Sauced

One Night Only: Bastille Day Cocktails at Sun Liquor

The duo of Capitol Hill bars present a special menu to celebrate French independence.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jul 13, 2011 at 04:35PM 0 Comments

Sun Liquor’s Bastille Day menu.

Seattle is really doing it up for Bastille Day this year, is it not?

The situation reminds me of one I encountered previously. That scenario was aptly described by this kid from Boston who lived across the hall from me my freshman year in college. His name was Steve. Early on in our year of proximate habitation, I remember Steve loudly celebrating the sheer number of keg parties that he, a new college student, was suddenly able to attend. “You got paahdies ovah here, paahdies ovah they-ah! Where yah gonna paahdy toonight, dude?” No joke, that’s how he talked. And he was right. There were a lot of parties, just as there will be in Seattle tomorrow night.

And if wine and Parisian street food do not strike you as ideal consumables with which to celebrate French independence, maybe craft cocktails do?

Sun Liquor is counting on it. It has designed a special Bastille Day cocktail menu that will be offered at both Capitol Hill locations on Thursday, July 14.

I included it here for your perusal. Vive La France, and so forth.

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Tags: Capitol Hill, Bastille Day

One More Bastille Day Update

(Some) details on the RN74 bash.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jul 11, 2011 at 04:38PM 0 Comments

RN74 Seattle hosts its first Bastille Day bash this Thursday.

Photo: RN74 via Facebook

As I mentioned in this list of Bastille Day parties last week, RN74 has been hyping its shindig over Twitter, but I couldn’t then get details on what the deal was.

But today, finally: details. Well, sort of details. We know there will be $5 “food specials,” at least, and “Buck oyster shucks” for $1. Drink specials include $2 Kronenbourgs, $5 French 75s and Ciroc vodka cocktails, plus $5 wines by the glass including a muscadet, a rose, and a Cote du Rhone.

Held in RN74’s sizable lounge, the party begins at 5pm on Thursday, July 14.

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Tags: Bastille Day, Downtown Seattle Restaurants, RN74

Upcoming Drinking Events: More Bastille Day, Murray Stenson Back Behind the Bar

Plus: Kirkland Uncorked, beers in Phinney Ridge, and a very cool herbal infusion class.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jul 11, 2011 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Roadhouse and chicken wings come together tonight at King’s Hardware.

Happy Monday, Seattle drinkers. We’re in the ides of July and you know what that means—lots of drinking events for celebrating summertime.

Here’s what is on tap and tasty this week.

Monday, July 11 it’s movie night at King’s Hardware in Ballard. Drink specials, free popcorn, and 28 cent wings are among the attractions. Tonight’s movie is Roadhouse, the magic begins around 9pm.

Attention aspiring craft cocktailers and soda jerks: On Wednesday the 13th, Herban Wellness is offering a very cool class in herbal syrups, honeys, and infusions. The lesson includes how-tos on making your own ginger ale and root beer bases along with syrups and infusions to mix into mixed drinks. That’s $20, register on the website.

Thursday, July 14 is of course Bastille Day. Last week I rounded up promising parties but, as Allecia Vermillion over at Eater Seattle points out, I forgot the ever-important Corson Building fete. There will be live music and games and, most importantly, food—food not only from the Corson Building but also Nettletown and Walrus and the Carpenter.

Also wanted to follow up on that petanque (bocce ball) tournament at Bastille. The tourney is sponsored by Rhum JM and Rhum Clement and will happen on a swatch of lawn across the street from the restaurant. Registration is $10 per team and includes a t-shirt. Sign up starting at noon; games begin at 1pm.

Friday, July 15 through Sunday the 17th is Kirkland Uncorked: an outdoor wine tasting event along the lake’s edge in Kirkland. Very pretty. The website has the details.

The Phinney Neighborhood Association’s Summer Beer Taste (or Beervana) happens on Saturday, July 16. Non-member admission is $30 and for that you get 10 local beer samples plus snacks. The PNA website has details and a list of participating breweries.

Looking forward to next week:

On Monday, July 18 the Bookstore Bar is hosting a Canadian whiskey tasting. It’s $30 and includes snacks plus a chance to try Rich and Rare Reserve, Royal Canadian Small Batch, Forty Creek, and Caribou Crossing. Reserve by emailing bookstorebarevents@alexishotel.com, or calling the bar.

Also, don’t forget that Monday, July 18 is the benefit auction for Kristal Lana at Bluwater Bistro. One night only: bartender of bartenders Murray Stenson will take a hiatus from his hiatus to support his friend. Don’t worry about Stenson’s hurt shoulder—the occasional stint behind the stick isn’t a problem, he told me. “Besides,” said Murray, “[Toulouse Petit bar manager] Joe Jeannot will be there to do all the hard work. I’m just the pretty face.”

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Tags: Kirkland, Wine, Beer, Drinking Events, Ballard, Murray Stenson, Outdoor Drinking, Bastille Day

Bastille Day Celebrations Around Seattle

Oh, happy francophiles. Food and drink specials abound next Thursday, July 14.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jul 08, 2011 at 10:52AM 0 Comments

On Thursday, Seattle honors French Independence by eating lots of frites.

Photo: Bastille via Facebook

Can you picture a bunch of Parisians standing around the Weber on the fourth of July eating Oscar Mayers and potato salad, stars and stripes decorating their plastic cups of macro-brewed Colorado lager?

Me neither. Only in America do we so zealously celebrate other nations’ independence days as if they were our own. It’s kind of cute, when you think about it.

Here in Seattle, we are particularly fond of Bastille Day, or La Fete Nationale as it’s called in France. What we do is crowd into French cafes and restaurants, which then feed us discounted food and plenty of alcoholic beverage.

This Thursday, July 14 is Bastille Day 2011. Here are places to party like it was your people that overpowered the famous prison in 1789, closing the doors on Louis the 16th and the whole Ancien Regime thing.

Bastille in Ballard is opening up its beer garden starting at 4:30pm on Thursday. Pints of Kronenbourg are $3 and there will be oysters, charcuterie, and wine for $5. I’ve also heard tell of a bocce ball tournament.

Meanwhile, in Pike Place Market, there is Cafe Campagne and its famously festive Bastille Day party. Five dollar food specials include garlic sausage sandwiches, brie or ham en baguette, and the cafe’s always-amazing fries with aioli.

Le Pichet’s party runs from 6pm to midnight on Thursday and will include live music from Le Quartet (7-9pm) and Bastille-Day stalwarts The Djangomatics (10pm-midnight). Again, Parisian street food is on the menu. That menu isn’t quite finalized but owner Jim Drohman says there will be sandwiches—pork shoulder and roasted pepper with sheep’s milk cheese among them—a pissaladiere, and sweet crepes. Sister restaurant Cafe Presse on the hill will operate as usual on Bastille Day—if you want the party, go downtown.

Luc in Madison Park has drink specials on Thursday: Lillet, pastis, and rose are $5 and wines from Vacqueyras in the southern Rhone are $6. Food specials include a honey-roasted duck breast, a salad Nicoise, and a strawberry shortcake.

Michael Mina’s Downtown sensation RN74 is currently running a Twitter promotion to get people amped on its Bastille Day celebration. If you tweet the following: “#BastilleDay party @rn74seattle on July 14 with awesome food and drink specials” you are eligible to win a free wine dinner. If you just want to go to the party, well, I hear there are going to be “awesome food and drink specials.”

Finally, ViaVita Café and Wine Bar in Bellevue is celebrating with a five-course meal—pate de lapin, coq au vin, etc. That’s $55, a $20 wine pairing is also available. Call 425-449-8917 to reserve.

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Tags: Bellevue, Downtown, Wine, Pike Place Market, Street Food, Food Events and Festivals, Ballard, Bastille Day, Downtown Seattle Restaurants

It’s Bastille Day, You Might Want a Cocktail with a French Name

I suggest you go to Toulouse Petit or Vessel.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jul 14, 2010 at 03:25PM 1 Comments

Cocktails with French names are available at Toulouse Petit and at Vessel.

If you’re not up for the shenanigans at these party-throwing restaurants, I should think Toulouse Petit would be a good place to celebrate Bastille Day.

Toulouse has French food and cocktails with French names, after all.

Or you could stop by Vessel, where the tenders are also fluent in cocktails Français and the chef has created a special French-themed snack menu: Frisee aux Lardons (salad with ham and a poached egg on top), Portuguese-style mussels—that usually means cooked with onion and chorizo—fingerling potatoes with olives, and that classic French snack: radish with butter and salt.

Vive La Republique, and so forth.

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Tags: Cocktails, Vessel, Bastille Day