Croissant from Le Fournil de L’artisan
Hey, what do you know? Another extremely tasty croissant in France. It’s almost like the bakeries here know what they’re doing. The only odd thing about this place is that I’ve been in Europe for a couple of weeks, and this was the first time that I had to pay cash for anything. I’ve been able to tap my credit card for every single purchase thus far, no matter how small, which has been enormously convenient (especially since I have a travel credit card that doesn’t charge any currency conversion fees).
Ham sandwich from Boulangerie Chez Jules St Paul
This was an extremely simple sandwich — just ham, cheese, butter, and lettuce — but sometimes the simplest things are the best. The sandwich was served a bit too cold, but otherwise, I really enjoyed it. In particular, the generous amount of sesame seeds on the bread actually added a decent amount of flavour, and weren’t just garnish.
Brioche a la praline from Boulangerie Du Palais
Pralines are kind of a big deal in Lyon, where the local specialty is a red-hued candied almond called praline roses, which gets its distinctive colour from being made with pink sugar. Though I never got a chance to try the nuts on their own, I did try this brioche, which is interspersed with the almonds and features a red sugary layer on the bottom. It was really satisfying — sugary but not too sweet, with a good amount of crunch and a nutty flavour from the almonds. I can definitely see why this is such a big deal here.
Croissant from Au Pain des Traboules
Well, I guess bad croissants do exist in France. This bakery is in the middle of a very touristy area, and yeah, it tastes like it’s in the middle of a very touristy area. Zero exterior crispiness, no buttery flavour, just a generic, mild sweetness. It wasn’t unpleasant to eat, but it certainly wasn’t good, either.
French taco from Chamas
If you’re not familiar with a French taco, it’s basically French version of a burrito, and is generally stuffed with meat, fries, and cheese. Chamas is a chain that specializes in the stuff; I went with the Supreme Raclette, which their website describes as follows: “Fall for this Chamas Tacos® straight from the Vercors with its finely cut bacon, mozzarella, one or more meats of your choice all topped with raclette.” You get your choice of meat (I went with chicken) and sauce (Andalouse), and then you get a comically hefty wrap — it may not be a taste explosion, but it’s cheap and very (very very) filling. My biggest issue here (aside from the dry chicken), was the sauce, which is supposed to be flavoured with tomato paste and peppers, but that looked and tasted like plain mayo to me.