La Mere Brazier
Lychee Juice
Meat Pie, Bresse Chicken with Foie Gras, Black Cherry Jam
Country Loaf and Baguette with Salted and Unsalted Butters from Brittany
Cold Tomato Gazpacho with Vegetable Ragout, Almond Cracker, Goat Cheese
Artichoke and Foie Gras No9
Scallop Mousseline, Lobster and Young Vegetables, Absinthe Shellfish Juice
Veal Apple Viennoise Sweetbread, Carrot Cream and Cumin and Woodland Mushroom
Mature Cheeses with Fruit Bread – Renée Richard, Didier Lassagne and Jean-Yves Bordier
Warm Madeline with Ricotta Ice Cream
Paris-Brest, Caramelized Hazelnut Ice Cream, Praline
Mignardises
A bastion of refined French cuisine since its inception, and currently a recipient of two Michelin Stars with Three Star heritage under the legendary Eugenie Brazier, it seemed senseless to leave Lyon without visiting La Mere Brazier, and although some have dubbed it a culinary museum not on par with the likes of Bocuse’s L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges the experience itself proved a worthy lunch as I sat with several French businessmen in one of several rooms spread throughout the building’s two-floor expanse.
In recent years toqued by Mathieu Viannay, a significant presence that has seen a menu still loaded with tradition modernized to current times in a la carte choices, tasting menus, and business lunch specials, it was perhaps shortsighted to consider a sampling of the restaurant’s iconic dishes absolutely essential for a first time visit, but electing to enjoy Alain Milliat’s Lychee Nectar alongside the Classical menu as would have been prepared 94 years prior the food served spoke to timeless techniques and robust flavors found at any number of local bouchons and bistros, in some cases similar but in most simply more refined.
Truly a tasting menu, the three savories followed by cheeses and dessert flanked by canapes and mignardises at the cost of 120€, service at La Mere Brazier speaks to refinement without all the seriousness of a place like Pic and providing the table with a young man who spoke spotless English it was mere moments after ordering that a sampling of the Chef’s Meat Pie landed on the table, each bite of the en croute version loaded with the rich sapor of liver but scaled back through the use of jam and pistachios making it far more sweet than other versions tinged in aspic, but delicious just the same.
Next receiving a crusty round of bread paired to two butters from the legendary team at Bordier it was only with the greatest restraint that one resisted filling up before the meal itself even began, but with tomato gazpacho soon in hand and baguettes plus two preparations of foie gras alongside several styles of artichoke soon to follow any thoughts of moderation immediately went out the window, each slice of seared lobe featuring the slightest crackle before yielding the unctuous center while the lightly salted terrine topped with just a touch of acid was the very definition of creamy, particularly when spread across a thin slice of crostini.
Left to enjoy the liver while other tables in the small room filled, it was not long after finishing that servicewear was replaced and a pool of orange centered by a quenelle of scallop amidst lobster in addition to vibrant vegetables sat before me, and although slightly smaller than versions less rarified there is little doubt that the ingredients entailed were on par with any of the city’s top tables, each bite a balance of soft and snappy with the butter poached crustacean and a sauce of its shell so thoroughly intoxicating that wiping the dish clean came without a second thought, a total disregard for anyone who may have been looking on.
Clearly accustomed to quickly paced lunches for the folks who had to return to work, it was only after asking if service was too fast that the final savory was brought, and reportedly harvested from a 7-month calf in order to maximize both size and texture the baseball sized sweetbread was pure bliss served atop split peas, carrots, and mushrooms – the glands signature suppleness given the full spotlight beneath spices rendered crisp by the lightest of pan sears.
Somewhat limited in cheeses, though still featuring a few favorites aged to perfection alongside fruit bread studded by nuts, it was with a warm Madeline plus smooth ice cream that the palate was cleansed before the meal’s sweet culmination arrived, and although atypically shaped one would be hard pressed to name a more lavish reinterpretation of the Paris Brest, a juxtaposition of two creams and nuts served between choux layers with nearby hazelnut ice cream presenting an almost identical profile of flavors, the dessert in its entirety touching a multitude of tastes, textures, and temperatures at once.
http://lamerebrazier.com/