We had our first typical Lyonias meal at Le Bochon des Filles on Friday and went back on Sunday to do it again.
'Next to the charming Place Sathonay, in a small cobbled street, a handful of girls have made a typical picture-postcard bouchon, cute and friendly. In the kitchen they revisit Lyonais traditional dishes with a light touch - simple, fresh, tasty and generous.' Or so says the Michelin Guide 2015 which could only have been written by a French man.
Le Bouchon des Filles, or the bouchon of the girls, is known worldwide and it doesn't disappoint. A bouchon in France is roughly equivalent to a trattoria in Italy and a tavern in Britain. I don't think there is any Australian equivalent.
This week in Lyon has been the first of our eleven weeks so far, where I haven't had to cook. So I was looking forward to meals that were 'not pasta', 'not pizza', not on toast', 'not in a bun' and 'not with chips'. Yes, some people are a pain, I know!
Bouchons originally fed the workers who laboured in the silk factories that made Lyon so prosperous. Today, Lyon’s bouchons continue to serve cuisine centred on the offal and cooked meats for which Lyon is famous. The style is home-cooked and down to earth, using common local ingredients, those originally available to working class people, so including lots of vegetables and the cheaper cuts of meat.
The entree is always three plates and always includes traditional Lyonais puy lentils which 'les Filles' offer generously in a scrumptious, herby and creamy but not overly rich mayonnaise. This is a dish I need to master at home for all those vegetarians in my family.
The second entree plate was carpaccio of beef with a generous herb dressing and some well dressed green leaves. We have had this green herb oil at all of the restaurants we have tried so I assume it is a way of "dressing-up" basic food.
The third component was quenelles of mackerel in herbed, mashed potato with a little paprika. I had forgotten how good this simple dish can be.
A palate cleanser came next, puree of carrot and ginger topped with creme fraiche, tiny toasted seeds and one fresh pea. A universal winner - none of these little beauties went back to the kitchen whereas some of the main dishes proved either "too heavy" or "too much of a challenge" for many we observed.
Paul's main was something that Google translate couldn't quite handle - 'Parmentier d'andouillette, roquette' - mashed potatoes with chitterling sausage and rocket was what it told me.
It was a bit like a burger, but instead of buns there were two rounds of carefully seasoned mashed potato filled with a fine mince of Lyon tripe sausage. With lots of rocket. Google translate couldn't handle the conversion but I discovered it myself at Picard, the frozen food supermarket, where I found a frozen version of the same dish - with an English translation. That's how I know it was tripe sausage. De - lic - ous!
My main was one of the best dishes I have ever tasted - 'Croustillant de boudin aux pomme' - crunchy filo pastry filled with delicate blood sausage and apple. Topped with loads of fresh herbs. It was stunning. Blood sausage is often called black pudding in Australia but this was nothing like the heavy, firm
On our second visit Paul had the blood sausage with apple, and I chose the 'Gateau de foie de volaille, sauce tomate et champignons' - chicken liver cake with tomato sauce and mushrooms. Sounds awful but it was delicious, light, fluffy and fresh.
Next came the local cheese - a fresh goat cheese, a matured goat cheese which was superb and 'Canut brain' on the spoon which tasted incredible- creamy and herby.
"The silk workers even had their own dish, la cervelle de canut (canut brain!), which was actually curd cheese mixed with garlic and fresh herbs."
A Chateauneuf du Pape from the winery named Elisabeth Chambellan, was liquid gold. The best wine we have had for the whole trip - so far.
Paul's dessert was the lightest pillow of cheesecake ever, with a crunchy crust and peanut caramel mousse.
I didn't like my desert. It was called 'praline', which is the traditional sugar coated almond in the bowl of icecream on the right. The tart in the middle was so sweet I couldn't eat it, and the little glass on the left was a ceamy jelly, the flavour of which was so bland I couldn't identify what it was. It was a take on a traditional dessert but it missed me.
This one, however was sublime. Chocolate fondant with a warm runny centre, and excellent vanilla sorbet. Yum! I'm not sure the old silk workers got desserts like this.
We finished with good espresso, hot and strong, with a glass of chartreuse on ice.
The chartreuse was 55% alcohol and almost knocked my head off. But it is made from herbs so I am claiming it was very healthy!
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