Bastille Day Around the East Bay

 

Here are a few options we found for your Bastille Day pleasures:

You can impress the staff at Rockridge Market Hall with your marvelous French pronunciation when you ask for PEA-sah-LAH-dee-AIR (pissaladière) or Mool FREET (moule frites), but these are just a couple of the delicieux highlights you’ll find at the market’s Bastille Day Soirée on Saturday, July 13, noon to 3pm. Entry is free so you can sample a wide range of cheeses, charcuterie, French ingredients, and specials you’ll want to purchase to take home in order to keep the party going.

Berkeley’s Kitchen on Fire is throwing a Bastille Day Celebration class on Saturday, July 13. It’s taught by Chef Olive, a French native who is descendant of at least five generations of restaurateurs dating back to the early 1750s in France. Find the class on the schedule here.

You might think you’ve been beamed back to 1920s Paris on Saturday, July 13 at REVE Bistro in Lafayette when this “classic, everyday neighborhood bistro” features live gypsy jazz by Duo Gadjo to go with your escargot, Steak Frites Classique, or Soupe a l’Oignon Gratinée.

On Sunday, July 14 at Berkeley’s La Note restaurant, you can enjoy a Mimosa aux Framboises (sparkling wine with raspberry coulis) and Les Oeufs Brouilles au Saumon (three eggs scrambled with smoked salmon and cheese over buttered French country bread with frites and roasted Provencales tomatoes).

On Bastille Day weekend at Left Bank Jack London Square, the holiday atmosphere will be complete with rustic, authentic French dishes, festive live music and entertainment, and blue, blanc, and rouge decorations.

Folks at The Rendez-Vous in Oakland say, “If you are feeling Frenchie this week,  you can come by any time from 5:30 to 11pm Wednesday through Saturday.” Highlights include their vintage mermaid mural, “Picasso” cocktail, and a classic French-style poulet liver flan crostini with pickled onions and cornichons.

On Sunday, July 14, noon to 4pm at City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon, you can celebrate the 2024 Paris Olympics with elegant culinary delights, including macarons from Miette Patisserie & Confiserie, live performance by the Baguette Quartet, and captivating acts by mimes, jugglers, magicians, and bubble artists.  More info here.

If  your favorite farmers’ market is where your want to celebrate the rouge, blanc, et bleu, you’re in luck, since nearly every East Bay market has a French-style bakery or crepêrie ready to serve you something delicieux. Check Edible East Bay’s always-up-to-date Farmers’ Market Guide for times, links, and locations.