Clockwise from Top Left: Place Furstenberg, Paris, Quenelle de Brochet at Comptoir Brunet restaurant, Lyon, Rooftop Bar of Hotel Degli Orafi, overlooking the Ponte Vecchio, Florence
A chance summer holiday itinerary, the ingredients of which conspired to not just satisfy, but altogether satiate my yearning for ‘L’art de la table’ – aka the art of the table – in which the quality of company, dialogue and debate are as essential as that of gastronomy …
… moreover, as I stand on the threshold of turning 50, the slow and steady pace of my abbreviated two-week holiday helped me acknowledge the wonderful transition that mid-life affords, (or at least for those with the good-fortune to not have to worry about keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table) if indeed one chooses to embrace it, and that is from the prosaic to the poetic …
… other than the city of Lyon, which I have never before found occasion to visit, there was no novelty in my itinerary with respect to destination, and yet plenty of discovery, for it is only when one permits oneself to linger in European cities that one can truly begin to penetrate their tough exteriors and avail of the wonders that lie within, where literature, philosophy, humor, nuance, music, art, poetry, gastronomy, past and present not only co-exist, but also co-depend and combine … in France in particular, the quality, length, breadth and depth of even the most casual conversation with people, will, for me, always remain unequalled … but perhaps I am at a slight advantage, both by virtue of a basic proficiency in the language, and a substantial amount of history with the country, for not only did I live and work in Paris for quite a few years, but have also been going there on holiday since I was thirteen years old.
Top Row: images of airbnb apartment belonging to Chinese artist
Bottom Row: images of airbnb apartment belonging to French Bureaucrat
In recent years I have been travelling alone to the places where I have local friends, and must admit that I do prefer being independent, as opposed to staying with people, especially in cities such as Paris, where I know many different people who don’t know each other; up until the summer of 2023 I would stay with my Godmother in what is inarguably one of the most beautiful homes in the capital, but since she finds it upsetting each time I am distracted, on the last couple of visits, I have rented myself an apartment, succumbing to using air b & b, which has yielded some delightful surprises … needless to say a hotel is not really an option with respect to a lengthy stay, for as much as I am a travelling gourmet, I allow myself only one restaurant meal a day … the other is constituted by an ayurvedic green mung soup, which I am obliged to cook every second day; that said it is worth every bit of the effort, for it most conveniently keeps my system in continuous detoxification mode … if anyone would like the recipe, just send me a message.
Anyhow to return to the subject of air b &b, I have been lucky enough to have found two absolute gems in the heart of the most prestigious district of Paris, that being the 7th, both of them ground floor, just as I like it, and on each occasion, have ended up be-friending my hosts, one a female Chinese artist and the other a Male French bureaucrat.
Most people I know in India seem somewhat frightened, or at the very least hesitant to travel alone, but when one is single, there is something immensely nourishing for one’s relationship with oneself each time one breaks routine, not only in terms of self-reliance, but also self-discovery … in fact, the memory I hold most dear from my recent trip, was when I took a day off from social engagements in Paris, sat on the terrace of ‘Mon Square’ restaurant, down the street from the flat I had rented, on a beautiful square where the St. Clothilde church is located, and worked on my laptop, re-living the past as I wrote about the iconic Tour D’argent restaurant, which I used to frequent with my parents and to which I had been after 26 years the day following my arrival, whilst nursing a glass of Bandol rose and nibbling on a thick slice of foie gras … indeed, the moment l step out, my activities are invariably embellished by food & drink.
Above: Images of my working lunch at ‘Mon Square’, 31 rue St. Dominique, Paris 75007
That said, I walk a lot in Paris; in fact, I tend to walk everywhere, especially during the day and even if it means half-way across the city, so long as my destination does not demand a pair of stilettos … I walk to galleries, the theatre, shops, restaurants & friends homes, for I am starved of it in New Delhi, which rarely offers a pot-hole free road, never mind a side-walk … it is also the way one involuntarily either forges or renews a bond with the city, for Paris continuously commands the attention of the senses … nothing of course beats having an object of one’s affections at one’s side, except that not having one shouldn’t throw a spanner in the works of adventure.
Well since I have already dedicated a virtual essay to my 4 hour long lunch at La Tour D’argent, which you will find in the section titled ‘restaurant reviews and blurbs’, let me proceed to day two in Paris, not that I intend to bore you with a day by day account, during which I re-united with my Chinese artist friend to go and see a show titled ‘Un Peintre Chinois a Paris’, (A Chinese painter in Paris) at the Guimet museum, followed by lunch at Monsieur Dior restaurant, about which I knew nothing until I happened to stumble upon mention of it in an article related to Chef Jean Imbert, who appears to be taking France by storm … but first things first.
Top Row: Poster of exhibition on an exterior wall of Musee Guimet, Entrance to exhibition inside the museum, one of T’ang Haywen works
Bottom Row: My friend sitting in front of one of T’ang Haywen works, artist work, artist work
I suspect most who will be reading this article are already familiar with the Guimet museum in Paris, since it houses one of the largest collections of Asian art outside of Asia, even though the emphasis is on the far east, rather than India … anyhow, it seemed so perfectly fitting for me to go and see this particular exhibition with my Chinese artist friend whose own journey from a little province in China to St. Petersburg and then Paris where she is thriving, is in itself a remarkable story, not unlike that of T’ang Haywen, who began life in the Fujian Province of China, then moved to Vietnam and finally to Paris where he was meant to study medicine, but instead dedicated himself to his artistic practice. Known for his fusion of traditional Chinese ink brush painting with Western abstract expressionism, he did not in fact enjoy significant recognition during his lifetime, and it was thus all the more moving to see a retrospective of his beautiful and kaleidoscopic works … that said the Guimet is worth going to at any-time, especially for a viewing of its permanent collection.
Above: Images of pieces belonging to permanent Guimet museum collection
To follow this by lunch at Monsieur Dior restaurant, located inside the flagship Dior boutique on avenue Montaigne, could not have been a more perfect sequel, for part of the menu is a tribute to the personal culinary tastes of the late designer Christian Dior, about whom I had known very little until I watched the television series, ‘The New Look’, which made me fall head over heels in love with the person he was…both the exhibition and lunch had the romance and melancholy of being transported into the past, which is in fact the usp of most European cities.
Chef Jean Imbert whose journey from being a culinary student at the Paul Bocuse institute, to field training under some of the greatest chefs in France, to his own restaurant where he not only fed but also mingled with and befriended many of the stars, and so on and so forth, to taking over the reins of the Plaza Athenee hotel from Alain Ducasse in 2021 and being awarded a Michelin star within a year, has been sparkling to say the least … and in the midst of all of this he set up Monsieur Dior, paying homage to Christian Dior’s love of gastronomy and even somewhat coquettishly naming one of his spectacularly delicious creations, ‘The New Look Truffle Croque Monsieur’, which I tasted, applauded and have since re-produced upon my return to Delhi; you will find both the recipe and instructions in the section “Treat of the Week”.
Clockwise from top left: Image of Dining Space, Image of Bar, Image of table setting & crockery
The décor is what I would regrettably call ‘design forward’, for I don’t particularly like the term; clean yet colorful, playful yet chic, it is a perfect spot for lovers of affectation, and those with pretensions of grandeur … for me, it was a chance to taste the creations of Imbert without the formality of the Plaza, and I was hoping to visit the museum, ‘La Galerie Dior’, which also opened its doors to the public in 2022, but was sadly closed for refurbishment while I was there.
Other than the truffle croque monsieur, we ordered the glazed soft-boiled egg, made just the way Christian used to like to eat his, and the ‘Defile’, i.e. ‘parade’ steak with pepper sauce & fries, which Christian would invariably eat before every fashion show; suffice to say the sauce was so good, I could very well have drunk it with a straw … and then finally there was the chocolate tart for dessert, which has to be eaten to be believed!
Clockwise from top left: The New Look Truffle Croque Monsieur, The Egg “Christian Dior’, The ‘Runway‘ Pepper Steak & fries, The Chocolate Tart
That evening I took a break from gastronomy, for as mentioned earlier I don’t permit myself more than one meal a day, and wandered off to a tiny pocket sized theatre called Theatre Poche, which in fact means pocket, to watch a solo performance that was a personification-cum-recitation of prominent 16th century Renaissance philosopher Michel de Montaigne’s famous essays … it was in Montaigne’s philosophy that I had found solace following the demise of my father, and thus I went alone since it was a deeply personal and private relationship I had forged, with my father’s copy of Montaigne’s essays in hand, which I had just begun to read, and one hour later, found myself once again uplifted, reassured and restored to my sense of self-reliance … I suspect most who will be reading this piece don’t speak French and so I will quickly move on to things that might appeal to you the next time you are in Paris, such as wandering through the beautiful covered passages of Paris, the veritable ‘shopping malls’ of the 18th and 19th centuries, for which you can even book a tour.
Clockwise from top left: Entrance to the theatre and my copy of the essays in hand, Poster of the show, Inside seating area of the theatre
A French friend of mine had invited me to spend the day with him and have lunch in Montmartre, which is where he lives, and as much as the renowned large hill in the 18th district of Paris with the Sacre Coeur Basilica at its summit, is a prominent, not to mention picture postcard perfect tourist attraction that heaves with people during the summer-time, in the company of a resident, the experience is always different … he took me for lunch to his local where he eats at least twice a week, the Chef-owner a fellow Breton who happens to be an ex-employee of the Tour D’argent, the fare all at once simple, seasonal & sensational, the clientele exclusively French from the neighborhood, the atmosphere intimate as if in the personal dining room of the owner’s home …
Clockwise from top left: My friend and our Bordeaux, White asparagus starter, Veal stew main course
… white asparagus in season, a traditional veal stew and light Bordeaux as chaperone, it couldn’t have been more exquisitely French and fabulous, after which we ambled through the covered passages of Paris, passing the quaint Musee Grevin that is the local Madam Tussauds and to which I had been many years earlier (you must go if you haven’t,) stopping by at the famous auction house Hotel Drouot where it always interesting to watch an auction in session, or simply wander through and take a look at the antiquities on display, and finally we said goodbye at dusk, on the banks of the Seine from which I continued my walk back to my apartment … Montmartre to the 7th is quite a marathon, but then as I suggested earlier, there is no better way to bond with Paris.
Top Row: Two of the covered passages
Bottom left: The Entry to Musee Grevin
Bottom Right: Antique on display at Drouot auction house
At this juncture, I will leapfrog into my 6 hours in Lyon that was both serendipitous and testament to the advantages of visibility on social media, for an old friend of mine saw me rise from the ashes, (with respect to my promotional activities for my new website) and sent me a message on Instagram suggesting I visit her in Lyon, a city that was not only home to the godfather of nouvelle cuisine, Paul Bocuse, but also considered by many to be the gastronomic capital of the world.
My friend is currently the Italian consul general in Lyon, in addition to being a fellow lover of gastronomy, and thus I couldn’t have had better reason to go, even if all I was able to spare was a lunch and afternoon … since we hadn’t seen each other for 5 years, and the Paul Bocuse restaurant not only requires full concentration, but also advance booking and at least a night in the region, we decided on lunching at what is called a Bouchon Lyonnais, i.e. restaurant that serves traditional French food, my choice inspired by the footsteps of the late Chef Anthony Bourdain, who had been to both the Comptoir Abel and Comptoir Brunet bouchons, but since my friend had not yet been to the latter, we picked that one …
Above: Images of Les Halles de Bocuse, food market
… needless to say, it was our first stop after a brief walk through ‘Les Halles de Bocuse,’ a covered food market offering the finest produce to both eat on site and purchase.
We began with a wonderful regional cote du Rhone red wine, and tried several others during the course of our long lunch comprising starters of escargots (snails in a garlic and parsley butter) and ‘un oeuf en meurette’, (poached egg with a red wine sauce that culinary dreams are made of), both specialties of the nearby Burgundy region, the egg in fact the signature dish of the famous Chateau clos de Vougeot.
Top row left to right: entrance to Comptoir Brunet, inside of restaurant, bar of restaurant
Middle row left to right: Oeuf en meurette, Escargots, Cotes du Rhone red wine
Bottom row left to right: Quenelle de Brochet, Veal Sweetbreads
We then moved on to what might be the most famous Lyonnais dish, Quenelle de Brochet, Sauce Nantua, (creamed pike fish shaped into ovals, bound with egg and breadcrumbs and served in a crayfish sauce) which is an acquired taste, but for fans like me, a veritable treat each time I devour it, especially on a cold ‘summers’ day … .the second main was a dish of veal sweetbreads with creamed morel mushrooms, once again an acquired taste, but one of my absolute favorites … in fact I ate sweetbreads three times during my ten day stay in France.
We gave dessert a miss, and walked around the city with neither agenda nor destination, simply soaking it all in by way of preparation for a proper visit later this year … a hilly city, the third largest in France and home not only to gastronomy but also renowned universities, it has many riches to offer, which I shall write about in detail when I have spent more time there … for now, I will simply leave you with a few images from my walkabout, which included peeking into the ‘L’Institut’ restaurant, at which the students of the Paul Bocuse culinary academy cook, and where in addition to the main Paul Bocuse restaurant, I will certainly dine in the near future … up next, Part 2 will bring you more on culture & gastronomy in both Paris, France and Florence, Italy.
Above: Images from Lyon Walkabout