Found: English muffins!

Spotted at Monoprix! (Is anyone else noticing a trend here. Thanks, Monop!) English muffins, both plain and whole wheat, available in packs of 6.

Found: Cheddar cheese!

Spotted at Monoprix, right next to the fromage bleu and chèvre. It's 16.90€/kilo for a wedge of true Cheddar, made in Britain and loved by Americans.

Have you spotted any American treats lately, send us the details!

Found: Skittles!

Spotted at Monoprix... Skittles! Maybe it's just me, but this is a new arrival, right? One large bag of snack packs is selling for 2.48€. Time to taste the rainbow!

Ladies only!

Pinkies up, ladies!

You are invited to a New Year's tea this Friday, January 22nd, at 1:30pm.

The ladies of the International Christian Community of Lyon are getting together catch up after the holidays and meet new people. Everyone (well, if you're a lady) is welcome! Bring a friend or two if you'd like.

You can also find out more about the upcoming Spring 2010 study of the book of James every other Friday.



Join us for tea on Friday? Contact Maria (mariaaitchison@yahoo.com).

2 good wines under 6€

Welcome back, Ngan Dam, Lyon Eats' guest writer and budding wine expert. Ngan is currently teaching English here in Lyon. She is a trained and certified English literature and ESL teacher, has years of experience in the translation and interpretation industry, speaks English, Vietnamese, and Spanish, and is working to add French to the list. She is a Suite 101 contributor, writes for Go English mgazine, and blogs at Le Croissant Trail.

I recently discovered two great tasting wines, a white and a red, with great price tags.

Côte du Rhône 2007 Reserve from Ortas

This red wine is neither too powerful nor too weak. If I had to use one word to describe its taste I’d say “balanced”. It is a good wine to serve when you have both novice and experienced wine drinkers at your table.

Le Pressoir, a cave/wine cellar at 7 Rue de la Part-Dieu, 69003 Lyon, carries this Côte du Rhône for 5€ a bottle. There are a few other kinds of red around the same price, but so far I have found this Côte du Rhône to be the best.



Gewurztraminer 2008 Vieilles Vignes from Les Vignerons de Sigolsheim

This white wine from Alsace is dangerously good and easy to drink. It works very well as an apéritif. Some gewürztraminer can be too sweet, making it difficult to enjoy before a meal, but this one is perfect, delicious yet not intrusive. A bottle costs around 5.50€ at Marché Presqu’ile at 14 Rue de la Platière, 69001 Lyon.

If you have tips for good, affordable wines available in Lyon, please share!

Click on the link to read Ngan's article Wine tasting: fun and free!. Also stay tuned fro her upcoming feature on wine vocabulary.

Found: crockpots!

A faithful Lyon Eats reader has just reported (well, tweeted actually) that the Monoprix at Cordeliers has crockpots for 99€!

What's for breakfast?

Recently a Lyon Eats reader asked about finding hot breakfast cereals. Considering the snow this week, I think it's a topic that interests a lot of us! Below you will find a list of American breakfast foods available in Lyon. If you are looking for something else that's not on this list or have something to add, please do! You can leave a comment at the end of this post.

Bacon: poitrine fumée
I find what is labeled ‘bacon’ is more like what we call Canadian bacon.

Bagels
Now available in packs of 4 at Monoprix in the bread section. Frozen bagels are available from Raconte-moi la Terre or Picard. Bagel shops in town include the two Best Bagel locations at place Terraux and Ampère and City Bagels in the 2nd.

Country ham
Jambon fumé sold for raclette tastes like Virginia Country Ham if you heat it in a frying pan. (Emailed by W.)

Country sausage
See recipe here to make your own, or try chipolatas as a substitute.

Cream of wheat
According to Wikipedia, cream of wheat is similar in texture to grits or polenta, but made with ground wheat (farina) instead of ground corn. Lucky for us, farina is available at bio stores and often at Bahadourian.

English muffins
Both white and wheat, available at Monoprix in the bread section

Granola
Carrefour has the best granola we've ever had anywhere - hands down. It's their generic Muesli in the green box.

Grits
Polenta is close if you're a homesick Southerner. (Emailed by W.) According to Wikipedia, grits is similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world such as polenta. The difference is that grits are usually made from quickly-cooked coarsely ground kernels or from ground hominy.

Maple syrup: sirop d’érable
Available at most grocery stores, usually near sugar and baking ingredients.

Maxwell House coffees
Found instant coffees and capuccino mixes at Intermarché. (Emailed by J.)

Oats, rolled: flocons d’avoine
Available inexpensively from Bahadourian, L'Eau Vive, and La Vie Claire. They have both large and small rolled oats - and don't miss the delicious 5 grain mix from bio stores! You can also find Quaker Oats in most large grocery stores.

Pancake syrup
Available at Bahadourian.Missippi Belle Pancake Syrup is available in the international section of Carrefour at Part Dieu. (Emailed by W.)

Quaker Oats
The original Quaker Oats are available at most grocery stores. You can also find Quaker Oats brand crunchy cereals which are more like granola. Available with strawberries or chocolate, or plain.

Tropicana juices
Available at most grocery stores. The brand is owned by PepsiCo and you can find a wide variety of juices, including orange, pink grapefruit, mandarine, yellow grapefruit, apple, ruby red breakfast, orange-mango, mandarine-raspberry, apple-litchi, red berry breakfast, breakfast tonic, tropical wake-up, etc...

Thanks for your input on these! Don't hesitate to email or leave a comment with your tips and experiences so that others can find a taste of America in Lyon.

Has anyone seen Mr Pig?

Last winter our Monoprix started carrying small, cooked hams by a brand called - ever so appropriately - Mister Pig. The price was reasonable and the taste was really American. We quickly got spoiled, and then one day Mister Pig disappeared.

Has anyone seen Mister Pig this year?

New Year's resolutions

1. Get to know the city of Lyon better.

2. Save money.

3. Visit Lyon Eats for the most up-to-date information.

Well, I can at least help with the first two resolutions. From now through March 15th, all guided tours are only 7€ for adults. That means you can discover Vieux Lyon, the Croix Rousse, the city's murals, contemporary architecture... it's all at your fingertips!