Congrats to Pierre and Charlotte Calmels whose charming BYOB Bibou landed on GQ‘s list of the top 10 new restaurants in the country. Alan Richman, who pens the food features for the men’s mag, is from Philly. Here he captures the essence of the 8th Street boite:
Bibou is tiny and crowded and mostly unembellished, but it does have pristine white tablecloths. And in this era of cold, hard-edged bistros, perhaps only the French understand what incalculable warmth and intimacy that evokes.
Did you know we carry Bibou’s heavenly, lightly spiced pumpkin bread? At the restaurant, Pierre embellishes it with squares of foie gras. The time we savored it with clove-scented, lime-spritzed pink plum chutney is etched into our cortex, a deft ballet of flavors that made the very un-French ingredients feel distinctly, improbably Gallic. Fortunately, the bread is just as delicious sans-foie. Follow Bibou on Twitter, where Charlotte often releases word of last-minute cancellations. Now that this French gem has gotten the GQ treatment, you’ll need every edge you can get. / $5 per loaf
