My Kingdom for a Brie Sandwich

On July 14, 1789, crowds of Parisians captured the Bastille. On July 14, 2002, crowds of hungry New Yorkers captured East 60th St.!

I was taking a walk on the Upper East Side this morning, when purely by chance, I spied the arc of red, white, and blue balloons that advertises a Bastille Day street fair. Fortunately, I arrived early, before the hot sun had a chance to melt the pastries.

If you are a frequent visitor to New York City street fairs, then you will be familiar with the sugary "fruit" shakes, sodden Hershey syrup crepes, and Potato Kings that often mar them. Interspersed among these scourges today were some of the finest French restaurants and bakeries, serving their wares for just a few dollars.

Payard Pâtisserie offered éclairs filled with either coffee or chocolate pastry cream, fresh peach tarts, and chocolate-covered marzipan confections topped with pine nuts. I also bought a cookie that was so chocolatey it was almost black. "It's good for you, too," smiled the cashier. "You've got to be kidding," I said, then noticed that the cookies were advertised as being butterless and flourless. When I asked how on earth they could be so moist, the cashier replied, "Egg whites." All the better to eat another!

I surveyed the other vendors: D'Artagnan ("The Duck Stops Here"), purveyor of foie gras, Les Trois Petits Cochons (pâtés), Brooklyn's own Kino, offering lamb sausage sandwiches and a strange kombu seaweed pasta, and Les Halles with a variety of grilled meat sandwiches. Pigalle served wonderful croissants, palmiers, and tartes d'oignon.

Between Madison and 5th Avenues, I saw a giant floating Brie in the sky. Upon closer inspection, it was obviously a balloon, but I could not pass up the Président Brie baguette sandwich that it advertised. I would gladly storm any fortress for that combination of chewy baguette and creamy soft cheese!

Payard: 1032 Lexington Ave. (212) 717-5252. D’Artagnan: 1-800-DAR-TAGN. Les Trois Petits Cochons: 1-800-LES-PATES. Kino: One Main St., Brooklyn. (718) 243-9815. Les Halles: 411 Park Ave. South. (212) 679-4111. Pigalle: 790 8th Ave. (212) 489-2233.