Je vous aime, Cherche Midi

Cherche Midi, pronounced [sher-ch mi di] not church mi di or cherchay mi-day, although I did find out that the restaurant name is a French expression meaning, "searching for midday," which is a little ironic if you go for dinner. Here's a cool article on Eater with some other fun facts about Cherche Midi.

French food is not always my first choice of cuisine, but my friends have always raved about Cherche Midi. It definitely lived up to expectations.

Like every meal, we began with a bottle of Pinot Noir; this time it was the “Sharecropper’s” Owen Roe ’13 to be exact.

Then to start we got the Local Beets Salad with brebis, pistachios and chervil. It was refreshing, savory and cheesy all in one bite. If this were all I ate for dinner I would give the restaurant a perfect score.

Next we got the Pot de Fromage, which was parmesan custard that came with anchovy butter toast. This dish came highly recommended to me. I was told it didn't taste like anchovies (which didn't really make sense to me, but I went with it in attempts to be adventurous) and it 100% tasted like anchovies! Lets just say it was a very salty surprise. The dip was great though, so I dipped the complementary bread that was served before the apps and dipped it in the cheese.

For the entree I got the Roasted Chicken Breast with baby leeks, hen of the woods (mushrooms, for all you inexperienced foodies) and gnocchi. Everything was cooked to perfection. The gnocchi was very flavorful and not too soft. The picture really explains it all.

Someone at the table got Grilled Scallops with braised salsify (a root veggie), red grapes and port reduction. They looked and tasted great, but we're a little too tiny for my liking.

Lastly, we got a side of the Roasted Cauliflower that was topped with gribiche sauce, which, is supposed to be really heavy, but it wasn’t. In fact, the waiter said the sauce was vegan, and it was beyond delicious. I wish I could get the recipe, so I can make it for dinner every night.

Overall, I would give Cherche Midi an 8/10. It was almost climatic because 4 out of the 5 things that I tried were terrific; however, the salty surprise did not give me a foodgasm and did not fully hit the G-Spot.

Next time I want to try the Lobster Ravioli and heard the burger is one of the best in the city. What do you get at Cherche Midi?