Left Bank Brasseries Celebrate Poisson d’Avril 2012 April 1, 2012

On Sunday, April 1, the three Bay Area Left Bank Brasseries, headed up by Master Chefs Roland Passot and Joel Guillon, will celebrate the lighthearted French tradition Poisson d’Avril (or April Fish) for the sixth consecutive year. On that day, the special “poisson du jour” (fish of the day) will be French turbot sourced from Clean Fish, a eco-conscious company that connects producers to chefs and consumers in a way that helps endangered fishing communities all over the world to flourish. For each diner ordering the French tubot, Left Bank will donate 10% of the proceeds to the Watershed Project, a non-profit organization working to protect and restore the San Francisco Bay Area watershed.

In France, April 1st is called Poisson d’ Avril. To mark the day, children stick a paper fish to the backs of their friends and when the prank is discovered, the prankster yells “Poisson d’ Avril!” The origins of this are said to date back to 1582 when France was the first country to switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar which caused the beginning of the year to move from April 1 to January 1. Some people did not hear about or accept the change of date, and they continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Lore has it that others then took this opportunity to play tricks on them and this evolved into what is now called Poisson d'Avril.

Left Bank Brasseries serve lunch and dinner daily. For reservations, please call the restaurant of choice or visit www.leftbank.com.

Left Bank Brasserie Bay Area locations:
Larkspur, 507 Magnolia Avenue, Larkspur, CA 94939, 415.927.3331
San Jose, 377 Santana Row, San Jose, CA 95128, 408.984.3500
Menlo Park, 635 Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025, 650.473.6543

For Poisson d’ Avril, Larkspur will serve, in addition to the regular a la carte menu:
Oven Roasted Turbot and aromatic spring vegetables with coriander, virgin olive oil and Meyer lemon ($26.00)

For Poisson d’ Avril, San Jose will serve, in addition to the regular a la carte menu:
Pan Roasted Turbot with clams marinière, spring vegetables and lobster nage ($26.00)

For Poisson d’ Avril, Menlo Park will serve, in addition to the regular a la carte menu:
Poached Turbot with grilled white and Delta asparagus, morel mushrooms, citrus emulsion and fresh basil ($26.00)