Bistro Bis - Review

Day 4: Bistro Bis (www.bistrobis.com)
Overall Rating: RRRR 1/2 (out of 5)

Tonight, we dined at Bistro Bis, the self-proclaimed poor cousin of Vidalia and our dinner was nothing short of incredible.

We’re not a fan of eating crow especially when it isn’t roasted by a talented chef but tonight we are willing to swallow it raw and whole. In our review of Vidalia we doubted whether or not celebrated Chef Jeffrey and his wife Sallie were committed to providing the same superb fare to Restaurant Week diners that they lavish on their regular customers. Our outstanding meal at Bistro Bis proved we had misjudged this culinary duo.

Parry started his meal with Moules a la Piperade which translated is mussels steamed with heirloom peppers, linguiça sausage and oregano-tomato broth. The mussels were small but extremely juicy and tender, the sausage was exquisitly spiced and maintained its consistency in the broth and the broth itself was an ocean of rich flavor that inspired Parry to gulp spoonful after spoonful of it. I abandoned my indifference to bread and used copious amounts of it to soak up this succulent potage.

My appetizer of Steak Tartare Atilla served with capers, onions, spicy aïoli, cornichons and garlic potato chips was just as remarkable. The chopped sirloin was well seasoned and the potato chips provided the ideal textural contrast to the delicate meat.

If the appetizers delighted our palettes the main course can only be described as orgasmic. My lamb steak arrived with a compliment of buttery mashed potatoes and an au jus that is best described as something mom would make, only better. The lamb was incredibly tender and flavorful, so much so that I swear the charcutier tasted it every ten seconds during the cooking process.

Parry ordered the Duck Confit Façon Tarbais, a garlic-herb rendered duck leg with Toulouse duck sausage, tomato concassé and a ragout of white beans. We are uncertain if the duck was marinated, air dried or pre-steamed but we can state for certain that it was moist, savory and perfectly cooked. The big surprise for Parry was the beans. Normally, he has a hate-on for these little white pearls but tonight he greedily wolfed them down. When I asked Parry about his sudden change of heart he explained that the beans prepared at Bistro Bis were soft but not mushy which to him made all of the difference in the world.

For dessert, Parry ordered a flourless chocolate cake infused with orange and a healthy heaping of crème fraiche. While it was challenging to detect the zest of citrus, the cake was moist and a satisfying way to end the admirable meal.

I opted for the Crème Brûlée which is my all-time favorite dessert. While the flavor came close to meeting my admittedly high standards, the texture failed to please. The interior reminded me more of scrambled eggs than creamy custard. I must confess however that the textural issue with the brûlée didn’t matter much because up until that moment I had experienced such a superior meal that this tiny glitch didn’t phase me.

Our attentive and charming server Lateef vetoed our request for double espresso and insisted on bringing us Bistro Bis’s French press coffee. We fretted a little because we have a penchant for strong coffee and as such, worried that regular joe wouldn’t cut it. Once again, Bistro Bis proved us wrong. The coffee was good, probably one of the better cups of coffee we’ve had during Restaurant Week.

Parry and I don’t like to be wrong, our egos are just too big for that but tonight we are prepared to fess up and take the hit. Vidalia did disappoint us but we were too rash in concluding that Chef Buben and Sallie aren’t dedicated to providing Washingtonians with awe-worthy food. Our meal at Bistro Bis more than proves that point. So, what do we think now that we have bellies full with rich, luscious food? That we’re hooked on Bistro Bis and that during the regular season, we might just give Vidalia another try.