Bibou - BYOB

Bibou
1009 South 8th street (between Carpenter and Washington avenue) Philadelphia PA 19147

This house converted to restaurant has an unimposing exterior.  Without the sign on the door enclosure, I would not have been able to tell we had arrived. It is nestled in the Bella Vista Neighborhood of Philadelphia and one important caveat is that it is CASH only. Bibou offers a la carte dining from Wed to Sat and Sunday, a 4 course prix fixe for $45- a very doable excursion to the culinary French countryside. The cozy curtained foyer gives way to an intimate dining space with room for 20 or so people.

The restaurant is decorated with fresh picked flowers.  It is a BYOB so make sure to have 1-2 bottles of your favorite wine or liquor of choice on hand to enjoy the evening.

Dinner began with some bread and Echire butter, the butter considered the gold standard by many French chefs.  As I ate the bread, the butter definitely had a distinctive tang and nuttiness that was certainly different than American butter. Here's a great NYT article about Echire butter.

Bacalao soup, saffron fingerling potato, bacon cream. Bacallao literally means "cod" or "stockfish". The soup is made of dried or salted cod  that must be soaked the night before and have several rinses before using in the soup. It was a terrific amuse bouche to start the meal.

I started the first course with a wonderful seared foie gras with poached clementine. Delicious, succulent, melts in your mouth--everything  a foie gras should be. The syrup from the poached clementines was so sweet and pair wonderfully with the creaminess of the foie gras.

salade de crabe: crab and farro salad, watermelon raddish, pickled baby carrot, basil aioli.  Farro is a grain product of certain wheat species and has an appearance somewhat similar to rice. The aioli is the sauce pictured at the left. Aioli or aïoli is a Provençal sauce made of garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, usually egg yolks, and seasonings. There are many variations, such as the addition of mustard.

sauteed petit filet mignon, Yukon potato gratin, watercress, shallot confit, sauce Medoc.  The potato gratin was a particularly interesting addition.  It was flaky with layers and golden brown on the top.

canard: long island duck leg confit, carrot and ginger puree, red cabbage compote with cassis, baby vegetables, red wine duck sauce.  Crème de cassis is a sweet, dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants.  Duck confit (French: confit de canard) is a French dish made with the leg of the duck. While it is made across France, it is seen as a specialty of Gascony. The confit is prepared in a centuries-old process of preservation that consists of salt curing a piece of meat (generally goose, duck, or pork) and then cooking it in its own fat.

frozen grand marnier souffle, grand marnier tuile. A tuile is a thin, crisp, sweet or savory wafer made of dough or cheese. Originally from France, 'tuile' means tile in French, and is named after the shape of French roof tiles it is supposed to resemble.

mango and mixed berry sorbet.

Of Note:

Back end of the restaurant, a touchdown area for the servers as well as windows into the kitchen.

Jones - Philadelphia

Jones - Philadelphia
700 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 223-5663

The best way to describe Jones is an upscale version of the local neighborhood Applebee's nestled on the corner of 7th and Chestnut in Old City, Philadelphia. This is a Starr Restaurant, one of several in the area, and aims to offer comfort food for lunch and into the late night. Diners people watch through the floor to ceiling windows and diners can watch other diners from a second floor mezzanine accessible by a gorgeous wood and stone staircase.

A bar area features such playful cocktails as: "Mommy's Little Helper" and "Father Knows Best."  There were a bunch of families there enjoying the upscale eats while still offering such comfort food staples as Fried Chicken and Waffles (Starr's favorite), Cheese Pierogies with Caramelized Onion.

I started the meal with a delicious appetizer of Potato Pancakes: sour cream & apple sauce. These were great and would have been perfect start to a night out with the guys or some comfort food after a long day at the office. The demographic of people I saw was an eclectic mix that could have easily been a party to either of those scenarios.

Matzo Ball Soup. Matzah balls are an Ashkenazi Jewish soup dumpling made from a mixture of matzah meal, eggs, water, and a fat, such as oil, margarine, or chicken fat. Matzah balls are traditionally served in chicken soup.

Spicy Jambalaya: shrimp, chicken & tasso ham. Jambalaya is a Louisiana Creole dish of Spanish and French influence. Jambalaya was created in Louisiana and has its origins in Spanish paella.

Meatloaf: whipped potatoes & buttered carrots. A juicy dish exceeding expectation. Quite lovely. The potatoes were especially creamy.

 S'MORES Cinnamon sugar graham crackers, topped with warm squares of chocolate ganache, toasted homemade marshmallow.Served with chocolate sauce.

HOMEMADE ICE CREAMS AND SORBETS with a pizzelle cone.  This week's flavor was a delightful cinnamon ice cream.

A view of the kitchen touch down area at Jones.

Table side decor.