Italian Escape in Kitsilano: Bibo Pizzeria con Cucina

While the new renovations, red lighting and the waiters’ black tie attire create a formal yet elegant environment, married owners Michela and Andrea Bini warmly welcomed me as if I were family arriving for Sunday dinner.

Their buffalo mozzarella, porcini mushrooms, olives, oils, meats and even their staff, all come from Italy. Most of the ingredients are grown and made at her family’s farm in Italy. Michela explains that these Italian ties are what keep “Bibo authentic, real, Italian food.”

The dishes are simple, the quality of ingredients make them exquisite. My starter, prosciutto, cantaloupe, and DOP buffalo mozzarella was just as Andrea described it, “simple but exploding with flavours.” The mozzarella, made from the milk of water buffalos near Naples, had a firm outside but a smooth, buttery inside. After my first bite, I couldn’t wait to have even more of it on my soon-to-arrive pizza.

From my table I watched my Formula One pizza (a classic margherita pizza) come out of the wood-burning oven. The sauce, basil, and “the best cheese ever made” (according to Michela) worked together to create a dish too good for words (since my mouth was full pizza). The ravioli alla Piemontese, Michela’s favourite, was delicious; the cream sauce was light, and did not overpower the taste of the beef-stuffed handmade pastas. And, to make the dish even better, it was served in a bowl made out of cheese and, there’s no such thing as too much cheese.

Once it was time for dessert, the lights dimmed and the black and white Italian film playing above the bar ended. The tiramisu would delight non-coffee and coffee drinkers alike, while the panna cotta had a creamy melt in your mouth texture that I simply could not get enough of. To finish off the meal, chocolate bricks were served, which seemed to be crushed cookies held together by cocoa. The cocoa kept the dessert from being too sweet, and they were the perfect treat to end this rich, flavourful meal.

Every few months, Andrea and Michela visit their homes and the far corners of Italy to discover new recipes, ingredients, producers, and techniques to keep their Italian food contemporary and authentic. They also check up on their vineyard where their Bibo wine is made. After they’ve checked in on their own farm, they tour the county looking for other producers and artisan groceries who have products they deem worth of selling at Bibo. They sell  sauces, dips, pastas and cheeses , which are all displayed by the door. I couldn’t’t resist a jar of pesto.

BiBo Pizzeria con Cucina

1835 West 4th Avenue

Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1M4

P.  604.568.6177

Reservations accepted

Website

— Samantha Harris

Samantha is a Toronto native who has retired the snow boots for rain boots. She have a weakness for peanut butter and an addiction to coffee. She has written for the BC Lions, The UBC Thunderbirds, TAXI Vancouver and the few individuals that follow my oh so amazing blog. She is a recent graduate from the UBC Creative Writing Program, however, as a varsity rower, more of her time was spent in spandex and in the gym than in the library on her laptop.