Flashback: Fraiche

I live in Culver City. For the past year or so, we have experienced an influx of new restaurants and wine bars. I'm loving it. One of the first of the new restaurants was Ford's Filling Station (which is owned by Harrison Ford's son, Chef Ben). I completely forgot my trip there when I wrote my first post. It was sometime late last year. Honestly, I forgot what I ate. I think it was a pot roast with lots of seasonal veggies. I don't recall any details. I just remember it was delicious. So, fork up to Ford's Filling Station.

But, this post is about Fraiche. I went on Sunday, July 22nd. I remember because it was the day after the Harry Potter book was released. Can you say non-stop reading machine? Earlier that day, I went to brunch at Taste (still salty that my poached eggs were overcooked) with a couple of friends and the most adorable baby this side of the Mississippi. I had nothing else to do that day except read my book. So, I holed up in a Starbucks after brunch and read for awhile. Then, I decided that I was hungry again. I thought, I know I'll try out that new restaurant down the street. Apparently, I didn't know what alot of real foodies know---it's not exactly a walk-in spot at the moment. It's really busy. So, picture my surprise when the hostess told me they MIGHT have a table in an hour. An hour? She said I was welcome to sit at the bar. Not. I didn't want the limited bar menu, I wanted a meal...the experience. So, I told her I'd wait. And, wait I did. But, as a true Potterhead, I whipped out my book. Wine and Harry Potter on a lovely, quiet Culver City day...what could be better?

Fast forward one hour. The hostess informs me that a table is available. I am seated at a table in the outdoor patio area. Lots of good people watching. So, I was very happy. Now, let's get down to the viddles.

I started with the Roasted Corn soup with clams and basil. It was so good that I had to remember that Emily Post would roll over in her grave if I did what I wanted to do...which was lick the bowl. Yeah, that was some good soup.

For my entree, I selected the Lamb Spezzatino with Ricotta Gnocchi and gremlota. Spezzatino is an Italian stew. It was a rich, nicely seasoned stew with little tender morsels of lamb. The gnoochi (potato based pasta--kinda like a little dumpling) was really nice. Coupled with a nice Pinot Noir, it was a very successful dish.


After eating every bit of the dish, I had no room for dessert. I was fine with that. Nothing really spoke to me.

Overall, Fraiche was great. I will definitely go back. It's close and yummy.

http://www.fraicherestaurantla.com/

Dining with Frankie and Dean

So, I dined at Jar last night. Let me start off by saying I felt like Frankie , Sammy, Dean, and Peter were going to walk through the door at any minute. The decor was modern retro. I don't even know if that's a real thing, but that's what it felt like. Ok, enough about that. Let's get to the food.

I had the Fried Ipswich Clams, cocktail sauce and roasted garlic tartar sauce as an appetizer. I was not that wild about them, and I love clams. I mean, they were tasty, but I wasn't super excited about them. I was ho hum about the tarter sauce and the cocktail sauce tasted like cocktail sauce. BUT, I was very excited about what I found underneath those little clams...crispy, grated potato goodness. It was a nice little surprise. They were crispy and delicious and a nice break from traditional fries.

My entree was the Char Sui Pork Chop. I ordered duck fried rice and braised mustard greens as sides. Ok, pork is delicious. I spent many years denying how tasty it is. While, I still dislike bacon, I have grown to love tenderloin, pork chops, and pancetta. Anyway, back to the chop. First of all, it was huge. The char sui sauce was really nice and I could taste the flavor throughout the meat. Mmmm. The sides were very good. The duck fried rice was delicious. I'm a big fan of the duck. So, the duck fried rice had me at hello. I also think it was prepared with brown rice. Sad to say, I'm not sure. All I can say is thumbs up! Now the mustard greens. I've eaten my share of mustard greens. I enjoy greens a great deal. So, I had high expectations. Thankfully, they were prepared quite nicely. Very flavorful. However, in the back of my mind, I could just imagine my mother having a fit about me spending $9 on a side of mustard greens.

Dessert. Yes, I had dessert. I was so full, but Banana Cream Pie was on the menu. I LOVE banana anything. It was a nice-size tart overflowing with bananas and cream. OH, and a nice little caramel drizzle. Mmmm. The cream itself was not sweet. As someone who grew up with banana pudding, it was a bit of a shock. However, coupled with the sweetness of the caramel, it worked...subtle.

I also had a glass of wine...white, of course. On the sweet side. I wanted a glass of Riesling or Gewurstraminer, but they did not come by the glass. The sommelier recommended a nice white (don't remember the name--I was kinda busy with my pork chop). So, it was really nice. The sweetness of the wine worked well with the sweetness of the pork.

In the end, I racked up a nice little tab---a subject I will explore on another day. But, I have lunch for today as well. Overall, great meal.

http://www.thejar.com/

So far

It all started with a dinner at Fraiche last month. Well, not really. It started a few months ago at this French restaurant in Culver City. But, it was a forgettable meal. So I will pretend that Fraiche was the start. Followed by dinner at Jiraffe a few weeks ago. After that, I went to Santa Barbara for the weekend. While there, I dined at Epiphany and Wine Cask. Two weeks ago, I ate at Grace. On donut shoppe night, of course. I really want to talk more about those meals. However, I will spread it out...kinda flasback style. Tonight, I'm flying solo at Jar. I'm really looking forward to this meal. More details to follow!

How it all began

I never thought it would come to this, but here I am. Let me start by asking for your grace when it comes to my writing. I can express my ideas, but I am horrible with technical matters. Ok, back to the how it all began. One of my sorority sisters asked if I authored a blog about a foodie in training. At the time, I didn't. However, I thought about it and it's a really great idea.

For the past few months, I have been obsessed with experiencing fine dining. Before that, my interest in fine dining was piqued by a little show called Top Chef (which I am obsessed with) and reading Anthony Boudain's Kitchen Confidential. While I am a decent home cook and enjoy the occasional cooking class, I know that I don't have what it takes to be a chef. However, that doesn't mean that I can't benefit from the fruit of someone else's labor. So, I decided to take up a new hobby---eating.

In the past month, I have been to about 5 or 6 fine dining establishments. I gave my opinions to family and on a couple of message boards. However, capturing my thoughts in one place will be awesome!!! So, this blog will mainly be about food. I'm sure there will be a little Top Chef commentary here and there. However, the focus will be the adventures of a wannabe foodie.