Let’s say you want to go wine tasting in France. That’s a good idea but France is an awfully big place. The question then is where in France? If you go to Bordeaux, you get to taste Bordeaux wines. In Burgundy, you get Burgundies. It makes sense, doesn’t it? But there is one place where you can have two totally different styles of wine to enjoy and that place is the city of Lyon. A half hour north is Beaujolais. The same distance south and you’re in the Rhône Valley (at least the northern end of the valley with appellations like Côte Rôtie, St. Joseph and Condrieu.
The primary grapes of the northern Rhone are Syrah and Viognier. Beaujolais makes wine from Gamay. The vineyards in the Rhone grow on terraced mountains that seem from even a short distance to be sheer cliffs. Beaujolais’ vineyards are on lovely rolling hills and valley. As we say, two totally different wine tasting experiences.
And right in the middle of it is France’s third largest city, its temple of gastronomy, the capital of the east: Lyon. Sure, go wine tasting all you want but leave time to explore this wonderful city. Of course, there are historic churches, grand plazas and elegant shopping. But if you are a wine lover, it’s a sure bet that you love food, too, and dining in Lyon is, simply put, great fun.
You can indulge yourself in the highest of high cuisine. Just twenty minutes’ drive from downtown is the Taj Mahal of French cookery, Paul Bocuse. It has had three Michelin stars for more than fifty years and will surely continue to do so as long Maître Bocuse is alive. He’s 90 now, so if you want to have a meal under his tutelage, go soon. It’s expensive. If you can afford it, it’s worth it. The wine list is also quite pricey but there are some bargains to be found if you search for them.
One step down are the bistros and brasseries in Lyon. Perhaps the best of them also have Monsieur Bocuse’s name on them. Several of his associates have opened top-end brasseries named (with a certain lack of imagination) Est, Ouest, Nord and Sud (East, West, North and South). They feature the classics of French cuisine. Onion soup, anyone?
You don’t need a fat wallet to enjoy Lyonnais dining. The city is full of little restaurants known as bouchons, French for corks. In these places you can choose among numerous regional specialties like salade Lyonnaise (salad with big chunks of bacon and a poached egg), cervelas briochée (a hot dog-like sausage baked in brioche, chicken fricassee with morels, quenelles de brochet (a poached fish cake in a rich crawfish flavored sauce) all finished off some creamy St. Marcellin cheese. Don’t even think about rushing your meal. You’re going to take your time to enjoy the food, the surroundings, the French families at the other tables and, not least, the chatter of your waiter. In the best places, he’ll speak English and if you speak French, so much the better. He’s explain the menu, the weather, the history of France and a little bit of life lessons as well. Enjoy the show.
The bouchon Les Lyonnais
And enjoy the wine. While some bouchons have broad lists, most focus on just the local wines. But when “local” means Beaujolais and the Rhône, that’s not too bad. Go ahead and order what you like, but the true glory of a bouchon is the house wines, each served in a 40 cl. bottle called a pot (pronounced poe). Pots are inexpensive, always good, never great and just not quite enough for a meal. So you order another – hey, why not, you’re having a great meal in a great city in a great country. And you know what, two isn’t quite enough either to have some to go with the cheese, so… Three hours later, you waddle out of the bouchon content and ready for bed.
There are hundreds of bouchons to choose from. Some are of relatively modern vintage, others are more than a century old. There is a web site of the organization that is trying to preserve the authenticity of these wonderful restaurants, www.lesbouchonslyonnais.org. Even though it’s in French it will give you lots of excellent recommendations. But don’t restrict yourself to this list. Explore a little and you’ll find that some are just as good. It’s really hard to have a bad meal in Lyon.