Usually Bastille Day comes and goes without much of a thought for me, but this year my mom chose Chloe’s French Cafe in Santa Rosa as our lunch spot without being aware of the Bastille Day significance. Chloe’s is the finest little French Cafe ever housed within a medical building, looking as if it should be just another boring cafeteria serving uninspired lunches to a captive audience in need of quick bite. But the food is wonderful from grille sandwiches to salads, crepes and pastries, all best enjoyed from the sizable back patio (and so what if it’s practically tucked up against the freeway). I went with the Jambon Brie sandwich with their honey dijon dipping sauce and house-made pickles served on the side. Delicious as always.
Our lunch inspired a quick stop at nearby Bottle Barn for a wine to bring along to the Tuesday night farmer’s market in the Sonoma square. I selected a 2008 Le Clos du Caillou Cotes du Rhone Rose (North Berkeley Imports) to go with our typical market meal of bread, cheese, and salami supplemented by fresh produce from the market. And in case you’re picturing wine surreptitiously poured into dixie cups, the square in Sonoma is one of the few places left where you are actually allowed to publicly consume alcoholic beverages. On market night, some tables have staggering amounts of open wine bottles and a wide selection of microbrews can be spotted as well, particularly near our blanket. Our 2007 Jus Soli Sauvignon Blanc, the Rose and cold beers all cut beautifully through the still 90 plus degree heat.
Back home and kids in bed, we topped the day off by watching the recap of the day’s Tour de France action.
The only way to have been more French for the day would have been to wear berets and smoke cigarettes while debating whether Godard or Truffault was our favorite Nouvelle Vague film director. With the benefit of hindsight, I’m thinking we hit it just right.
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- Our Rose selection
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- Chloe the "truckette"
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