One could forgive the average Francophile for quailing at the sight of a traditional Alsatian menu, which might include items like Baeckeoffe (wood-fired meat stew casserole), Fleischschnacka (minced meat stuffing rolled in pasta dough) and Guglhupf (a yeasted bundt cake studded with raisins). For centuries, Alsace bounced back and forth between Germany, which regarded the border as the Vosges Mountains, and France, which was partial to the more easterly Rhine River. The Teutonic influence on the region is still evident, most obviously in Alsace’s half-timbered architecture, Germanic wines and hearty cuisine.