Friday Night at Lyon

Since I usually run about a week behind with my posts this is BH- Before Hurricane. It was Friday night and I had spent the entire afternoon buying up rations like you wouldn’t believe. Flashlights, Milk, Ramen, White Bread, 3 kinds of peanut butter and jam, four bags of chips, Vodka, Kaluha, Wine, beer; six different stores for batteries, and finally topped it all off with a whole damn pizza…just in case.

When Mr. T got out of work I was exhausted and ready to just chill out but then I noticed him eyeing all the rations. Oh no Buddy…You’re not eating any of those until Irene officially hits! I had to drag him out of the house for fear of my rations being depleted. Looking back on it now I realize I had reached the brink of storm insanity. If you watched more than 3 hours of Storm Readiness coverage I’m sure you did too. However I had enough sense to get out of the house and enjoy a nice meal.

Mr. T and I walked down to the West Village and the cute little French Restaurant Lyon. The bar up front was surprisingly hopping for the day before a storm, but the back area where we sat was nice and calm. I loved the rustic, cozy atmosphere of the place. We started out with a delicious carafe of Pinot Blanc from Alsace and some appetizers.



Since we are heading to Paris in just two weeks (I know- how exciting!!) I thought we should try out to regional specialties in preparation. The Quenelles De Brochet were interesting. Big eggy quaffs of pike covered in a rich lobster sauce. I enjoyed this dish but Mr. T absolutely loved it. Lobster sauce is right up his alley so I’m sure this is something we will be having again in Paris.



More on my end was the St. Marcellin Cheese. I just love cheese (who doesn’t) and this was wonderful. It was insanely rich and buttery with some olive oil and chives. I only wish I had ordered this as my dessert instead of appetizer. The cheese was so heavy it would have been much better after the meal as a little savory end course.



For mains Mr. T Skate with Israli Couscous and vegetables. The skate was done perfect with crispy edges and a nice little spicy kick from the couscous.



My main was a big old bowl of Mussels. And when I say big I mean huge!! This was easily the biggest pot I’ve ever been given. Not only was the pot big but each mussel was plump and delicious! Mr. T helped me out with some and we still had half a pot left over.



It didn’t help that I was also eating all of the delicious puffy frites that came as well. By the end of the meal we were both beyond stuffed and couldn’t even think of trying out dessert. This is just a shame since they had about 5 different things I wanted to try out.

The service was a little lacking but I blame that on the incoming storm. All the waiters and waitresses were chatting about and it was hard not to get caught up in the excitement.

We had a gift certificate for dinner given to us a wedding gift. The chef Chris Leahy is actually a distant relative and I was hoping he would be in the kitchen so I could say hello. However I was too shy to actually ask the waitress and after a few glimpses into the back kitchen I didn’t see him so I let it go. I have no idea where this shyness comes from sometimes- it just does.

Oh well – I’ll be back! Those mussels were insanely delicious and I still have to check out those desserts! It was a wonderful way to start out the crazy weekend that was ahead.

Lyon Restaurant

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