Our last night in Lyon, the upper management from the factory we were visiting invited us out to dinner. The CEO, the director of products, and the international sales manager met our small group at a place not too far from our hotel, a little restaurant by the name of Le Comptoir d'Ainay. (The Counter of Ainay) We had eaten at some wonderful restaurants during our stay in France and we knew going in this would be no exception.
Le Comptior d'Ainay has been in business for 5 years, owned by Claire Dreyer, with her kitchen headed by Marseilles native Chef Romain Renard who once worked under the renowned New York chef Daniel Boulud. The restaurant is located in what is known as the Ainay section of Lyon which is known for their antique shops in the area. The centerpiece of the neighborhood is the Basilica of Saint-Martin d'Ainay, a Romanesque church where parts of the building date back to the 11th century. It was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel through Place Bellecour to Le Comptior d'Ainay on a cool, moist night. (see map)
Le Comptoir d'Ainay is a small, narrow restaurant with a small bar up toward the front of the restaurant. We were seated along a wall with banquette bench seating. The menu was in French on the wall above where we were seated. Many of the items on the menu are selected based on their freshness and locality. While it Le Comptoir d'Ainay had a somewhat upscale menu, I didn't feel that there was an ounce of pretentiousness with the staff.
After getting three or four bottles of the Saint-Thomas red blend, we just started ordering up the food. I started out with the foie gras ravioli - plump foie gras wrapped inside pillows of ravioli pasta and served in a beef broth with fresh parsley sprinkled on top. These were just outstanding. The foie gras was flavorful, but the broth gave it a bit of a salty and savory flavor. Foie gras had upset my stomach earlier in the trip and I said that I wouldn't get it anymore. But the foie gras ravioli was just too tempting to pass up and I'm glad I got them.
My colleague Francois was seated near me and he got the prawns topped with greens with sort of a guacamole spread with a passion fruit emulsion. The presentation was superb and he said that the combination of the flavors with the guacamole, fresh greens and the prawns were outstanding. The prawns and the foie gras ravioli were a popular choice. Also on the starter menu were regular foie gras, an artichoke salad with prosciutto and parmesan cheese, and a salmon tartare.
After a lemon and white wine aperitif to help stimulate our appetites, the main entrees showed up at the table. I got the Spanish wild pig shoulder served in a mushroom/brown gravy sauce. New potatoes came with the pork shoulder. The pork was slow-cooked, cut into thirds and topped with fresh parsley. It was tender and had a great taste. I was more than happy with my selection that evening.
One of our hosts seated next to me got the duck breast placed on top of a bed of risotto topped with chips of parmesan and sprouts. That, too, was a popular dish at the table. The duck breast had been cut in half and pan fried. I like duck, but it's almost too rich for me.
The person on the other side of me got the shrimp cannelloni - two pasta shells stuffed with chopped shrimp and covered in a white wine sauce and topped with rosemary and parsley. The description of this by one of our guests who was translating the menu was mouthwatering. I came about *this* close to getting this dish based on the description, but I was happy with my pork.
My colleague Francois got the roasted lamb with mixed vegetables in a peppered brown sauce. Lamb in Europe is better than lamb in the U.S., in my opinion, and this would have been a close third in my choices for dinner. We traded pieces of my pork shoulder and Francois' lamb, and the bite of lamb I had was excellent. He, too, thought the pork shoulder was very good. "I almost got that," he told me. "I was hoping someone would get it so I could get a bite of it!"
My colleague Ian got the steak - a 250 gram (about 9 ounce) beef filet that also had new potatoes and a mushroom sauce like my pork shoulder. Ian had three or four steaks while we were in France and he said this one was the best one of all that he had.
The meal was very good, but we also had to get dessert. I decided to break up my crème brulée routine by going with something that turned my head when it was mentioned - an orange cheesecake. It came with a sugar crisp wafter with mint leaves embedded in the cheesecake. Oh, God! This was heavenly! The cheesecake came with an orange emulsion that gave it a bit more of a citrus taste. A couple times I stopped and shook my head side to side just taking in the unbelievable taste sensation of the orange cheesecake.
My colleague Francois is big on dessert. More than once we've waited on him to finish his dessert when everyone else was too full from dinner to eat a dessert. This time, he got something that could only be described as two sugar crisp wafers with a lemon cream bedding in between.
They also make their own ice cream at Le Comptoir d'Ainay and my colleague John got the lemon ice cream. It was more creamy than a sorbet. I wanted to get all three of these desserts as I'm a sucker for anything lemon in a dessert. But the orange cheesecake was one of the most memorable desserts I've ever had.
Actually, the whole meal at Le Comptoir d'Ainay was quite memorable. The Spanish wild pig shoulder was delicious, tender and full of flavor. My foie gras ravioli was simply delectable and very interesting. And the orange cheesecake with the citrus sauce was off the charts great. Everyone raved about their meal and we were very thankful to our hosts for treating us to such a culinary experience. The overall meal I had at Le Comptoir d'Ainay was simply one of the finest meals I've had - ever.
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