Ynitial G&G The Joint 14 Rue du Palais Grillet 69002 2ème Arrondissement Lyon France Cliff I had almost the same thing that Sarah did, but adding rosemary-seasoned beef to the bowl of vegetables bumped the price up about 10 EUR (no joke). It was quite good, but I felt like I overpaid. I am sure that wasn’t 10 EUR worth of beef — even at restaurant prices — differentiating her dish from mine. Sarah Another discovery made by just tooling around. Small, vaguely Asian and fairly inexpensive. I had the red curry mixed vegetables (baby corn, chickpeas, red onion, broccoli, etc.), which were nicely spicy, very tasty and quite cheap (about €5,50). The decor inside was very modern and sleek — slate slab walls and floors, subtle pendant lamps, black chairs and tables – but we sat outside to enjoy the breeze and, hopefully, avoid choking on second-hand smoke. Service was fairly fast and discreet.
Hotel Beaux Arts The Joint 73-75 rue President Edouard Herriot 69002 LYON FRANCE Cliff Personally, I found nothing remarkable about this place. I was wiped out from the long drive and was just happy to have a place to lay down and sleep. I wasn’t tired enough to overlook the price though — this place ain’t cheap. But I guess that this chain is known for that. Sarah Pricier than I would have liked (€90/night), but the facilities were pretty nice. Decor isn’t all that great, but the location is outstanding. The room was HUGE by European standards (generous by American), the bed was very comfortable and the bathroom was clean and well arranged. Breakfast buffet the next morning was nicely varied in a quiet room. Only problem – there is no designated parking for guests. That meant that we had to park in one of the downtown public lots and pay overnight rates to get our car out the next day (which actually was about half as much as we thought it would be). Not terribly inconvenient, but a little frustrating when trying to actually get out of the car and into the hotel. Overall, it was a good experience.
L’Oliveraie The Joint 10 Place aux Huiles 13001 1er Arrondissement Marseille, France Cliff We parked in a garage not far from here (see photo) after sharking around for a spot and then walked to the Place aux Huiles to this restaurant. Again, I am thankful for hospitality staff who are patient with foreigners. Our guy at L’Oliveraie was patient with us and used his English as best he could to answer our questions. When we found we had Spanish in common (because I kept saying things like “muy bien” instead of “tres bien“), we switched to that and happily continued our meal. I had hazelnut-encrusted fish of some sort and it was very good. The sorbet maison (home-made sorbet) to finish the meal was my favorite part though — peach and strawberry flavors melting together in your mouth is a very nice thing. Sarah We found this in our Frommer’s France guide book (2005). Unfortunately, frommers.com no longer lists this place as one of the recommended restaurants for Marseille. BIG MISTAKE!! The food was fantastic, the location is right in the Vieux Port area (directly off the main drag – fabulous people-watching opportunities) and the service was outstanding. We ate outside and, unfortunately, we didn’t have the foresight to pop inside and check out the interior. But they have a lovely setup on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant under some trees. We had the prix-fixe menu again, both starting with chicken madras salad, a regular mixed salad with a dollop of cold chopped chicken in a wonderful curried dressing. Cliff had the fish, so I went for the other option, a beefy miracle with some mixed veggies. Now, I’ve had some lovely beef in my life (I am from Kansas City, after all), and this little nugget o’ tenderloin (I think) easily ranks in my top ten red meat experiences. It was expertly cooked, seasoned and presented. So much so that I would, apropos of nothing, turn to Cliff at random and just say, ‘Dude. That BEEF. Wow.’ Dessert for both of us was homemade sorbets with coffee and little bon-bons to finish it all off. Marseille was about a 3-hour roundtrip out of our way and this place made it 150% worth the drive.