Category: france

Postcard from Lyon, France: Fertile ground for chefs

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Above: Turnips with trout caviar at Armada

I know you might be thinking: “Seriously? Turnips?”

Lyon…. A culinary tradition that grew up to change the world of gastronomy…. It’s about food, lots of food, great food. Some of the greatest food on earth…. What is it exactly about this place? Over the past century, the system here, the tradition, whatever it is that took hold here, churned out a tremendous number of the world’s most important chefs…. Why Lyon? Why is this such a gastronomic capital?” 

Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown: Lyon, France, April 27, 2014

I can’t answer that. For Bourdain’s explanation, you might have to watch that episode of Parts Unknown. But I can state we lingered over some excellent meals during our stay in Lyon and hope these photos help you navigate among the many choices available.

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Postcard from Marseille, France: Seafood, spices and mysterious black vanilla

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Postmarked via a stamped rum bottle vase at Hippie Chic

Above: Speciale de Claires oyster at La Boite a Sardine

A fair number of French will tell you in unguarded moments that ‘Marseille is not France,’ and what they mean by that is that it’s too Arab, too Italian, too Corsican, too mixed up with foreignness to be truly and adequately French. But, anybody who knows me knows that’s exactly the kind of mixed up gene pool I like to swim in and eat in. It is a glorious stew of a city, smelling of Middle Eastern spices, garlic, saffron and the sea.”

“Marseille is a Must-See City in France,” Anthony Bourdain, CNN, October 2, 2015

Offering up a quick alphabetical tour of restaurants we came across and enjoyed while in Marseille this past spring.

A trendy, upscale yet casual, lunch-only spot attracting neighborhood millennials to the point where reservations are recommended, Cantoche is not in a location you would simply stumble across as a tourist. But it’s definitely destination-worthy and less than a fifteen-minute walk from the Vieux Port.

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Postcard from Marseille, France: Taming ‘les tags sauvages’

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Securing affordable housing leads artists to seek out urban neighborhoods sometimes reputed to be gritty. As noted in an earlier post featuring street art in Marseille, the creative vitality they bring is transformative. Quirky shops pop up. Inventive chefs open outlier cafes and restaurants with tables spilling out onto the sidewalks.

Walls once covered with threatening-looking, unauthorized tagging get reupholstered with a layer of more artistic grafitti. As a result, two of the most fun neighborhoods to explore in Marseille are Le Panier and Cours Julien, both uphill from the harbor.

Surrendering to urban artists, Marseille embraced them in 2018. The government launched an ambitious partnership with a group of artists, Massilia Graffiti, organizers of a successful street art festival in the Cours Julien area. Forty-thousand euros of public funds were invested in an innovative program to combat les tags sauvages, or wild tagging.

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