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REVIEW: Lots to love about Bistro Philippe Corrections

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It's love.

Bistro Philippe had us at the bread, a crusty baguette so fresh it didn't need to be heated.

Granted, we would have preferred a fat slab of sweet, unsalted butter instead of the tasteless olive oil it came with, but in reality, we needed nothing to come between the taste buds and the bread. It was that good.

Which is surprising — the restaurant has been open a little more than a week. It shouldn't be this good yet. Then again, Philippe Trosch is at the helm — he's the chef who brought the Ventana Room its fifth diamond, the only Tucson restaurant with the honor. It's early to review, but we were eager, and once we tasted it we realized Bistro Philippe was ready.

As the evening wore on on our first visit, we fell more deeply in love. The affection grew on a return visit.

The cozy, multicolored checkered booths that practically form a circle around the tables in the middle make for great people-watching. The high, black ceiling with a shiny red on the portion that drops a little gave a sense of fun sophistication. The red canopies with the names of different regions of France added color and a sense of place. The friendly, never stuffy service lent a make-yourself-at-home air. And the prices are not outlandish, as one might expect from a French restaurant and/or Trosch.

Yes, there's much to love. We even suspect we'd love the dessert bar, which wasn't ready when we dined there — we're told it'll be another month or so before that will seat diners hungry to satisfy a sweet tooth.

There's little to remind one of the former Firecracker that occupied this space, with the exception of the very cool ceiling fans. The rattan blades are gone, with black ones in their place, and they go perfectly with the new, graceful décor.

This is a joint venture between Trosch and Bob McMahon, the owner of Metro Restaurants — that includes the former Firecracker, McMahon's across the street and a number of other mid-priced and middle-of-the-road restaurants in town.

And though it's early in the game, by all counts it's a successful partnership — and definitely not middle-of-the-road.

Trosch is known in Tucson for the upscale French-influenced dishes at the Ventana Room (he left it in 2006); we'll have to rejigger our thinking about him.

Bistro Philippe is down-home fare. These are dishes from a variety of regions of France — and with 80 dishes on the menu, it's really more of a brasserie than a bistro. The dishes are not as sauce-heavy as one might expect with French food, and they are certainly less intimidating — we could pronounce the names of almost all the dishes.

But more important, we loved almost all the dishes sampled.

Even the octopus ($7.75). In our previous experiences with this sea critter, it was a rubbery, kinda tasteless piece of meat.

Not so at Bistro Philippe. Though the appetizer is called carpaccio, the octopus isn't really raw — it's cooked very slightly. And the hefty serving of the thinly sliced octopus, pearly white and outlined in a bright pink, was chewy but not rubbery. It was also rich in flavor, thanks to the octopus' diet of scallops and clams. It was topped with a ravigotte sauce — a piquant vinaigrette loaded with capers and laced with fresh herbs. This dish, we're told, is influenced by Trosh's home region of Biarritz, in the Basque region of France. Wherever it's from, we're glad it found its way to Tucson.

The dover sole (at $28.50, the priciest item on the menu) disappointed only in that the whole fish came with the bone in — we appreciate that it's cooked with the bone, but it seems like an easy task for the kitchen to whisk the skeleton out of the fish after the cooking. That would save the diner from having to tiptoe around the bones for the flesh.

But other than that, the firm fish was cooked to be moist and keep its delicate flavor, while the lemon sauce and toasted almonds on top underscored the gentle taste of the meat. Making it even more appealing, Bistro Philippe uses only sustainable seafood. That's a big plus in this green-conscious world of ours.

We can't figure out what region of France the pork belly ($15.25) comes from — we know it mostly in Asian cuisine.

But we are mighty glad the trendy meat is on the menu.

Pork belly is the underside of the pig (that's where bacon comes from, too). It is a flavor-rich cut of meat thanks to the abundance of fat. And Trosch braises his — browns it first, then cooks it for a long, long time. So it's tender, very tender — this chunk of meat fell apart with just the touch of a fork.

Trosch blanketed the pork with a barbecue sauce that was tomato-rich and had a slight bite underlying the sweetness.

Actually, it was probably blanketed too heavily — the meat was so flavorful that we would have preferred less sauce to interfere with the flavor.

But then, that sauce was pretty darn fine, too.

Speaking of fine: The wonderfully rich French onion soup ($6.95) was spiked with port wine, topped with bubbly, brown Gruyere cheese and sweet with caramelized onions — and it was made with vegetable broth. That pleases vegetarians who steer clear of this soup because it's generally made with beef broth (all soups at Bistro Philippe are made without meat stock). As much as we loved that, the tomato soup ($5.95) disappointed — it was a touch watery and underseasoned.

The foie gras terrine ($16) (a companion described it as "duck-flavored butter," and she was right) was a silky decadence, and the cremi mushrooms ($9 — the price and mushroom change according to what's fresh) sautéed in a garlicky butter and fresh parsley were appetizers designed to start a meal off with heavenly moans.

We also found happiness in the pasta — the gnocchi ($12.95) were so light they nearly floated above the dish, and they were earthy with a mushroom Parmesan cheese sauce.

And we mustn't forget the desserts — the beignet ($5.95) was soft on the inside, crunchy out, and served with a hazelnut chocolate sauce; and the chocolate pot de crème was a velvety serving of decadence. But we wish the braised pear had been more tender, though we loved the chocolate sauce and almonds on top.

On each visit, we forgot to order vegetables — the menu is a la carte. Don't worry: It doesn't add up to a prohibitive amount — each vegetable side is just $3.25.

OK, there were a few disappointments. They were out of a few items, the service was slow and sometimes uninformed, that dessert bar wasn't open.

But, the restaurant is still a babe. Glitches will be worked out, near-perfection at an accessible price is very near.

And our love, we're sure, will continue to grow.