Bastille Day — TCA Blog — The Chic American

Showing my French pride in this robe rouge from ShowPo. It may be an Australian brand, but today is France’s day.

Joyeux 14 Juillet! 🇫🇷 Today is France’s national day of independence. Also commonly known as Bastille Day, it’s very similar to the US national holiday, 4th of July.

This date commemorates the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille in 1789—a pivotal moment of the French Revolution when angry citizens rushed the government building, protesting the monarchy and an of abuse of power. As a result, it eventually led to Marie Antoinette and her husband King Louis XVI getting the guillotine, but that’s a story for another time.

The Storming of the Bastille, by artist Jean-Pierre Höuel.

The founding principles of Liberté Égalité and Fraternité (liberty, equality, and brotherhood) have since gone on to shape the institution of France’s government body and symbolize what it means to be French.

Never a people known to shy away from exercising their right to protest and expressing their (oft clashing) opinions, it’s important to note that many French citizens feel that these three basic tenets have been violated in recent times by sweeping government mandates, vaccine pressure, and strict lockdowns imposed as a result of the Covid crisis over the past year. Similar sentiments have also been echoed in the United States.

It may be another time of revolution, but also one of celebration, because as history tends to demonstrate, the two are often inextricably linked.

On a lighter note, I will be celebrating my French pride tonight at La Boheme in West Hollywood, where the annual festivities are being organized by French Tuesdays in partnership with L’Alliance Francaise and other members of the local Franco-American community here in Los Angeles.

It’s always one of my favorite events of the year, and includes music, dancing, champagne (and other assorted revelry) and even patriotic performances by traditional can-can dancers.

CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.

Bastille Day in Paris is always celebrated with a national parade down the Champs Elysees.

Moi, enjoying a Bastille Day apéro at Héritage Fine Wines of Beverly Hills.

Bastille Day | La Fête Nationale 2020

There’s nothing quite like being in France to celebrate Bastille Day—the French equivalent of our American Independence Day. Just as the 4th of July signaled the culmination of the American Revolution in 1776 that led to the United States disassociating from Great Britain, Bastille Day marks the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, the climax of the French Revolution in 1789, which was equally as bloody and gruesome (let’s not forget the gleeful beheading of Marie Antoinette, for one) but also paved the way for a future of fireworks, flag waving, and national pride.

A few hundred years later, le 14 Juillet is still celebrated just a few weeks after the 4th of July, and if you haven’t gotten all of that patriotism out of your system, there many ways to show affection for the beautiful country that we all know and love, and many of us consider a home-away-from-home (Who could forget the famous Josephine Baker quote: America is my country, but Paris is my hometown?). One of the best ways to celebrate this year, during the head- scratcher of a summer that is life in 2020, is to support local French restaurants and businesses.

One of my personal favorite spots is Héritage Fine Wines in Beverly Hills.

Known as much for its summer rooftop soirées (excluding this year, sad face) and occasional drop-in performances by John Legend, as for its impressive body of French wines, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better apéro spot in the city. With a to-die-for selection of gourmet meats and cheeses, creating an a la carte charcuterie board has never been easier, and a summer Happy Hour menu that includes $1 oysters can’t be beat. A glass of Taittinger always satisfies my bubbles craving, or sample a flight of fresh-off-the-vineyard whites, reds, and rosés out on the terrace, admiring the stream of passersby from nearby Rodeo Drive.

Helmed by French expatriates and expert winemakers, founder Jordan Andrieu and sommelier Charles Denois—born and bred on vineyards in Burgundy and Champagne, France, respectively—with their keen noses for a proper bouquet, have cultivated a curated library of French wines, all available by the bottle, and for purchase at the on-site wine shop.

Once sufficiently wined and dined, it’s also worth noting that under normal non-pandemic circumstances, one could head down the street to the Sofitel Beverly Hills for its annual Bastille Day celebration festivities, complete with can-can dancers, a French flag photo booth, and gift bags and raffle prizes sponsored by local French institutions like L’Alliance Française and XL Airways.

But, c’est la vie, as they say. There’s always next year.

Heritage Fine Wines
467 N. Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA
@heritagefinewines

No Happy Hour is complete without a glass of Taittinger and $1 oysters.