Saravanaa Bhavan? Or any of those ubiquitous restaurants named Red Fort, Taj Mahal, Delhi and so on? Do you hunt for these the moment you land on foreign shores? Despite our growing willingness to experiment at home, fact is most Indians are still conservative diners abroad. Which is why ask any travel company and you will hear tales of how ?Indian dinners? are not just hugely popular with groups travelling to Milan, Paris, London, Brussels or wherever, but indeed mandatory.
But now, there seems to be some change in the pattern. With younger Indians travelling in search of experiences?rather than acquisitions or to check out a bucket list of ?sights??food, and local food, is becoming an intrinsic part of how and why we sample another country and culture. I was in Paris and then in the south of France recently, trying to discover some exclusive, non-mainstream ?hidden gems? in a country so high on all pop tourist lists. And apart from close looks into French perfume-making, arty villages peopled by the likes of Chagall, Picasso and Van Gogh once upon a time, old city centres and so on, it was the dining experiences that stood out.
For a foodie traveller in Paris, perhaps even more than the mandatory touristy stops at the Eiffel, Moulin Rouge or Galerie Lafayette, it is caf?/bistro/patisserie hopping that can keep you entertained for days. Where is the best hot chocolate? Who sells the best macaroons? Or the best quiche? These are discussions similar to any competitive sport you care to indulge in. But food aside, food voyeurism can equally take the shape of sipping a perfect glass of red at one of those historical literary caf?s trendy in the 1920s-30s? Paris, when Hemingway described the city famously as ?a moveable feast?, which stays on in you wherever you are.
At the Deux Magots (Two Magots) on the Left Bank, once a hot spot for Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and the Surrealists, I managed to have quite a decent quiche lorraine (most popular of French recipes, made from smoked bacon, gruyere cheese and eggs) despite the fact that the caf? now attracts more tourists than impoverished intellectuals. On the other hand, if you are in France, and looking at a serious gastronomic experience, you should not be in Paris at all but a couple of hundred kilometres away in Lyon, a town most tourists skip, but which really is the centre of French gastronomy.
With its privileged geography and fresh produce streaming in from all around, it is inevitable that cuisine here be varied and flavourful. Lyon has a fair number of Michelin-star restaurants dotting its scape. But by no means do you have to go to a white-tableclothed place for a hearty meal. With my companions, I set out in the heart of the old town on a journey to choose the right bouchon for an evening meal.
Everyone?even those with no idea of French food?in India is generally acquainted with the term ?bistro?. In Lyon, it is bouchons?family-run places with menus even simpler than a bistro?that have the best food. Traditionally, places where drivers of trucks or horse coaches would stop over for a meal and drink (much like our dhabas), bouchons inevitably had the woman of the family cooking while the man managed the place. And even today, these are non-fancy, small places with paper mats and napkins where the owner will serve you.
Since these are humble establishments, the ingredients are rustic and basic?delicacies made with pike, lentils, eggs, innards, feet and so on rather than truffles, lobster or foie gras. But the result is stunning. I had a hugely satisfying bowl of onion soup at the place that we finally chose and dug into the most brilliant poached eggs in red wine sauce (one of the local delicacies of this region) that a friend had ordered. You can similarly try other popular bouchon dishes?fish souffl? (that assumes the shape and texture of a dumpling in a cheese sauce) or a sausage (made from tripe) in a wonderful mustard sauce.
The establishments themselves are usually on the side streets and known to locals only though their fame seems to be spreading these days as chefs and the gourmet community at large is increasingly shying away from fancy formats to rediscover casual ones that can boast of a ?real meal?. The best thing though is that if you do take the trouble to wander through the lanes, you don?t have to be the quintessential insider to enjoy the charms.
The writer is a food critic