After a sleepy train ride, we arrived in Lyon around 8pm. It was still light out and raining just a bit but we saved some money by walking to the hotel which was only about 20 minutes by foot. We got a bit lost on the way (google mapped me to the wrong place) but made it into out cozy room by 8:30.
Showered and started thinking about dinner. Lyon is not the place for a quick casual dinner. I googled places near us and most closed at 9:30 so we had to move fast. None of them offered anything quick and easy, most places have a daily 2 or 3 course menu for 24-30€ per person. We passed this place “Julien” while walking which of course I remembered. My name is quite popular here! Even though this option was more on the expensive side, we decided we could share the appetizer and dessert and it was worth it to go somewhere close by after this long day.
I had read a bit about Lyonnaise cuisine and they really love some odd things (tripe soup, blood sausages, head cheese...). I eat a lot of foods because I like a lot of foods. I don’t think I’m actually too adventurous of an eater.
This appetizer is called “Pâté Pie” and you can get it pretty much everywhere in Lyon. Pâté is ground up animal (usually duck) liver. I used to think it was gross but I actually love it now. I assume all the other colors in this fancy version are pickled vegetables and other additional that make this chefs version stand out. It was really yummy, especially with the dense but flaky crust of bread. Adam was not so much into the pâté but he was a trooper and did at least try it twice!
Adam ordered quail for his main and I ordered lamb. Unfortunately they were out of the lamb (we were the last table there) and so the chef switched it to the filet mignon. I like steak, but I typically would not order it when we’re out at a French restaurant. However, the options for main courses are very limited so I went for it. The food was very good, my filet was a good medium rare and had just enough salt/flavor on the outside. Typically I like my steaks with a sauce or rub but this one was tasty just plain and pure. I was a bit full so Adam ate half of my filet. His qua tasted like chicken in that yummy creamy sauce. It was better with a bit of salt but overall I think we both liked it.
We did share our app and dessert to save $$ but we also had 3 glasses of wine (total) which spent $$ so this was not really a budget meal at all. We will have to get better at eating on the cheap if we want to stay on budget for the week!
The dessert was super delicious- Rhubarb Rum Baba- which was this moist cake over tart but sweet rhubarb and topped with my favorite dessert item, whipped cream.
Tomorrow is our Michelin star restaurant night, we shall see how it compares!
