after dinner sneeze

t says:  a, v, g, and I went to Bibou recently.  We did invite several others to join, but no one could quite make it.  This was very problematic for a and me.  You see, when there’s only four people, we’re only going to go through 3-4 bottles of wine.  When there’s eight people, we can open 8 – which means we can taste more interesting wine!  And isn’t that the point – to taste!?  Well, undeterred by the limited number of people, we still showed up with 6 bottles … you know … just so we could make some game-time decisions (and in case the servers wanted to get in on the action).

Now once again, Bibou already gets SO much love on this blog that it’s absolutely pointless to re-hash awesome dishes like the escargots and pig’s feet.  I think v put it best earlier in the day when she said, “if I get there tonight, and there’s no pig’s foot, I am going to cry in the restaurant.”  And I believe her.  Fortunately, no one cried that night …

g says: We only get to Bibou once or twice a year, so when we are lucky enough to score a reservation, we take our meal very seriously (hence v’s fear of the kitchen running out of pig’s feet). Generally, we each stick to familiar classics — escargot and pig’s feet for t, crudo and beouf for moi — because it is so hard to justify ordering something new when we are guaranteed a sensational dining experience with our old standbys. These are the dishes that we dream about as we anxiously await the day of our reservation, after all.

We threw caution to the wind this time around, and some new items hit the table with thrilling results. My picks for the winners of this meal both fall into this new category of “interesting” rather than classic dishes that remain on Bibou’s menu at all times. v’s squash consomme (that’s right, a clear broth soup made from squash of all things) was, in my opinion, the best first course. none of us had ever even heard of such a thing <t interrupts: for the record – i’ve heard of consommes, but just never had one>, but the deep flavors just blew us away. I also believe that my main course was the winner of that round, an arctic char with bulgar wheat in a buerre rouge sauce. That’s right, fish in a red wine sauce. Intriguing, right? It was AMAZING. Pierre told us that it was a special item on the menu for that week only; I would say that “special” is right on the money for describing that dish.

Apparently, branching out beyond our “usuals” at Bibou really pays off. I chuckle to myself when I think of how apprehensive I felt when looking at the menu that night (i.e. the minor flash of panic that came over me when I toyed with the idea of ordering something other than the boeuf that I love so much). Did I really think that I would receive a sub-par meal from arguably the best restaurant in the city? Probably not. But now I have confirmed that trying something new could provide an exciting experience without feeling sorry that I didn’t order my old favorite. And now I have a new flavor of the month for adsz!

it’s not a “proper” adsz-style dinner unless the glass:diner ratio is at least 4:1 (not including water glasses).

This mysterious, very dark brown puddle was a squash consomme.  It’s a clear broth.  Like, if you were in the hospital and required to be “on a clear diet”, this would still qualify.  However – it was so jam-packed full of flavor (it tasted like fall) that it knocked our socks off.

Arctic char in beurre rouge sauce (butter, red wine, shallots) over bulgar wheat (tasted like Thanksgiving stuffing!) with a fricasse of persimmon and anaheim pepper. g declared it the winner of our main courses. v agreed with that assessment in terms of creativity, but for taste, she had to vote still for her favorite pig’s feet and lentils.

another table abandoned their remaining Sauterne … so our server allowed us to share it (there was more than a glass per person leftover!) … result: he gets a little bigger tip, and we get a little happier …

t says: Bibou still brings down the house in terms of food.  The four of us just can’t get enough.  And talking to Pierre is always such a delight.  Now I know there are some Bibou-haters out there … and that’s fine … we just can’t be friends … ha.

We did have some delightful wines that night, including a bottle we got from Napa: 2009 Blackbird Arise.  This is a serious California Merlot-based wine.  If you’ve never had some Blackbird before, it’s excusable to lie/cheat/steal so you can try it – it’ll change your opinion on Cali-Merlot.  (I’m not saying it’s a Right Bank Bordeaux doppleganger, but it’s something better than the “F-in’ Merlot” mentioned in Sideways).

Thanks Pierre.  And, we missed you, Charlotte.