Lyon is famous for its bouchon restaurants. In the southern states of the US, we call it “home cooking.”
Lyon Bouchons
Lyon bouchons are known for their modest food from inexpensive ingredients like organ meats. We have chitterlings, tripe, and hog’s feet served in restaurants throughout the southern states of the US. We call them “innards” and “parts.” Bouchon takes “parts” to a new level — cow’s foot, veal nose, veal paunch (stomach) — just to name a few tasty bits.
Lyon Bouchons
Bouchon gastronomes in Lyon were where the silk merchants frequently ate during the day. Now, so many restaurants serve bouchon, and there is a rating system to help differentiate the “authentic” from the “tourist traps.”
“Since 1997, Pierre Grison and his organization, L’Association de dรฉfense des bouchons lyonnais (The Association for the Preservation of Lyonnais Bouchons), bestow annual certifications to restaurants as “authentic” bouchons. These restaurants receive the title Les Authentiques Bouchons Lyonnais. They are identified with a sticker showing the marionette Gnafron, a Lyonnais symbol of the pleasures of dining, with a glass of wine in one hand and a napkin bearing the Lyon crest in the other.” (Wikipedia)
Bouchon Visit
ย The little Bouchon restaurant I visited may have been small, but it had aย big heart. When I arrived without reservations, I was seated at one of the two small tables the owner’s wife designated as “unreserved.” Looking around, it was apparent all the other settings were for groups of six or more. Soon, the place was filled with couples and friends who seemed to know the place well as a friendly stop after work.
Decorations in the homey cafe are vintage kitchenware with a big emphasis on “piggy” collectibles.ย
Only two people were working in the restaurant — the owner/chef and his wife.
The chef was chopping away on salad fixings, then he’d turn to stir a pot on the stove. It was all open to view if you peered into the back.
His wife was scurrying around the front of the house with menus, carafes of water, and house wine.
“English menu?” she asked, quickly figuring the tall blonde she’d seated wasn’t French.
Fortunately, there was a menu in English. The items would have been hard to explain in French.
Yes! I ordered the Bouchon de l’Opera salad…
Veal’s nose and cow’s foot and all…
It reminded me of theย andouillette at the markets in Uzes. Unlike the cajun variety of andouille, the French sausage is made from pork intestines (chitterlings) and stomach (tripe). It was just a bit more unusual to see it served here with pieces of herring.
My main course, or “plat,” was another extraordinary taste test:ย pike quenelle — a mixture of creamed fish, bread crumbs, and egg served in a cream sauce.
Tripe: another bouchon plat choiceย
Tripe (cow’s stomach), breaded and pan-fried. It was served with a cornichon (gherkin) “mayonnaise” that tastes like tartar sauce.
Served with vegetables
Although it was pretty in disguise, pumpkin was a side dish alongside a French variety of potato pancakes.
For dessert …
There was no way I would finish the night without a dessert. Below are just two of the choices –terrine glacรฉe au chocolat noir and the tarte tatin et sa confiture de Beaujolais nouveau. Fabulous!
Lyon Bouchons
You would be right if you thought eating at a bouchon in Lyon was one of the most unusual meals I’ve ever eaten. Of course, I had to go to France to find out how good innards could actually taste!
