BonVivant

I don't touch leeks/garlic chives/spring onions with a barge pole. The partner gladly eats these. Now this is more my style Thanks, KennethT. Everyone rushes to Paris, Lyon is often overlooked. It rained every day I didn't do anything touristy. The beer fest was fantastic, worthy of more returns. Thank you. I went through it from beginning to end. Prices must have increased a bit, the markets are still the same, cheeses are still the same. Still wonderful.

Last dinners in Lyon. Got 2 meals out of this noble creature. The flat owner got the stock I made from the carcass. We discussed what he could use it for. He's a good home cook and already knows what he's going to make. You should see this metal tag eating at restaurants where certified genuine Bresse poultry is served. The "kitchen" that comes with my rental flat is barely useable but I pulled it off. Now you know any restaurant dish with morels and/or Bresse poulty is expensive. This is what 100gr of dried morels look like: My rucksack for in the hold was twice as heavy on the way home because of these Lyonnaise sausages. (Lyonnaise rosette, Jesus and 2 other types)

Last lunches in Lyon. This one was at the smallest buchon with little character and personality. Without the plaques I wouldn't have guessed it was a real traditional buchon. My table, from where I could see the small kitchen and almost every move the cook made. Lyonnaise sausage with pistachio Head of veal. Lyonnaise love this kind of things. Head, feet, offal, tail etc. They throw nothing away. More stuff from the market for lunches (and dinners) Love brawn and pâté. So far I like French and German the most. One oozily soft and one hard.

This is another reason I'm here in Lyon. I can only eat someone else's food for so long. Just want to go home after 3 days. The charcuterie here is so good. (Take a look at Lyonnaise charcuterie specialities on this site and you'll have an idea) I devote my cheese-eating life to France. There are 3 markets within walking distance from my lodging where I get all kinds of things for my indoor picnics. The "kitchen" in this flat is only good for boiling water.

Still lunching in pork heaven. This restaurant makes it crystal clear. Good bread again Scoff at sweetbreads? More for me and the French then. Twice cooked tripes Lyonnaise-style Beer labels in France are more risqué than this Most expensive offal of all and most expensive dish served at this restaurant Unassuming on the outside, fancy on the inside. This buchon is the fanciest and probably the best of the 5 I have been to.

Another nice buchon called "Notre Maison". There's a cook and 2 other persons doing everything else. It's a young team and things are more relaxed here. You can sit anywhere, whereas at other buchons you can't. Serving style is informal, like how I do it at home. The butter at this restaurant also comes with a knife in it and with the wrapping paper intact. Slice as much as you like. Braised beef cheeks Slow-cooked lentils with sausage. The sausage has a specific taste, similar to the strong taste of pork I had on the first day. When you are done eating you get some booze. I think it's whiskey. You may pour as much as you like. How they want you to feel eating here. Many French tourists are a bit shocked and delighted at the same time. I had done my research well so for me it was no surprise. I had a nice time here. The young crew is lovely. There's a resident cat. Very affectionate creature, he has a path build on the wall. Non matching chairs are probably from charity shops or given by relatives and friends. Where the cat drinks Behind me is the smallest fireplace I've ever seen.

My name is on a specific table in the seating layout (I saw all the tables had names on them). Traditional buchons are only open for about 2,5hrs for lunch or dinner. The boss comes to each table (he knows whose turn it is) to explain the dishes they are serving. The "menu" is handwritten on a piece of paper and it changes a little every day depending on what they have. Boss is humorous and cool. One of the reasons his buchon is one of the most popular in town. Gratin and sauteed vegs. Everyone got this same plate today. A braising French cut, tender and still retains texture. Notice both handles on my Staub dish are missing. I wouldn't throw mine out either. Traditional Lyonnaise food is meat and offal heavy. These pork cheeks can be cut with a spoon. Every single table is reserved. If you want to eat at this kind of place best to reserve in advance. It takes around 2 hours to eat a meal and the place is opens for about 2,5 hours. Menu outside the kitchen Restaurant is on a tiny street with cars parked in front of it. Well, then I made a photo of a photo instead.

First meal in Lyon, France. Pork scratchings and Rosette de Lyon, the most famous of all Lyonnaise sausages. A giant pike dumpling served with lobster sauce. Reminds me of Norwegian Fiskeboller/fish balls but then a lot more refined and fancy. Cut open The dish I wanted to order wasn't available yesterday so I got this braised pork shoulder. Came in a perfect disk shape, smelled and tasted stronger than typical pork. (Aesthetically uninteresting before slicing in 2 pieces) Fan of French gastronomy who hasn't met a potato she didn't like, especially cooked in cream. I love cream, butter, and most dairy products!!! I don't have this quality of baguette at home. The texture is like sourdough. People tell me "if I eat like you I'd be fat fat fat". Now I can say "if I eat like Lyonnaise I'd be fat fat fat". Haven't seen a fat French person yet since my arrival last night, and they eat twice as much as I do. Usually full 3 course meals and lots of wine. Menu on a little chalk board brought to your table soon after your arrival. Buchons are traditional restaurants serving traditional (heavy and delicious) home-style food. Dishes listed are all typical Lyonnaise. I was the first to show up, 5 minutes later the place was completely full. I wouldn't be able to make this photo then. Authentic Lyonnaise buchons are always always always full so if you don't have reservation then too bad for you, unless you are very lucky that day. Only authentic certified buchons are bestowed this honour. Exterior of restaurant. It's very small inside. Back at my lodging shortly after. This is Lyon, I expect no less. Chips with black truffle. 0,25% truffle

I use bamboo skewers to seal the openings. The excess skin makes a tighter seal and easier to pierce with a skewer. Recipes always say "trim excess skin". It's the simplest method: - Poke the skin all over with a small, sharp metal skewer. - Pour boiling water over the bird and leave to dry. If using any flavouring glaze keep basting it repeatedly and chill (uncovered), preferably overnight. - Roast each side, how long it takes depends on the size of the bird. - Baste with the glaze repeatedly. - Done when juices run clear (if you must control precise internal temp look up a general chart) PS: thanks!

Turning (pseudo) Russian! Love beetroots already as a child and am still eating them year round. The herring is supposed to be "under the fur coat", but mine is clearly not "under". Curly bits are grated salt-cured yolk. My cheat's version of "Paskha" (Russian Easter cheese cake, but then without the crust). You are supposed to eat it with Kulich but I ate it with the bread in photo above. I made it with full-fat farmer's quark which has the texture and consistency of crème fraîche. I made 2, in case 1 didn't turn out. Russian-style gherkin soup. Made mine without meat and loosely based on Rassonik. Garlic bread to go with the soup. Speck and minced garlic mixed with some oil were scatter on the bread near the end of baking. Garlic rolls are normally served with Borscht, however. There's pureed beetroots and liquid in the batter but the colour was lost when cooked. The beetroot sauce here is a little sweet. Little cottage cheese cakes with blueberry-honey compote. The original Russian pancakes are called Syrniki. Savoury version with the same cottage cheese cakes. Hate beetroot? More for me and Chefmd. Washed down with a beetroot broth, contained no vodka... I used Korean dumpling skins (twice as thick as Chinese and Japanese ones). The end of my Russian-style feast. What shall we do with him?

Skrei season has just come to an end. I got 2 fat loins. The fish is so delicate and expensive you really need to keep it simple. I just seared, topped with onions fried in butter. Got 5 meals out of this lean duck. This is the last one. Used the stock in the soup and made some crispy Speck.

Looks like shacha sauce. It's a popular paste/sauce and has multiple uses. You tend to get it with soups and hot pot meals. Did you eat the dark block in your bowl? I love this stuff.

Dumplings with various filings. Quark, honey, pistachio. Half has potato and the other half chickpea puree. Fried Speck and Sauerkraut because they go so good together. Potato-quark and Sauerkraut fillings.

SV octopus. Chickpea tomato stew Another dinner. Steamed with salted vegetables. The roe. Don't know from which fish it came. Fishmonger guts fish and throws all the roe in the same pail.

Swedish-style herring.

Lentils and Spätzle with Knackwürste. This home-style food is on menus everywhere in Swabia nowadays. The original mac and cheese, "alpine noodles and cheese". Has chunks of boiled potatoes in it and served with apple mush alongside. So simple and yet satisfying, especially after hiking or skiing. The cheese I used: 2 hard wedges bottom right

Never had "promite" (sounds like a knockoff). Would eat vegemite if there's absolutely no other options, life and death kind of situation. Bovril for me, preferably with some really old cheese on it. I sometimes bring Bovril on holidays. Surprised to see how common it is in Namibia, and the jars are big. I mean the size of peanut butter jar. (Ex) colleages used to make condescending comments and faces whenever I ate it. To irritate them I ate it even more often. Never tried it but slagged it off anyway. Not a fan of any thing Italian but this is a good cheese. Haven't come across it again since but fortunately I have access to good stuff from other established cheese-producing countries..

Leftover octopus More duck Finger-size sausages.

Galician-style or simply grilled (Portuguese) is my favourite when it comes to octopus. All you need is good olive oil, paprika powder and boiled potatoes. (SV it first) SV duck leg. Last summer I made a big batch of scotch-infused cherry compote and finally it's all gone.

I can get it whole (half the price of skinned tails) or tails only (membrane removed and without bone). I usually buy it whole and use the rest for something else. Fishmonger always removes the membrane for me. Here I seared the tail and roasted it in the oven. Tying it with butcher's twine makes it easy to turn when browning. This is it and it's huge. Price has doubled in recent years.

Ishigaki island. Last time to eat some Okinawan classics on my last day. "National dish" of Okinawa. Dinners at home: Golden brown The most typical meal in Zürich: "sliced meat with Rösti Zürich-style". Basically it's calf ragout.

Returned to Taketomi island for a festival in which almost all residents took part. Most lodgings were closed for 2 or 3 days. When I was here previously the streets were almost empty of residents (but absolutely full of day-trippers), today they were all outside watching traditional performances throughout the day. If you want to see a high concentration of healthy elderly Japanese just come to Okinawa. Typical Okinawan food stands because restaurants were closed during the festival. Besides, there are about 3 restaurants on the island serving lunch only. I got a few things from the stand above. Sticky rice needed a chainsaw to cut through. Where I sat to eat my lunch on my last day in Okinawa and started planning my next holidays. Lunches at home: Tamari marinated trout roe on soft tofu (soba not shown).

Half yellow and half Chioggia (pink stripes).

Found several sashimi specialists near my lodging so I got a few things from different places and put together my own picnics. Interestingly, the fishmongers are usually women. I devote my sashimi-eating life to Japan. My travelling companion wanted rice, I only needed vegetables. Fish again at home:

Ishigaki island. Yaeyama-style soba noodle soup with braised meat. Mine: Beetroot Rösti with Speck And cured salmon