Bastille Day Picnic in South Park

Celebrate la Guillotine!
Vive la France!

Leave it to the French to continue to celebrate the decapitation of hundreds of royals (okay, I know, the celebration is really about the release of the prisoners from the horrific prison, la Bastille, but you really can't think of the Bastille without envisioning a guillotine chopping off someone's tete). Regardless, 14th Juillet is one of my favorite days of the year. First of all, my nephew Nicholas was born on this day 12 years ago! Sadly I rarely get to celebrate with him since he lives in Austria, but I always do send my love.

Secondly, Bastille Day gives me an excuse to eat some of my favorite foods and drink some of my favorite wines. This year, we had a brief break in the fog for some unseasonably warm weather here in San Francisco (it actually got into the 70s!), so my friend Tracy thought it would be nice to do a little picnic in South Park, a hidden little park right in the center of the city. Tracy just moved back from London and said that her friends would often have impromptu after work picnics as it would stay light until past 10, so we decided to give it a go.

Here's a sampling of what we served:
- French bread with tomatoes, basil & chevre (goat cheese)
- pate de campagne (wasn't a huge hit)
- some delectable salami brought by my friend Eric of Niman Ranch (I don't think it's commercial available, but all their meats are delicious and they're nice to their critters)
- cheese selection including: triple cream Brie, Pont L’eveque, Morbier, and an aged goat
- radishes (tres French)
- Nougat de Provence (little candies)
- Croque Monsieur from The Butler & the Chef (an awesome cafe on the edge of the park)

And the wines included:
- Chateau Thurry (a rose I brought back from Coteau Valois en Provence - quite light and refreshing)
- Chateau Routas (of course - my favorite rose)
- 2003 Clos du Caillou (a delightful red Cote de Rhone) - brought by our office resident wine expert Kimberly Charles of Charles Communications.
- and we finished off the night with some yummy Kir Royales (Tracy's favorite)

So next time you find yourself facing a georgeous evening, I definitely recommend foregoing the bars and restaurants and grabbing your friends for a picnic.