"moules frites" news and stories

When I think of mussels, I think of moules frites (mussels with french fries) served steaming and fresh at a seaside café in Trouville, Normandy. I guess the place where you eat something for the first time lodges in your memory as the quintessential spot to savor it.

But maybe this fall (peak mussel season) it's time for a trip to Washington state. Penn Cove mussels take to the Thai treatment of lemongrass, yellow curry, fresh basil and tomatoes at the Seattle bastion of all things seafood, Ivar's Acres of Clams, says blogger Pabo76, who shot this photo. Over at Ivar's Mulkiteo Landing restaurant, they do a mussels appetizer with red curry broth, ginger and cilantro. If you can't make it to Seattle, try it at home, with this Kitchen Daily recipe.

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Classic French drinks at Brooklyn's Bastille Day. Photo: Alex Van Buren

Bastille Day is tomorrow, but in New York City the party started as it so often does -- early. From an uptown street fair in Manhattan featuring the decadent pastries of Francois Payard to a boozy, New Orleans-like outdoor fete on Smith Street (often called Brooklyn's Restaurant Row), the city was awash in stripes of red, white and blue.

Those wondering how to pay homage to that long-ago storming of the Bastille prison via gastronomical decisions tomorrow, not to worry: We've got a classic Provençal recipe and a few Francophilic cocktail ideas coming your way tomorrow.

Meantime, after the jump, a recap of the Brooklyn event (more pictures here) from moules frites to the peculiar triumph of anise-tinged Ricard.