La mere Brazier in Lyons still open?

[cabrales]

I was glad to have recently sampled "Bresse chicken in half-mourning" at La Mere Brazier in Lyons. It was the Brazier family that pioneered this dish, and their version is at least as good as the cream-based versions previously sampled at Pacaud's L'Ambroisie (Paris) and Boyer Les Crayeres (Rheims). The Brazier chicken, served with cooking jus, featured the clear and natural taste of the fowl.

-- Quenelle au gratin (Pike quenelle, in a gratin. The Brazier family also created this famous traditional Lyons dish. However, I found this appetizer average. Although the worked pike had interesting texture, it was denser than I would have liked and the accompanying Bechamel sauce with mushrooms was somewhat bland.)

-- Volaille de Bresse demi-deuil (Bresse chicken in half-mourning)

-- Saint-Marcellin de Renne Richard (cheese)

-- Glace vanille, creme chocolate chaud, galette bressane (Vanilla ice cream, hot chocolate sauce, little Bresse cake. This dessert was nothing special. The galette resembled bread with sugar sprinkled on top.)

(The above items were chosen from a 55 euro-tasting menu that offered two alternatives at each stage.)

-- House Champagne, Roederer

-- Puligny-Montrachet 1997, Leflaive (½ bottle at under 40 euros)

Each diner receives a quarter of a (poached? steamed?) chicken in half mourning. I requested the thigh, which featured two relatively thick pieces of black truffle lodged between the skin, which had a nice controlled fatness, and the meat. The (limited) usage of black truffles accounts for the half-mourning reference. The use of the jus from cooking as the sauce bolstered the juiciness within the chicken. The flesh was also smooth and flavorful.  (The Bresse chicken was of the "poularde" variety, which has to meet different technical AOC requirements than Bresse "poulet", although the latter term is often used imprecisely)  A row of decently sized carrot and turnip pieces, and softened leek, were included. A rice that was slightly harder than I like was also served.

Halfway through my sampling of the chicken dish, I noticed the crests and sot-d'y-laisse (a special small portion of a chicken, and one of the ingredients in a salad included in Craig Claibourne's famous Paris feast) were not being served to diners. (The cooked chicken is cut in the dining room.) The captain indicated the crests were available upon request, and that sot-d’y-laisse appeared at times on the lunch menu in the form of a salad. Following my inquiries, the dining room team graciously offered me 4-5 of each of sot-d'y-laisses and crests. The latter was less firm and abalone-like in texture than the same item sampled at Georges Blanc's (in a vinegar sauce, served with pigeon slices and greens).   

A nice platter of four condiments was served with the Bresse chicken. Dijon mustard, which would have overwhelmed the dish, but was appropriate for the crests; griottes (cherries) in vinegar; pickled items; and a coarse fleur de sel.

The restaurant consists of two principal rooms. The decor is country-style and traditional, but charming due to the absence of pretentiousness. The dining room staff members were friendly and professional, as was Chef Jacotte Brazier. For the chicken in half mourning dish alone, I would consider La Mere Brazier worthy of the sole Michelin star which was removed this year. The other dishes were admittedly not particularly tasty, however.  ;)

[Jon Tseng]

Good to hear MB still going strong despite losing the star

brings back memories of my trip there back in '96 - didn't have the chicken (on student budget at the time) but everyone else seemed to - plates of poached fowl with a little capsule of black truffle lodged under the skin of each (with so little truffle how much does the flavour go thru the dish?)

had artichoke and foie gras salad - a poached artichoke heart and a slice of terrine with leaves and a nice, slightly thick dressing - the same dish is described in Liz Dav's French Provincial Cooking. Then the quenelle for the main course (yes a bit bland - all very old school but a rarity on the turbo-charged menus you see today). i think i had the same desert as above - certainly remember the galette bressane - seemed a bit briochy. suspect this is one of the places where the menu never changes.

had a good chat with the proprietress (Jacotte Brazier) at the end, though my GCSE french wasn't up to much

cheerio

J

ps saint-marcellin is yum, but very hard to get in uk (at least good quality ones - not the dry cakes of faux-brie you occasionally run into). saw it in harrods a couple of years back.

[cabrales]

plates of poached fowl with a little capsule of black truffle lodged under the skin of each (with so little truffle how much does the flavour go thru the dish?)

had artichoke and foie gras salad - a poached artichoke heart and a slice of terrine with leaves and a nice, slightly thick dressing - the same dish is described in Liz Dav's French Provincial Cooking.

Jon -- On the extent of the truffle flavor, I wouldn't say that it was pronounced or spread throughout the chicken in half mourning dish I had at La Mere Brazier, Ambroisie or Boyer. In each case, there were about 1-2 slices, so that the "bruising" appearance of the skin was quite limited. I would say that the relative thickness of the truffle slices at La Mere Brazier (even though there were only 1-2) allowed the diner to sample the "crunchy" texture of the truffle and the taste of the truffle for the specific portion of the skin underneath which the truffle had been lodged.

For the remainder of the chicken at La Mere Brazier, the truffle effects could not be detected. However, I didn't mind that because the chicken was so flavorful, and the use of the cooking jus with it so wonderfully simple. I added a little fleur de sel, but that was all that I considered appropriate. The softened leek accompanying the chicken deserves another mention.

The foie/artichoke salad (le fond d'artichaut au foie gras) you chose was an alternative to the pike quenelle appetizer on the 55 euro menu. It too is a signature dish of La Mere Brazier.  The artichoke hearts that were being served to adjacent tables seemed about the size of a woman's palm.

For interested members, here's an article on women French chefs.  This is a topic on which I hope to (one day) begin an interesting dialogue (after sampling more of their cuisine), and the article is not particularly well-written in my assessment.  Nonetheless, the article notes that Eugenie Brazier's dishes included "artichoke hearts topped with foie gras, gratin of quenelles de brochet (pike dumplings [not descriptive word]) and poulard demi-deuil (chicken in half wine, rice and noodles cooked in bouillon)."

http://frenchfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa021801a.htm

[Patrice]

Last week I saw a superb video on Bernard Pacaud where he made a very touching hommage to La Mère Brazier where he started to worked when he was still a kid

[cabrales]

Patrice -- Yes, in French interviews, Pacaud sometimes analogizes Brazier and Claude Peyrot (Vivarois) to his culinary parents.

[ajay]

Pacaud is the chef at l'ambroise, right?

[Patrice]

Yes ajay

The one hour documentary shown on TV last month made me admire this great chef.  He seem very humble and take his work VERY seriously. He's always in his restaurant, something becoming less popular these days with superchef like Ducasse.

[ajay]

This may warrant a separate board, but I wonder, do chefs who are in the kitchen 'tour' the dinning room?

I am told that Ducasse does not--no matter what kitchen he is in.  When were at l'arpege, we were told chef passard does not tour the kitchen.

At Gagnaire, chef Gagnaire was there, but when we left at half past midnight he hadn't begun a tour, but came to send us off.  I appreciated the gesture but it didn't really allow for any prolonged discussion of his cuisine or his culinary influences.

At Troisgros, chef Michel was at the door to greet all diners with a 'good evening' and later schmoozed with a couple of tables only.  I think I was most dissappointed that we were unable to chat with him, because the meal was so excellent, he speaks very good english, and we had many questions for him, and the uses of spices in his cuisine.

So what is ithe general consensus?  Do chefs tour?  Is the expereince useful/worthwhile?  Anyone care to share some insights they have taken away from these chats?

[robert brown]

sot-l'y-laisse=pippic, I do believe. Nope, Larousse says it isn't so. Anyone know the French culinary equivalent?

[Patrice]

When I had lunch in L'Arpège in november, Alain Passard did a tour of every table!  Some chef, like Ducasse never tour the dinnig room.  But, in general most of France chef tour the dinning room.  While in France, in the same month I had the chance to speak to Gagnaire, Bras, Passard, Blanc, Bardet and Trama!

Georges Blanc was by far the most generous in his time.

[cabrales]

The one hour documentary shown on TV last month made me admire this great chef.  He seem very humble and take his work VERY seriously. He's always in his restaurant . . . .

Patrice -- I have defended Pacaud's diligence in many a thread during the "curry period" on the board.  When the pre-crash data is restored, please see Bux's and my arguments that Pacaud does not just "sprinkle" curry and does not just utilize curry in an attempt to modernize his cuisine. It's a bit challenging to parse all the curry/fusion threads, as they were in various forums. The threads included: "Fusion Food -- Profoundly Dishonest? Discuss" under "India"; and various threads in UK and General (?).

ajay -- There is brief mention of touring towards the end of the "Scarcity Factor" thread under "General", which you might find interesting. Note also reactions towards Blanc's touring (I thnk it's in there? For some reason, the posts in the thread are currently not available.)

[cabrales]

Below are certain of my experiences with respect to "touring of the dining room" by chefs in France. Obviously, they do not necessarily indicate what a particular chef's regular practices might be:

No -- B. Pacaud at L'Ambroisie, Paris; M. del Burgo at Taillevent, Paris (it's Vrinat who's always present in the dining room anyhow); D. Bouchet at Les Ambassadeurs, Paris; J. Lameloise at Lameloise, Chagny; P. Jousse at Alain Chapel, Mionnay (sic); E. Frechon at Bristol, Paris; the relatively new chef at L'Espadon, Paris; J. & L. Pourcel at Jardin des Sens, Montpellier (diners staying at the hotel will see the chefs around, and Jacques is sometimes found near the hotel reception before/during a meal); A. Ducasse at Plaza Athenee, Paris (note limited visits, as I dislike this, among other, restaurants); M. Guerard at Pres d'Eugenie (sic), Eugenie-Les-Bains (one can see him entering and exiting the kitchen several times); B. Witz at L'Hostellerie de L'Abbaye de la Celle (sic), La Celle (aka Ducasse farmhouse II); Hiramatsu, Paris.  (Certain chefs who do not visit the room may nonetheless offer kitchen tours for diners whom they perceive to be interested.)

Yes -- M. Troisgros at Troisgros, Roanne; G. Boyer at Boyer Les Crayeres, Rheims (this guy works the tables); P. Bocuse (when he is in attendance, he visits the room; that's a big "when", though); P. Barbot at L'Astrance, Paris; B. Loiseau at La Cote d'Or, Saulieu (very diligent with respect to greeting clients, often in entryway to dining rooms or to the hotel's general entrance); J.M. Lorain at La Cote Saint-Jacques, Joigny (visited salon on ground floor, instead of dining rooms on lower ground floor); G. Blanc at Vonnas (often visits both dining room and the aperatif area where there are sofas/seats); M. Meneau at L'Esperance, Vezelay/Saint-Pere (greeted me upon exit from the restaurant); M. Veyrat at L'Auberge de L'Eridan, near Annecy, and Ferme de Mon Pere, near Megeve (he seems even more active at Ferme); E. Loubet at Moulin de Lourmarin, Lourmarin; A.S. Pic at Pic, Valence; P. Henrioux at La Pyramide, Vienne (missed his tour, but was told he regularly visits tables); A. Dutournier at Carre des Feuillants, Paris (greets selected clients); R. Sammut at Auberge de la Feniere (sic), Lourmarin (greeted me upon exit; husband very present in dining room); Bruno at Chez Bruno, Lorgues (sic); P. Gagnaire, Paris (visits tables selectively, depending on guests); J. Brazier at La Mere Brazier, Lyons.  ;)

[cabrales]

sot-l'y-laisse=pippic, I do believe. Nope, Larousse says it isn't so.

As members may know, sot-l'y-laisse is a special part of every (?) chicken. Literally translated into English, it means "the foolish leave it behind". It's not so tasty as to justify its name in my assessment, but it's interesting nonetheless.  While I have never extracted or prepared one, the following websites purport to describe where this part of the chicken is located:

http://trans.voila.fr/ano?ano....sot.htm

(this site refers to sot-l'y-laisse as "oysters" of chicken; I only know the French term; Press "No" if any messages regarding debugging appear)

http://www.normandieweb.com/decoupe.htm

(see the area pointed to by the knife in the bottom right-hand-side picture)

[cabrales]

Robert -- Certain descriptions of Craig Claiborne's 1975 feast at Chez Denise confirm that the English name for sot-l'y-laisse is indeed oysters. I have not yet read Claiborne's autobiography, but it is high on my list. ;)

The following appeared in the March 8, 2002 edition of The Denver Post (ironically, in connection with the Barclay bankers' Petrus dinner):

"Claiborne won an item offered by  American Express on the NYC PBS station's annual on-air auction.  He bid $ 300 for a 'sky's-the-limit' dinner for two at any  restaurant in the world that honored an Amex card. . . . 'It was grand,' Claiborne wrote in his autobiography [entitled A Feast Made for Laughter]. 'There was endless caviar and foie gras and truffles and *ortolans* (small  dead birds eaten whole); a superb dish made of *hundreds* of fillets of **sots l'y laisse or the 'oysters'** that occur in chickens just  above the thigh bone; a chaud-froid of *woodcock* with Chambertin  wines; [real] oysters with white butter sauce; a parfait of truffled  sweetbreads; charlottes and pears Alma and floating islands and a  dozen other delectables.' . . .

Claiborne's meal caused quite an uproar. After  his report appeared in the [New York] Times [in an article entitled "Just a Quiet Dinner for Two in Paris: 31 Dishes, Nine Wines, a $ 4000 Check"], more than 1,000 letters poured  in, half of them, wrote Claiborne, 'damning the vulgarity and  cold-bloodedness and heartlessness of Pierre and me dining in such  luxury while half the world starves.' . . ."

-- To accompany the above feast, there was: Chateau Latour 1918, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild  1928, Romanee Conti 1929, Chateau d'Yquem 1928, Montrachet Baron Thenarde 1969, Chateau  Lafite Rothschild 1947, Chateau Petrus 1961, an 1835 Madeira, an 1865 Calvados, and some cognac.  

-- The Independent noted in its January 26, 2000 edition: "He immediately set out with [Pierre] Franey to scout Paris. . . . [T]he pair chose the (deservedly, it turned out) little- known Chez Denis, where the chef Claude Mornay produced a five-hour, 31- course dinner that included . . . a dish made of hundreds of *chicken "oysters",* the nugget of meat on the backbone the French call  sots-l'y-laisse. . . ."

-- The January 24, 2000 New York Times indicated: "Later, in his autobiography, Mr. Claiborne maintained that the dinner was not perfect in all respects. The lobster in the lobster gratin was chewy and the oysters arrived lukewarm.   'The presentation of the dishes, particularly the cold dishes, such as the sweetbread parfait and the quail mousse tart, was mundane,' he wrote. . . . As testament to Mr. Claiborne's legendary stamina, when the two left the restaurant, Mr. Franey turned to his partner and asked him to sum up the experience. 'You know what was so amazing about that meal?' Mr. Claiborne replied. 'I don't really feel that stuffed.'"  ;)

[Bux]

please see Bux's and my arguments that Pacaud does not just "sprinkle" curry and does not just utilize curry in an attempt to modernize his cuisine. It's a bit challenging to parse all the curry/fusion threads, as they were in various forums.

Since you've interjected curry into a thread about Lyon, I can't resist mentioning that we passed Le Tire Bouchon, a little bistro or bouchon, in Vieux Lyon last week and my wife said she thought she recalled reading a post by Steve Plotnicki that mentioned it as being a good place for a typical Lyonnaise meal. It was closed at the time, but I looked at the 15 and 20 euro menus in the window and much to my amusement, along with andouillelle and tripes, there was salade aux blancs de vollaille au curry on the 15 euro menu.

sot-l'y-laisse--"the foolish leave it behind"

I wonder how often it's discarded with the carcass when a chicken is cut up. It's a small piece and by itself, or even as a pair, it's not much to cook or serve. The next time my wife cuts up a chicken, I'll have to pay attention to where it ends up. I suspect it will be left on the backbone. It's the piece I go for when going through the remains of a roast chicken. It hardly ever gets into the chicken salad if I'm there. The best description  of where it's located is the one given in my English edition of the Larousse Gastronomic--"small piece of flesh ... above the parson's nose of a chicken."

[cabrales]

Bux -- Do you have a guess as to why sot-l'y-laisses are frequently paired with salad in France? Is it to permit the sampling of the pieces?  Mere Brazier dining room team members indicated that that's how the pieces are usually served at the restaurant (during lunch, from time to time).

[Bux]

I think the little pieces of meat might be difficult to separate from the bone in the raw state and far easier to remove from a cooked carcass. I think it would also be more difficult to collect a bunch of raw sot-l'y-laisses and that once cooked they'd have a bit longer shelf life. If they were lightly cooked, say dropped in the stock pot for a few moments and then removed from the bones and chilled quickly, they'd be ideal for decorating a salad. Although truthfully, there's no reason they couldn't be gently warmed in a sauce and used to garnish a hot dish. Any pros among us with a better explanation.

[cabrales]

I think the little pieces of meat might be difficult to separate from the bone in the raw state and far easier to remove from a cooked carcass.

At least at Mere Brazier, separation of the sot-l'y-laisse from the cooked chicken after the chicken is cut in front of the diner would be preferable from a presentation perspective for the non-sot-l'y-laisse bulk of the chicken. The chicken is brought to the table whole (for two or more persons, even though each only gets 1/4), or as a half-portion (for a single diner, who also receives 1/4). After the appropriate portion is served, the remaining portion of the chicken is returned to the kitchen. I wondered about the utilization of any unused portions at that restaurant. Perhaps they make them into blanc de volaille terrines (don't know if served) or things of that nature.  :confused:

I think you're right that separation is difficult from a raw bird.   I'd have to say the sot-l'y-laisse are tasty, but, for me, not that different from other parts of the chicken. They seem to have a firmer, denser texture. Especially in the case of mass-produced chicken in the US, I'm not sure that having the sot-l'y-laisse would be impressive to members.  

[Bux]

How do they cut the quarter portion? Is the breast split in two? Do you get a piece of breast and some dark meat with each quarter or is it all dark or all light meat as in the states? I'm still curious about how our duck was cut in Les Loges in Lyon.

Back to the sot-l'y-laisse, to me, it seems to combine the best of both dark and light meat offering the best taste and texture, but it would be hard to apportion it out with four portions to a bird.

It is an interesting question as to what happens with leftovers in a restaurant and I do not mean that which remains on a diner's plate, but the parts that are not served. Presumably there are not a lot, but if single portions are always cut from a larger part, there were be too much waste to ignore.

[cabrales]

How do they cut the quarter portion? Is the breast split in two? Do you get a piece of breast and some dark meat with each quarter or is it all dark or all light meat as in the states?

Bux -- In my case, due to having dined alone, 1/2 of the poularde was brought to me, split lengthwise. The dining room team member asked whether I wanted the breast or the "cuisses" (thigh/leg).  I would have picked the latter anyhow, but asked for his recommendation in case there was something special relating to the breast portion of the half-mourning dish. He confirmed my choice of the thigh.

In case you wondered, both portions appeared to contain roughly the same amount of truffles underneath the skin (limited amount, as discussed above). That truffles were in both portions leaves me further curious about what is done with the unchosen portion.  

[cabrales]

Several of my recent posts confirm I have been rereading Joseph Wechsberg's "Blue Trout and Black Truffles".  Below is an excerpt on La Mere Brazier's "chicken in half mourning" dish:

"Mother Brazier . . . cooks her chicken . . . in a bouillon made with salt, carrots and herbs, but without onions (which is unusual, onions being the trademark of Lyonnaise cooking). The chickens are larded with slices of black truffles and *wrapped in white muslin bags*, so they will be cooked evenly from all sides. Three or four chickens are cooked together in large earthenware vessels."  

[cabrales]

Below is an excerpt on La Mere Brazier from the LA Times (March 18, 1998, "She Was the First Six-Star Chef", by Leilah Bernstein -- referring to then Ducasse, and, since 1998, Veyrat):

"Eugenie Brazier was propelled into the highest ranks of French cuisine when each of her two restaurants--La Mere Brazier in Lyons and La Mere Brazier in Le Col de la Luere, in the mountainous countryside 12 miles outside the city--received three stars. That year, she became the first woman to receive Michelin's three-star ranking and the first French chef to receive the top ranking for two different restaurants. . . . . Each meal began with a plate of local sausage. The fish course was quenelles de brochet, then came her famous poularde en demi-deuil ( chicken in half- mourning) and, after, fonds d'artichauts au foie gras (artichokehearts with foie gras), which was usually served with a young Beaujolais. Elizabeth David, the famous English cookery writer, once called Brazier's artichoke dish 'a perfectly simple and straightforward salad' and 'one of the most delicious salads I have ever eaten.'"

[cabrales]

Hmm, the frequency of my postings about this dish confirms my preoccupation with chicken dishes. Michael Buller's book "French Chefs Cooking" contains the recipe for this dish:

Ingredients: 1 black truffle, 1 teaspoon cognac, sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, 1 chicken (about 3.5 pounds), 3 quarts water, 2-3 medium sized chopped carrots, 1 bouquet garni.

"Clean and peel the fresh truffle and marinate in the cognac. Season with salt and pepper. Slice into slivers about 1/4 inch thick. Slip the truffle slices under the breast skin and under the thigh skin. Truss the bird with kitchen string under each thigh. Fill a large Dutch oven or stock pot with the 3 quarts water, bring to a boil over high heat, and add the carrots and bouquet garni. Plung the chicken in the water, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and poach for about 45 minutes, or until tender. Let the chicken sit in its poaching liquid for 30 minutes before serving. Remove the chicken, cut into serving pieces and distribute among 4 soup bowls. Ladle some poaching liquid over each portion and serve, passing the cornichons and mustard in a separate dish."

The quality of the chicken is key to this dish, rendering Bresse chicken almost necessary I imagine.

[cabrales]

Below is a chicken in half-mouring recipe attributed to La Mere Brazier, when she was at Col de La Luere. The recipe is from 1972/73, and included in Louisette Bertholle's "Secrets of the Great French Restaurants" (featuring certain Michelin starred restaurants). Note that the significant use of butter in the saucing and the use of a smaller amount of the vegetable cooking sauce cause the resulting chicken to differ from the version I sampled.

2 chickens, each weighing 1 kg, seasoned inside with salt and freshly milled pepper and trussed

4 medium-sized truffles, scrubbed, peeled and finely sliced

Court-bouillon made from:

6 leeks, white parts only

8 small carrots

4 turnips

2 sticks celery

1 sprig thyme and 1 bay leaf

200 g smoked belly of pork, soaked in cold water, diced, blanched for 5 minutes and run under cold water

2.5 l water

100 g unsalted butter

Slit the skin of the chickens and insert a generous number of slivers of truffles between the flesh and the skin. Push them well in so that their flavour willl permeate the inside of the birds. Prepare a very well flavored court-bouillon with the ingredients listed and cook for 1 hour over moderate heat. Leave to cool.

Poach the chickens in the court-bouillon for 15 minutes from the moment when the liquid starts to boil. Leave the chicken in the pan on the edge of the stove to keep warm without cooking.

Remove the vegetables from the court-bouillon, stew them genetly in a little butter and arrange them in a round serving dish. Keep the dish warm. Strain the court-bouillon and reduce it to 3 or 4 tablespoons. Beat in the rest of the b utter with a wire whisk away from the heat, a little at a time, letting each piece become thoroughly incorporated before adding another. Spoon the sauce over the vegetables.

Carve each chicken into 4 and serve with the vegetables garnish and a Bernaise sauce, with horseradish.

[doctorandchef]

La mere Brazier in Lyons still open?

Their website is still working, but I read somewhere it is no longer open.

Anyone been there recently, and is it open?

I'll be in Lyons next week.

Another question, as I cannot afford dinner at Paul Bocuse, which of his bistros should I visit while in town?