The food world is full of connoisseurs β steak fans, oyster mavens, cheese authorities, whisky and wine snobs, even soup Nazis. But have you ever once met a chicken aficionado? They were twice the price and marginally better than the garden variety supermarket industrial chicken.
Some years ago, however, I happened to be on a road trip through France and quite by accident arrived in Bourg-en Bresse for a night. I never knew chicken could be so delicious β dense, but not tough; fat, but not fatty; intense but not gamey. The restaurant paired it with unlimited Beaujolais from nearby Burgundy. Butchers said it sounded familiar, but they had no idea how to go about getting it. I was just screwed. Attempts to smuggle them out have proved futile.
And not only is it a legally defined region of France, there are specific rules and regulations concerning how and what Bresse chickens are fed β milk solids, grains, insects, mustard seed and alfalfa, and secret all-natural stuff nobody would talk to me about. Attempts have been made to duplicate the breed over here. Unfortunately, his entire flock was destroyed in due to the avian flu. Luckily, a few weeks before his birds were destroyed, he sold some breeders to someone in California.
Most restaurants serve humbler birds. In fact, I remember a friend telling me about a time he and his wife ate at a simple bistro, and she asked the waiter β whose English was rudimentary β for a grilled chicken breast. A while later, another waiter brought a roast chicken to someone at a nearby table. So where can you find Breese chicken in Paris? Often, your chicken will be ceremoniously wheeled to you on a trolley, anointed and basted with buttery jus and carved before your eyes.
Sides are often included in the price. Just order it, eat it, and love it. Here are three restaurants serving poulet de Bresse that I can personally vouch forβ¦β¦listed in no particular orderβ¦.. Roosevelt 53 67 64 00 Request a corner seat on one of the banquettesβ¦. Good info. Lucky me I ran across your blog by chance stumbleupon.
