With Bibou getting a glowing three-bell review in the Inquirer and Fond opening this evening we felt the time was right to bust out our Legion of Perrier infographic.

By our count there are 15 area chefs out on their own who passed through Georges Perrier’s kitchens.

Of course if we missed any, let us know.

Update: Now version 1.1 of the graphic complete with all your additions and subtractions.

French BYOB, Fond opens on East Passyunk today. Former Le Bec-Fin chefs Lee Styer and Jessie Prawlucki will be in the kitchen and Lacroix’s Tory Keomanvong will be in the front of the house.

Fond Slideshow [Grub Street]
Fond [Thrillist]
Menu for Fond on East Passyunk [Meal Ticket]

Craig LaBan visits Bibou where he finds chef Pierre Calmels and his wife Charlotte creating another star French bistro on 8th Street in South Philadelphia. Of special note was the “gastro-splurge” of the seven-course $70 tasting dinner.

Our meal soared from an ethereally light but vivid chilled asparagus soup to a velvety-tender slice of poached veal tongue with sauce gribiche (a decadent throwback mayo with capers, cornichons, minced hard-cooked egg, and tarragon.) There were wonderfully crisped scallops with lime emulsion, sea beans and shaved cucumber noodles, another bowl of Madeira-sauced chanterelles (which I gratefully devoured), seared foie gras, and an intensely beefy hanger steak in a light green peppercorn sauce alongside snappy plumes of black trumpet mushrooms that glistened with a butter shine.

Three Bells – Excellent

Bibou [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Bibou [Official Site]

Craig LaBan had off this past weekend but he’ll be back with a review we’re intrigued to read. He’ll be checking out Bibou, the French BYOB just off the Italian Market.

David Snyder has already declared it Philadelphia’s best French bistro. Adam Erace admitted he had to resort to nitpicking to find anything to complain about and Joy Manning of Philadelphia Magazine gave it a glowing A-.

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Bibou+Reviewed [f8b8z]
Bibou [Official Site]

For the entire month of September (except Saturdays) Queen Village’s Bistrot La Minette is offering a $30 3-course prix fixe menu, $42 if you would like wine pairings with the first two courses and coffe with dessert.

Also happening at the quaint French bistro, or is that bistrot? Today is their one year anniversary and everyone who dines with them will receive a free Kir Royal.

Restaurant Month Menu after the jump.

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World renowned French chef, Guy Savoy will be hooking up with Georges Perrier behind the burners at Le Bec-Fin on for two days in September. The special seven course tasting dinner will include some of Savoy’s favorites including lobster, truffles and foie gras.

The menu is going to be available on Sunday, September 20th and Monday, September 21st for $200 per guest. Seating is limited to 80 guests per evening. It’s as counter-programming as possible to Restaurant Week, which will also be going on those days.

Le Bec-Fin [Official Site]

Coquette’s Cary Neff drops us a line that Jared Fraser, former Chef de Cuisine at Pif is now running the kitchen at Coquette.

It’s just the latest twist for the French bistro at the corner of 5th and Bainbridge which has seen a litany of kitchen changes since its opening. By all accounts though Fraser is a good one, so here’s hoping he sticks around a bit.

Coquette Bistro & Raw Bar [Official Site]

Philadelphia Magazine’s Joy Manning handed out an A- for the food at Bibou, calling the fare “the country cousin to the citified cuisine of Le Bec. It’s more rustic, without fussy embellishments or unnecessary elements, but just as genuine, and made with the same skill, the same obsessive attention to detail.” [Philadelphia Magazine]

Wine guru David McDuff visits Bibou on a Sunday prix fixe night for the $45 per person meal and finds the “plats principaux are the stars.” [McDuff's Food & Wine Trail]

Drew Lazor runs down what he had at his Sunday prix fixe and in addition to still being full the next day, he found it “ridiculously tasty.” [Meal Ticket]

Bibou also made the Philadelphia Weekly 50-Must Eats with its seven-course tasting menu for $70. PW calls Bibou’s foie gras some of the best in Philly. [Philadelphia Weekly]

Bibou [Official Site]

Avril , a Northern Italian and Southern French BYOB opens tonight in Bala Cynwyd.

The Owners

• The husband and wife team of Christian Gatti and April Lisante
• Gatti has experience at:
  • City Tavern
  • White Dog
  • Audrey Claire
• Lisante was a long-time food writer for the Philadelphia Daily News
• The couple met during a 2003 Daily News photo shoot where Gatti was featured as one of Philadelphia’s “hot, young chefs.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday night Meme hosted their Pig Dinner featuring Meme’s own David Katz, Jonathan MacDonald of Pub & Kitchen, Michael Solomonov of Zahav, Pierre Calmels of Bibou, Steve Cameron of Noble and Peter Woolsey of Bistrot La Minette. Each chef contributed a dish to the gorge-fest and both Meal Ticket and Phoodie were there, cameras in hand.

Also of note from Meme are some changes for August. Owner David Katz lets us know they’ll be doing a “restaurant month” with a 3-course, $35 menu available and they’re tweaking their hours, closing Sundays and Mondays, instead of Tuesdays.

Still Full: Pictures from Meme’s Pig Dinner [Meal Ticket]
March of the Pigs in Action [Phoodie]
Meme [Official Site]