le lyonnais (Acton, MA) review
Last night I dined at Le Lyonnais on Route 2A in Acton.
Although I prefer minimalist settings, this quaint place had
a homey feel to it. As far as I can tell, the owners live upstairs.
I briefly saw the chef/owner who has a heavy French accent, which
helped set the mood for a homey French dining experience.
The waitress brought two lightly toasted buns with peppery olive oil for a dipper (nice to get warm buns but if you are bread junkie like me, watch out!)
I ordered Escargot for an appetizer. Six for the price of $11. Not bad but
could've been better (comparing to one I had in Paris which was less
expensive). As an entree, I ordered Beef Tripe. I am Turkish (beef tripe soup is very famous in Turkey) so I get excited when I see beef tripe on menus. I had Italian, Chinese, Korean versions before and I just couldn't resist a French version.
I wasn't disappointed. I expected a heavy dish (Italian version is) but this was braised to perfection with red wine. It had ample mushrooms and tomatoes that made the sauce a perfect candidate for more warm buns. Needless to say I had no room for desert.
As much as I like the tripe dish, its price of $20 was a bit over inflated.
I shouldn't complain as good restaurants in this area are a rarity.
zamata
Apr 29, 2007 07:30AM
They do lunch a couple days a week and I tried them out once. Was extremely impressed:
1. they bake their own bread there, and though it was simple French bread, it was strikingly delicious and fresh -- like in Paris when you get it at a good bakery.
2. got a pate appetizer, which had a nice flavor and texture, a little liver tang and chunkiness but sufficiently tamed so it didn't overwhelm.
3. this is one of very few places that will saute chicken livers to order rather than uniformly cooking them well done. Got mine medium and they were scrumptious, accompanied with perfectly cooked veggies, just enough al dente.
4. had a fruit tart for dessert which was delicious -- fresh fruit, real whipped cream.
First rate all around in my book, at least.
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