some of the best things i’ve eaten in france
France is where us foodies go to live up to our full potential. There is so much good food to be had there, and so much history behind it all. France is home to the croissant, the baguette, the crepe. Boeuf bourguignon, escargots, coq au vin, omelettes. Madeleines, cannelés, chocolate soufflé. You get the idea — pretty much everything that’s sophisticated and delicious in the world comes from France.
Food is taken so seriously there. By everyone. And rightfully so, because the French definitely know how to do food. Food and wine is the culture. You can see it on the streets lined with bistros, bouchons, and boulangeries; you can feel it in the air at the incredible Saturday markets that take over each town; and you can certainly taste it in just about anything you eat.
I recently visited eastern France for a way-too-brief but bountiful trip. Here are some of the best things I ate.
lyon, auvergne-rhône-alpes region
Although it’s not necessarily a very well-known destination, Lyon is the gastronomy capital of France; some have even gone so far as to call it gastronomy capital of world. It’s got more restaurants per capita than any other city in France, and it’s the mecca of Michelin stars. There are currently 15 Michelin-starred restaurants (at one point as many as 21) in Lyon, which is really impressive for the city’s size. It is the food destination in France.
But aside from the mouthwatering Michelin-star choices, if you go to Lyon you have to eat at traditional bouchon. It’s a type of restaurant specific to the city that serves Lyonnaise specialties — dishes like pâté en croûte, quenelle, foie gras, and salade Lyonnaise. Bouchons are foundational to Lyon’s culinary and cultural history, and while you’ll find them around every corner, only around 20 or so have an official “bouchon Lyonnais” certification which guarantees a certain level of quality and an an authentic experience.
foie gras
le comptoir des marronniers
My first time trying foie gras. Smooth, delicate, rich but not too gamey. A perfect bite: a bit of liver smeared on that extra crispy bread and topped off with some sweet onions. Made for a really nice traditional lunch.
monkfish + artichoke
les terrasses de lyon [⁕]
This monkfish was so light and buttery, covered in some kind of amazing sauce that I wanted to drink up.
egg + baby asparagus
les terrasses de lyon [⁕]
Man, can the French cook an egg. So simple, so perfectly cooked and textured, with the most delicious accents.
beaune, burgundy region
Where Lyon is the food capital, Beaune is the wine capital. It’s an ancient walled town: everything you picture when you think of a quaint, historic, cobblestoned French town. It’s a bit off the beaten path in terms of getting there, but it’s charming in every way and so worth the visit.
As the center of Burgundy’s wine-making region and the epicenter of wine tourism, Beaune is serious about their wine — but where there’s good wine, there’s good food. And I actually had some of the best meals of my entire Europe trip here in these tiny, unassuming streets.
pain au chocolat
lapalus boulangerie
Obviously the first thing I did was rush to find some pain au chocolate, because if I have an excuse to eat bread and chocolate for breakfast I am IN. Luckily, you can find a boulangerie on basically every corner, and as expected the light, airy, flaky pastry combined with the dense, rich chocolate pretty much tasted like heaven.
egg + mushroom
le relais de saulx
duck breast, carrots, potato
le relais de saulx
Again with the eggs…this one blew my mind. Somewhere under that impossibly light, herbaceous foamy goodness is an absolutely divine egg. Perhaps my favorite dish of the trip.
bone marrow
les popiettes
Rich, tender duck cooked to perfection. Paired with simple seasonal vegetables and a delicate sauce. Just pure quality and excellence of execution.
dark chocolate crepe
marché de beaune
Wow. I honestly can’t even tell you what was involved here, but the flavors were exceptional. Great dish to start off our last meal in Beaune.
Couldn’t leave without a crepe, made by a woman with a stand at the local Saturday market. Soft, warm, not too sweet. Perfect mid-morning snack.
