Posts Tagged ‘Bibou’
Nous aimons Bibou …
t says: Ok, so it’s been about a decade since I’ve had French classes – so the title might not actually say “We love Bibou.” But if it does – hooray! Because we’re about to give you an update about the joint:
IT …
STILL …
ROCKS!
g’s mom got us a gift certificate for Christmas, so we wasted no time in booking a reservation. We signed up to go for the the Sunday dinner fixed price dealio and cabbed our way down to the restaurant. Forget the rest of the setup – let’s dive into the food …
1/2011, Sun 8pm, Party of 2. First course was a delicious sunchoke ?cauliflower? soup. It was a nice start to a winter meal. Its was warm and rich, but the flavors were light enough to make us want more. But I’m glad they didn’t give us more – I wanted to pace myself. I knew what was next …
The escargots. These escargots are no mere snails. They are an unstoppable company of elite gastropods whose sole mission is to make your mouth happy. I get them every time, and every time, they are the perfect appetizer. Perfect texture, perfect flavor (but you have to like garlic – it’s a major component), perfect size, and the perfect sauce that g and I just have to sop up every bit of because to let the dish go back to the kitchen in any condition but completely clean is an absolute, unforgivable travesty … I need to take a break while I clean up the puddle of saliva that has accumulated on my shirt as a result of merely thinking of the escargots. Take over, g!
g says: I tried a special of the evening — wild boar chop with red quinoa — and was simply blown away. For being “wild” boar, Pierre certainly tamed it, as my dish was not the least bit gamey, and it was rather light and tender. I had always thought French food required a certain level of heaviness, but this meal was anything but. In fact, the bottle of Chablis that we brought took me through just about my entire meal, which was a pleasant surprise (my other courses included arctic char tartare, a cheese plate, and honey/chocolate ice cream). All fabulous, and a nice reminder of why we return here at least once or twice a year for special occasions.
t says: Ok, the puddle has been mopped up. For now. I say “for now” because I will next describe for you the fried pig’s feet stuffed with foie that I had as my main course. Holy bejesus – it was like a red-headed step-child of a stupendous pork belly (the fat), pork shoulder (the meat), and fried chicken (the skin). But this was a good red-headed step-child – perhaps it was more like “a cross between Fergie and Jesus” (Step Brothers, anyone?). The moist tender meat sung a sweet/salty pork, backed by luscious fat and a delicately crisped skin. I’m not sure the foie was completely appreciated in this dish – or maybe that’s why it was so silky on the tongue? The french lentils underneath were good, too. Personally, I normally feel like lentils are a “filler” that lacks much flavor on its own, but here they are executed well enough where I actually took a few spoonfuls unaccompanied by pieces of the pig feet superstar – quite tasty! I remembered how a friend of ours claimed that Bibou does the best pig’s feet he’s ever had (he’s Chinese and has consumed a lot of pig’s feet). While I’ve never had pig’s feet prior to this, I would not be surprised if they are indeed the best ever and would be quite content to simply never eat another foot of pig if it meant that I’d avoid future disappointment.
What else was great? Well, first off, we love it with Monsieur Calmels comes out and greets us. g totally shmoozed him up with how great her dish was (she didn’t lie or stretch the truth – but as you can tell – the truth is flattering enough). He was very nice and humble and told us a bit about how it was prepared; he’s comes across as a very nice guy and a class act, complete with a soothing French accent (not the kind that’s pompous like on cartoons).
We also love it when Charlotte “gets real”. She sat down at the table next to ours and chatted in French with those guests. That’s right – we eavesdropped the entire time. What’d they talk about? I have no idea – I don’t speak French (high school was a long time ago – l, we really needed you!!!). However, there were some definite phrases that I understood, because they did have to translate for one of the guests at the table who spoke no French. So what were they talking about? Well, I can’t give you details (because it might be inaccurate and I don’t want to start any rumors), but what I think we got was an insider’s scoop into some thoughts about the French-ness of French restaurants in Philly, the similarity of Biba and Bibou, the style of Stephen Starr, the accuracy of Philly Mag’s Top 50 list, the accuracy of Blackfish’s number 1 position standing in the Philly mag Top 50 list, and more! Even if it was just some late-night gossip, it was still a ton of fun.
Were there any drawbacks? Yes, there was one. One that nearly crushed g’s heart. When they took our dessert order, they told us they didn’t have any banana tartine left, which g was gunning for since she first saw the list when we sat down. We decided to go for the ice cream and the creme brulee instead (which were both still very good). But alas – we found out that we were lied to. The table of French-speaking people who arrived after us and were sitting with Charlotte were given an order – and they had ordered their dessert (and were seated) way after us!! We definitely could not mistake what our ears heard as their desserts hit the table: “Banana Tartine” (I’m saying it with a thick/fake/ridiculous French accent). Yes – I’m sure they were friends of the owners or something, and g and I admitted that we’d do the same – but I guess I’d do it just a little more discreetly. I think we weren’t disappointed that they participated in such a practice, rather, we were envious that we were not [yet] buddy-buddy enough to receive the forbidden fruits of the “we’re all out” excuse. Maybe next time. After all – we have run into them at Cochon eating brunch before. And as we have come to find when we told Charlotte where we’d like a cab to take us, that we and she were almost neighbors (we’re in the same neighborhood!). Awesome. I think we’ll have to keep an eye out for them … Maybe we’ll just carpool next time (why the hell is it so hard to get a cab to come out to South Philly?). If nothing else, in our neighborly discourse, it’d also be interesting to hear her thoughts about restaurants more local to us … like Meme …
Bibou: Their Hanger Steak Reigns Supreme
t says: After a seemingly never-ending hiatus, we’re back!! And there’s tons to do. The problem is that the longer we’ve been away, the less I remember about the places we’ve been, so I guess I’d better get crackin!
6/2010, Sunday 9:30pm, Party of 2. Ahhh, Bibou. How we love thee. Not the least bit pretentious. Not super-spendy. No glitz or glam. Just good food. We had to choose one BYO for our anniversary dinner, and Bibou was our first choice. We had originally scheduled dinner there after the Idina Menzel concert at the Mann Center in Fairmount Park, but sensing that she would run late, we rescheduled to a Sunday. As a side note, Idina is absolutely silly … but we think it makes her awesome-er. Yea – and she can sing your socks off (the Philadelphia Orchestra was also great, too!).
We arrived at Bibou and were promptly seated. I forgot how small the place was. It didn’t matter – we wanted small. The waiter asked if we would like our wine, and, noting that it had already been opened (I wanted the wine to breathe some before we actually got to dinner), asked if I wanted it decanted any more. I had never had such an offer at a BYO. I kind of wanted to say yes just to test their wine service, but didn’t really want to draw attention to ourselves – after all – it is a small place.
The meal was their fixed price Sunday 4-course dinner.
The first was a chilled cauliflower soup. It was surprisingly good. No, it wasn’t super-complex, but it had a lightness despite being what appeared to be a creamy soup (maybe it was just a really smooth cauliflower puree). It was perfect for summer, and a great start to the meal.
For the second course, I went for the escargots and g went for the duck liver terrine. Yes, the escargot were as good as I remember. g was perfectly happy with the duck liver terrine, but confesses that it’s not the type of dish that she dreams about … Sorry we’re short on details for these two – but it’s because the next course was just too memorable …
We actually both ordered the same dish for the third course – there’s just something about the hanger steak that just KILLS IT. It has just the right balance of savory and herb. The asparagus reminded me of the asparagus omelettes my dad would make on Sunday morning breakfasts when we used to invite over the extended family. The potatoes were addictive. The meat had bite, but was tender, and, unlike at some places, was substantially large. g said she liked it even more than the steak served in Cochon’s steak-and-eggs brunch dish … and that’s a LOT.
I opted for the pistachio ice cream, while g had some sort of berry tart. Alone they were good. Together they were a perfect combination that lent an air of humility to the meal – it was like eating a warmed slice of pie with a scoop of ice cream … well, except better. Thus, the dessert was good, but not not quite Zahav-good. But with a meal that was so splendid overall, I really can’t complain. Somewhere in the meal Pierre Calmels came out to greet us. He seemed like such a nice guy. Of course, it would be hard to seem like a bad guy in the face of all of the praise that we were showering on him, but he humbly accepted our comments and wished us a happy anniversary. Indeed, it was a happy anniversary.
g says: i’d like to take a moment and recognize how delightful the tiny complimentary madeleines are at the end of the meal. they are about one-quarter the size of normal madeleines, but probably contain the same amount of butter… mmmm… a must-eat!
also, a note about pierre’s visit to our table — i was a little starstruck, i have to admit (i get that way sometimes, i just can’t help it! and it feels oh-so cool to have such an acclaimed chef offer us his personal attention) but i could barely understand a word he was saying through his thick french accent. it didn’t really matter, though, because every syllable was so dreamily smooth, i just stared at him smiling for most of the conversation. conclusion: i thought he was an impressively nice guy! t thought he was impressively tall…
Bibou: Cozy and Delicious
t says: As we sat in Meritage on the Saturday of the first big snowstorm we’ve ever experienced in Philly (and what turned out to be the first of many snowfalls for the 2009-2010 winter), we realized that, in all likelihood, restaurants were going to be empty the next day, as the accumulation was >20″. So was there any place that we’ve been dying to try but just couldn’t get a reservation? One name came to mind: Bibou. So the next day, g camped out on opentable.com and waited for someone to cancel their reservation – which they did! Sooo … we aerated/decanted a bottle of ’05 Bordeaux (from the Left Bank), hailed a cab, and off we went! We had effectively squeaked into Bibou!
Unfortunately, a lot of time has passed between now and when we ate, so our memories of the components of each dish are a little fuzzy – but our general impressions are intact and below for your consideration.
12/2009, Sunday 5:30pm, Party of 2, $45 4-course dinner. We were seated promptly at a two-top near the window, which would have been nice, but, because it was snowing, it was quite drafty! We inched away from the window a little bit and went for our wine to give us a nice warm feeling inside. Fortunately, the service was so good that I felt that our location was made up for.
For our first course, we both went with the white bean soup. It was warm and creamy, but still very light and inviting. I was not concerned with filling up on soup.
For our second course, g had the oxtail terrine and I had the escargots. g’s terrine was a cold dish, and she was surprised that she liked it as much as she did, as she’s not the biggest fan of oxtail. I felt that the escargots (with fava beans) outshone the terrine. They were amazingly tender and in a garlicky sauce that tastes “like home”. Don’t be confused – I never had escargots when I was growing up (I’ve actually only had them a handful of times) and I don’t make them in my apartment, but there was something about this sauce that felt homely – it was simple but delicious. After I devoured the snails, g and I proceeded to sop up every last drop of the sauce with our bread.
For the entree, I had the lamb (+$8 premium), while g went for the hanger steak. I remember that the lamb was superbly cooked and well-seasoned – it was a solid, delicious dish of lamb. I unfortunately can’t remember much of the other flavors they coupled with the lamb because I also tasted g’s dish. Hers was better. This was shocking because I love lamb. While I only took a few bites of hers throughout the meal (we like to share), I can say that hers was the best hanger steak I’ve ever had (something about their seasoning, their sauce, and the texture of the meat was as tender as a braised short rib!). Now I know why every restaurant keeps trying to serve it!
We went for the optional cheese plate which gave us three super-flavorful cheeses (no wussy cheeses here). While we don’t know a whole lot about cheese (except for that we like cheese), we appreciated that they picked cheeses with a variety of tastes and textures. That said, g and I are not huge fans of blue cheeses, so we gravitated towards the other 2.
For dessert, we enjoyed the buche de noel and the slice of cranberry pie. While the yule log was an excellent dessert, it didn’t really put forth a ton of flavor; it was simple and to the point: chocolate cake and creamy vanilla filling. It was like a good dessert one could make at home (if one routinely makes buche de noel at home). I preferred the pie. First, the size of our slice of pie was very large for a dessert course – I wonder if they were just trying to get rid of it? Even if they were, and gave us an entire pie, it wouldn’t have mattered – I would have eaten it all. The cranberry tartness was salient but balanced well by the sweet. The filling was not too stiff and not too runny – right on! The crust wasn’t soggy, either. Once again, this was a simple [well-executed] dessert with no frills, however, as you might be guessing, I finished the entire slice, even though I was full – I couldn’t help it.
In summary, Bibou offered a nice, cozy atmosphere and delicious, no-frills food. The hanger steak and escargots were shining stars, while the desserts (that pie!) were a pleasant, simple period on the end of a great meal (Zahav has more of an exclamation point). These, in combination with a great bottle of wine made up the best meal we’ve had since Cochon (it’d be a tough time figuring out who’s better).
after dinner sneeze 