Among other attractions, Lyon is famous for a class of inexpensive restaurants called “bouchons.” Literally meaning “cork”, a bouchon usually features a traditional menu at an affordable price. Some of them are over 100 years old. Others fostered many famous chefs as apprentices.
At the top of the bouchon food chain is La Mère Brazier, named for the formidable founder Eugénie Brazier. She used to own two restaurants and both were awarded three Michelin stars, the only chef to accomplish this in history. After she died, one shop closed and the other was busted to two stars. We had lunch there and it was easily one of the best meals of my life. We ordered two choices of each course and shared them.
Appies
– Spider crab and crab with condiments, shell emulsion and Oscetra caviar
– Roasted white asparagus and confit egg, morel mushroom stew with sorrel
Mains
– Crispy pike bread and smoked eel, nettle coulis
– Mézenc sirloin, baby potatoes with marrow and broad beans, lemon balm and savory Béarnaise sauce
Desserts
– Lemon soufflé, Speculoos and vanilla lemon confit, caramel ice cream, Muscovado sugar crisp
– Green anise shortbread, strawberries and peas, Strawberry sorbet, pod emulsion and Greek yogurt, Pea pod confit with mint, brined lemon
The Michelin 2 Mere Brazier and the humble place we discuss next is not fair. The budgets are different by 2.5x, the level of service, the servers per diner, the decor, and the ingredients are all wildly different. The very goals of these two places are different.
Le Canut et les Gones
Our favorite humble bouchon is called Le Canut et les Gones. Canuts were silk workers and Gones means kids or waifs. They hired a Japanese chef, Junzo Matsuno, who is amazingly creative.
Reverse Engineering
These menus are fun to reverse engineer–you try to recreate the menu choices without the actual menus, inventing how the composition might have been served.
A bit of historical context is that the French were among the first to “discover” Japanese esthetics in a movement called Japonisme. From Van Gogh’s brushstrokes to affordable silk clothing to Monet’s depiction of his wife in kimono with a fan, the list is long. Both cultures are “high-context,” meaning difficult to penetrate, much less understand. In fact, “Japanese” has a meaning in France similar to the way “French” is used to mean “special” in the U.S., at least before Liberty Fries–like French fries, French kiss, French toast, etc.
Lunch Menu May 21, 2025
Starters
– Salmon Gravlàx then house smoked, garden radishes, avocado cream, radish top coulis, Granny Smith apples
– Calf’s head cooked in broth, served sliced like carpaccio, anchovy ravigote sauce, délicatesse new potatoes
1 – Artichoke heart veloute, candied purple artichokes, white asparagus, chorizo vinaigrette, Parmesan crumble
Main Courses
2 – Cod filet, rope mussels, shrimp bisque, white beans, zucchini, cauliflower
– Basque pork loin in panko breadcrumbs, chimichurri sauce; potato puree, round turnips, red cabbage
3 – Veal shoulder confit with lemongrass, reduced cooking juices; red carrot purée with cumin, carrot tops, peas
4 – As a side dish to share or not! Since 1994, Macaroni gratin 300g…. €12
Cheese or Desserts
– Raw cow’s milk tome, black cherry jam
– 64% dark chocolate mousse, salted butter caramel, cocoa nibs, crunchy peanuts
– Floating isles, vanilla custard, raspberry coulis, strawberries
