To break bread with the top chefs of France, take the next train out of Paris and head straight to Lyon, two short hours away in the Rhone Alpes region. This is where Paul Bocuse created Nouvelle Cuisine, changing the way we think about food.
photo by Stacia Friedman
Start at Halles de Lyon – Paul Bocuse, a glass-enclosed homage to the chef who shops there. Sample delicacie, including artisan breads, cheeses, sausages, foie gras, shell fish, wines and chocolates. Pick up a picnic lunch to enjoy by the Rhone River or pig out — literally — at one of the market’s restaurants and seafood bars.
At some point in your visit, choose a bouchon, a traditional Lyon restaurant originally created for the city’s silk workers. At Daniel et Denise, the menu reads like an anatomy lesson. Tripe, brains, livers. While my companions dug into various body parts, I enjoyed an entrée-sized salad and a side dish of pasta in a creamy cheese sauce that Proust would’ve written about if he hadn’t been sidetracked by those Madeleines.
photo by JoAnn Greco
A less adventurous menu awaits at Les Lyonnais Bouchon, outfitted in glorious red hues — right down to the paper napkins that sport the distinctive le nez Francais of the restaurant’s cartoon logo. Even better than its roster of tried-and-true entrees, though, this convivial spot offers romantic views of both the waterfront and, way up high over the hills, the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière.
At Mere Brazier, a 2-star Michelin restaurant, chef Mathieu Viannay presides over a 100-year old establishment. The first floor looks like any bistro but upstairs the private dining rooms offer intimacy and spectacle. Succulent oysters arrived shimmering in basil jelly with dollops of caviar. Bright flowers bloomed in a mixed green salad. Lobster foam topped “sea spider” served in its shell. I still don’t know what it was but it tasted like crab gone to heaven. For dessert, there was a selection of pastries that would’ve made Marie Antoinette weep.
Our Readers Comment…