Bibou with Friends
t says: We checked out Bibou as our official June FTC meeting. (We missed May). I posted my experiences over at the Penn blog, Penn Appetit. I figured that I’ve showered Bibou with so much praise on this blog already that it was time to expose it to a broader audience. That said – there are some funnier things that occurred that I’ll mention here (adsz exclusive!).
First off, let’s re-cap some food (and wines available at PLCB) from a’s and v’s perspectives, as I omitted them from the Penn Appetit review.
a says: I was extremely impressed with the food, service, and ambiance at Bibou – I’m not surprised t has a crush. The title of “favorite BYO” goes a little too far for me as I can’t say any one dish blew-me-away. [full disclosure: The french lentils served with the pig foot may be the best medium I have ever tasted.] v’s escargot were prepared flawlessly and my guinea hen terrine, accompanied by a corn bread waffle, was a very interesting dish. I feel the waffle could have been better and seemed disjointed from the terrine, which lacked big flavor. My hanger steak was cooked to perfection and matched well with the potatoes and asparagus (and Bordeaux), but nothing on my plate took my palate to another level. I’ve had very good steak before and Bibou’s was right there, however, it was nothing I haven’t tasted. The cheese plate and desserts were on par with the rest of the meal, not one misstep. Oh, and as should be requisite for a French restaurant, the bread ‘n’ butter was the bomb. I look forward to returning to Bibou and trying more risky menu items as the overall experience is one of the best in Philadelphia. [super-full disclosure: I arrived at dinner directly from the International Great Beer Expo… where I had enjoyed great beer… a lot of great beer. My dinner experience may have been colored by the fact that I had malt and hops coursing through my veins.] I thought the wines went extremely well with the meal (especially sans any pre-meal pairing) and would have been made even better with serious decanting. More detailed descriptions below.
Re: wines … These are highly recommended, perfect for French(ish) cuisine, under $30, and available at PLCB stores in CC:
1) Lillet (blanc) [France] – serve this aperitif chilled, on ice, with orange peel garnish. This is the quintessential (French) summertime palate-awakener. Light, citrusy, and refreshing.
2) Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Clos Hauserer Riesling 2007 [Alsace]. A luscious white with great mouthfeel, focused acidity, and pleasant minerality. The nose of honey and grapefruit continued on the tongue accompanied by a perfectly balanced citrusy-sweetness [read: not a sweet wine].”
3) Chateau Vignot Saint-Emilion 2003 [Bordeaux]. I think this was a wonderful example of how a cheaper Bordeaux can be approachable and quite good. Merlot based, the nose was barnyard, but not funky, with a
hint of caramel. In the mouth, it tasted of lovely dark fruits and had light tobacco and leather undertones. This is drinking well right now, and with its enjoyable tannins, will probably continue to for a few more years.
t says: g and I brought a Quintessa and a bottle of Champagne (actually from Champagne). But we love our wine guru who’s always able to pull out some of the less-than-obvious-to-most-people choices. I hope he posts more about his random wine finds in the future (*wink wink*)!
As you can see, Bibou put up another great meal, and when combined with great wines and great friends, it’s a great time. I can’t wait to do it again. Shall we change our venue to Fond next month for FTC to start up a French BYO throwdown??
And … as promised … some funny conversations:
1) Our awesome server, a Mexican who had worked at Le Bec-fin before Bibou: “And here is your creme caramel …”
someone from our party: “Wow – it looks like Flan”
server: “Yea, you’re right, it is a fancy Flan.”
2) Pierre came around and we offered him a glass of wine. Pierre: “I don’t drink while I am working – I know too many chefs who drink too early into service.”
3) a was a little boisterous at the end of the meal. He professed his love for the lentils out loud. Repeatedly. Someothing to the extent of (although not verbatim) “OMFG, those lentils were !#@$ amazing – if i had some more I’d <insert creative explicit action here>…”. I swear that right after he said this, our server went back into the kitchen and started mentioning “lentils”. Immediately, g and I looked at eachother and knew we had to do something – we were like, “ok … so it’s time to go …”. If we were there for a second longer I bet you a dollar that a plate of lentils would have appeared …
SYTYCD Overdosing on Botox?
t says: As you may or may not know, g and I enjoy So You Think you Can Dance. It’s so much fun! For some reason, I’m really good at NOT picking the winner. My favorite always gets eliminated early (or, like last season with Alex Wong, gets injured … sigh … I miss Alex Wong). In other seasons, even if my favorite goes out early, and I have to pick just from the top 3, I’ll still not be able to guess who wins.
For this season, I haven’t decided on a favorite yet – but I think it’s because I’m distracted by Mary Murphy … and NOT in a good way. That girl has GOT to lay off the Botox – the top 80% of her face cannot move (it’s like she’s a muppet!) And when she does finally coordinate the muscles in her face to smile, it’s like she’s baring her fangs (that’s a LOT of teeth showing!). She looks possessed!! Yikes.
And then I started looking around at other members of the judging panel. There’s definitely been a lot of Botox around there … why can’t people just grow old?
Some ridiculous goats …
t says: g and I ventured to Talula’s Garden [again]. Rather than go through the whole spiel (we’ve already been there a few times), let me just tell you about the two items in particular that stood out. As the title of the post suggests – they both have to do with goat. The first:
What a crappy pic! iPhones must be afraid of the dark.
What is poorly photographed above is a goat tortelloni, with ricotta gnudi, peas, and a herb-goat jus. The tortelloni were perfectly cooked, with wonderfully textured goat meat inside – it was more like a pulled goat, not like a pocket of ground meat – and the meat was not the least bit “stringy”. The peas made g smile (she loves peas), as they had some bite to them and were full of flavor (both from the pea and from the jus). And yes – that sauce/jus was ridiculous[ly good] with an herbiness and a meatiness that I could not believe for how thin it was. Actually – I kind of want to know the concoction of herbs used so we could grow them in our garden (i.e. our one pot on our patio) and could use it, ourselves! The ricotta gnudi are the same as the past appetizer we’ve had; they are of a familiar texture (like a ball of mozzorella), and I really want to like them more, but I just wish they’d take on more flavor from the jus surrounding them. Otherwise, they taste of mild cheese that I, personally, find hard to appreciate, as compared to the surrounding elements, it comes off as a bit bland. But it didn’t matter for long, as I simply cut them into smaller pieces to increase the surface-area-to-volume ratio and dunked them into the jus, thus solving the problem at hand.
The other amazing goat of the evening was a goat cheese that they put on the “Masters Collection” cheese plate. To be honest, g and I generally don’t love goat cheese, but if it’s on a cheese plate, we’re going to give it a whirl. We find that the goat cheese flavor is all too often overpowering, and the texture can sometimes be a gritty nightmare or so thick that it’s challenging to chew/swallow. But not this goat cheese. The texture was superb – something between “creamy” and “goaty” (I couldn’t think of another adjective than “goaty” – by this I’m referring to that characteristic way goat cheese crumbles in your mouth), and it had this mix of savory cheese funk with some inherent sweetness that was addictive. I felt that I could eat it for breakfast (stick some honey or preserves on it), or lunch/dinner (stick a slice of prosciutto on it), or even dessert (stick a dab of chocolate on it). Actually – it reminded me a lot of the goat cheese we had at Ad Hoc. I wonder if it was the same or not. Hell – for all know, this could be some simple $3-a-pound goat cheese made in Jersey. But I wouldn’t care if it was – as a matter of fact, I’d buy it by the pound! I’d make some gnocchi and cheese cake with it!
We did eat other things which were very good, too (they brought back the squash blossoms appetizer!). But it’s really hard to think of those dishes when the goat was this good.
I am going to take a second to be critical, though …let’s talk about the brioche with the ramp butter. It’s just not the same! When Talula’s Garden first opened, they started the meal with these “rolls” (if you call them that) that had a skinny cylindrical stem and a bulbous top – kind of like a mushroom or a muffin. I thought that it was a brioche – but maybe I’m wrong. They were probably a nightmare for servers to carry on a dish (they easily fell down with the slightest nudge), but something about them was so delightfully airy and warm and inviting. Now, we’ve noticed that they’ve been replaced by what seems to be just the top, bulbous part of the former roll. And somehow, this is a very different animal – I think it’s a textural change, as the ones we had were a little more dense/crumby. I’m immediately reminded of the Seinfeld episode where they try to make muffin-tops without the muffin-stumps – it just didn’t taste as awesome as making the whole muffin and ripping off the top (although in this case, the stump and top were equally good in the original and superior to the new, revised version). Perhaps it’s a completely different recipe (i.e. a completely different bread), and I’m just longing for the former. I don’t know. Either way – it’s not like I’m not going to eat it – it’s still a darn good bread. And it’s still some darn good ramp butter. And really … nothing compares to the original pot-bread, anyways (i.e. bread baked in a terra cotta pot ca. early 2000’s at Django).
and even MORE [weird] Chocolate!
t says: The last little bit of chooclate that I saw, but did not experience, myself, is depicted below.
What the what?
What … the … what?
Maybe a has more experience with these things than I, as he’s a little more in tune with the wine world, but if this is the first time he’s reading about it, I’m sure this picture makes him want to vomit a little. Even g had a visceral reaction to the description and picture. As for me, I have no idea what this must taste like and am curious. On one hand, it has the consistency of Baileys in the bottle (I picked one up and jiggled it) – maybe a little thinner. And they promise “premium grape wine” … and chocolate … so now I’m confused. I did have some “chocolate wine” at Tria once, but that was more of a zinfandel fortified with chocolate flavor – not something like this which is creamy-looking. And, after all, the cow on the label looks like he/she’s having fun, so that’s gotta mean something, right?
At the time, I had no choice but to pass on this bottle – my hands were full and I was already dropping some cash on other purchases. But … for $10 … is it worth a try? Who’s with me?
<Insert the sounds of crickets chirping here …>
Congrats drb!
t says: Our dear friends drb and his Southern belle got engaged! And it’s a mighty fine proposal, too!
‘Ats a Lotta’ Chocolate
t says: I love chocolate. For real. Consequently, I’ve had many a recent chocolate experiences that I feel like sharing.
First up: Vosges Chocolate in NYC. g and I were in NYC this past weekend for a lovely wedding (more on that later). We decided to run down to Soho and do a bit of shopping. As the dedicated bag mule, I was perhaps a little whiny, as it was very warm outside and I am fairly heat intolerant (I’m actually sweat intolerant moreso than heat intolerant). g decided to placate the 6-year-old in me with a trip to Vosges chocolate. Now I know that in the world of real chocolate, perhaps Vosges isn’t the best, maybe some will view their chocolate as nothing but over-priced Hershey’s with upscale marketing – but who cares? It’s chocolate. And I like it. So back off! Oh … yes … back to the story at hand … This is what I saw outside.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
Ice cream, eh? Ok, that’d hit the spot nicely. So I went in and it was a glorious glorious place.
A peak inside Vosges.
There were a few items in particular that caught my eye …
A classy way to do bacon + chocolate ...
... and a not-so-classy way to do bacon + chocolate.
And then there were pre-made cookies (but they were pretty hard and likely stale – bad form, Vosges!), and baking mixes, and so much more! In the end, I had no choice but to go with the ice cream – after all, it was hot outside. I went for the “Pandan”, which incorporated some kind of Asian leaf that added a nice nutty flavor (something between a peanut and a hazelnut) to the chocolate ice cream, which was rich and velvety and not the least bit icy. It was truly an excellent ice cream. It did hit the spot nicely, and I’d be happy to carry shopping bags in Soho in the future if promised some more. Thanks Vosges! You saved g’s shopping adventure!
And writing this post reminded me of another Vosges bar I recently had which was pretty darn good.
Can it beat out the Chocolate + Bacon bar?
From a post of Vosges chocolate we did a while ago, you can see that I do like the Moe’s chocolate bacon bar a lot. This was a very close second. The chocolate squares have a layer of sweet caramel inbetween which is a nice contrast to the bitter chocolate. The only problem is that it’s a smidge too sweet, so when I first stick it in my mouth, all I get is that super-sweet caramel flavor. Fortunately, the chocolate and salt kick in and restore balance a few seconds later. Overall, I was also happy with how intense a flavor this confection had, as it allowed me to pace myself and eat the bar over a few days … unlike the bacon bar … where I can’t help myself.
Moving on from Vosges … there’s another good chocolate-centric thing goin’ down as well. But this time, closer to home …
Milkshake at Village Whiskey!
g and I dined at Village Whiskey for lunch today. I had the BBQ pork sandwich and g had the veggie burger – no surprises here. BUT, we did get some milkshakes, which are either new, or at the very least, something we had never noticed on the menu before. They took forever to come out – not appearing until we were 3/4 the way done our sandwiches. But they were worth the wait. What you see above is the s’more milkshake which was fantastic. The shake part was thick and creamy and not icy at all. There were some toasted marshmallows and graham on top (which I crushed up and put in the milk shake) and some chocolate swirls. This is not the most chocolatey milkshake ever, but it was delicious. My only critique is that it is unbelievably heavy – I think I could only tolerate 2/3 of it before crying uncle. I feel like I should go there for a milkshake dinner or something (mmmm … get an order of fries and a milkshake and call it a night … that … sounds … amazing). g had one as well – caramel malt – but it had no chocolate in it, so I didn’t bother with a picture (but g says it was “deeeee-licious”).
And there is one more chocolate thing that I encountered recently that I’m going to hold back until later in the week. This is a lot of typing for now. So tune in soon for the exciting conclusion. Hint: it’s going to be weird …
g & t get measured
t says: Today, g and I went to a shnazzy men’s tailor/?boutique? so that I could get measured for a custom suit. I have some interviews coming up in the fall and want clothes that fit. My frame is the annoying combination of short and gangly (so department stores often make me sad). What was a little hilarious (especially if they’re reading this right now) was that, unprovoked, the folks there mentioned that they knew we had a “food and lifestyle blog”. Yikes – I forgot that I sometimes leave the blog in my signature in emails! This made a few thoughts pop into my head:
1) The idea of this blog addressing “lifestyle” topics at first struck me as weird. I thought, “Gee, we deal with food, not lifestyle.” And then I realized that food is our lifestyle … so this was followed by a second thought: “Gee, we should probably expand our lifestyle a little more.”
2) The words “food” and “blog”, when placed adjacent to one another, scares me. To me, it evokes thoughts of authoritative, well-visited blogs like foobooz, messy-and-picky, etc. Compared to those, this little slice of cyberspace real estate is best likened to one of those apartments in the basement of a dilapidated rowhouse … it serves a purpose, but it ain’t pretty. Actually, we’re not really sure if anyone besides our family bothers to read it regularly (but we’re thrilled if you do!!).
3) The last thought was “Oh crap! Someone has associated us with our blog!” … aanndd our blog ain’t pretty (after all, I did just liken it to a rowhouse basement) since the free wordpress accounts don’t allow for a customized look. Result: g’s convinced that we may have to sit down and do some actual site design rather than rely on the free wordpress schemes like we have been. We’re working on it …
Oh … and where was it that we went? I don’t want to spill the beans quite yet ’til the suit materializes (get it? materialize?). But I can say that they get an A+ thus far for their niceness and hospitality.
Here’s a peek of what’s to come …
Tight herringbone in charcoal (you can barely see the herringbone, but you get a "sense" that something stripy is going on here) ... and a simple grey striped liner.
Our choices are definitely less sexy than what these guys are used to (they have some beautiful suits in the boutique), but all I needed/wanted was a basic, conservative suit – something that says “confident soon-to-be-doctor” and not “soon-to-be-Doctor-90210”.
But … my next suit will be sexier … I promise.
after dinner sneeze 