Freedom Frites

Although I neglected to mention Bastille Day last week, I was observing the holiday in my own way. The storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 sparked the French Revolution, an era of political and moral turmoil that influenced poets and artists and served as the setting for some of my favorite novels from The Scarlet Pimpernel to A Tale of Two Cities. Failing to time my reading list properly, I was zipping through a translation of Nana by Emile Zola, which is set a century after the French Revolution and tells the story of a Parisian courtesan, whom Amy aptly labeled "the Paris Hilton of her day." That being the case and given that I was in Manhattan, I chose to instead commemorate the holiday by enjoying a variety of French cuisine throughout the week. Starting with steak frites at Pastis on Monday night, I enjoyed an orange and olive appetizer at Cafe Gitane on Tuesday, cheese at Gramercy Tavern on Wednesday, and a breakfast of eggs en cocotte at the gorgeous Balthazar on Friday.