Skylar asked me a couple of weeks ago if I wanted to check out Marche and I said yes. Not because I had read the Jonathan Gold article or even heard much hype. Because well, although I’ve heard the name, I’ve not heard the reason why people were going. Duh. I figured it out last night. The food IS GOOD. I really enjoy precisely cooked meals. Everything was very good. We started with the potted shrimp. Potted. This is kind of familiar. Duh. Gary Menes, the chef used to be at Palate Food + Wine in Glendale. Things are started to click in my head. The four of us got the tasting menu but two opted for the veggie version. $48 for the regular tasting menu, $46 for the veggie. The 5-course tasting menu counts the amuse bouche as a course. The vegs got some sort of tomato thingy for their amuse and we got the duck wing. Well, half a duck wing each. It was the most amazing duck wing ever. I wish I had a whole one. It was de-boned and served with a vaguely Asian-y sauce. I don’t know if my soup was vegetarian but it started with a veggie stock. The chef, it seems worked at the French Laundry honing his soup skills explained the server. In any case, I liked the little bits of garlic bread in it. The vegs had the ravioli. We had wonderful succulent, perfectly grilled shrimp that came on a bed of grains and peas. Next came the mains. The vegs had this extravaganza of veggies. We had steak and really fresh peas on a swirl of pureed parsnips. I loved everything on my plate. I was really into the fresh peas. But then I’d have a bite of the parsnips and fall in love. But the main attraction was the steak which was cooked JUST HOW I WANTED IT. Oh man, how often do I ask for medium rare and actually get medium rare? Hardly ever. I was so happy. After that, I was so full but time for dessert! We had a huge selection to choose from. I went with the chocolate pudding cake with salted caramel center served a la mode. Mm, yum. Valet parking available otherwise, there’s some street parking. There’s a tiny wine bar so I actually suggest sitting in the seemingly spacious main dining room. I didn’t do the wine paring but it’s an extra $40 and my dining companions felt it was worth it. I had a great glass of pinot noir. My total was $85 after tax and tip. What a treasure this place is!