This is Bibou. I had dinner there on Saturday night. I was lucky enough to get reservations, and sat at the bar since I was dining alone. This was perfect for me since I wanted to watch all the action in the kitchen. I also got to talk to the chef's lovely wife Charlotte. She was charming and very congenial. I also got to see some of the wine that the other diners brought with them. Like many in Pennsylvania, the restaurant is BYOB. Charlotte explained to me, that is largely due to the strange state of Pennsylvania...my words not her's...and various issues related to the storage of wine. I brought a half bottle of Grüner Veltliner with me. It was a decent wine, but I felt bad that I didn't spend more time picking out a wine once the food arrived. The food deserved better than a slightly oxidized 2007 GV. One of the waiters decanted an 89 Chateau Haut Brion right in front of me. That bottle was, literally, more than my budget for the whole trip. Wow. In addition to speaking with the chef's wife, the chef also came out of the kitchen to visit with the patrons. I had a brief conversation with him, and thanked him for the soup (he had sent out a complimentary appetizer for me to try. It was a cucumber soup with peekytoe crab. That was a nice start to the evening). He was very nice, and very low key. That was a nice treat.(By the way, the above picture is the only one I took. The pictures below were taken from online sources.)
I started with the Escargot. They were in a ragu with fava beans. Really excellent, and a perfect start. After that I had the grouper. I am mad at myself for not remembering the menu description. The fish was seared and served with a creamy mango and orange sauce, over fresh peas. There were onions and raisins as well. It was truly awesome. I had dessert, which is rare for me. It was a goat cheese and fig tart with honey ice cream.
Here is the menu. Click on it for a larger picture. The menu changes often, so this was not the exact menu I had, but you get the idea.
Inside the restaurant. Very small, but nicely decorated.
Pierre, the chef.
Charlotte.
On the way back from dinner, I had to walk through a kind of dicey neighborhood to get to the Metro station (should have driven). Anyway, there were some kids hanging out on the corner. Turns out they were in a gang. I asked them some questions about life in the inner city. They turned out to be very nice. They were in the middle of covering an abandoned building with graffiti when I interrupted them with my questions. After a little coaxing from the group, I agreed to try my hand at this "taggin" thing. I think I did pretty well. We were able to evade the police when they showed up, thanks to "lil slice". He showed me a shortcut down an alley, and I made it to the metro and back to my hotel without getting arrested. They also made me an honorary member of the gang. If you are ever on Broad and Washington in Philly, you can see my tag! It says "Hunt Nise!" Lil slice misspelled "nice", but I didn't say anything.
1 comment:
/Snort!/
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