Bastille Packs a Punch This Year

Vanessa Strunk and Jennifer Mejia served up hundreds Parisian baguette sandwiches at Saturday night's Bastille on Bishop. PHOTO BY ALANA HARRISON

OMG…this Saturday’s Bastille on Bishop was c-r-a-z-y with a cap K. We arrived a little after 7 (when the event officially started) and the food and drink lines were beyond out-of-control, snaking in and around Bishop Arts in all directions. According to Amy Cowan, this year’s event saw more than 4,000 attendees. “It was the perfect storm for a third-year event, coupled with a Saturday night,” Cowan said. “People definitely had a good time.”

Cowan reported that Michelle Carpenter from Zen Sushi sold hundreds of pounds of mussels, while Bolsa Mercado sold hundreds of Parisian sandwiches (a baguette ‘wich with ham, gruyere, and butter). Soon-to-open Boulevardier sold sausages, oysters, and chocolate tarts. If you were craving a crepe, you had a minimum two-hour wait in line.

“The bars were so packed that we ran out of wine two hours into the party,” Cowan said. “Thankfully, St. Germain kept their cocktails flowing.”

Alas, wine became a precious commodity, as did those crepes and mussels. A shout-out to those who survived the two-hour crepe line. Of course, this year’s Bastille also included a pentanque court, mimes, a vespa display (in front of Hattie’s), a mustache contest, and the ever-so-popular French Maid Races — although this year, the race morphed into a hop-scotch, baguette-tossing relay race. No doubt, people still got their game on.

While Bastille was a blast, I did overhear more than a few complaints about the lines, lack of wine, and general overcrowding. Don’t know if there’s an efficient way to keep it semi-under control…but hopefully next year, they’ll be prepared with mas vino (sorry, my French is limited to Spanish).

Check out this week’s paper for more photos from the event.

Oysters served up fresh from the soon-to-be-open Boulevardier. PHOTO BY ALANA HARRISON