Bastille Day is coming: Il faut faire la fete!

Since Bastille Day, July 14, falls on Tuesday, most of the events are Sunday, while some restaurants are celebrating all week. Vive la liberté !

Sunday is the big Bastille Day Celebration in Elysian Park from noon-10 pm, sponsored by the French-American Chamber of Commerce. Admission is $5, and there's food booths, a waiter race, and a chance to win a trip to France.

Walking to the train last night I noticed that Nicole's Gourmet Foods is having a celebration from 12-4 Sunday...in the past they've had barbecued merguez and all kinds of deliciousness, so it's probably a good one. Call for more info (website is un peu out out of date.)

Also Sunday, Comme Ca kicks off the celebration from 3-7 with a huge block of ice for making hand-carved ice chips for $5 cocktails. They sound quite intriguing, with ingredients like housemake blueberry syrup and lemon verbena. There's also $7 plates like pork belly confit with apple, fennel and ginger salad. All week long, Comme Ca has a $40 three-course menu with artichoke provencal, monkfish, rabbit or gnocchi and cherry clafoutis.

Is there anyplace more Froggy than The Little Next Door. Non! All day Tuesday there's a 10% discount on everything on the menu, plus a special breakfast, lunch and dinner. Eggs benedict ratatouille for $6 -- pourquoi pas?

If you're actually French, you can get in on a reception Tuesday given by the consul general at the Pacific Design Center...but you have to read this French web page and state that you're really French. There's even a ball afterwards, thrown by French Tuesdays.

If you just want a super-Frenchy meal, try the new Le Saint Amour in Culver City, from the owners of Downtown's Angelique Cafe, or Church & State Downtown -- it's owned by Steven Arroyo, but the food is far more serious than Cobras and Matadors. J. Gold says, get the pig ears.