Celebrations!
Brunches, Rehearsal Dinners, Weddings & More
by S.W. Kirch
Relationships have many forms: friendships, families, and co-workers; keeping these bonds healthy is the ultimate key to happiness and satisfaction in life. And, as everyone knows, this means taking one of the most invaluable commodities of all – time - and investing it in people we care about, or want to/need to get to know. Sharing food, in an intimate setting, is a time-honored way to do this. Whether for a baby shower, a birthday, or a rehearsal dinner, the French Alpine Bistro - Crêperie du Village can accommodate any of your milestone celebrations for brunch, lunch, or dinner. What matters to you, matters to us.
Brides or Babies
Long before “hangry” was even a word, “brunch”, was another portmanteau formed from the combination of breakfast and lunch, and coined by one Guy Beringer. According to his 1895 essay, Brunch: A Plea, “In these hurrying, worrying, and scurrying days, the sweets of life are too often overlooked…Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting; it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings; it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.”
Try it for yourself! While brunch is available for private bookings only, it is possible to reserve the restaurant for a special event, such as your loved one’s bridal or baby shower. The menus can be customized from a selection of classic brunch items, including Eggs Benedict and Quiche; or, it can be French-ified with either sweet or savory crepes. With two meals in one, it’s an ideal way to start the day. Afterwards, there’s still plenty of time to fill your day with adventures!
Birthday Lunches
Starting at 11:30 a.m., the restaurant opens to the public for lunch, which is served until 3 p.m. Originally referred to as “Nuncheon”, in the mid-14c., it was considered “slight refreshment," generally taken at noon. The shortening of the word to “lunch” didn’t happen until several centuries later, but author A.A. Milne, of Winne-the-Pooh fame, would certainly have approved, since he once said, “It’s more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words, but rather short easy words like, ‘What about lunch?’” In that vein, what about a birthday lunch?
The French Alpine Bistro - Crêperie du Village can be partially or entirely bought out to include indoor or outdoor seating. Up to 60 guests can be accommodated inside the intimate venue, or go ahead and add 30 more guests to your list for the terrace, and 20 more for the street-level seating, for a grand total of 110 people. Have them all celebrate your birthday in style.
Maybe you’ll choose from the restaurant’s most popular private event menu, “Avec Amour”, where all the items are served “with love” in a family-style manner. This could include the Food Network’s favorite: Steak a la Plancha, which is prime sirloin steak that is cooked by guests on a stone tabletop grill, and served with roasted potatoes and a trio of delicious sauces. For dessert, you could choose from one of the many famous sweet menu options, such as the “Schokoladepaltschinke”, which is a chocolate crepe, filled with chocolate ganache, dulce de leche, strawberries, and bananas. Regardless, your light noonday birthday celebration will surely be filled with love and laughter.
Rehearsal Dinners & Wedding Receptions
Another momentous occasion, that is by nature intimate, is the Rehearsal Dinner, which, in the American tradition is shared with members of the wedding party after they’ve practiced for the next day’s marriage ceremony (who stands and does what/when/where). Usually, this is attended by only the closest family and friends. Treating them all to a special dinner at the French Alpine Bistro - Crêperie du Village, with its romantic atmosphere, is sure to create lasting memories. You could even consider booking a cocktail hour before dinner. Try something different, like the Pink Panther, made with grapefruit vodka, x-rated (a sensuous fusion of ultra-premium French vodka, Sicilian blood orange mingling w/ mango & passion fruit), cranberry & lemon juice topped with champagne. Add any number of passed or stationary hors d’oeuvres, such as mini beef burgers with tomatoes, pickled jalapenos & shiitake mushroom “buns”, or the refreshing carrot ginger soup, which is topped with coconut cream. The point is to make the evening be one of the memories that guests will pull up and let linger in their mind’s eye, whenever they’re in the mood for some cheerfulness.
