Sarah and I always go out to dinner the night before she leaves to go home for Christmas just to celebrate the holidays and what not. Sort of a tradition--we give each other presents and then go out to eat. Tonight we went to
Fraiche in Culver City. I hadn't been there before, although there certainly is a lot of good press about Fraiche. The food is good, with two caveats in my mind: 1. It's as expensive as Beverly Hills, but in Culver City (I hope for their sake they are making a metric shit-ton of money), and 2. the food is good and is well executed, but maybe almost a little bit boring and not too innovative. Anytime I'm shelling out 14$ for a salad that is grain based (ie cheap), well, let's just say that it better be really fucking good. (Hardly inadequate, but it wasn't quite up to that level. I've been more impressed for cheaper/same price--Drago Centro is the first example that I can think of--they are definitely operating in a different realm from Fraiche, and yet, they are either cheaper or about the same price.) Oysters were very good, fresh, and pretty inexpensive (13$ for 6) for restaurant oysters, although they have nothing on my Grandfather's beach. Pasta special that Sarah got was good, but at 26$, ravioli stuffed with pork osso bucco and truffle butter is a bit of a rip-off. Especially when the server recommended it "highly" over another dish. Seemed like he was trying to push it (and of course, we ordered it, because it sounded good and we're gullible suckers for waiter recommendations)...just saying, and I'm guessing that the special the night before might have been osso bucco, and I'm sure that they made too much of it. Hence the need for the special. My branzino en pappilote was flawless, and is probably the most exciting/satisfying fish that I have had since we went to Providence. Clean flavors, very nice with the fennel, onions, olives and red pepper. I don't know that I will be returning to Fraiche? Perhaps it's a victim of its' own hype? Sarah went to brunch there a few weeks ago and was impressed. A better brunch spot than dinner? Was I expecting too much from it? I don't know. Enjoyed myself, but definitely not blown away by any means, despite the great branzino. There's better in LA, for dinner at least. I'll have to check out brunch sometime.
Fraiche has many cheap Italian whites from Southern Italy--this was 33$ (and about 12$ at a retailer), so cheaper than just about any wine by the glass (if you're going to get more than a glass a piece--not nearly enough for dinner).
Sella & Mosca is one of the largest producers on Sardegna, and we enjoyed the
"Tanca Farra" that we had from them a while back, which is why we got this. This is one of those crisp whites that's meant to go with food, probably whatever got pulled out of the sea that morning. It's slightly herbal, with some floral notes, citrus and some apple. There is a mineral streak that runs through the core of the wine as well, although it's not quite as extreme as say, a Sancerre. Lacking a bit of complexity, but with good acidity, and fruit. This wine went great with the branzino and the mushroom salad, okay with the oysters, definitely got destroyed by the farro salad (too much vinegar), and didn't have enough stuffing to stand up to the pasta. Overall, good, but nothing special. Perfectly adequate for dinner, and it's not breaking the bank. C+/B-
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