Food Archives - Page 2 of 3

Mar 03 2015

3 Days in New Orleans – 3 Days of Eating

Luckily this wasn't the only thing on the menu in New Orleans — Luckily this wasn’t the only thing on the menu in New Orleans

We spent some time checking out the sights in New Orleans, but we were interested in one thing above all else – eating. After a very underwhelming and overpriced dinner at the Intercontinental the night we got in, we didn’t see any bad food until the US Airways sandwiches on the flight on home. Here’s a quick tour of what we got to sample.

Beignets – Café du Monde and Café Beignet

Obviously, options 1, 2, and 3 for breakfast were beignets. We hit up Cafe du Monde, purportedly the most famous purveyors of beignets, our first morning. We woke up pretty early due to the time difference so we arrived there by 8:30. At that time there were still plenty of places to sit – by 9:00 the place was completely full. At 10:30 on the day we left we walked by and there was a line out the door.

The lines at Cafe du Monde can get quite significant – go early

Cafe du Monde has table service and a take out counter. The table service is pretty simple, you order, and then you pay when you receive the food. We got two orders of beignets, I had hot chocolate, and Jess had a café leche. The beignets were amazing (our second order came after we finished the first). For some reason, M wasn’t a fan – she said she didn’t like the “snow” on top (powdered sugar). More for me!

Fried goodness covered in "snow" — Fried goodness covered in “snow”

Cafe Beignet had more to offer than just beignets, although their beignets were quite excellent as well. We also ordered a omelette with Andouille sausage there. All the food was very good and the café had a nice little French café feel to it. I’d definitely recommend trying both if you are in town and have the time.

Cafe Beignet feels like a little French cafe

The beignets there are different stylistically from Cafe du Monde, but also amazing

We also had a third breakfast at a small little café called Merchant that mostly serves crepes. The food there was excellent – fresh, tasty – we ended up getting a crepe to go for lunch on the day we were leaving.

Emeril’s

Although Emeril’s New Orleans is casual, it’s still a bit fancier than what we’re accustomed to taking M to. Still, we really wanted to go so we decided to take her for lunch.

Starting with the bread, we were impressed with every aspect of the meal. It was just a solid and satisfying meal all around. The best part of the bread was the cornbread – it was so good!

Can't go wrong with gumbo in New Orleans — Can’t go wrong with gumbo in New Orleans

We ordered gumbo (pretty much ordered it at every meal) to start. Is gumbo not supposed to be served piping hot? Because that’s what we determined after ordering it four times – it was always warm but never super hot. Emeril’s was probably the best gumbo we had the whole trip.

The BBQ shrimp was great though I could have used more

For our entrees I had the chicken and waffles while Jess ate two appetizers – BBQ shrimp and a squid ink crawfish pasta. Everything was good but the BBQ shrimp stood out to me. It would have been great with some grits or something.

By the time we were done with our meal, M was starting to lose it – it was over two hours past her regular naptime. So, to answer that age old question, “what about dessert?”, we decided to get it to go. This worked out well, we ate it at the Riverfront Outlets, an indoor mall, while M napped in her stroller. Emeril’s did a great job of wrapping it up and even presented it to us before boxing.

Well presented dessert - in a box! — Well presented dessert – in a box!

There was one little mishap with our meal, which was my fault. Due to some crappy math, I wrote $74 as the total instead of $84. This resulted in me stiffing our waiter $10 worth of tip! I didn’t realize this until later when we were walking around – I pulled the receipt out of my pocket and had one of those flashback moments where I realized what I had done. Thankfully I called the restaurant and managed to fix it (and my CC bill confirms that it was fixed) – but I was so embarrassed! Sorry, thin Asian waiter with glasses whose name I forgot. I suck.

Quick Bites – Po’ Boys, Muffaletas, etc.

As we’ve done in the past, we had some quick meals – taking food back to the hotel a few times and grabbing lunch to picnic in the zoo another. Jess’ even took some stuff to go to Boston.

Butcher isn't super toddler friendly — Butcher isn’t super toddler friendly

For dinner our first night we had take out from a deli/bar called Cochon Butcher. We were thinking about eating there but it was all stool type seating so high high chairs weren’t really an option. Actually, maybe they had them but we didn’t ask because seeing the stools were enough to help us decide to take it home.

The food at Butcher was great – we ordered mac and cheese which was probably the least impressive but was very filling. But what really set Butcher apart were the sandwiches. I ordered the “BBQ Pork” Carolina Style sandwich which was amazing. Can’t get good BBQ like that in Boston. Jess got the Moroccan Spiced Lamb flatbread which she was happy with though we both agreed my sandwich was the best.

The day we went to the zoo we bought various foods. Jess got a salad from St. James Cheese Co. which she shared with M. I got a shrimp po’ boy from Guy’ Po Boys which I shared with Jess. Jess had found Guy’s while doing research online – it didn’t disappoint (though I probably should have passed on the fries they were nothing spectacular and all the shrimp was fried already. Then again Jess and M ate bugs.)

On our final day we grabbed another crepe from Merchant but what Jess really had her eyes set on was a muffaletta. It’s some kind of crazy deli sandwich that’s supposed to be delicious. In fact that is all she talked about from the moment we planned on this trip.

Ultimately, she managed to get one from Central Grocery which is where these sandwiches were supposedly created. She packed it into her carry-on bag (they also offer to-go into your suitcase packaging for a small upcharge). She ate it for the next three days. “Delicious.”

Another food item of note was the charbroiled oysters that we had at Drago’s in the Hilton. They were okay – I prefer raw oysters. I can see why people swear by the charbroiled oysters but they just weren’t my cup of tea. Their BBQ shrimp and grits were amazing though.

Pralines and Ice Cream

Since I wrote about beignets already, just a note on pralines. When we first had them, we felt they were too sweet. Yet for some reason we bought them again and again. You’ve been warned.

You can't eat just one — You can’t eat just one

We also swung by Creole Creamery which was excellent.

Final Thoughts

Bottom line – eating in New Orleans is great. Just can’t get that kind of stuff up here, plus I’m a big fan of crawfish. Everybody wins. Just try to go easy on the beignets and pralines (or get ready to gain weight really fast!)

Other Posts in this Series

Introduction and Outbound

Kid Friendly Activities

3 Days of Eating

Jan 25 2015

Home for the Holidays: Eating in Hong Kong

Obviously, one of the main draws of Hong Kong is the food. For me, it’s always a matter of balancing good food with nostalgic food from when I was a kid that…might not be as good. Luckily we managed to do a little bit of both on this trip. I’ll just hit our culinary experiences in chronological order.

Spaghetti House

Our first night in Hong Kong, we were still recovering from a pretty tough flight with M. We were looking for some place quick to eat so I suggested one of my favorites from childhood: Spaghetti House!

Having moved to Hong Kong when I was 10, I missed Western food all the time. Spaghetti House was one of the restaurants we would go to after I complained too much.

Like many restaurants in dense Asian cities, you have to look up to find where you’re going. After taking a dinky elevator and waiting a few minutes, we were seated.

One thing I noticed, starting with Spaghetti House, is restaurants in Hong Kong don’t give you a ton of napkins. We only got one each for the two adults and had to ask for a third for M. So come prepared – hey it saves the environment!

Anyway, we didn’t have anything fancy – spaghetti and a salad. M and I enjoyed it – though it probably won’t blow anyone’s mind. Still, if you’re looking for Western food, there are worse places than Spaghetti House.

Random Restaurants in K11 Mall

Like in Taiwan, we were often confined to eating near the hotel. Unlike Taiwan, we weren’t stuck only eating at the food court. The K11 mall has a bunch of restaurants, we managed to try two.

The first restaurant we tried was Good Place. Like a lot of Hong Kong restaurants, Good Place offers all sorts of food – Western and Chinese alike (the British influence). I ordered the pork belly with rice – it was delicious.

Eating in Hong Kong — Pork belly plate. Yum.

That egg is only half cooked and you dip the pork belly in it (forget what it’s called if someone knows please enlighten me). Anyway, it’s pretty common place to find restaurants in HK that offer food from all over (I ate Japanese here, Jess had some Chinese noodles, but we also could have ordered lasagna). Just go with it.

The second restaurant we went to in was Miso Cool. This place was mostly Japanese food; besides the ridiculous/awesome name the food was pretty good. We just ate your standard Japanese dishes (udon and teriyaki with a side of sushi) – I didn’t manage to take any pictures of the food because it was one of those family meals where our hands were full the whole time. They also serve frozen yogurt which Jess would partake in at a later date.

Tasty Noodle

Jess and I discovered this place way back in 2010 on our first trip to Asia together and we have visited every time in Hong Kong since. It’s located in the IFC Mall and can often have a decent wait time. Like almost every restaurant in Hong Kong, take a number and wait for it to show up on the sign.

Tasty Noodle lives up to its name: it has all manner of noodle dishes and an extensive menu that can be overwhelming. We always order at least one order of wonton noodle soup, just because it’s so classic.

Then we usually get some dish with ho fun (flat rice noodles). Often this is Beef Chow Fun (乾炒牛河) but this time I decided to mix it up. There is a standard Hong Kong dish called runny egg beef rice (滑蛋牛肉飯) – I asked for this but on ho fun instead (he fen if you’re speaking Mandarin). I love this dish – I really just seem to love semi raw eggs in general.

We also ordered some vegetables, I guess, and ma la gau (pinyin, don’t know the English translation). Overall we were super satisfied, as always!

Tim Ho Wan

After Disneyland, we made a beeline for Hong Kong Station (near the IFC) to eat at Tim Ho Wan, our second Michelin starred restaurant of the trip (there are other locations as well). This place was pretty annoying to find, it’s like on a middle level of the actual train station – we wandered around for ten minutes to look for it. Just do yourself a favor and ask first instead of being a stubborn guy like me.

Prepare for crowds and tight quarters – all these people have numbers already, back up!

Tim Ho Wan is cheap, tasty, and crowded dim sum. There was a long wait when we got there at 4:15. There is always a huge crowd of people by the podium, but all of them probably have numbers up there. Push your way up to the front and ask for a number, you’ll receive a menu with a number on it so you can mark what you want to save time. There also aren’t any high chairs for you parents out there.

No high chairs at the Central location so bear that in mind

We had a mix of great orders and fail orders, though that was on us not the restaurant. You have to order the steamed pork buns, they are unique here and possibly some of the best I’ve ever eaten.

The glutinous rice chicken (糯米雞) was very generous in portion and tasted amazing, much better than anything we can get at home.

If you're not sure how to order this, just say "Naw Mai Gai" - the last two rhyme with fi from "fee fi fo fum" — If you’re not sure how to order this, just say “Naw Mai Gai” – the last two rhyme with fi from “fee fi fo fum”

We also ordered some shrimp dumplings, which were pretty standard.

Finally, we ordered this fried egg and minced beef on rice dish that was kind of a fail. I mean it tasted fine and all, but I can’t really remember why we ordered it and it just wasn’t as good as the other stuff.

All in all, I definitely believe Tim Ho Wan was worth the wait. For sure you have to try it at least once, but I’m considering it putting it on our list of must visits with Tasty Noodle and Din Tai Fung on future trips.

Cheap Eats

There are a lot of cheap eats in Hong Kong. First, I need to give a shout out to McDonald’s. I did not eat there – a shocker – but we did get a hot chocolate. Couldn’t pass this up. The also were selling a 6 piece chicken nuggets meal for $21HKD (less than $3 USD) WHAT!? If only…

Our toughest find ended up being egg waffles at Lee Keung Kee. They have a location in Tsim Sha Tsui on Nathan Road which really is basically in Jordan (just walk north). Anyway, we read online that they opened at 11 AM so we got there around 10:50 and stood around until they sadly did NOT open. Jess was incredibly disappointed.

The line for egg waffles was not insignificant

Eventually, on one of our last days, M took a nap in the afternoon while I ran up there to get some egg waffles. There was a super long line that took me about twenty minutes to get through. The egg waffles are cheap (like less than $2 each or $3 for a pair), and they are served hot! Anyway, they are a great snack and something you should definitely try if you don’t mind waiting in line.

Worth the wait - best when hot — Worth the wait – best when hot

Final Thoughts

Though you wouldn’t believe it seeing how thin people in Hong Kong are, there are amazing food options to be had in the city. These were some of the places we hit on this trip (didn’t get to go to Cafe de Coral for my chinese fast food fix unfortunately) – it’s tough to find a restaurant in the city that’s not good. Happy eating!

Other Posts in this Series

Introduction

United Domestic First and LAX Star Alliance Lounge

EVA Royal Laurel Class Review

Using Public Transportation in Taiwan with a Toddler

Visiting the Taipei Zoo

Eating in Taipei

Grand Hyatt Taipei King Suite Review

A Tough Flight with a Toddler

Public Transportation in Hong Kong with a Toddler

Typical Hong Kong Tourist Activities

Hong Kong Disneyland with a Toddler

Finding Peace and Quiet in Hong Kong

Jan 09 2015

Home for the Holidays: Eating in Taipei

I was a bit sad we didn’t get to eat as much as we had hoped in Taiwan. Don’t get me wrong, we ate often and we ate well, but dealing with a toddler’s needs always trumped our desires to get where we wanted to go to eat. We didn’t even make it to a night market!

Still, much of the stuff we ate trumps any of the Chinese/Asian food we can get here in the States. Think of this post as part trip report, part food guide for parents of toddlers who are in Taipei but can’t get out too far!

Our Most Frequented Locale: Taipei 101 Food Court

We spent way too much time eating at the Taipei 101 Food Court, much to our chagrin, but a lot of that was due to necessity. Many nights we couldn’t go out for dinner (due to the jet lag), so what we would do is walk the five minutes from the Grand Hyatt to Taipei 101’s mall and pick up food to go. We also ate their once.

This meal didn't go so well, but it was cheaper than room service — This meal didn’t go so well, but it was cheaper than room service

Luckily, the food court has a ton to offer, and while it’s still mall food, it’s more authentic than, say, Panda Express (which I love). It is definitely a madhouse between like 6-8, though you can get a table if you’re patient (many tables are long and requiring sharing). There are also plenty of high chairs to go around if you do some walking.

In terms of the food, we ate Taiwanese, Cantonese, and Japanese food, and Jess had some boba from a fruit smoothie place. There’s obviously a ton of better things out there in Taipei to eat, but if you don’t want to hold your child in your lap in a taxi too much or are afraid of a sit down meltdown, takeout from the 101 Food Court might be your ticket. Oh and McDonald’s and this fried chicken place called Dico’s were pretty cheap too, if you’re craving something more western.

I chose fried chicken over McDonald's for my one western meal on the trip — I chose fried chicken over McDonald’s for my one western meal on the trip

Beef Noodle Soup: Lao Zhang

One of Jess’ favorite meals was at Lao Zhang, a beef noodle soup restaurant near the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial. They make their own soup base which ranges from spicy to mega-spicy! I was nursing a sore throat at the time so only could go for medium spicy. They also have a tomato based soup for those who can’t tolerate any spiciness at all, we ordered one of these for M (think this could be a vegetarian option as well).

This was one of those meals with relatives where we were not allowed to see the bill at all and I had some trouble with the website (Chinese not good enough and the English version is kind of broken). Still, I don’t think it is too pricey, and the food was great. We pretty much all had beef noodle soup with varying degrees of spiciness and it destroyed almost any beef noodle soup I’ve had here.

Hot Pot: Northeast Pot

We had one of our best meals in Taiwan at China Northeast Pot. This was again with relatives (so no idea on cost) and it wasn’t centrally located at all, but the food was excellent. Their scallion pancake was one of the best I’d ever had. At first I thought someone had just ordered it for me because they know Americans love that stuff, but we ended up getting a second order because everyone was a fan.

I think the soup was heated on some kind of gas stove – they set it all up for you

The restaurant makes its own broth (there are a few to choose from) and there is a sauce station so you can make your own sauce. You can get all sorts of meats, vegetables, tofu, and noodles to cook in the soup – it’s all pretty great. If you’ve never had hotpot before this is a nice place to start – you can just point at pictures of what kind of foods you want!

Meal in Tainan: Chou’s Shrimp Rolls

Since one of our main reasons for the trip was to introduce M to relatives, we took the High Speed Rail down to Tainan. Though I’ve already recounted what a disaster the train ride was, our time in Tainan was actually quite nice. One of the highlights was Chou’s Shrimp Rolls, a fast food restaurant that specializes in Tainanese snacks.

The shrimp rolls were really amazing – processed, fried – everything I love! There were also lots of noodle soups to choose from. Pretty much everything we ordered there tasted great.

Though we didn’t get to pay (again – great trip!), I did catch the prices this time: cheap. If you ever find yourself in Tainan I think this place is well worth a visit.

The Star: Din Tai Fung

Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese staple, though they’re everywhere now. If you want to see some in depth thoughts on Din Tai Fung feel free to read one of Tiny Urban Kitchen’s reviews. For my money, it’s one of the best xiao long baos in the world, and the Michelin guide agrees. This would be our first Michelin starred restaurant on this trip and it was way cheaper than anything in Lyon!

Every Din Tai Fung puts on display the careful precision required to make their wonderful dumplings

We went to the Din Tai Fung by Taipei 101 as opposed to the original. The wait times are comparable (I walked by the original a bunch of times on this trip), but as long as you don’t need to go to the O.G., I think the Taipei 101 location is preferable. Yes, we still had to wait 45 minutes, but we spent 35 of those minutes wandering around the mall.

The food, as always, was amazing. Everything is always the perfect temperature, perfect consistency – I seriously have never been disappointed by anything I’ve ordered at Din Tai Fung. A must visit if you’re in Taiwan (or any of the other places where it’s located!).

Random Food: Shao Bing You Tiao and 7-11

Jess and I didn’t get as much Taiwanese breakfast food as we had liked but we did manage to get a shao bing you tiao for our trip to Tainan. That’s a you tiao (oil stick) wrapped in what’s essentially a fried pancake/dough (think scallion pancake). If you’re in Taiwan get out on the street in the morning and find one of these. I mean, it’s fried bread inside of fried bread. Come on, now!

And then I’d be remiss to not mention that 7-11 has a ton of non hot-dog junk food.

Final Thoughts

I don’t know a ton of food, I just know I like to eat it and there are a lot of good options in Taiwan. Even with M in tow, we managed to eat a lot of great food – though not as well as our last trip to Taiwan. It’s no worries though, traveling with a toddler isn’t better or worse, just different. Adjust your expectations and get your eat on in Taiwan!

Other Posts in this Series

Introduction

United Domestic First and LAX Star Alliance Lounge

EVA Royal Laurel Class Review

Using Public Transportation in Taiwan with a Toddler

Visiting the Taipei Zoo

Eating in Taipei

Grand Hyatt Taipei King Suite Review

A Tough Flight with a Toddler

Public Transportation in Hong Kong with a Toddler

Typical Hong Kong Tourist Activities

Hong Kong Disneyland with a Toddler

Nov 30 2014

Lazy Weekend in Lyon: Michelin Starred Meals at La Mere Brazier and La Remanence

One thing Jess and I don’t get to do as parents is go out for fancy meals, so we decided to binge while in Lyon sans the little one. The city is known for its food, after all, and is home to sixteen different Michelin starred restaurants. As I’ve said in the past, I’m not averse to spending money – these restaurants obviously weren’t cheap, so we definitely ate into our savings from the flights a bit. I personally thought the experiences were well worth it so thought I’d share some of our experiences. Both restaurants were about a twenty minute walk from our hotel, par for the course in our hotel experience.

La Mere Brazier (2 stars, Lunch)

I’ve decided to go in order of quality instead of chronologically. I was pretty blown away by our culinary experience at La Mere Brazier, a two star restaurant under the care of head chef Mathieu Viannay. The restaurant was housed in what felt like an old residence, instead of one large dining room it more felt like separate dining areas in different rooms of a house. Our particular room consisted of four tables though there were some (private?) rooms with only one table each.

La Mere Brazier just hangs out on a nondescript street corner

We both ordered the seasonal menu – I got a three course meal with appetizer and dessert while Jess opted only for the dessert add on to her entree. One of the things about fine dining overseas is that sometimes you have no idea what you’re eating – menus are in French and sometimes things get lost in translation. I find a lot of times that works to my advantage as a picky eater, since I am spending so much money I just make myself “try everything” – and in some cases ignorance is bliss! Plus my palate isn’t distinguished enough to figure out what I’m eating anyway.

The amuse bouche was a small piece of cod(?) in a root vegetable soup - delicious — The amuse bouche was a small piece of cod(?) in a root vegetable soup – delicious

Case in point, I ordered the Pate en Croute as my appetizer not really knowing what I was ordering (though I guess Jess knew). It was chicken pate with foie gras in a pie crust – we saw loaves of these things being made at some of the local stores. Anyway pate is generally too rich for my tastes and foie gras even more so, so while the appetizer was pretty good I wasn’t able to finish it. This would be the first and only plate I sent back with food still on it.

Chicken pate with foie gras and black cherry jam

For entree I ordered the suggestion du moment which was steak with root vegetables. Everything was cooked perfectly. It was a bit of a safe choice but I figured I’d already gone adventurous (for me) with the pate. The root vegetables were extremely well done – didn’t even have to force myself to finish them haha. I think this would be a good time to note that the presentation of all the dishes was very impressive.

Combine all ingredients for a perfect bite

Jess ordered a fall-vegetable adorned deer dish with black trumpets (trumpets of DEATH). She said it was very well done and the deer wasn’t gamey at all.

Those trumpets of death... — Those trumpets of death…

Before the dessert course, I decided to order a cheese plate, mainly so I could choose from this bad boy:

Cheese is cheese and all three were amazing. Before dessert even came, we were given petit fours which were among the most impressive I’ve ever had.

Petite fours, ice cream, and a madeline — Petit fours, ice cream, and a madeline

For dessert we had a Paris-Brest, which I guess is this thing – with hazelnut ice cream and caramelized hazelnuts.

We also had a caramelized apple dish with quince and vanilla sorbet. Also very tasty.

Finally, when everything was done, they brought out one more sweets cart for us to grab some caramels and marshmallows from, and then it was all over.

The French seem to take their marshmallows seriously

The meal ended up clocking in at around three hours. The service was great throughout until the very end, when it felt like we were abandoned for like fifteen minutes while waiting for our check. Not totally sure if I missed something culturally or whatever but that was a little weird. Up until that point though the servers were Johnny on the spot for all of our needs. Oh, and the chef came out to say hi at the end, which was a nice touch.

Another petite four close up — Another petit four close up

Overall, I was very impressed with La Mere Brazier. It was clearly a few notches above La Remanence (the one star restaurant below). The food and presentation were amazing; the service was great up until the end. It also clocked in at less than a hundred US dollars per person at lunch, which is great value for the experience in my opinion (if you enjoy fine dining of course).

La Remanence (1 star, Dinner)

La Remanence was our first meal of the trip and it was good in its on right. The restaurant just recently earned its one star and is an up and comer. To me, it’s just not as impressive as La Mere Brazier. That extra star makes a big difference I guess! (At least in this case). I’d say the one thing that stood out about La Remanence over La Mere Brazier was their homemade ice cream – each flavor that we tried with our desserts was really special. Anyway, here are some quick highlights of our meal.

I couldn’t tell you what was in the amuse bouche, but what I can tell you is that I ate them all and Jess wasn’t a fan.

Jess wasn't too into this — Jess wasn’t too into this

We ordered a tasting menu that covered the entire table. The most impressive course was the first one, a scallop cooked in its shell with some kind of foam (which would end up being a theme). It was really good.

After that it was foie gras, which we both finished (a rarity), so that’s a testament to how well done it was.

My second favorite dish was the grilled filet of Rouget Barbet. A lot of foam though, again.

For those curious, Rouget Barbet is an inland fish. The more you know

I honestly cannot remember much about the next course, which was veal.

After an unmemorable cheese dish, we finished up with two desserts, a roasted fig and a chocolate cake type thing. Like I said before, it was the ice cream that was really special – a hazelnut almond flavored ice cream and a vanilla with a hint of alcohol.

All in all, La Remanence was a nice meal but not as special as La Mere Brazier. Since they were around the same price, if I had to only go to one I’d definitely lean towards La Mere Brazier.

Final Thoughts

Like I said at the top, this isn’t a food blog, so take everything I said here with a grain of salt. We went to Lyon to eat well and these two restaurants did not disappoint. I realize fine dining isn’t for everyone, but if it is and if these restaurants are any indication, Lyon’s not a bad place to do it.

Other Posts in this Series

Introduction

British Airways First Class and the Ghost Terminal at Heathrow

The Hilton Lyon, Parc Tete d’Or, and Salon du Chocolat

Michelin Starred Meals at La Mere Brazier and La Remanence

Nov 09 2014

Some Thoughts and Pictures from Lyon

BA First Lounge Boston

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Don't understand this choice of partition

I really wanted to be at the WestCoastDo but had already made plans to get away with Jess, so we’re here in Lyon, France (minus the little one) for the long weekend. We’ve been preoccupied with three things: sleeping, eating, and walking. We’ve done a ton of all three. I planned this trip looking forward to doing the first two, the third just kind of happened.

Some consider Lyon the food capital of France, while some consider it the food capital OF THE WORLD. I don’t know about all that, but we’ve been eating pretty well. Here are some quick highlights so far, more detail to come eventually.

We took our pre-flight meal in the British Airways first class lounge in Boston. It feels like a prison but the food wasn’t bad (better than the plane although I skipped straight to dessert so who knows).

After arriving in Lyon and taking a nap (first of many), we went to La Remanence, a restaurant that recently earned a Michelin star for the first time. We ordered the tasting menu. I found it to be pretty good all around with some spectacular points – including a scallop cooked still attached to its shell and two different ice creams.

After a big breakfast, we skipped lunch though grabbed some chicken nuggets from McDonalds. They have a really good curry sauce you can get with your nuggets, and Chinoise sauce – aka sweet and sour sauce. That quite possibly is racist though I can’t be certain.

We spent the rest of the afternoon eating chocolate. First we went to Bernachon, a super famous chocolatier in Lyon. Jess went kind of nuts and we bought a lot of “gifts” for people. Then we went to the Salon du Chocolat Lyon – aka huge chocolate festival that only happens once a year. We spent two solid hours there just sampling and trying and buying. A really cool experience. Anyway I’ve tried to upload a few pictures into this slideshow thing Saverocity recently added to WordPress – hopefully it works!

Edit: Hmm I don’t really like how this displays. No more slideshows.