The Gastronomic Capital of Europe ... Lyon

And some would say the world.  I mean, when I read that for the first time, I knew I had to visit this place, and soon.  It's hard to envision what a place holding this title could possible be like, the treasures it must hold - the rare, the unexpected, the glutiny, the kitchen gadgets, pork, cheese, buttery croissants, buttery bread, butter  ... breeeeeeeathe, breathe.

OK, so coming back down to Earth, I did see a glimpse of why Lyon may get such accolades, but in a vote I probably wouldn't pick Lyon.  Gasp!  {What did she say?}  To be fair I didn't have a reservation for any of the top bouchons in town, and I am sure they would have been amazing, but eating every last bit of a pig or pressing bits of fish with gelatin into terrines is not so much my thing.

So here's how it goes ... I arrived a bit on the exhausted side at my hotel in town via taxi (after dropping off the car at the airport from the Burgundy trip).  The room was adorbs (because one should always pick charming, small boutique hotels) with a window over looking a large square in town.  Lyon is big, so there were long pedestrianized shopping "High Streets" with H&M, Zara, and even a Subway.  Bah.

I wandered a bit in disbelief that I wasn't being engulfed by adorable little comestible shops, with little old French men in berets offering me a taste of their bounty.  Not so much.  I did finally find, after peering down a slim alley, the type of wine bar I envisioned.  Had a glass of wine and started scanning the web for places to eat.

Lyonnaise Salad

There was a place near my hotel that came highly rated and served Bresse chicken.  A colleague of mine is from Burgundy, and he had mentioned to me this very specific breed of French chicken with blue feet that are esteemed, highly sought after, etc.  So, I had that, after a Lyonnaise salad (you know, the one with frisse lettuce, bacon lardon, Dijon dressing, and a poached egg).  All good.  Oh, and I was in Cote du Rhone territory now, so that was the beverage du jour.

The whole point of the trip was to see the famed Les Halles de Lyon, their modern indoor food market.   In fact more modern than I expected.  This is highly unlike the Borough Market in London or La Boqueria in Barcelona.  However, I was giddy as I ran up the steps, and nearly leapt in the air to click my heels as I walked in.  Hallelujah!  Amen!

This was the morning to top all mornings ... as I browsed slowly from side-to-side up and down each aisle, yes, arguably the best food products in the world were here.  To my surprise, I was literally stopped in my tracks as I saw a man cutting open fresh sea urchins one after another and arranging them on a serving platter.  I had just read an article about a man who flew to Japan regularly just to find these.  After about 15 minutes in awe, I decided what the heck and ordered just one (and a side of Champagne).  What can I say, it was delicious ... the little buttery wedges scraped from the shell were simple with just the hint of the sea.


So, feeling extra adventurous, I decided I would tackle the escargot.  In case you didn't know this about me, I have a sunken garden in damp England and in the Summer snails come in droves to devour my precious plants - I have gone militant on them and putting one in my mouth wasn't high on my list.  However, in the name of trying all things once and having an opinion on exemplary foods from the world, I decided to set in to a full dozen of Burgundy escargot.  They first brought out quite a set of complex utensils, and then a plate of sizzling butter, parsley, and garlic.  I dug them out one-by-one and ate the whole plate, more or less non-stop.  I may not need to do that often, but it was enjoyable.

After that feast, I grabbed a local praline tart and grabbed the trolley car up to the north side of the city, Croix-Russe.  It is a hill with sweeping views of the city, and well, not much going on, so I walked through the winding streets, back into town ... fortunately to find the old city centre.  This is the historic section of town, and had much more of the locales I was expecting to see.  Cute cafes, cobblestone streets, ancient passageways, etc.  Did some shopping and by the point of exhaustion started to hunt out the grand finale dinner location.

I was ready to splurge ... so I found some highly rated places ...  first one, fully booked.  Second one, fully booked.  Third one, fully booked ... Fourth one, you guessed it!  Boo!  OK, so I ended up at a spot that served only local ingredients and the chef's own creations, and it was splendid!  To be honest, I was so over meat by this point I ordered a crawfish ravioli!  Ha, ha ...

Up early the next morning to catch the Sunday morning market along the Soane river.  So, so pleasant ... browsing morning food markets is my favourite thing to do.  Anyway, the produce was bountiful, the stinky cheeses sprawling, the chicken spinning on the rotisseries, and the little old ladies were scrutinizing their selections.  I picked up a couple few local items to snack on then and a few to bring home.  Home ... time to go, and time to fast for a while!

I'm afraid Flickr may have gotten more technologically advanced than I, so for now I am pasting in the link to the photo album!  Click Here.

Seduced via the Stomach: Burgundy!

Being the oenophile I am, I still get quite uncomfortable when presented with a wine list comprised mostly of French wines.  Arguably the best in the world (I would contest that Italy actually reigns supreme), if I am to truly dominate my hobby I needed to tackle this challenging region.  Thus, in 2014 I set out to visit a couple of the most infamous regions to improve my vocabulary.  First stop Burgundy!

Burgundy is a large region Southeast of Paris … it starts to the north in Chablis and continues south across draping slopes that create some of the most expensive wines in the world.  This is largely white wine territory, and the smoky Chardonnays are not my taste.  The reds are nearly all Pinot Noir, which tend to be quite light in colour and flavour … this place had its work cut out for it!

I picked up the car from the Orly airport outside Paris and hit the highway to Chablis.  From that point forward it was nothing but winding country roads through farmland and small stone villages.  March is still off season for this area that attracts tourists in droves from May through September, and so for the most part I had the road (and the towns!) all to myself.

Jambon à la Chablisienne

Burgundy is also known as a foodie paradise, and this trip was as much about gastronomy as wine.  So, first stop was lunch for the local ham in Chablis wine sauce “Jambon à la Chablisienne”.  Looking back it was the best meal of the trip.  That creamy sauce drenching the juicy ham, sided by perfectly cooked potatoes and a glass of the local Chablis, was divine.  Picked up one souvenir bottle of Chablis  – not as smoky as the white Burgundys and it’s my second fave just after Sauvignon Blanc.

From there I toured through the fields that yield the region’s Premier Crus … no leaves yet on the vines, so the views were sweeping dry land interwoven with the emerald green fields of rapeseed just starting to sprout.  I should have expected it, but was somewhat surprised how agricultural the region was … this is not your snooty, loafer-wearing wine crowd one would envision of the region, but down and dirty tracker driving locals and very rural.  There were numerous tractors in the field tending to their precious crops, just sprouting their Spring growth.

Boeuf de Charolais

After an amazing sunset closed the warm day, I spent my first night in Beaune - the capitol of Burgundy country and the first place with a little bit of activity.  Here for dinner, while planning the next day's route, I tried a steak of the local Charolais beef (In April 2010 Boeuf de Charolles was granted an Appellation Contrôlée) along with the most amazing creamy buttery cheese sauce ever experienced. The fuzzy peach-coloured cows are so cute along the road (though I think they are a bit shy for the camera, and the guy on the left was downright annoyed).  I splurged on a bottle of Pommard Premier Cru … and ate real slow.  Wow.  The wine was delicious and from that point forward I shall always look for a Pommard on those menus that scared me a bit.



Early to bed, and in the morning I browsed the Patisseries (desserts), Fromageries (cheese), Boulangeries (bread), and Boucheries (meat) in this foodie town.  I picked up a little from each place for a little picnic later in the day, as well as a exemplary bottle of Cote d’Nuits Premier Cru as a souvenir bottle for the collection.  Of course this wasn’t your average snack!  From the butcher I braved the language gap to order a slice of the Jambon Persillé, which is a terrine of ham and parsley (I hope) and some local Epoisses cheese (semi-stink) – both exemplary of foods only found in the region of Borgogne.

Jambon Persillé and Epoisses cheese

The roads south of Beaune proved quiet as well … Google Maps just happens to be amazing, so I found myself travelling on gravel paths through the fields of grapes, topping sweeping views of the region (I thought maybe I was trespassing at some points!).  I found myself at an old chateau hanging off cliffs to crack open that snack I got in town.  It didn’t disappoint!

To be honest, nearly all the “caves” were closed (where one would taste the local wine) and that was disappointing, but I tried to not let it get to me.  The drive was beautiful, the food yummy, and it felt as if I had gone back in time.  After a last stop in Pouilly-Fuissé just to say I had been there, I hit the highway to Lyon with a lot more wine knowledge in my head and a full tummy … 

 

 

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