Happy Bastille Day! Where to Celebrate in Philadelphia (Plus, French Inventions to Know)
Today we honor Bastille Day, or la fête nationale, the French national holiday which commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution dating back to July 14, 1789. On this historical day, French revolutionaries stormed and captured The Bastille prison, renounced their king's power, and claimed their liberty. It was the end of the monarchy and the start of the republic. These days, there’s more reason than ever to #resistez as we live through a revolutionary period of racial justice and a catastrophic pandemic.
During the lockdowns, my partner would tend to the kitchen attempting to recreate classic French dishes from Julia Child’s cookbook, while I tended to curating a French disco playlist. In past years you could find us enjoying the outdoor festivities at Brooklyn’s Smith Street Province Festival. This year, finally, we can finally return — in person — to festive fare, themed libations, and celebratory happenings in honor of the French national holiday.
24th Annual Bastille Day Festival at Eastern State Penitentiary (2018)
Bastille Day Festivities in Philadelphia
Philadelphia is home to several premier French-inspired dining and imbibing destinations — from bistros and cafes to white tablecloth restaurants. Here’s where to go to indulge in the French classics and party with your favorite Francophiles.
Forsythia
233 Chestnut Street | 215.644.9395 | www.forsythiaphilly.com
Old City’s contemporary French bar and restaurant helmed by Chef Christopher Kearse is hosting a one-day-only Bastille Day menu, drink specials, a vintage Citröen DS car, live entertainment, and other festive fun. The menu will be available starting at 5 - 7pm for $65 per person.
Food specials include:
Escargot à la Provençal
Tuna Niçoise Crudo
Blue Moon Acres Tomato: rosè vinegar, burrata panna cotta, caviar, African blue basil
Softshell Crab BLT
Panisse with Raclette Cheese Fondue
Baba au Grand Mariner: white peach, raspberry, lemon balm
Drink specials include:
Cinq à Sept ($12): cognac, Grand Marnier, absinthe, lemon
A Drama in Paris ($12): vodka, Cappelletti, absinthe, lemon
La Vie en Rose ($12): gin, Lillet Rosé, Carpano Bitter, lime-thyme cordial
Kronenbourg 1664 ($6)
Absinthe ($12)
Seared Foie Gras // Credit: Max Mesterr
Royal Boucherie
52 S 2nd St | 267.606.6313 | www.royalboucherie.com
Another Old City upscale bistro is taking its French-focused roots with live entertainment in honor of Bastille Day from Wednesday, July 12 through Saturday, July 15. Noted burlesque performers Lelu Lenore, Ashantidoll, and Selene Rose kick off the festivities on Wednesday from 7 – 11pm (doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8:30pm) — get tickets here.
Menu highlights include:
Oyster and Champagne Shooters (foie gras consommé, caviar, quail egg yolk)
Escargot and Brie Crépe
Foie Gras and Roasted Peach Tarte
Wagyu Sirloin “Bourguignon”
Goat Cheese Napoleon
Drink specials include:
Laurent Perrier ($20 per glass, split for $50)
Francois Ducrot ‘Auguste’ Orange ($13 per glass)
Domaine Barons de Rothschild Lafite d’Aussieres Chardonnay ($14 per glass)
Comtesse Marion Pinot Noir ($14).
Parisian Sour comprised of brown butter-washed cognac, peach, and a red wine float
Marseille Martini mixed with blue cheese-washed St. George Reposado Gin, blanc vermouth, and a blue cheese olive garnish
The Good King Tavern
614 S 7th St | 215.625.3700 | thegoodkingtavern.com
The fifth annual Good King Tavern Block Party (#bastilleblockpartyphl) returns on Saturday, July 15 from 12pm – 8pm. Expect 7th and Kater Streets to be filled with French street food, cornhole, wines, Kronenbourg beers, and DJ entertainment. Expect sardinettes, merguez skewers, salad au chevre chaud, sandwich nicoise, and of course, pommes frites. One of GKT’s most popular cocktails and a staple on their bar menu, “Marseille, Afternoon” made with Ricard (pastis), pistachio orgeat, lime, and sparkling wine, will be the featured drink — this time in canned form for leisurely outdoor drinking inspired by GKT’s southern French roots. A raffle giveaway will also be held with profits supporting the Mighty Writers.
Philly Squeeze performing at The Good King Tavern // Credit: The Good King Tavern
Bonus: 5 French Inventors to Know
Bastille Day marked a high point during the 18th century Industrial Revolution as French artists, craftsmen, and scientists contributed to some of the most inventive products and discoveries we still use today. Below I’ve rounded up 5 favorites to pay tribute to our fellow freedom fighters.
The Photograph
In the 1820s French inventor and army soldier Nicéphore Niépce was the first to make a permanent photographic image. Previously, Niépce experimented with other inventions including the internal-combustion engine, called the Pyréolophore, to power a boat with his brother. In the 1810s, Niépce became fascinated with the popular art of Photolithography (also known as optical lithography in which a pattern is exposed to light), and began experimenting using images he collected from nature. Then in 1826 Niépce used a camera obscura to produce the first permanently fixed image of nature from his workroom window, using light-sensitive chemicals on a piece of metal. He continued this process solo until 1829 when he partnered with Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, who is credited with inventing the photographic process in 1839. We can thank them both for the evolution of still photographs that document the world around us.
The Bicycle
Cities around the world have embraced two-wheel transit in major ways. From the Dutch to the Vietnamese to New Yorkers, cycling has become the preferred mode of urban transportation. The French introduced us to the first wave of cycling with a chain that powered a bicycle in 1864, thanks to the work of several Frenchmen: J. F. Tretz, Pierre Michaux, and Pierre Lallement. Each contributed a distinct part to what is now the modern bicycle. Michaux was a blacksmith and baby carriage maker from Paris who began building bicycles with pedals in the early 1860s, adding on to the early designs of the velocipede. His son, Pierre Lallement, worked with him to create the first bicycle prototypes, later inventing a transmission with a rotary crank mechanism and pedals to attach to the front-wheel hub. Both Lallement and Michaux opened “Michaux and Company” in 1868 to mass-produce their bicycles, continuing to advance their designs and materials, and further drive the bicycle craze around the world. Shortly after their success, J.F. Tretz built upon their pedal bicycles with a chain drive that enabled the front wheel to move.
The Pencil Sharpener
Efficiency was key during the Industrial Revolution so as the world continued to develop, so did the need for quicker and better communication. Writing, of course, has been a part of human history since the very beginning, but it wasn’t until 1828 when writing tools gained a radical upgrade. In October of 1828 Parisian mathematician Bernard Lassimone patented his invention of the first mechanical pencil sharpener, doing away the need for knives to sharpen pencils by hand. His sharpener “employed small metal files set at 90 degrees in a block of wood and worked to scrape and grind the edges of the pencil’s tip.” Parisian newspaper, Le Constitutionnel, named Lassimone’s sharpener as the preferable way to sharpen pencils. Despite this endorsement, his invention failed to please the masses due to its reliance on the manual twisting of the pencil by hand. A decade following Lassimone’s debut, Walter K. Foster (an American) entered the scene with a cone-shaped design which proved favorable for mass production at pencil factories, resulting in wider accessibility.
The Hair Dryer
French hairstylist Alexandre Godefroy invented the first hairdryer in 1888, hooking up the dome-like device to a heater that would send hot air to a woman’s head. His invention included “an escape valve for steam so women’s heads wouldn’t cook” but lacked airflow. In fact, in the early 20th century, ads and inventors urged women to attach a hair-drying hose to their vacuum cleaners’ exhaust, selling not only dry locks but also supreme efficiency. One 1926 patent offered a brush that could connect “to a suitable suction apparatus or blower whereby the dust and dirt may be carried off as the said brush is being used.” Until the 19th century, the only way to dry and style hair was to simply run a brush through one’s hair on a sunny or windy day. With Godefroy’s device, a large, noisy motor connected to tubes that pointed to one’s head and blew warm air, allowing for control of the heat directly to the hair.
The A-Line Dress
Legendary French designer and couture pioneer Yves Saint Laurent took the fashion world by storm with revolutionary concepts during the 20th century. The son of an insurance company manager, Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent left home at the age of 17 to work for the French designer Christian Dior. Though designing dresses for women (like his mother and sister) since his teens, it was at Dior that his fresh designs quickly gained notice and he began to carve his own path. In 1955, the term A-line was first used by Christian Dior, during Saint Laurent’s "Trapeze Line" collection featuring dresses flaring out dramatically from a fitted shoulder line. An A-line skirt (or dress) is fitted at the hips and gradually widens towards the bottom, resembling the capital letter A. His trapeze dresses became the "most wanted silhouette in Paris” and til this day, the A-line design is widely applied to not only skirts but dresses and coats as well. In 1983, he became the first living fashion designer to be given a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
