I just sat down to have dinner at a little restaurant in the Presque-Ile district of Lyon. The place I’m at is packed into a neighborhood with about thirty or forty restaurants – or maybe quite a few more – so it was hard to decide where to eat. At least I knew I wouldn’t go hungry. (Not that has been a concern of late).
Dinner in Lyon
The place I chose is doing a brisk business. It’s very casual, and it’s full of people who seem to be enjoying themselves. American music from the fifties and sixties is playing in the background. They just played “Blueberry Hill,” by Fats Domino.
I’m sitting at a table outside under a big red awning. The restaurant itself is painted in sort of a turquoise color. It looks like an old, old place inside, with arches in the ceiling, and lots of stone. I’d be in there myself, but it’s more peaceful out here, and it’s a great spot to people-watch.
The thing that drew me to this place is one of today’s specials listed on the chalk board out front: Tartine aux Sardines. Mmmmmmm. OK, not everyone gets excited at the sound of “Tartine aux Sardines,” but I get excited anytime I can get something that has fresh sardines on it.
Tartine aux Sardines
These won’t be the sardines we have at home. There’s a big difference between nice, plump, shiny, fresh sardines and those sold in the tins with a pull-top. The pull-top packaging should be a warning sign right off the bat. These aren’t beer cans – these are fish! Fresh sardines are nothing like the things that are jam-packed into those tins like, well, like sardines. (That should be your second warning, eh?).
Fresh sardines are like any other fresh fish – say, for example, a beautiful rainbow trout just pulled from a high mountain stream. They taste so fresh and good. Fresh trout is great, but trout doesn’t have much taste, really, so you have to season it well to get the most out of it.
You don’t have that problem with fresh sardines. No extra seasoning required! In fact, maybe add some seasoning to calm them down a wee bit. They have a taste that’s hard to describe, but of course I’ll try anyway. Let’s see… there’s a definite oiliness, but not like those oily ones in the tins. It’s more subtle, kind of like a nice olive oil that you’d put into a salad dressing.
You’d think they’d be fishy tasting, and OK, I’d be lying if I told you they weren’t fishy tasting at all, but they’re “good-fishy” tasting. Sort of the way people say that venison tastes “gamey.” Well, it’s SUPPOSED to taste gamey. If you bought some venison that doesn’t taste gamey, you’d ask for your money back. It’s gamey, but it’s “good-gamey.”
OK, Let’s Eat!
So – where were we? I just sat down at an outside table and I was going to order the special on the chalkboard – Tartine aux Sardines. The guy who came to take my order was really nice, but also very busy. I got the impression that he was the owner of the place. He thought that maybe he could greet me, get me seated, and take my order, too, thereby saving him a trip from the kitchen out to the tables outside. He asked me if I knew what I wanted…
“Vous êtes prêt, monsieur?”
(“Do you already know what you want, sir?”)
I was happy to hear him ask me this. First of all, he asked me in French. That’s always a good sign. Second, he thought I might be savvy enough to know what I want without having to hem and haw for twenty minutes like the typical tourist. In other words, to him, it wasn’t obvious that I had just fallen off the tourist turnip truck. – Always a good thing. So now, of course, I didn’t want to let him down, so I said…
“La Tartine aux Sardines… c’est bonne?”
(“Is the toast with sardines on it any good?”)
“Honh honh! Mais Oui! Bien sûr, si on aime les sardines!”
(“Ha ha! Why yes, of course, if you like sardines!”)
OK, the truth is that I don’t remember what he said, exactly, but we did have a short conversation in French, and I did order the tartine aux sardines.
When my dinner arrived, it was just as I had hoped. Three big, filleted and grilled sardines resting on a layer of tomatoes, which was on top of the bread. There were some onion slices and a dash of oil and vinaigrette on ‘em, too. Yum yum. VERY tasty!
To be continued…
