One of our favorite restaurants in Lyon is the Brasserie L'Est. At one time the late Paul Bocuse decided to have four restaurants in Lyon, each with a different theme, named for the compass points. Happily, L'Est is an easy walk from our apartment.
L'Est came into being in 1997 and is located in elegant Gare de Brotteaux building. The Gare, or train station, itself was built in 1904 by the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean Company and opened in 1908. The building style is quite similar to the Gare D'Orsay (now a favorite museum of Anna's) in Paris. Needless to say, it is classified as an Historic Monument by the French Government. The station was only in operation until June 1983. The building now houses a variety of buisnesses including L'Est.
The beautiful and historic Gare de Brotteaux today. L'Est is
located just to the left of the large building in the center.
A view of L'Est. We chose to eat outside,
just in front of the building this time.
Paul Bocuse's theme for L'Est is in keeping with its location. His idea was to offer "travel cuisine" with a menu that takes one on "a real taste journey." And, also in keeping with its location, a model train runs on tracks that circle the inside dining room near the ceiling. All the staff at Bocuse restaurants from the Maitre D' to the Sous-chef undergo rigorous training and are monitored to ensure they meet Bocuse standards.
Our table
Now you can understand why we chose this restaurant to celebrate our anniversary and Anna' birthday. We started off with celebratory flutes of champagne - bien sȗr.
For his main course, David chose Grilled Chicken Supreme wrapped with Colonnata Bacon and served with Potato gnocchi.
And, Anna chose from the menu de jour and had a delicious pork chop in a bed of baby potatoes, carrot slices, cauliflower flowerettes, and other yummy veggies.
And, as you can see, we shared a bottle of Gevrey Chambertin A.O.C - Vieilles Vignes - Domaine Tortochot 2018.
Is your mouth watering yet?
Then on to dessert - right?
David had claufoutis de cerise avec coulee des fruit rouges, a baked French dessert of fruit (cherries here) arranged in a buttered dish, covered with a batter, and baked. This was covered with a puree of assorted red berries.
Anna had three scoops of French ice cream - coconut, pineapple, and raspberry. (French ice cream is incredibly rich with concentrated flavors.)
This was, of course, followed by coffee. Whew!
But, we weren't done, yet! David had earlier told a waiter that we were celebrating Anna's birthday. Suddenly, two waiters arrived with a small, old-fashioned, hand-cranked, punch-card, music box to serenade her. All the other diners applauded as Anna turned bright red. Then a waiter brought her a cup of chantilly with a candle in it. Rich and delicious!
After thanking everyone for their good wishes, we strolled back to our apartment. It had been quite the celebration!
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