Lyon, Day Two....Paul Bocuse

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What a treat to wake up to a beautiful view of Lyon. We had breakfast on the concierge floor where they served eggs, bacon, sausage, baked tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, meats, cheeses, croissants, breads, jams and fruit. Since we have lunch reservations at 12:30 today at Paul Bocuse we tried to eat light.
We drove to Pérouges a tiny town originally inhabited by craftsmen — mainly farmers and linen weavers that was founded by a Gallic colony returning from Perugia in Italy. In 1167, the Seigneur d'Anthon famously shut the commune's walls against the troops of the Archbishop of Lyon, and as early as 1236 the inhabitants earned communal freedom. In 1601 the town officially became French. Until the end of the 18th century, the textile industry in Pérouges boomed. In the 19th century, the roads and railroads were re-routed and the population dropped from 1,500 to 90. In 1911, the town was restored and houses were saved. I really enjoyed wandering through this scenic walled city. We bought a locally crafted hand-painted dish before heading back to Collonges for lunch at Paul Bocuse.
Because I didn't want to go back on the highway again and I wanted to see more of the local sights we traveled the smaller streets back to Lyon. We did great unitl we needed to cross La Saone. We got to the town of Caluire, just opposite of where we needed to be but we missed the first bridge that would take us to Collonges. After that we weren't sure how to cross the river so we stopped and I went into a little produce store with my map and my favorite words - Je no parle Francais....and pointed to where we wanted to go. We got directions to go over the bridge, la Croix- Rousse and turn right but we missed the turn and ended up in Vaise, again trying to figure out how to get back to the road we needed. We crossed back over the bridge and then back again and found our way in the right direction and were headed to Collonges but we were now late for our lunch reservation. Needless to say both Michael and I were frustrated and Michael was so mad at me that we took back roads and not the highway. Had we not gotten lost we would have been on time for our reservation but now were were worried that we were 30 minutes late they might turn us away. Of course this was the one meal Michael was looking forward to and wouldn't forgive me if we couldn't eat at Paul Bocuse's restaurant. I was relieved when we got to the parking lot as it was not full and I was hopeful that they will still acknowledge our reservation. We parked the car at 1 pm and were greeted in the lobby of the restaurant. I apologize for our tardiness, explaining that we got lost, still worried that they will not allow us to dine but they say "no problem" and seat us at a beautiful table.
The restaurant was not as busy as I thought it would be and we were seated next to a table of three female chefs from Dallas and a large table of 8 Frenchmen. Almost as soon as we were seated and finished looking at the menu I was off to the ladies room. When I got back, Paul Bocuse was taking pictures at the table next to ours, with the female chefs. Michael was nervous that we would miss our turn, but Chef Bocuse came to our table next, taking first a picture with both Michael and I and then one with just my executive chef....the two chefs, Michael and Paul.
The menu was incredible and expensive. I ordered from the E125 menu and Michael from the E160 menu. The meal started with a parmesan cheese brioche and a chilled tomato bisque. After the first course, our entree, we had a tastevin of pinot noir intermezzo. I had two courses, Cassolette de Homard a L'amoricaine, which was like a lobster bisque. There was a piece of lobster for every spoonful! For my plate I had Fricasee de volaille de Bresse a lea creme et aux morilles. This was the famous Bresse chicken in a cream sauce. I was a little disappointed that they served dark meat chicken (not my favorite) but the sauce with the morelle mushrooms was fantastic! Michael had three courses, the first was Escalope de Foie Gras de Canard poelee au Verjus, pomme gaufrette, pan seared fois fram that was so crispy. Then he had Filets de Sole Aux Nouilles Fernand Point. For his main dish Michael had Ris de Veau Aux Ecrevisses, sweetbreads, done perfectly and also crispy. Michael splurged on a bottle of Puligny Montrachet 2006- Carillon, a white burgundy that was wonderful and so smooth. The service was impeccable, with a sommelier and two servers who didn't let one thing go unnoticed.
After our main course were offered a Selection de fromage frais et affines "Mere Richard". I had three different goat cheeses and Michael had blue cheese, epoisse, and 2 goat cheeses. Then we had silver service of Petits fours et chocolats (which I ended up taking back to the hotel in a doggy bag and we ate the next day on the train to Paris). Michael asked for a signed menu and voila, a signed menu made out to Jodi and Michael by Paul Bocuse appeared! Following the Petit fours we served pots de creme, that was so rich and delicious. Then were surprised by an Organ Grinder playing Happy Anniversary and were served a torte chocolats with fresh rasberries, strawberries, blueberries and a candle on a silver tray with a poured sugar molded lion and Joyeus Anniversaire. As if this wasn't enough we were then offered Delices et Gourmandises, Le Choix de Tous les Desserts where I selected a lemon rasberry tarte with rasberry sorbet and rasberry sauce with creme anglais (like I could eat anything else!). Michael had creme brulee a la cassonade sirio and wild strawberry tarte with rasberry sauce and creme anglais, followed by cafe. We took pictures of the murals outside before heading back to the Hilton Lyon. We left the restaurant after 4 pm, a 3 hour lunch!
Upon our arrival to the hotel we were met by Christian Carriere, Vincent's brother (a professional peer of Michael's) who was prepared to take us on a tour of Lyon, even though he didn't speak a word of English. After some discussion and translation by the valet at the hotel we decided we would go the Les Halles, (the food market which was closed on Mondays) the Synagogue (where we visited the chapel - the main sanctuary was closed until Shabbat, but I impressed the locals with my Hebrew reading) and Vieux-Lyon, where we stopped atnd had some biere and soda at La Catalpa.
When we returned to the hotel we found a bottle of Piper-Heidsieck Brut Champagne with matching glasses, chocolate truffed and dried papaya from Thailand waiting on our side table. Our valet, Stewart, when he called to confirm our reservation at Paul Bocuse, learned it was our anniversary and arranged for this wonderful surprise. Since we were still so full from our gourmet lunch, we didn't eat dinner and instead enjoyed this amenity. What a beautiful way to celebrate our 30th anniversary in Lyon!

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Photos

Fricasee de volaille de Bresse a lea creme et aux morilles
The famous Bresse chicken in a morelle mushroom cream sauce