pierre’s still in charge
t says: This story begins with Bibou calling out to me – I swear! It all started a week ago, at work, when I noticed (from across the room) that one person was showing another person Bibou’s menu and pointing out all the “good things” they had the night before (that’s right, I eavesdropped, too). I thought at that time, “gee – It’s been a while since we’ve been, maybe we should go?” Then, two days ago, a colleague happened to be reviewing the old Philadelphia magazine restaurant list out loud and and noted that previous faves had been seriously demoted in the 2013 list – I instantly thought about Bibou. Again I thought, “gee, I really want to go now”. And then today (i.e. the day I wrote this post – not the day it’ll actually post to the blog), as I was walking to work, I just happened to be searching through Opentable for an open Friday night reservation, scrolling passed the B’s, when boom! I happened to notice that Bibou had availability! I was so shocked that I had to double-check the reservation date to make sure I wasn’t looking at like a Wednesday night or something. I wasn’t! It was true! I booked it, texted g, and THAT’s how we got a random Friday night reservation to Bibou …
May 2013, Friday Dinner, Party of 2.
it did feel a little awkward to be dining at bibou without the gang (a, v, and kp), so g and I decided to make it very casual – we were not going to order our normal entrees – no beef, no pig’s foot, and we weren’t going to pull out some crazy-big-wines. We were going to bring in the summer with some seafood and enjoy it with a Pouilly-Fusee that my thoughtful sis got g for her birthday (thanks!).
ok … well … I knew I had to go for the snails – they are the bomb-diggity … but these one were different. Pierre definitely changed it up, as I remembered there being far more garlic and the flavors far more deep, while this time the accompanying sauce was brighter, more acidic, and lighter. I preferred the old version – I mean don’t get me wrong – they’re still delicious and fabulously done, but they were only “excellent” and not “legendary”. g’s was the scallop on a half-shell which was, as on one of our previous visits, fabulous – even better than the escargots!
For our mains, I went for the cod in “brick” dough over a bed of carrot and julienne snowpeas and an emulsion of uni and sweet corn. Holy crap. I know I just went to Little Fish recently, but this was on another level. Little Fish’s fish are superbly cooked and finely balanced. Pierre’s still has superb cookery and great balance – but he reaches for flavors that are deeper, more profound. Halfway through my entree, I really did put down my utensils and just sit back, relax, and ponder the symphony of flavors. Dorky as hell, but it was necessary. It was so remarkable that I didn’t miss the pig’s foot. I repeat: I didn’t miss the pig’s foot. Egad! g’s dorade, in the background, was completely different that my dish in terms of flavor profile. We don’t know why, but for some reason, it had a strikingly Asian note somewhere in there amongst the tomato and lemon verbena and ramps (?lemongrass?). It was the lighter and more agile of the two, but nevertheless, it, too, made me take pause after g gave me a bite … (but I like mine better …)
Dessert has never really been a strongsuit of Bibou. But it seems like they’ve stepped up their game! The chocolate cake was thick and rich and luscious. Definitely not fancy (and not the “best”) I’ve ever had, but a nice sweet end to the meal for me. g went with the strawberry rhubarb tart which was quite fabulous – a step up from previous tarts.
after dinner sneeze 
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