local restaurant with better food than most parallel US places. Look at the online menu so you'll know if you'll like it and what cost to expect, and if your French is modest, you have a starting point. Everyone there cares about quality, but they turn over a lot of tables, so it's probably not the best place for a romantic evening or a large group expecting to spend a leisurely evening (although we did). If you want either, let them know in advance and choose a week night.