Celebrate Bastille Day: Eat French
I can barely make it through the original London cast’s recording of Les Mis (Patti Lupone slays me), but that doesn’t mean we can’t all join in the Bastille Day celebration.
Eating is much easier on the emotions that listening to stirring musical renditions of the French Revolution alone in your living room, trust me. And Atlanta has plenty of plats du jours for July 14.
FAB, downtown, will have a special $45 prix fixe menu from 5:30 p.m.
Other French excursions can be found at these French eateries thorugh out the area: Atmosphere, Babette’s Cafe, Trois, Violette, Petite Auberge and Anis Bistro & Cafe.
What other French restaurants do you like in the area?
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© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
46 comments Add your comment
sarfdawg
July 13th, 2009
10:22 pm
How to celebrate? Hmmm…how about learning how to say, “I surrender,” in French.
majordawg
July 13th, 2009
10:36 pm
Tanning my armpits.
sarfdawg
July 13th, 2009
10:39 pm
Majordawg, is that before or after braiding your armpit hair?
sarfdawg
July 13th, 2009
10:44 pm
Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a crepe! Apparently no one else does as it took 10 hours for anyone to comment on this article.
(I love French jokes – I could go all night!)
majordawg
July 13th, 2009
10:57 pm
Lord knows there won’t be any deoderant to deter the braiding.
Wcrew
July 13th, 2009
11:03 pm
In the words of General Patton ” I would rather have an German Division in front of me than to have a French Army Behind”
conservadawg
July 13th, 2009
11:04 pm
“I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me.”
—General George S. Patton
conservadawg
July 13th, 2009
11:07 pm
Going to war without the French is like going hunting without an accordion.
Wcrew
July 13th, 2009
11:15 pm
How does the saying go
Raise your right hand if you like the French.
Raise both your hands if you are French.
conservadawg
July 13th, 2009
11:23 pm
Q: What does “Maginot” mean in German?
A: Welcome!
Dan Payton
July 13th, 2009
11:24 pm
Q: How do you get a French waiter’s attention?
A: Start ordering in German.
Dan Payton
July 13th, 2009
11:24 pm
Why wouldn’t the Statue of Liberty work in France? Because she has only one arm raised.
sarfdawg
July 13th, 2009
11:26 pm
“France has neither winter nor summer nor morals. Apart from these drawbacks it is a fine country.
France has usually been governed by prostitutes.”
—Mark Twain
I love that one!
conservadawg
July 13th, 2009
11:26 pm
Q: What did France used to be called?
A: Germany, and then we saved them.
conservadawg
July 13th, 2009
11:28 pm
Q: Why wasn’t Christ born in France?
A: Because they couldn’t find three wise men and a virgin.
Dan Payton
July 13th, 2009
11:28 pm
Why wasn’t Jesus born in france? Because they couldn’t find three wise men or a virgin.
Dan Payton
July 13th, 2009
11:30 pm
Q. Did you hear about France’s new weapons contracts?
A. They gave one to Ace Hardware to produce 250,000 wood sticks…they are still looking for a company to produce 250,000 little white flags.
sarfdawg
July 13th, 2009
11:30 pm
This one’s for Majordawg:
“The last time the French asked for ‘more proof’ it came marching into Paris under a German flag.”
–David Letterman
conservadawg
July 13th, 2009
11:38 pm
We can stand here like the French, or we can do something about it.”
—- Marge Simpson
conservadawg
July 13th, 2009
11:40 pm
“I just love the French. They taste like chicken!”
—- Hannibal Lecter
Wcrew
July 14th, 2009
12:37 am
“I don’t know why people are surprised that France won’t help us get Saddam out of Iraq. After all, France wouldn’t help us get the Germans out of France!” —Jay Leno
Wcrew
July 14th, 2009
12:40 am
Q: What is the first thing the French Army teaches at basic training?
A: How to surrender in at least 10 languages.
Wcrew
July 14th, 2009
12:40 am
Q: What is the most useful thing in the French Army?
A: A rearview mirror, so they can see the war.
Wcrew
July 14th, 2009
12:41 am
Q: Why does Nike like the French Army?
A: Because, in war time, they are the biggest buyers of running shoes.
Wcrew
July 14th, 2009
12:51 am
Q: How many Frenchmen does it take to defend Paris?
A: Nobody knows, it’s never been tried.
Meridith Ford Goldman
July 14th, 2009
6:50 am
While all this has been very amusing (NOT), I’d suggest that we stick to French food in Atlanta for the topic. Perhaps you guys should start your own blog.
Random Stranger
July 14th, 2009
7:41 am
Well in case you haven’t figured it out Ms. Goldman, not too many of us that bleed red, white, and blue want to celebrate ANYTHING French. Your article just tapped into the anti-Franco feelings many of us Americans have. France is an ungrateful, overrated, annoying country. I would celebrate Bastille Day, but I don’t have anything yellow to wear.
DHayDawg
July 14th, 2009
9:14 am
Q: What’s the favorite hymn of the French?
A: “I Surrender All”
SPEAK-So-EASILY
July 14th, 2009
9:15 am
HAS FAB not gone out of business already? it’s a dead restaurant that sooner….rather than later will become a casualty of the economy. MF, no one cares about Bastille day.
sarfdawg
July 14th, 2009
9:48 am
Ms. Goldman, you HAVE to admit that you at least smiled at some of these!
In all seriousness, France has done more to thumb its nose at the US (particularly militarily) over the course of history, that it’s hard to appreciate anything for which France is good.
Perhaps, Obama will improve relations between France and the US. They have a lot in common. They are both very comfortable bending over for the rest of the world…
Meridith Ford Goldman
July 14th, 2009
10:28 am
I’m merely suggesting that we stay on topic, guys. And the topic is not politics or French jokes. It’s MFG, not MF, s’il vous plait.
brett
July 14th, 2009
10:32 am
Why is the Champs Elysees lined in trees? Because the Germans love to march in the shade.
brett
July 14th, 2009
10:33 am
So an old British General and an old French General are sitting around swapping stories, and the French General says, “So why you wear ze red coats? Are you not easier to see?”
And the British General answers, “Well, it’s quite ingenious, actually. If I were to get shot, the red blood would not show on my uniform, my troops would not despair, and they would continue on to win both the battle and the war.”
The French General reflects on this and then quickly barks to his aid, “Pierre! Quickly! Go and fetch me my brown pants.”
chevre chien
July 14th, 2009
10:40 am
Perhaps, Obama will improve relations between France and the US. They have a lot in common. They are both very comfortable bending over for the rest of the world…
Sarfdawg, vous avez le cervau d’un sandwich au fromage. Look it up.
sarfdawg
July 14th, 2009
11:02 am
chevre chien (Goat Dog?), I have the brain of a cheese sandwich? Wow. That one hurt.
chevre chien
July 14th, 2009
11:19 am
How you English say? I unplug my nose in your general direction, you son of a window dresser! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!
RK
July 14th, 2009
12:37 pm
Sigh.
Darin
July 14th, 2009
12:55 pm
FAB is my favorite place for french food in Atlanta, though it’s too pricey for me to visit it often. I also like Douceur De France in Marietta for french breakfast and lunch and, though it isn’t really a french restaurant, Cafe Intermezzo on Peachtree makes some great crepes.
Also, Peasant Bistro downtown has a french slant to its menu and I have enjoyed most everything I’ve had there.
Isn’t Trois closed?
I am of french descent and my wife and I are going to Paris later this year — my first visit. I’m excited. It’ll be difficult for me to resist planning the entire trip around restaurant visits.
sarfdawg
July 14th, 2009
2:31 pm
Darin, if you and some friends choose to mount an invasion, you should meet little resistance.
Just kidding. Enjoy your trip…
annc
July 14th, 2009
2:54 pm
I’m with Meredith. I came here to find suggestions for French restaurants and found instead a series of rants against the French.
Thanks, Darin, for some useful information. And have a great trip to France. We’ve been several times and have had wonderful experiences there on every trip. We were in Provence on September 11, 2001, and the French were wonderful to us and to all the Americans there on that terrible day.
Meridith Ford Goldman
July 14th, 2009
3:28 pm
RK: My sentiments exactly. Darin — ahhh … another sigh. I envy you! My favorite bistro is L’Ardoise — check it out if you have the chance.
Claude
July 14th, 2009
4:00 pm
What a bunch of ignorant rednecks!
BPJ
July 14th, 2009
4:43 pm
Obviously a few francophobes found an outlet for their venting – these jokes got pretty worn out in 2003, when France was trying to tell us that invading Iraq was a bad idea….(oops!) These rubes always forget that we were only able to win the Revolution with French help – and France was the first to offer help with the invasion of Afghanistan (the war that made sense, unlike Iraq), where French soldiers are still fighting (and occasionally dying).
Now, to get back on topic, you’ve listed the best French places in town (FAB, Trois, Atmosphere, Anis) except Joel, which I would rate the best. FAB is doing great business whenevr I go, so no, I think it will not be closing anytime soon. Babette’s is excellent, but I don’t think of it as primarily French.
Darin
July 14th, 2009
5:09 pm
Thanks for the tip on L’Ardoise, Meredith. I’ll add that to our list of places to visit in Paris.
RK
July 15th, 2009
1:02 pm
I don’t think that Joel was doing anything special yesterday, though (I thought about it as I drove up 75 last night). For anyone that thought Joel was too expensive to enjoy, they have revamped the menu Bistro-style, and they have specials weekday nights.
For the francophiles, I would suggest going to Star Provisions and getting Delice de Pommard, a triple creme goat cheese wrapped in red-wine soaked mustard husks. At about $18 for 7 oz, it is expensive, but it is the best cheese I’ve ever had. One warning, though — Star did not have it there a few weeks ago.
Darin
July 15th, 2009
2:15 pm
RK: thanks for the tip on Joel. I just took a look at their lunch menu online and saw that they do have some nicely-priced items that look interesting.
On the down side, I also peeked at the bar menu and saw a disturbing sight that is too common in fine dining places — crazy beer prices. $7 for a bottle of Amstel Light? There are stores in town where you can buy a six pack of it for less. Just a glass of tap water for me, please.