Jesus, this is embarrassing. Bastille Day celebrates the liberation of a particularly pungent batch of cheese from the dungeons of the old prison in 1789 (along with seven prisoners) on the 14th of July (le Quatorze). Except here -- where as usual we're a day late and a euro short -- the Seattle Bastille Day festivities are being held on Sunday the 15th at the Seattle Center. What fun is that? The ideal would be to get loaded to the gills on Saturday and roll out for a late, late brunch on Sunday.

To be fair, there's the Bal de Pompiers 4-course dinner from Thierry Rautureau at Fisher Pavilion on Saturday, from 6pm to midnight. But this is almost sold-out, we see. (Reservations req'd: 206-443-4703 or 206-256-6184.) But otherwise the music, food, and activities kick off around 11am on Sunday and run 'til 6pm. Having been to this before, we'll tell you it's more like a small town "cultural" affair, mainly an excuse for francophones and people who love them to get together and chat over a glass of wine while the kids play "I Surrender!" Not exactly like walking onto the set of Paris When It Sizzles.

We hear that the local French restaurants often do something special for Bastille Day, so on Saturday you might want to drop in at Le Pichet, Cafe Campagne, Cafe Presse (who advertise soccer all weekend long in the bar -- on TV, not in person), Lark, or 611 Supreme. (Let's see, who else?)