Welcome To The Gastronomic French World -
Yes, we went to Lyon (France’s gastronomic center) for lunch yesterday (Tuesday). I’m not bragging nor am I complaining when I tell you the lunch for the two of us was $278. That’s a record for me. And, I won’t share the cost of the train nor the parking at the train station. I’m just attempting to give you an idea of what we’re talking about here.
The trip was a great success and the meal was terrific. Our goal was to have a “French classic” meal and that’s what we had. So, we had “real” French food and not the food of the South of France, which we are told is different from food in Lyon and Paris and the other parts of France. We were at La Mere Brazier and there are no restaurants any fancier. Let’s get it straight, we’ve been to restaurants in the U.S. just as fancy and with food served in that very fancy, pretty way. And, I’d suggest we’ve had food just as good at the very top U.S. restaurants. But, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the food nor the service at this restaurant.
Before we reached the table I’d estimate I said “bon jour” to at least seven different people. It almost seemed like a receiving line. In France when you order the “menu” you are ordering a complete meal, appetizer (entrée) through desert (hey, a French word). You can also go the way of an appetizer/starter (entrée), a plat (our entrée) and/or a desert ordered off the carte (what we all call the menu) – I guess that’s ala carte (my gosh, another French phrase). Anyway, we both ordered a menu, though Marlene’s menu included an appetizer, while mine did not.
Oh, let me add that our reservation was for 12:30, thus we were early and had a glass of wine at the wine bar next door (owned by the restaurant). So, we started with a glass of wine at 12 noon and departed the restaurant shortly after 3:00 pm. Now that’s a French lunch! By the way, we each had two additional glasses of wine during the meal. So, in my case, I used up my total annual wine consumption in one three-hour period.
We were each served a chunk of sourdough bread. Not to be beaten, maybe equaled, and served with the finest butter man has ever experienced. First of all, the French do not serve butter (buerre) with restaurant meals. I’m not sure how these folks missed the memo. But, the butter was richer than you can imagine – one piece regular butter, the other piece smoked. I’m telling you it was absolutely the greatest butter I’ve ever eaten. After the bread was devoured, a roll in the shape of a small croissant was delivered. I was disappointed, given how great the sourdough bread was. The disappointment was short lived, as the roll with the butter was fabulous. The initial taste at the bite was good and then all of a sudden the flavor exploded. Marlene’s appetizer was foie gras in three different forms, with a taste of artichoke soup and an artichoke leaf served over an ounce or two of mashed potatoes (pomme puree in French), served on a rectangular plate. I had the thrill of tasting the foie gras (everybody in France loves it and it’s everywhere). I’m not into foie gras. Between each course we had a little something served, so we had so many items it’s almost impossible to remember everything from lunch just yesterday. The first little something was a very small bowl with chopped asparagus on the bottom, covered with sour cream and topped with a piece of herring with a little fried doughy something. That got us to the main course (plat). Marlene had a lobster dish and I had a lamb dish. Marlene had a claw of lobster, a chunk of lobster, and a mousse of pike fish in the middle, with whole vegetables around the edge of the plate and a delicious sauce. I had filet of lamb (never quite had lamb like this). It was cut into five pieces with a sauce. There were two fairly small scoops of chopped/mixed vegetables. I’m guessing the main vegetable was zucchini and the items mixed with it remain unidentified (and that is probably best). Next came a small cup with ice cream and a little pastry. We each also received a plate with four very small French pastries. Then, it was time for the cheese tray, which was included in Marlene’s menu. There were about a dozen cheeses to choose from and Marlene (with a little help from me) tasted five cheeses. That transitioned us to desert, which was the desert of the house, Paris-Brest (seen in a photo). The desert, mostly a hazelnut treat, was terrific, though I could only imagine how good it would have been if it were milk chocolate. And, yes, we had a large bottle of Evian water ($9.20 just for the record – but who’s counting?). Few French restaurants at any level will serve tap water, but you get use to the annoyance. I believe that’s a decent summary of the lunch. If you were wondering, we were stuffed by the end of the experience.
Now for some photos, not all directly related to the lunch, and certainly not in a coherent order. We took the TGV train to Lyon, walked out of the train station and down the Metro steps. We went two stops on the subway train (rubber tires in case you were wondering) and then transferred to another line on which we went four stops. We got off and came up in front of the Lyon city hall (in the photo). There was a small plaza there and you see a photo looking from the plaza down the street. Oh, though it was a beautiful, sunny day in Aix-en Provence, it was a cloudy, rainy day in Lyon. Everybody complains how much it is gray and rainy in Paris and to some degree the same in Lyon. We had dressed for summer and we got anything but. Marlene purchased an umbrella and fashioned it in front of a fountain and sculpture at the same plaza. The restaurant was about three blocks away in a commercial area, with little retail, with the exception of a few restaurants. That’s me in front of La Mere Brazier, very happy I had worn my now tired looking French sweater. And, a photo of the restaurant sign and a look at the corner it’s located on (on Rue Royale). Another interesting feature here is the way politicians publicize themselves. The big election for the European (Union) Parliament was held the other day and cities put up sign positions for the politicians to use (see the photo). It certainly keeps the election signage to a minimum. Yes, there’s the photo of the hazelnut desert. And, the lobby of the restaurant in another photo – off to the right is an old sliding door that is open, the worn concrete floor which slants upward as you enter, and the doors which open to a huge indoor passageway that leads to what looked like office and apartments. And, one of many dining rooms in the restaurant.
Today was a half-day of school for the kids (Wednesday) and tomorrow is some French holiday, thus no school. We’re going to St. Remy, which is where Van Gogh lived for a time and where he was institutionalized. Marlene and I were there, but did not go into the hospital where Van Gogh was held and plan on doing that with the kids tomorrow. You may recall seeing photos of some Roman ruins just out in the open some months back. Well, there are many ruins Marlene and I didn’t see, so that will be taken care of tomorrow.
The Wilsons
