Celebrate Bastille Day, Aroostook County

According to Barry Rodrigue in Voyages: A Maine Franco-American Reader, 23 percent of the population of Maine claimed French, French-Canadian, or Acadian origins in the 2000 census (the author remarks that the real number is likely much higher). More than 5 percent of households claimed to speak French at home, a percentage that bests any other state in the union. So while we might not have a Bastille Day celebration like the one on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, Maine is not without its French connections. We recommend honoring our Franco heritage by sampling some tasty dishes such as poutine, fries with gravy and cheese curds, and tourtière, meat pie. For the most authentic experience, visit “La Terre du bon Dieu,” (God’s country), otherwise known as northern Maine. Stop in at Rock’s Diner (207-834-2888) in Fort Kent or, after a day out on Long Lake, swing by the Lakeview (207-543-6331) in St. Agatha. If you can’t make it all the way up to the County, you can make do around Portland. Have the dressed up poutine at Duckfat (207-774-8080, www.duckfat.com), on Middle Street, where the fries are actually cooked in duck fat. Or head out to Westbrook and sample the Franco gastro-pub cuisine at the Frog and Turtle (207-591-4185, www.thefrogandturtle.com).