Bibou BYOB is an excellent French restaurant in Philadelphia. Unpretentious, small (about 8 tables) and moderately priced (you can bring your wine - unheard of in NYC), the restaurant is tucked away in a working class Italian neighborhood of South Philly.
The food is absolutely delicious and flawlessly executed. The menu is small and favors fresh seasonal combinations and classic flavors. A cream of lettuce soup, laden with chunks of crab meat, (part of the summer $45 prix-fixe menu) is guaranteed to blow you away. And so does the appetizer of seared foie-gras in red wine reduction or an entree of soft shell crab with watermelon salsa. The only weak link was duck confit which should have been passed over for lamb chops that looked exceptional.
You can feel the chef's loving touch, as well as his wife's perhaps, who doubles as a hostess, in everything, as even the wait stuff project unusual warmth and friendliness without being too formal or overbearing.
bibou website
Escargot
Seared foie-gras
Soft shell crab with watermelon salsa
