Feast Blog

Following Lucy Vanel’s fabulous site, I took the opportunity to wander the Avenue Victor Hugo for a bit of boutique and antique shopping for a little solo Lyon adventure. Realizing I had not bothered with breakfast and getting quite peckish, the Brasserie l’Espace was inviting for one very specific reason: Jambon Persillé. Now if I had paid attention, I might very well have passed a dozen such bistros and brasseries all serving this illusive dish, but it was not since my time in Los Angeles, and my access to a French ex-patriots Florence & Bruno Herve Commereuc that I had authentic jellied ham with parsley.

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Thanks to some last minute recommendations from friends, a small travesty was averted. We arrived in Lyon on Sunday – a day when most restaurants are closed. Fortunately, Brasserie L’Est, owned by the inimitable Paul Bocuse. A brasserie, I was a bit overwhelmed with haute cuisine and desirous of simpler fare. There is a bit of a circus feel to the restaurant when you enter, with movie posters of train movies on the walls and a model train running around a track, just below the ceiling. An open kitchen (with a microphone for the head chef) puts you in the middle of the action. It was all perfectly charming.

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A Saturday-night drive around Lake Geneva to Montreux was an unexpected surprise. Located in the Fairmount hotel is Jaan, a previously Michelin-starred restaurant (didn’t see it on the 2008 list) in an elegant Belle Epoque-styled hotel overlooking Lake Geneva. Up front, I will state emphatically that the food served was easily some of the most artistically-plated and exceptionally tasting that I can recall. I will also advise that the service was so painfully slow as to have made me consider walking out. Perhaps that is what caused the loss of their Michelin star, but if one is patient, than one can be rewarded with some exceptional cuisine.

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Dinner at Lion D’Or was a sumptuous business meal for eight people; consequently, I was surreptitiously trying to take pictures and sharing plates was not a possibility. We started the evening with a magnum of Laurent-Perrier Champagne, Grand Siecle, 2000, a rich, complex wine with elements of a white peach stone fruit. A small platter of amuse which were sampled in the upstairs bar included herby gourgeres (surprisingly cold) and cigars of puff pastry with a hint of herb.

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In case you’ve been following along, Sunday marked our last day of scheduled events (and hotels). We rented a car and are setting out to just drive around and explore, heading first towards Lyon. I have some wonderful food adventures to share from Geneva and still need to write up my artistic thoughts about Gaudi and Dali from Barcelona.

We have to be back in Carouge (near Geneva) on Monday evening but so far, have booked no hotels and I am not researching any restaurants or eateries whatsoever; it is all going to be kismet. There was some concern about rain but it seems it will be just a sprinkle or two (funny, since my London bud informed me of snow a day or so before we arrived and that it snowed again yesterday). It seems that fortune is smiling down on the weather front, my only very rainy day was the visit to the Tate.

Gee, I like Europe!