Gaul'd

Any Bastille Day Plans? Franco-American

On July 14, 1789 hungry, angry Parisians stormed the Bastille - A city fortress used to hold a handful of political prisoners. The Bastille was especially hated, because enemies of the French State & Crown could be held indefinitely - afforded neither due process nor habeas corpus, detained solely on the written word of a noble. (Not to be overlooked, the Bastille was also an armory) – In a tragic footnote almost too unbelievably French to be true - All the causalities in the attack happened after the surrender of the fortress. Much like our Independence Day didn’t instantly create a pluralistic democracy with fewer than 100 signatures, the storming of the Bastille did not begin the epoch of fraternity, liberty and equality. The July uprising that would eventually depose the French Monarchy gave way to the short-lived republic that dissolved into The Reign of Terror, which in turn brought Napoleon to power. Later, the ill-conceived sequels of Napoleon II & III, counter-revolution, Bourbon restoration, the Third Republic, the Vichy Government and a few other detours – It is still, like our own governance, a work in progress.

Still the day is designated as fete, a national holiday/day of celebration in France. In the US, notably New York, Chicago and San Francisco, Bastille Day has been a day has been set aside to give thanks and praise to the Frenchness in our lives. Here, in the North Portland, home of the Saucykitchen, it seems the Bastille Day celebration was this weekend, so I wouldn't say I missed the celebration, I just didn't participate in an event seemingly consisting of – Cooked garlic, Serge Gainsbourg and L'École du micro d'argent blasting on speakers and the air filled with the scent of cigarettes and fireworks - no lie.

Without denying the contributions of the French table, I am a little more Italianate in my approach to food. In the broadest terms Italian cuisine is about the ingredient, French food is about the cook and food can be needlessly complicated, fussy and bureaucratic in the sense there is only ever one sanctioned way to prepare something.

But if there were a special Francophile in my life, I would celebrate the day with an unsophisticated yet worldly omelet cooked in good butter, steamed asparagus, chilled white burgundy and yes a baguette. Or if I were making a celebratory meal for someone a little more Provincial in her outlook – I would go with the roasted garden vegetables, a green salad and an aioli so rich & garlicky you would need to a cigarette and a brandy to wash the lingering flavor from your mouth.

If that day ever comes, I will stock the shelves with the novels of Michel Houellebecq and say asperges as unmidwesternly as possible but until then, my passion for French contributions to life is pretty much restricted to the play of my current favorite Trailblazer, Nicolas Batum