PrintA Tale of Two Tarts at Astoria’s Restaurant 718
Thanks to Adam "Slice" Kuban I’ve known for years where to snag wonderful coal-fired oven pizza in Astoria: Sac’s Place. But until very recently I've never known where to get Alsatian pizza in Astoria. Until a friend took me to Restaurant 718, I has no idea such a thing existed. As you might guess they don’t call it pizza, but rather tarte flambée, also known as flammekueche. Amateur linguists will note that the name means something along the lines of "baked in flames." It is said to derive from Alsatian farmers who baked bread and would fire up a tarte flambée as way to test the heat of their wood-burning ovens.
Five varieties of tarte flambée are offered, including a vegetable version and one that sports tuna, tomato confit, wasabi, and onions. I took the traditional route and ordered the "classic" ($10). It arrived at the table on a small wooden pizza peel. The crackly crust was coated with a thin layer of sour cream and showered with bacon and onions. It's probably the only time I’ve ever enjoyed bacon on a pizza.
Check out this Alsatian tarte upskirt. I’m not sure if chef Raphaël Sutter is descended from Alsatian farmers, but it certainly looks like his oven was hot enough.
For dessert, yet another tarte, but of the sweet variety. The warm apple tarte ($7) no doubt owes something to the time Sutter spent as pastry chef at La Côte Basque . Concealed under that jaunty dehydrated apple chapeau was a blob of vanilla ice cream.
One of the owners tells me that in Alsace there are many all-you-can-eat tarte flambée joints. I almost asked whether the IFOCE had any members living in Alsace. I mean, the crust is thin, but not that thin.
718 Restaurant
35-01 Ditmars Boulevard, Astoria NY 11105 (map)
718-204-5553
718restaurant.com
Related
718's Tartes Flambée [Slice, 7/12/2005]
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7 Comments:
I live on this block. It's about time 718 got some recognition. The $16 lunch special is awesome and the 2 for 1 happy hour drinks is great. Try the vodka martini with stuffed blue cheese, dynamite!
StarvingArtist at 11:30AM on 04/02/09
for those in manhattan - the modern bar (moma restaurant) has a great version of this tart flamblée. i remember having a drink there one night, smelling the bacon, and ordering without even knowing what it was. it smelled that good!
emoelely at 11:43AM on 04/02/09
klee brasserie on 9th ave in chelsea also makes a really great version
santoslhalper at 2:21PM on 04/02/09
@emoelely - i've had that tart too! delicious and BIG
Grace Kang at 2:42PM on 04/02/09
That's funny. We've actually covered 718 on Slice! Years ago, but it's there!
Adam Kuban at 5:56PM on 04/02/09
@AK: Hmmm...I managed to link to Slice's review of Sac's Place, but I didn't search for 718. Doh!! At least I got to use the phrase "Alsatian tart upskirt."
Joe DiStefano at 6:27PM on 04/02/09
Yes, I think SENY should link to the earlier 718 review in the article. Kind of makes it seems like Slice wasn't aware of tarte flambee without the link.
NYminknit at 7:11PM on 04/03/09