Today we met up with our friend Alexis for a true Lyonnaise tradition – lunch at a bouchon! Bouchon’s are known for their delicious, affordable local fair. We had a great time with Alexis and his friends. We were pleasantly surprised when Christian (our exchange partner) showed up unexpectedly! The food was simple and delicious! Great lunch!

We both started with the salad Lyonnaise – fresh greens, bacon, croutons, and a poached egg. Wow! That’s going on a weeknight menu at home for sure! I had the white fish quenelle with crawfish and cream sauce. It came with delicious potatoes dauphinois and a roasted tomato. This was my first taste of a true quenelle (a French classic) and I must admit it was disappointing – too bland and textureless. It needed something crunchy or chewy, spicy or sour… I’m still dreaming of Thai food 😉 The potatoes were excellent and the tomato provided a nice acidic contrast to the rest of the creamy meal. Adam had the hot Lyonnaise style sausage with a red wine sauce, potatoes, and a roasted tomato. The sausage was great! Garlicky and salty with a great casing that popped in your mouth. Yum! We then had dessert, of course! Adam had pistachio and vanilla ice cream and I had the lemon tart. Both were very good. We finished with espresso.