Bistro Bis

[DonRocks]

Antonio Burrell recently became Chef de Cuisine at Bistro Bis, an establishment run by restauranteurs Jeff and Sallie Buben, having come from a short stint at Gabriel.

A check-in this evening showed some terrific work by new Pastry Chef Heather Martindale, who just came from Marcel's.

The chocolate bread pudding with crème anglaise, was everything you could possibly want, and how often do you find both the sorbets (passion fruit and mango) AND the ice cream (vanilla) arriving at the correct temperature and showing the proper respect to their ingredients?

It's worth stopping in just for a late dessert to sample the great work of Heather Martindale.

Cheers,

Rocks.

[pastramionrye]

anyone been recently?

anyone been in the past?

tell me all what you think. I have walked by it the last two mondays, and have heard about it, but never been...

is it bouchon? is it Bistro Lepic? is it somewhere in between?

[FunJohnny]

anyone been recently?

anyone been in the past?

tell me all what you think. I have walked by it the last two mondays, and have heard about it, but never been...

is it bouchon? is it Bistro Lepic? is it somewhere in between?

←

I believe a distinguished member of the Society is an employee -- Ahem, Nadya

[iamthestretch]

It's expensive but, at least the last two times I've been, good. For a while it was expensive and not so good, which was not so good. A very nice bar to hang out and have a few bites at, too.

[Nadya]

I imagine shrieking "Ask Me!!" while staring at the audience with dead-pan eyes a la resurrected fortune teller in Warlock II.

Seriously, though, definitely upscale of Bistro Lepic. Menu recently revised. Commenting on food would be mucho inappropriate for me, but the place has been booming lately.

Rather than telling you what the place is, I would tell you what it is not.

Not an intimate, romantic dinner place. Dining room is large and lively, and there is only one reasonably private table for two. PM me if interested in better table numbers for future reservations.

Not a small plate heaven. Menu offerings fall neatly into appetizers or entrees unless you want to graze at the bar.

Not a stuffy, overly formal French place.

Not a place to go if you don't fancy being greeted by a poster of a nekkid lady over the host stand.

The bar scene is great and busy on weeknights but almost empty on weekends. Take note.

Tasting menus: yes

Cheese plate: yes

Smoking at the bar: yes

Eating at the bar: yes

Best-looking front of the house staff in town: yes

Late dining: yes (we seat until 10.30

Chefs kissyface: no

Edited April 5, 2005 by Nadya (log)

[FunJohnny]

Not a place to go if you don't fancy being greeted by a poster of a nekkid lady over the host stand.

The bar scene is great and busy on weeknights but almost empty on weekends. Take note.

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I swear when I first read this in a glance I thought you said "greeted by a nekkid lady"

[Nadya]

Not a place to go if you don't fancy being greeted by a poster of a nekkid lady over the host stand.

The bar scene is great and busy on weeknights but almost empty on weekends. Take note.

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I swear when I first read this in a glance I thought you said "greeted by a nekkid lady"

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You laugh...yet I recall a seven-year old from Houston who pointed his pudgy finger at the poster, and said, accusingly, "Don't you find this picture inappropriate?"

[DCMark]

Can you smoke cigars there?

[pastramionrye]

i guess i am looking to find out more about the food.

iamthestretch, whatr made it bad? then what made it good?

[kurl]

i guess i am looking to find out more about the food.

iamthestretch, whatr made it bad? then what made it good?

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I went here for brunch in, uh, July and it was quite good. I don't recall much about the meal other than that I had eggs benedict and my girlfriend had something better than eggs benedict.

[iamthestretch]

i guess i am looking to find out more about the food.

iamthestretch, what made it bad? then what made it good?

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Here's a sample menu, though it's probably not the very latest one. You can see more-or-less where they're coming from.

As far as general impressions go, there were just a few meals in a row where it didn't seem the kitchen was trying very hard. Sloppy execution. Unmemorable food for the price point. This was a while back and, I'm pretty sure, prior to the arrival of the current chef. I don't get that impression anymore.

[banco]

On Friday night at around 9:30 I went to the bar with a friend and had the sweetbreads with lobster. The lobster was in a creamy nantua sauce with asparagus and mushrooms, all put in a vol-au-vent, while the veal sweetbreads were lightly fried and served on a simple demi-glace. The meal was rich and deeply flavored but not heavy, and my friend was also cooing about it. The sweetbreads did not match the fluffy perfection of those at Eve, but that's perhaps an unfair comparison. The Mercurey by the galss we ordered was a very good complement to the dish (if a bit pricey at $11.00), but it tasted like it had been open for quite a while. Service was top-notch. In all it was a great way to finish up the evening.

I've always liked Bis and the food I've had there has always been good. But I hadn't been there in a couple years so I was glad to see that things seem to be at a high standard. The space is also an island of swank urbanity in the otherwise rather dowdy and conservative dining scene on the Hill. I think Bis, along with Belga, are going to end up being my two favorite spots in the neighborhood to go for a late night drink and some last minute dinner.

[bbq4meanytime]

I haven't been to the Bis since Antonio Burrell joined, but we did enjoy his food very much when he was at Gabriel. I personally think he's one of the underrated chefs around.

Edited April 27, 2005 by bbq4meanytime (log)

[Malawry]

I had dinner there with a friend a week or two ago. I enjoyed the steak tartare, which I discussed on the Beef tartare thread. My friend ordered this sort of assorted vegetable appetizer plate, which was very colorful and artfully arranged perfectly-cooked chilled spring vegetables (haricots verts, asparagus, radish, etc). It was more interesting than a salad would have been, and it came with a nice sharp rosemary aioli dabbed on the plate. We shared a fantastic entree of monkfish with tarragon beurre blanc, and an acceptable rockfish Breton-style stew.

[banco]

I had dinner there with a friend a week or two ago. I enjoyed the steak tartare, which I discussed on the Beef tartare thread. My friend ordered this sort of assorted vegetable appetizer plate, which was very colorful and artfully arranged perfectly-cooked chilled spring vegetables (haricots verts, asparagus, radish, etc). It was more interesting than a salad would have been, and it came with a nice sharp rosemary aioli dabbed on the plate. We shared a fantastic entree of monkfish with tarragon beurre blanc, and an acceptable rockfish Breton-style stew.

←

Ate at the bar again last night at around 9:30 (this is getting to be a good habit) and ordered the scallops from the bar menu. A few nicely seared morsels with braised leeks, asparagus and a truffle-potato emulsion. They went beautifully with an excellent Alsatian Riesling on offer.

Edited April 28, 2005 by banco (log)