Le Potager des Halles: A famous (expensive) restaurant in the gastronomical Lyon - the menu for us that night: Calve's foot salad (strips of...

cartilage next to radish and bell peppers with a creamy sauce to complete - this made an odd mixture for me. It had the lightness of a salad but then left me startled when I came upon a chewy-crunch that did not seem to me edible. This was something to talk about, and most definitely French, but along with Ox Tongue, I would not say that I am a fan). I figure that if something that you eat matches the texture of something in your mouth, it is not meant to be eaten in great quantities. Of course, why not try it? TRY EVERYTHING if it doesn't kill you! The shock in your mouth is half the fun! And the other half of the fun is to be able to tell about it! But the texture of cartilage from a foot just does not seem so edible to me.

The second dish was another complexity - even CHEWIER escargots in a sweet creamy parsnip soup decorated with truffle oil. This was a sweet and savory mixture that I enjoyed very much, but would have been better served alone and not right after the cartilage. Too many chewy surprises consecutively make you think too much about what you are eating...snails? I love snails! But they do well when they melt in your mouth hidden by a creamy or buttery sauce and do not pop out like a chewy gummy in a icey and fragile sorbet...

more of the menu to come!

(The two bottom pictures are of a miniature restaurant scene created in the museum of miniatures, and then a typical Vieux Lyon building, so Lyonnaise, French (but NOT Parisian!) and beautiful!!!