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fOOd & wINe
BOuCHOnS
LyOnnAIS
MORE THAn EvER, THESE LyOnnAIS vERSIOnS
OF THE PARISIAn BISTRO DELIvER unIQuE AnD
DELICIOuS MEALS.
By SyLvIE BIGAR
There is molecular gastronomy, nouvelle cuisine, and the back
to basics—boeuf bourguignon fan club, but for visitors to Lyon,
the self-proclaimed capital of French gastronomy halfway
between Paris and nice, there is nothing like the food to be
had at one of the city’s bouchons.
Simple, humble, and often family-run, many bouchons still have
a woman heading up the kitchen. Created by some of the most
famous female master chefs of the early twentieth century—
Tante Paulette, La Mère Jean, or Mère Brazier (whose eponymous
haunt was just bought by Michelin two-star chef Mathieu
viannay)—they moved to the center of town during Lyon’s
industrial boom to be near the teeming silk ateliers and factories.
Restaurateurs adapted their hours to the workers’ day, opened
at dawn and invented the mâchon, the Lyonnais ancestor of
brunch—a simple, unpretentious, meat-based morning meal.
There are many stories that try to explain the origins of the
term bouchon: an allusion to the cork in a bottle of wine? A
reference to the ancient inn where travelers dined while
servants bouchonnaient (rubbed down) their horses? no, the
best explanation is that it refers to the bunch of twisted straw—
called a “bouchon” in Lyonnais slang—that innkeepers hung
over their doors to indicate a restaurant.
Since 1997, Pierre Grison and his Association de défense des
bouchons lyonnais [Association for the Defense of the Lyonnais
Bouchons] tour the restaurants, test the authenticity of new
applicants, and taste their offerings to decide whether to grant
the “Authentique bouchon lyonnais” plaque, based on décor,
atmosphere, and, of course, cuisine.
© MDLF/Michel Laurent
With its terroir-based foods and strong industrial past, la cuisine
lyonnaise unites some of the best ingredients of the country with
simple cuts, offal, and unsung vegetables. Order gras-double
à la lyonnaise (tender tripe cooked with parsley and onions)
or tablier de sapeur (fried breaded tripe). For a lighter option,
choose pike dumplings with a crayfish sauce, frisée aux lardons,
chicken liver mousse, or lentil salad.
Our favorites? The no-menu institution Café des Fédérations
and its pig-themed décor, where yves Rivoiron, a larger-than-
life personality, rules over œufs en meurette (red wine poached
eggs) and the best rosette de Lyon (cured pork sausage). Chez
Abel, opened in 1928 by la mère Abel, sits next to the Porte
d’Aulnay. Its beautifully restored, warm-toned dining room,
complete with an oak-beamed ceiling makes it one of the most
elegant establishments in town. Savor the best pike mousse
in Lyon as well as chewy veal kidneys with mustard sauce, a
gigantic veal chop, or earthy and moist free-range chicken (poulet
fermier) with potato gratin. Joseph viola, the new chef-owner
at Daniel et Denise, has kept the historic name and the old
charcuterie décor even though both Daniel and Denise are now
retired. The young chef who became a 2004 Meilleur Ouvrier
de France offers, in addition to the Lyonnais classics, his own
interpretation of crispy lamb shoulder confit, veal sweetbread
terrine, and the marvelously light île flottante, a symphony of
meringues floating on vanilla sauce topped with caramel.
© MDLF/Jean François Tripelon-Jarry © MDLF/Jean François Tripelon-Jarry
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