The PB Murals: The Market Wall

Le marché - the market scene - is another that might be found in any French town or city. Here I have focused on Lyonnais specialties.

The chickens in their charming wooden crate are Poulets de Bresse, an exquisitely tasty chicken raised near Lyon and considered to be the best chicken in France, if not the world. They are corn fed and free range. The great Lyonnais chef, Paul Bocuse, has helped to make them known world-wide, but they have been classified as AOC (appellation d'origine contrôlée - a trademark of local authenticity) since 1862. A fun fact about the Bresse chickens is that they are thought to be similar to the French flag (le tricolor de bleu/blanc/rouge) - blue legs, white feathers and red crests.

This video features a young, award-winning éléveur of volailles de Bresse. To those who aren't sure how Bresse could be so much better, he says, "Once you have it on your plate you will immediately know the difference."

The cheese seller offers local cheeses, such as St. Marcellin, Reblochon, fromages de chèvres, arôme de Lyon, Comté and Époisses. (I just happen to adore all of these cheeses, tops among them being St. Marcellin and Epoisses. Jack is a Reblochon lover.)

 A selection of our favorite cheeses - all from the area around Lyon (l to r): Reblochon, St. Marcellin, Époisses & Comté

The table in front features Pascaline Rispoli, mother of Chef Philippe, selling her homemade confitures (jams). While she does not really sell at the market in Lyon, her wonderful jams are available for purchase at PB...while they last. (If you miss out on getting some, just wait until Pascaline visits again!)

A selection of Pascaline's delectable jams at PB Boulangerie Bistro

The charcutier (cured meat seller) has hams, pâtés and other prepared meats beloved in Lyon. The poissoniers (fish sellers) in the foreground are offering local fish, as well as imported Cape Cod lobsters & Wellfleet oysters. This is fairly unrealistic, but we couldn’t resist! Even the people looking at the fish are Cape Codders on vacation. She is sporting her French straw market bag and he wears espadrilles, both newly purchased on this vacation.

Pigeons (squabs) are hunted and cooked in many French homes and restaurants.

Cooked squab is very flavorful - like a cross between dark meat chicken and duck.

The guignol (puppet theater) is another cherished tradition in Lyon. PB has some Lyonnais guinol puppets on display in their bistro.

In the upper left corner of this wall is the coat of arms of Lyon and the map in the upper right corner shows Lyon’s location in France.

The PB Murals: The Vieux Lyon Wall

Vieux Lyon (meaning Old Lyon) is the oldest part of the city, dating to at least Roman times. In 942, Lyon became part of the Kingdom of Burgundy, and later, in 1307, became part of the Kingdom of France. 

This photo (above) of La Place de la Trinité was my inspiration for this wall

The remarkably charming buildings in this part of Lyon are plaster colored in the wonderful pink, peach & ochre tones you see here. Medieval and renaissance architectural details abound here. The streets are cobblestone.

The organ grinder with his limonaire (crank organ music box or hurdy gurdy), similar to the one played and celebrated at PB Bistro, is a common site in Lyon. Many still keep a traditional little monkey as their sidekick. He attracts customers and collects donations, and I suppose, is the organ grinder's best pal. 

I gave my organ grinder (picture on right) the look of a gitan (gypsy) with his purple vest and yellow silk neckerchief with red polka dots. (See my two most popular posts, ever - both on French gypsies here and here.)

At PB Bistro - the wonderfully entertaining William (pronounced weel-YAHM), playing the limonaire during a recent upbeat evening

The sidewalk dining bistro scene is typical of such settings, all over France. The charcuterie platter with mustard, cornichons and sliced baguette is commonly enjoyed in Lyon. I decided to put university students at the bistro table in the mural, as a reminiscence of my own student days in France. We felt we were so sophisticated and grown-up, drinking wine for lunch and eating such amazing foods, and the truth is...I still believe we were!

The blackboard has a menu du jour that would be seen at many a Lyonnais bistro, including Bugnes de Lyon (miniature beignets). This particular menu was dreamed up for me by Pascaline, Philippe's maman.

The chef (who bears a slight resemblance to PB's own Philippe Rispoli) is standing in front of a Bouchon Lyonnais, a sort of restaurant typical of and specific to Lyon. Bouchons are bistros, serving traditional cuisine lyonnaise, such as homemade sausages, duck pâté, and other charcuteries, fish quenelles (dumplings), coq au vin, chicken stuffed with morels, and other hearty foods.

The épicerie is a grocery store which carries fresh produce and dairy products. As in this picture, épiceries display their products out on the sidewalk in all but the most inclement weather.

The baker represents both a boulanger (breads chef) and a pâtissier (pastry chef), both of whom are so important to the daily life of French citizens... and to the customers and staff at PB!  As in France, the French bakers at PB Boulangerie are there all night, every night, baking everything fresh for the next morning.

Above, just a small hint of the outstanding pastries and breads displayed at PB Boulangerie.

The PB Murals: The Wine Cellar Wall

Naturellement, wine is a big part of life in and around Lyon, as the city is located between two of France's most productive wine regions - Burgundy and the Rhône valley. This cave (cellar) shows barrels of Beaujolais being aged, and the vigneron (winemaker) tasting a barrel sample, just to see how the wine is progressing (which he needs to do quite frequently, of course!)

Jack and I have met many such characters over the years - passionate about their wines and willing to share them with anyone who is likely to appreciate them. We have passed many happy hours in conversation with red-nosed and -cheeked winemakers, tasting samples from their barrels as early in the day as breakfast. Imagine - this is what they do every day!

For the story in the murals, I imagine that this winemaker is a family friend of Philippe's, and wears his PB Boulangerie Bistro apron with pride and great memories of his trip to Cape Cod.

The wooden cases of wine in front of the cave represent a variety of French wines, including some of France’s most highly prized selections.  The Pétrus is from Bordeaux in western France, but the Louis Jadot and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are from Burgundy, north of Lyon, while Châteauneuf-du-Pape is from the Rhône valley, south of Lyon.

I have had the good fortune to have tasted all of these wines, over the years, at various different meals. I was once served a Château Pétrus from 1955. (Our host had wanted to serve something from my birth year, but 1956 was a lousy year for French wines, and he had no wines from that year in his cellar...I reminded him that I had been conceived in 1955!) Known as the world's most expensive wine, I like to think I really did enjoy it for all it was worth.

The antique bottle of crème de Cassis is here because this wonderful black currant liqueur comes from Dijon, just North of Lyon. This is the special ingredient in a Kir cocktail, which also originated in this area. I adore crème de Cassis liqueur, and have made it several times at home. In fact, for many years, I had a black lab named Kir.

The very elegant mademoiselle can be clearly identified as a Parisienne, by her chic Chanel style clothing, Hermès birkin handbag and impossibly high heels. She is walking Chef Philippe’s dog, Krusty, a French black cocker spaniel.

The real Krusty (above) is totally adorable!