FIAF’s Bastille Day Celebration and 9 Steps to Perfection!

For the third year in a row I honored French National Day by celebrating on 60th Street with FIAF and friends. It wasn’t until last week that I realized I had yet to write a true post about the festival. So this year I’m going to tell you a bit more about a great event, how I celebrate, and hopefully entice you to mark your calendar’s and plan to get to Manhattan for next year’s fête (which according to my estimations should fall exactly on July 14th!).

My friends and I start the day with breakfast and bubbly. Since the festival starts at noon it’s a good idea to have a relaxing morning complete with a filling French-inspired meal and some proper champagne. Egg and cheese crêpes are always a favorite. Though I’ve yet to make them for Bastille day oeufs en cocotte served with a crusty baguette for dipping would be another great choice. If you’re not feeling up to cooking or if you apartment is too sweltering to bear in the city summer (often me) head to any of the city’s pastry shop/cafés- one of the many Le Pain Quotidien will do or get more authentic at MacarOn Café, Dominique Ansel Bakery or La Maison du Macaron. After you’ve had your fill and are feeling a bit light and giggly from the champagne make your way to East 60th Street between Fifth and Lexington Avenues.

There are a number of things you should make sure to do during your time at the Bastille Day Fête:

First: Stop to smell the roses at Ode à la Rose.

You might pick up a small bouquet to bring home, too.

 

Second: Eat as many macarons as necessary.

Don’t miss MacarOn Café’s special Bastille Day macaron.

Consider picking up a box from Fiancier, Francois Payard and MadMac. You will be craving these once your wine buzz and initial sugar high die down.

MacarOn Café hits Midtown with more than Macs

Yesterday morning my alarm clock went off an hour earlier than normal for a very good reason. I was invited to celebrate the grand opening of MacarOn Café's new location on Third  Avenue. As you may well know by now, MacarOn Café is one of my favorite spots in the city for getting my macaron fix. I can always count on a variety of flavors, something new to try, and above all consistently perfect shells and fillings. My favorite location has been the 59th and Madison shop; it is on my way home from work, right by FIAF and has cozy seating in the back. The new shop, located at 750 Third Avenue (between 46th and 47th) may very well become my preferred location in the coming weeks thanks to an evening menu and another favorite of mine: wine. The pink-and-white shop is officially open now but the evening menu and wine will begin in the coming weeks. I can't wait to try it out and will be sure to report back when I do.

The Third Avenue location is in a great spot, right by Grand Central, and easily accessible from the north, east, south or west. Yesterday white and pink balloons encouraged  guests to come in for a free macaron and maybe a perfectly made espresso beverage or a cup of Mariage Frères tea. I was glad to start my day with a balanced cappuccino complete with decorative foam on top.

Fortunately I was able to spend a bit of time chatting with Cecile and Arnaud Cannone, the chef and owners of MacarOn Café. Cecile and I spoke about the process of making macarons and, as always, ways of troubleshooting problems when baking the shells. She advised me how key controlling the humidity of the oven is and suggested not baking them in the summer when it is as humid as it has been in New York. We discussed some flavors- Cecile, like me, is a chocolate lover. I mentioned to her how I like that there are always new flavors to choose from when I come by. Most recently I tried the new Earl Grey, which I had bought for my friend Kyle. I don’t normally enjoy Earl Grey teas or bergamot in general so I didn’t try it until he told me it tasted like… Trix cereal! (They really do!) I told Cecile this but she hadn’t hear of our sugared-up American Trix. I suggest trying one out when you stop in.

Joe Campanale and Wines from the Rhône Valley at FIAF

Wine is a subject that intimidates many people. The volume of brands, grapes, regions, types and vintages makes it hard to know where to start. Plus the fact that a single 750ml bottle can run from less than $5 to over hundreds of dollars always makes people question if what they're buying is even any good. For the most part, I'm one of those people. This is why you don't see much about wine on my blog or on my Facebook page. But fortunately, I recently had the opportunity to spend an evening at FIAF (The French Institute Alliance Français) with the well-informed, young, handsome sommelier Joe Campanale. (And because at least one of you is reading this and wondering-- yes he has a girlfriend! She was at the event along with his mom.) I learned more about wine in about two and half hours than I think I had in the past five years. During college I went on a mini self-led wine tour with my parents around Keuka Lake (in the Finger Lakes of New York State). From that experience I learned a few terms and a bit about how New York State wines are grown, but on the whole my vocabulary and tasting notes were still quite limited. I was glad to spend time learning from someone with such a strong background in le vin. 

Joe Campanale is the Beverage Director and Co-Owner of dell’anima, L’Artusi and Anfora. After the wine tasting I asked him about how he got started in wine and became so knowledgeable at such an early age. Apparently during his time at NYU he went to a lot of the wine tastings at Union Square Wines which kick started his oenology. Eventually he went to work for Italian Wine Merchants in New York City (also close to Union Square). Later, he was hired as the sommelier for Mario Batali's Babbo. Then he and his business partners decided to open up dell'anima, then L'Artusi, both with a focus on Italian fare and wine. Most recently they opened Anfora in May of 2010 with a more European approach, highlighting natural wines- wines that emphasize terroir (the land where they are from) and not necessarily well-known or highly marketed wines. 

We were introduced to Joe by Emmanuel Dupuy D'Angeac, owner of AOC Fine Wines. He began by telling us something Mr. Campanale had said about wine in an interview: 

"Wine should be something that makes your life better. Drink what you love, not what you think you should love"