Perfectly Disgraceful

Bibou

Yesterday, the Younger Child and I were walking down 8th Street when we stopped to peer in the window of Bibou. Charlotte Calmels, co-owner of Bibou and wife of the chef, Pierre Calmels, saw me and came out to give me a copy of the menu and chat about children. She also told me it was their opening night.

Bibou is in the former home of the dearly departed Pif, our old favorite restaurant. When Pif opened in 2001, we were terribly excited to have a French restaurant only two stumbly blocks from our house. And not just a French restaurant, but a really good French restaurant. I ate the foie gras and escargot at Pif many times. I had a memorable birthday there with two of my favorite people. At that dinner, a large table of oenophiles sat next to us and when they left, they gave us a few half bottles of very good wine. Better than I had ever had. Another time, Rex and I had the Chef's Meal for two at the bar and the surfeit of rich food nearly killed him. Good times.

So we were excited once again when we saw activity in the old Pif spot. And let me tell you, Bibou lives up to its predecessor.

We couldn't miss the opportunity to eat there on the first night, so I biked to the liquor store for a bottle of Lunetta prosecco (I like it, though Rex finds it a little too fruity) and made arrangements for the children. We didn't have much more than an hour to eat, but we were determined to make the most of it.

We started with an amuse bouche of chopped raw oyster and mackerel with a bit of cilantro and lime juice, like a ceviche, but not marinated for long. It was amazing. Rex is going to try to replicate it.

We didn't really have time for an entree, although they all sounded tempting (especially the pigs' feet stuffed with foie gras, and the duck with honey and lavender sauce), so we ordered four appetizers. The escargot ragout with fava beans and tarragon was good, although I'm still partial to the Pif escargot. The rabbit rillettes, served in round chilled slices, was full of delicious bunny goodness. The morel fricassee was delicious, its creamy sauce was an excellent sop for the very good house-baked bread. The foie gras, seared and served with grilled mango and what looked like scrapple but was more like a cinnamony cornbread, was beyond the beyond. While eating it, I couldn't concentrate on what Rex was talking about. Probably an obscure band.

We finished off the bottle of prosecco and ran home, but not before deciding on the theme of my birthday celebration this year. Inspired by what we hope is the first of many delicious meals at Bibou, my party will feature prosecco and pâté. I cannot wait!

*****

Bibou is located at 1009 South 8th Street - 215-965-8290 - BYOB - Cash only

Bistrot La Minette

The opening night of Bistrot La Minette coincided with our 13th wedding anniversary. 13 years of lots of bliss and, well, we don't need to get into a realistic discussion of a marriage, do we? This post is really about eating some french food. 13 years does feel like an accomplishment though, even if on every anniversay Rex makes the same joke, "I think we've proved our point, haven't we?"

When we called to make a reservation and found out they were offering free wine, as their bar was not yet complete, it made my cheap Scottish soul leap to accept even an ungodly early 5:30 reservation, which was all they had left. I counteracted that cheapness by ordering three appetizers.

Figs

They sure look pretty, don't they? I haven't bought a decent fig this summer; every one has been free of flavor. I did have some good figs at Tria back in July. I had a few glasses of wine in me by the time they were served, but I believe they were grilled or broiled or something with maybe some prosciutto and honey, maybe some sort of nuts, too. I dunno, but they were tasty. Before I ordered them, I asked the bartender about their quality and he assured me that Tria only serves figs when they actually have flavor.

 

I was raised by a mother who is not an adventurous food eater so the first time I ate a fresh fig was in 1995. The then-owners of the now dearly departed Odeon had Rex and I over for a drink and a snack. The beautiful Madame Odeon served us fresh figs sliced in half and topped with goat cheese, which I, then a young slip of a thing, thought the height of sophistication. In addition to a French restaurant and a head of gorgeous wavy white hair, Monsieur Odeon had an extensive collection of art books that Rex coveted. I so admired these people and they had invited us to their house, I was thrilled! But it was a hard row to hoe, owning a restaurant in Philly in the mid-90s, and the Odeons shortly thereafter moved to the west coast to become full-time oenophiles.

 

When I was aspiring to be a denizen of Odeon, I couldn't really afford to drink there, let alone eat there, but I worked at 12th & Chestnut, lived at 12th & Spruce, and Odeon was at 12th & Sansom (now the location of Les Bons Temps, the building is still beautiful, take a gander). It was pretty much impossible to not stop there for a beer on my way home from work. I would carefully nurse that one beer and hang out with the barflies who seemed to be mostly criminal defense attorneys. Funny guys. I'd flirt with the bartender who broke many a heart. I'd wish I could afford another beer, or a plate of frites, or a rendezvous with someone I shouldn't. Your twenties should be all about longing, right?  You're better for it, I should think.

 

Luckily, just as my favorite bar was about to close, and not long before I lost that job, I convinced Rex I probably wasn't all that crazy, and I never again had to go back home alone.

Osteria

It was Rex's birthday yesterday, he wanted to go to Cochon, but sadly, it's closed on Sundays.  So we had to settle for Osteria, which was named best restaurant in the city by Philly Mag.  I can't say that I loved it, though the food was quite good. 

The design of the restaurant was oddly generic, almost like an upscale chain restaurant.  It's quite a large restaurant, too, and being prejudiced toward the classic tiny Philly byob, it seemed impersonal to me.  The service was excellent, but possibly a bit too posh for a place that serves pizza.  The cheese table is a sight to behold, I cursed myself for forgetting the camera.

We started with a margherita pizza, which Rex, as a fan of the margherita, really liked.  Then we had the squid salad with farinata chickpea bread .  The squid was a bit eh, but the chickpeas and  bread were tasty.  But the pasta, oh, the pasta, it was sublime.  I had the chicken liver rigatoni with cipolline onions and sage.  The liver was minced, the onions were invisible and the pasta was soft, in that homemade way, without being mushy.  Rex had rabbit agnolotti with pistachio pesto.  The agnolotti were like small unsealed ravioli, filled with delicious bunny.  I had a bit of my leftover rigatoni for lunch today and it was so good I almost want to make the trek back down to 640 North Broad.  But I don't really want to eat there again, I wonder if they would do takeout?

The wines were good, we both liked the Torre Quarto, Don Marcello, Puglia Rosso I.G.T. 2005.  We finished with an excellent cappuccino and a glass of vin santo.  I wish I liked Osteria more, I can wholeheartedly recommend the pasta and pizza, but it just wasn't a convivial place, we didn't linger after the meal was over.