I felt like chicken that night...

When deciding on a city to live in, Lyon was the one that we had in mind the entire time.  The 3^rd largest city France and known for its gastronomy and film/cinema scene – it seemed like the perfect fit.  It was an exciting place that had all those things to offer, you couldn’t walk 3 steps on any given block without coming across a restaurant, a patisserie, butcher or specialty food shop.  The city was awash in “bouchons”, or rustic little restaurants that served all things pig and regional.  Although it was exciting and offered us all that was expected, we had to weigh some important factors.  Did we want to live in a large French city when we were planning on moving to Paris in the spring?  Would Toulouse feel too sleepy after 5 months time?  Big and exciting?  Charming and quaint?  We had to endure a few tense hours – keeping in mind this was the first MAJOR decision (aside from choosing where to eat every night) we had had to make since coming to France. What it all boiled down to was this: no matter where we live for the next 5 months, it was going to be hard and it was going to be wonderful.  I won’t say just yet – you just might have to check back in a weeks time to find out where we’ve ended up.  The apartment search is on!

One of the most special things we came across while here in Lyon was the Poulet de Bresse.  I had seen it on a food network show once and was hoping to get my hands on some of it while in France, the demand is so high in France that very few chickens make it out of the country.  The Bresse chicken was the first livestock granted an AOC designation.  You might be familiar with AOC (appellation d’origine controlee), which is a designation that ensures that certain agricultural products meet very exacting standards with reference to where and how these products are produced.  Most would recognize it on some wine labels, but I was first introduced to the concept when I worked at the cheese shop - yes, cheeses have AOC designations.  Leave it to the French to promote and exalt a chicken to such a degree.  We saw them at the butchers, where they’re always proudly displayed and sold with the heads (red comb and white feathers) and feet (grey blue in colour) on.  Check out these beauties:

We went to a restaurant that specialized in Bresse chicken to see what the hype was all about.  I ordered a poulet a l’Ain a la crème (chicken of the Ain region in cream) and P got the andouillette sausage, which was another specialty of the region, made of pig intestines and other delicious pig insides.

My chicken was presented as a leg/thigh piece resting on a shallow pool of cream, garnished with 3 little pomme dauphinoise and accompanied by a bubbling ceramic dish of potato gratin.   I never had bresse chicken before, but…it was perfect!  Good job France!  Yes, keep them regulated and make sure they always taste this way!  It’s hard to describe, after all it is chicken and I can only liken it to the most chickenest tasting chicken.  If you’ve ever had chicken, steamed/boiled whole, you will know that a free-range chicken, aside from the colour, tastes different from an industrially farmed chicken.  It is a bit “gamier”, that is to say it HAS flavour…which is something we don’t seem to ask from our grocery store, boneless-skinless chicken breast in trays of 2.  I don’t know how the chicken was prepared, but I got hits of a wine-y aroma, and it wasn’t the sauce.

My chicken was the star of the show – but P’s andouillette showed pretty well.  Served with frites, it was white in colour (all the way through) and seemed to be loosely held together in its casing, distinguishable pieces would fall out as he cut his fork through it.  It was very delicately seasoned and what came through was salt, and clean tasting organ meat.  Although, there are no winners and losers at a nice dinner, P and I always declare winners of each course.  My Poulet de Bresse was true to its reputation, but Paul made a surprise come back in the dessert round with the fromage blanc.  Who knew that just a little cup of fresh plain cheese, turned out into a bowl would beat my terrine of grapefruit and oranges served with a coulis cassis?  

Lyon has some great residential neighbourhoods...only they are waaay up some treacherous hills.  The City built up 2 funiculars for a touristy neighbourhood, but most people make the daily trek on these long stairways.