July is a big month for Americans, what with Independence Day, but it’s also a time of celebration for the nation that gave us the Statue of Liberty—France. The Tour de France commences on July 7 and Bastille Day is celebrated on July 14. Both events have become très popular in Boston as restaurants create special menus and people dance in the street to celebrate and commemorate. And those celebrations are really just the tip of the iceberg—from French films, festivals and art exhibits to gourmet restaurants and chic boutiques, French culture abounds in Boston all year-round, if you know where to look. So, if the Francophile in you is aching for a fix, revel in these French-centric events and indulge in a little joie de vivre!
THE CENTER OF IT
ALL
Anyone seeking French culture in
Boston would be advised to start the search
at the French Library and
Cultural Center (53 Marlborough St.,
617-912-0400). If someone within the city
limits is baking a baguette or paying
musical tribute to Edith Piaf, it’s the
French Library’s raison d’etre to know about
it and share the info with the community.
The library itself is a tremendous resource for lovers of all things French. Incorporated in 1945, and lovingly nurtured by expatriate General Georges Doriot and his American wife Edna throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the library houses 25,000 books—the largest private collection of French literature in the U.S. It also offers French language classes for adults and children, cooking seminars, lectures by visiting French dignitaries, and, for some, a haven to connect or reconnect with French heritage.
For
one day a year, the library throws one heck
of a fete in celebration of
Bastille Day, the national French
holiday honoring French freedom, with the
streets surrounding the building closed off
for an old-fashioned block party with food
and entertainment. This year’s 32nd annual
celebration takes place July 13 from
6–11 p.m., and features food from
some of Boston’s foremost French
restaurants, including Brasserie JO, Garden
of Eden and Sel de la Terre, and live music
from Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca, Emeline
Michel and Ousmane Touré. Refer to
special events listing.
EAT, DRINK AND
BE JOYEUX
The casually upscale Back Bay eatery
Bouchee (159 Newbury
St., 617-450-4343) hosts a decadent
three-course prix fixe dinner to celebrate
Bastille Day, treating diners to crab
beignets with warm olive tapenade, poached
halibut with confit tomatoes and English
pea-potato Veloute, and financier with
cherrie syrup and vanilla ice cream as the
piece de resistance. Priced at just $45, or
$65 with wine, the dinner is a chic,
affordable treat.
Meanwhile, over at popular Brasserie JO (refer to restaurants listing), diners can celebrate the Tour de France with a menu by Chef de Cuisine Olivier Rigaud that changes daily to celebrate the region the race is passing through at that time. From July 7–29, everything from carbonade de boeuf flamande from Dunkirk to Bourg-en-Bresse poulet de Bresse fricasse are featured.
And, across the river (the Charles, though you can pretend it’s the Seine if you want) Sandrine’s Bistro (8 Holyoke St., 617-497-5300) acts as the epicenter of Cambridge’s Bastille Day festivities, complete with a street fair outside the bistro. From July 13–15, a special Bastille Day prix-fixe menu boasting dishes like chilled watermelon soup with mint cream and fresh blueberries and an entrée of pan seared salmon with couscous tabbouleh salad, will be offered for $25 per person, while those who prefer lighter fare can enjoy a Tour de France cheese plate for $11, featuring fromage from all the regions the race passes through.
LOOKING CHIC
Jetting off to Paris for a shopping vacation
is any girl’s dream, but with all the
quality to be found in Boston’s French
boutiques, a shopping excursion here can
almost rival the Left Bank. Check out French
designers Chanel (5
Newbury St., 617-859-0055),
Dior (Copley Place, 100 Huntington
Ave., 617-927-7577), Louis
Vuitton (81 Newbury St.,
617-425-5317) and Givenchy
(Copley Place, 100 Huntington Ave.,
617-385-3300) for some haute couture, or
Lavender (173 Newbury
St., 617-437-1102) for handmade French
tableware, in the Back Bay. Meanwhile, in
the South End you can pick up delicious
French cheeses, chocolates and other
delicacies at South End
Formaggio (268 Shawmut Ave.,
617-350-6996), or visit Nami
Spa (12 Clarendon St., 617-267-6264)
to pick up Roger and Gallet beauty products
to help you emulate those chic Parisians.
CINEMA
VERITE
Longing for subtitles and a few bon mots?
Stop by the 12th annual
French Film Festival at the
Museum of Fine Arts
beginning July 12 and take in a feature:
My Best Friend, a film by Patrice
Leconte, kicks off the festival, and other
films to be screened include The Man of
My Life, The Singer and The Very Big
Apartment, among others. (Visit
www.mfa.org
for a complete schedule of screenings).
Beyond the festival, a few French-themed
films are debuting in theaters this summer.
From Ratatouille, a Pixar animated
film about a gourmand rat desperate to
become a chef in Paris; to La Vie en Rose,
the story of songbird Edith Piaf’s life and
career (playing at the
Coolidge Corner Theatre, refer to
film listing); to Paris, Je T’aime, a
collection of vignettes about the City of
Light from various renowned international
directors (playing at the
Kendall Square Cinema, 1 Kendall
Square, 617-499-1996), the summer of 2007 is
looking like a big one for France on film.
SHOW ME THE
MONET
If French art is your thing, Boston boasts
Gallic masterpieces to rival the Louvre. The
Museum of Fine Arts
displays an impressive collection of French
Impressionists (including Monet and Renoir),
as well as some Post-Impressionist and
French Barbizon pieces. Like the Museum of
Fine Arts, the Isabella
Stewart Gardner Museum also features
works by several French Impressionist
masters, such as Degas, Manet and Matisse.
Or, if contemporary art strikes your fancy,
head to the new Institute of Contemporary
Art for an exhibition of works by famed
French-born feminist and artist Louise
Bourgeois. Her work spans six decades and
includes everything from sculptures to
drawings to paintings. The
Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge features
an installation of French works in their
permanent collection called 17th Century
French Painting and Sculpture. Finally,
visit the Galerie d’Orsay
(33 Newbury St., 617-266-8001), a gallery
fully dedicated to French artists which
exhibits The Art of “La Belle Époque”
through July 6 and, beginning July 8,
the new show Impressionists and their
Inspirations. Refer to
museums listings.
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BON APPETIT! Bostonians and visitors to the city are spoiled for choice when it comes to French restaurants. Here’s some of the best the Hub has to offer: Aquitaine, 569 Tremont St., 617-424-8577. This South End bistro is perfect for a romantic pre- or post-theater meal, or just to sample selections from their top-rated wine list. Aujourd’hui, refer to restaurant listing. This perennial AAA Five Diamond Award winner in the Four Seasons Hotel offers gourmet French cuisine and wines from a 1,800-bottle library. Clio, refer to restaurant listing. French-American fare with Asian influences in a setting styled after Parisian supper clubs. Chef Ken Oringer is a past winner of the James Beard Award. L’Espalier, refer to restaurant listing. Boston’s other Five Diamond winner, L’Espalier is a world-class restaurant consistently ranked in Zagat Boston’s top 5 and lauded by critics nationwide for its culinary excellence. Hamersley’s Bistro, refer to restaurant listing. Pioneers of the French cuisine scene in Boston, husband-and-wife team Gordon and Fiona Hamersley continue to receive raves. The Hungry I, refer to restaurant listing. Located in Beacon Hill, specializes in French country cuisine and boasts a picturesque patio for outdoor dining. La Creperie, refer to restaurant listing. Duck into La Creperie for savory and sweet crepes alike. Don’t forget to ask for extra Nutella or to try a crepe with melted Brie—you’ll forget you’re not in Paris. Radius, 8 High St. 617-426-1234. No list of acclaimed Boston restaurants would be complete without Chef Michael Schlow’s modern nouveau French establishment. Sel de la Terre, 255 State St., 617-720-1300. This expanding local chain hosts Wine Wednesdays and Sunday Night Dinner Series, appropriate for connoisseurs and novices alike. |