Midi: Bringing Back the Martini Lunchfeatured

June 17, 2009 | 1 Comment

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Poised at the crossroads of Union Square’s shopping district and the FiDi, what better place to bring back the martini lunch?

Gotta love it when you can slink into a stylish joint and get a $5 martini at the lunch counter.

Too aggressive? Try one of Midi’s specialty cocktails. Most are concocted with interesting house-made syrups or flavorings, like the dangerously easy to drink Midi-rita, a sexy white tequila margarita spiked with homemade blood orange marmalade.

Liquid lunch not your style? (boooooo). Not to worry, Executive Chef Michelle Mah isn’t a SF Chronicle Rising Star Chef alum for nothing.

Midi Executive Chef Michelle Mah

From your perch at the bar, you have a prime view of the showcase kitchen and can watch Mah work her Cali-French brasserie magic for well-heeled fashionistas and power-lunchers alike.

Her approach to the food is fresh and refined. With a light hand and practiced execution, the quality and natural flavors of the ingredients shine in each dish.

If your sugar daddy (or work) is picking up the lunch tab, treat yourself to the weekly-changing Midi Quartet ($19), a sampling of four small courses designed so that you can taste a variety of flavors (and can’t refuse dessert). For example, quartet may include roasted baby beet salad, the soup of the day, fried Alaskan cod, and a mini bittersweet chocolate pot de crÃ¨me to finish.

In the mood for something light and fresh, but still luxurious enough? Try the Burrata ($13) sando served with a gorgeous pile of shaved veggies in white balsamic vinaigrette. Mmmmmm burrrrattaaaa….

Chilled Jumbo Asparagus Salad with Breakfast Radishes

For dinner, Midi’s thoughtfully crafted menu includes starters like Chilled Jumbo Asparagus Salad with breakfast radishes, sauce gribiche and meyer lemon oil drizzled on top, or Pan-fried Veal Sweetbreads with celery root puree, pancetta, and royal trumpet mushrooms, served with a celery leaf and shaved fennel salad. A standout entrée is the Duck Leg Confit. Perfectly executed, the skin is gorgeously brown and crispy, with all the fat underneath rendered off, it sits on a bed of chewy red Camargue rice, toasted almonds, pea tendrils, fava leaves, and a ginger-rhubarb sauce.

Or, you can just have another martini.