Marine, the owner of Tonton and Tata, has been watching the never-ending party across the street for more than three months now. While revelers have flowed into Sanlitun Village, store after store around her Alsatian restaurant in Sanlitun SOHO have closed, leaving pockets of inactivity. The number of customers who initially poured into her restaurant has already thinned out.

But Marine's problems began much earlier, not long after the restaurant opened early this year. Chef Li Wei left to marry his sweetheart, leaving the owner to double as chef and hostess. With a thin waiting staff, patrons began complaining loudly, especially on blogs, about the service.

As she recently recalled: "All kinds of problems didn't stop to trouble us."

Fortunately, the restaurant is still standing. What's more, Li, who has apparently worked for several French restaurants throughout China, returned this month to take over in the kitchen. Still, it's a shame more customers aren't coming to Tonton and Tata.

This is a fine place that deserves more attention and praise for its sausages, sauerkraut and flammekueche, the creamy and wonderfully simple French dish that resembles a thin-crust pizza.That's not to say Marine, a Beijinger whose Chinese name is Yan Zi, should be commended for selecting the behemoth ghost town of Sanlitun SOHO as the location for her restaurant. She chose to open a family-style eatery in a posh area mostly devoid of families.

That was evident on an 8 pm visit last week. Mostly stragglers and a couple of professionals talking shop showed up for dinner, which made a cozy, retro-themed restaurant of checkered table cloths and bottle-cap swivel stools appear cold.

Tonton and Tata's Alsatian food, however, is far from uninviting. Alsace, the northeastern part of France, is known for its hearty dishes heavily influenced by its proximity to bordering Germany.

The restaurant's choucroute is one signature Alsatian dish. The sauerkraut (pickled cabbage) is tangy but not overly tart and is apparently cooked three times with Alsatian riesling.

The assortment of sausages - cervelet, Frankfurt and Munich white - all had a great snap to each bite. Also included in the massive plate were bacon chunks, smoked pork and mashed potatoes. The mash was a bit flavorless and dry, though.

The tarte flambee gratin is another winner; gruyere cheese, creme fraiche, onions and bacon melded perfectly on a business-card thin flatbread that had me pausing to savor each mouthful of the flammekueche.

Tonton and Tata, which are terms of endearment for "uncle" and "aunt" in French, also has a respectable wine list, which includes inexpensive wines by the glass (a dry Alsatian riesling costs 50 yuan).

If this small sampling of dishes is anything to go by, Tonton and Tata should be drawing in bigger crowds.

China Daily

(China Daily 04/27/2011)