Cochon, Queen Village - Chef Gene and GM Audrey Giuffi's Rustic French BYOB on E. Passyunk Ave. and Catherine St.

[1000yregg]

We were in Philly last night for the Popped festival, and for dinner we went to Cochon on the south side, a French style bistro. It's BYOB and cash only, but the food was pretty good.

Pics here.

For first courses, we had the sweetbreads with haricot verts and seared scallops with a frisee, lardons, asparagus and fingerling potato salad. We actually were hoping for the crispy chicken livers, but they ran out.

For dinner, hands down, the best dish was pork shoulder over lentils dePuy and roasted brussel sprouts topped with a poached egg. The pork was incredible moist and juicy. The duck breast with white bean ragout and pomegranate gastrique was also good.

For dessert, we a simple but solid creme brulee and chocolate cake. We got comped the dessert in trade for the 3 beers we did not drink from our six pack. Not bad.

[jparrott]

Cochon rocked Saturday night. Excellent survey of the piggy (not as extensive as Cochon in New Orleans--no relation) but solid. Excellent, BYOB-friendly.

In particular, groups of a decent size are definitely encouraged (by me) to bring a few styles of sherry. The food is unbelievably sherry-friendly. You might have to bring your own glasses, however--I didn't check to see if they have decent small stems.

[jparrott]

Has anyone been to Matyson or Marigold Kitchen recently? What about Bibou? Am taking a quick trip to Philly this weekend and want advantage of some of the great BYOB/prix fixe deals that the city has to offer.

Cochon, Cochon, Cochon. Bring the best sherries (particularly finos and amontillado/palo cortados) and rieslings you can afford.

[jparrott]

Cochon in South Philly for BYO. Bring riesling, sherry (of almost any style), old school Rioja. Brilliant place.

[demandalicious]

I echo jparrot in recommending Cochon. I went back in October (based on his suggestion in this board, as a matter of fact) and was blown away. It's a bit off of the beaten path, so you will want to be mindful of that it you're not going to be driving. Get the escargot if they have it on the menu. Best that i've ever had!

[jparrott]

Thanks for the corroboration. I really do think that the Cochon experience is heightened further by bringing the right beverages. I spent a whole night there with a bagful of awesome sherries (check out Arrowine and MacArthur's for a good local selection). It was magical.

[jparrott]

Bibou. I'm starting to think that the BYOB thing is a little overrated, at least in terms of thinking that you're going to have a brilliant night out. A lot of pretty good meals at Bibou, Fond, Couchon, and so on, but nothing that makes me lay awake at night pining. Think of them as really excellent neighborhood places; they don't seem to trip over the top into the top tier of fine dining.

My two meals at Cochon with a bagful of awesome sherries take my 3:10am-3:15am pining spot.

[DonRocks]

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Two places where we've enjoyed brunch are : Cochon -- we were there this past March and really enjoyed our experience.  A meat-centric menu and very delicious.  I believe it's closer to your hotel than my other suggestion, Fork -- this has a more typical brunch menu and a more upscale ambiance.  Had brunch there within the last year and would definitely go back.

Cochon

We had a great experience here I won't detail too much since already well covered on the thread. Escargot, pork rib app, pan fried gnocchi and the signature whole roast suckling pig atop lentils and crispy brussel sprouts were all standouts. Quirky but efficient waiter. Reasonably priced given the quality and portion sizes. Strongly recommend unless you don't eat pork. This place is a homage to the pig. We also ordered a rabbit dish at our table but it was really about the pork.

Cochon was the winner for BYOB. They take reservations, have a pork heavy menu, and succeeded on all fronts. Melograno was less successful. Above average pasta, but nothing exciting. They do take reservations on Sunday when many of the BYOBs are closed. Loved BYOing though and really wished we had more options to do so sans significant corkage fees in DC.