AN OBSESSION FOR FOOD AND TRAVEL
It all begins with a carafe of red wine…
Travel and food, like many others, are two of my favourite things to do. So what could be more fitting then to start my food blog with a flashback from a memorable road trip around the culinary Mecca of France.
I love a driving adventure. The freedom to do what you want, when you want is amazing, and of course eating is a big part of that. Although we had some fantastic meals in France, one particular meal stands out to me, and resonates so well to my way of thinking to this very day. We were (me and my future wife by the way…) driving from Paris to Nice in a day…yes that’s not a typo! A mammoth 8-10 hour drive was ahead of us. I would do the morning shift and “break the back” of the journey, and my wife would finish off the drive in the afternoon. To be brutally honest, I only did the morning so I could enjoy a carafe of France’s most treasured produce, a red wine at lunch. This nicely leads me to the next stage of my blog, and most importantly the food and drink.
So after 5 hours of driving, we were ravenous. My fiancée always seems to find the best food spots, and on this occasion unbeknown to us - she had hit the jackpot. I was instructed to drive to Georges Brassiere in Lyon, which was conveniently situated close to the dual carriageway we were driving on, perfect.
As we were entering the Brassiere, I noticed it was enormous and very busy. “Good sign” I said to my wife while we were shown to our table. The waiters and waitresses were moving at pace with intent, well dressed, and professional. So at the very least we were going to be served quickly. The service was prompt, and after studying the quintessential menu we ordered a main dish only. We didn’t order starters as we wanted to get back to the monster drive ASAP, unaware that I was about to eat one of the best meals of my life.
Unaware that my missus had unwittingly found the holy grail of restaurants, my perception on the establishment grew the more time we spent there. It all started with a carafe of red wine. As mentioned my driving for the day was done, so a carafe or two was inevitable. Strangely we ordered the house red wine, strange because we both ordered a fish dish, so a sauvignon would normally be the tipple. It seems that when you’re in France any wine will do, as with the quality of the produce. When the red wine arrived, I quickly poured a uncouth amount in a glass (basically the whole carafe). I was surprised on my first sip, “This is amazing” I said, “this isn’t house wine” I then said. Even for France this wine was top notch. Just as I was digressing about the quality of wine to my wife, the obligatory bread was served to the table. Again, just like the wine, it was amazing. I know its only bread - but that’s the point. Everything at this restaurant tasted fantastic.
20 minutes had gone by now, and I think my wife was relieved about the mains arriving. My euphoria over how brilliant everything was about this restaurant was perhaps grating and boring her now. Euphoria is a perfect word to describe my first bite of this simple well presented dish, a culinary masterclass. I looked at my fiancée who had a different dish but was experiencing the same pleasure with her beautifully balanced and presented dish (pictured above). As we both exchanged our dishes for one another to try, we both agreed both were perfect delights. Both dishes were simple, perhaps no more then 8 ingredients each. The key to these dishes was the produce they used, simplicity and the execution. Get these 3 things right on any dish, and you’re on the way to great food. My dish was pan fried salmon, mashed carrots, curry sauce, topped with crispy onions, I know what you’re thinking, but trust me… the combination works. My wife’s dish was prawn risotto with an unbelievable sauce. I tried to get the recipe from the waiter, but he just laughed at me. In his head I imagine he was thinking no British man could recreate this. Oh well, never mind. The French do have a knack of making me feel inadequate (…when it comes to food).
