Midi – FiDi
185 Sutter St
San Francisco , CA
(415) 835.6400
See larger map and more nearby
VdV Rating: 2
Food: Ca/american
PRO: Nice upgrade in design from old Perry’s, cool bar & atmosphere
CON: Lots of food was so-so
We strolled in here with our rock-n-roll friends Dave and Karen the other night. We had plans to come here months ago, then things came up that got in the way but we promised each other we wouldn’t hit Midi without each other.
So, a few months later here we are. Let ‘em work out the kinks, just like that dinosaur Bauer would do. Christ, onna these days I’m gonna meet King 
Michael himself and have some ’spainin’ to do about all the crap I give him.
So I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked in. All I knew about this place was from my mid-day escapes to the old Perry’s for a few nips to break up a day-long shopping trip downtown. And Perry’s filled the bill for that, word. Perry himself is a complete stud in the SF bar world, BTW. Check out his place on the Embarcadero! So, back to that strolling in thing. We strolled in, and BAM! the whole downstairs was…pretty f’ing cool, in fact.
So yeah, I like the initial vibe. They tightened-up the bottom space (no, I’m not making anal references) and took it from the ’80s to the ’10s. The street-level bar has nice wood and metal accents, and attractive lighting. I mean, it almost made me look good. There’s a cool back-lit pinhole pattern on the bar surface, room for 10 or so at the bar, a nice wide area behind the bar (AKA ‘wasted space’, but those bartenders deserve some room), and 5-6 small tables. I’d stop in here for bevvies any day.
They also paid homage to the Olympics and had a (temporary) big screen blasting that whiner Lindsay Vonn in full 12′ glamour. But wait, maybe the media crafted that ‘Whoa is We’ image. Wait, that’s Mr. Ed. I meant ‘Woa is Me’. I mean, with cameras in your mug all day long, editing at their will, I am sure Ms. Vonn is a peachy keen chick. Right, tiara-wearing Julie Mancuso? Fast friends, I am sure.
So before we could finish our first round of drinks, we were promptly whisked upstairs to be seated (no, not ‘cuz we are VdV in this case, if you looked on OpenTable they would basically bribe you to make a resie at any time), by a very friendly dude who showed us upstairs. Upstairs? At Perry’s I thought it was just an attic with rats, and the petrified bodies of annoying liquor reps and bad tippers.
Midi put some dough in the upstairs restaurant too, from zebra-stripe wood stairs, linen wallpaper, nice lighting and good natural light from some windows overlooking Sutter. There’s a banquette on each end of the room and tables in the middle. Seats about 40-44 in my estimation. A nice size, small enough to have a date with your squeeze but big enough to have a little buzz. Good for a date or a small group.
So let’s get busy. The menu. Odd, but kinda cute in its own way. The menu is broken up into 4 categories: Bites, Small Plates, Share Plates and Entreés…the first three seem a tad redundant, but I get the subtlety. That said, I can’t believe I could spell subteltly after the 5 martini lunch I just had. Oops. That fifth one musta just kicked in.
Midi's upstairs dining room
So we figured we’d sample a bit from each section. From the ‘Bites’ list, we had the Mixed Mushroom Turnovers ($6), 2 doughy puppies that were about 90% dough, and 5% shroom. I know. Math and me never got along. Which is why I would not reco them to you, my dear apostles. Next, the Herbes de Provence Olives ($6), which means they’re olives with some froggy spices sprinkled on. I’ve had lotsa olives in my day. Meaning this was not my first olive rodeo, bitches. I wasn’t a huge fan of these, from the ground up. The olives didn’t rock me, and the particular spices, although they may sound dandy as ‘Herbes de Provence’ didn’t really work.
Will we go 0-3 on the ‘Bites’ menu? I, for one, certainly hope not. But, let’s just read on, shall we? Or do we need to send out a search party for the end of this review? Damn I wish I got paid by the word. And you, you prolly wish you got paid by the word too, huh? Well, let’s just both (and I mean, not ‘both’ as we have thousands of fans, and you only have one of us) resign ourselves to just getting along like Felix & Oscar in The Odd Couple. Sexless (I think?), but with a certain, special camaraderie.
So, the third of three ‘bites’ was the Cave-aged Gruyre Grilled Cheese ($7), on brioche, bitches! Yes, a winner. Not ‘cuz they keep their cheese in a cave. That sounds like Fromage cruelty. I mean, what else do they do to it in that cave? ! I don’t really wanna know about that. It was because it all came together in a simple, but not ’simple wonder bread and kraft cheeese’ way. Nice flavors, good bread choice and the gruyere nailed it. This is a highly recommended ‘bite’!
Movin’ on to the small plates (will they flog you if you try to share?), we had the Fried Chicken & Potato Croquettes ($8), with spicy remoulade (AKA fancy mayo) and watercress. I’m a sucker for a croq…I’ll always give ‘em a go. No not those stupid rubber sandals, fool. And I do think ‘croquette’ is just onna those euphemisms for ‘deep-fried fat ball’ but as usual the French can make even an vasectomy sound romantic. VdV rating of this little dish: a 2. I know, I know, they told me ‘Potato’. They didn’t even disguise it as ‘Pomme’. But that doesn’t change the fact that the spud dried it all out. Sorry, Midi, it’s true. And there wasn’t enough remoulade to moisten it up enough. Tough love!
We had to try a share plate (will they stone you if you order it solo?), and went for the Filet Mignon Tartare ($13), with Sieved Egg, Caperberries and Toast Points. So I’ve had Filet more ways than a cow can imagine. The presentation of this dish was OK. Except, and I know Midi it seems like I must harbor a certain resentment of you and I don’t, but why put a bunch of minced-up, tasteless egg whites on Filet?! This nice, chopped-up bovine sexiness, with a bunch of white crap all over it. Eww. And it didn’t add much to the texture or taste. Don’t get too fancy, Midi. The beef was OK, I’ve had better, like at Balthazar and Blue Ribbon and others.
Entreé time, the no-share zone! We (oops) shared the Grass-fed Beef Burger ($14) with Carmelized Red Onions, Roma Tomato, Butter Lettuce on a Sesame Seed Bun. Damn, what’s that jingle from McD’s? “Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.” Yeah, that’s it! A special prize to the first VdV’r who revises that classic jingle for the Midi burger! Send your entries to ‘imapatheticjinglewritingloserwholiveswithhismom@vdv.com’
Anyhoo, the burger was very good. Rare as ordered. High quality beef with enough fat content to have excellent flavor, the condiments were spot-on and the bun was a good throw-back, basic bun just tryin’ to be a good bun. Not aspiring to be a ciabatta or brioche bun, just a bun. Note, you could have put the bun on the grill for a sec, just to give it a tiny bit of crunch. Just sayin’. Christ after eating Filet Tartare and a rare burger I almost wanted to be in a bullfight.
So was I too hard on Midi? Am I just a bitch? No and yes. Hey, I would definitely suggest this place as a spot to dash into for a few bevvies and maybe take a chance at a few ‘bites’, ‘bits’, ’small plates’ or whatever. I sure will. But for now…I can’t throw the love at midi for a dinner destination. Maybe next time!
Hours:
Breakfast: Mon-Fri 7a-10a
Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:30a-2p
Dinner: Mon-Sat 5:30p-9p
Bar: ’til 11p