Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 8:30p.m.
Fraiche has been much hyped by recent restaurant reviews so I was both excited and wary of this experience. The menu sounded great and a French brasserie style is right up my alley. What's not to like?
Downtown Culver City is really trying to establish itself as a hip and cool place to be. It's definitely coming around, but I'm not convinced just yet. And so far, the restaurants in Culver City (well, the 2 I have tried now - Fraiche and Ford's Filling Station) is a reflection of the unevenness.
Review points:
Check-in
The good: Our table was ready upon our arrival. Host/hostess was friendly.
The not-so-good: Table was outside on enclosed sidewalk/patio but at the very edge of the plastic flaps which had a bit of a draft. Were never asked if we preferred inside or outside. Had overhead heating lamps which helped, but I probably would have chosen inside. And no, I didn't bother asking to be seated inside since no one else seemed to mind that much.
The Server
The not-so-good: While he did come by to greet us and give us the Specials rundown, he didn't notice that Aki and I did not have any cocktails. Even after we ordered our appetizers, he never asked if we wanted a drink.
Later, after our entrees arrived, he again never asked if we wanted our drinks refreshed.
Finally, after ordering dessert, he didn't ask if we'd like coffee or anything else.
The bad: It took a while for us to get a dessert menu, but it took even longer for him to come back and take our order. It then took a while for it to come out, but we might not have noticed the lag time had he not made us wait so long to begin with.
General wait staff
The good: Our water was refilled consistently.
The not-so-good: Our food wasn't placed in front of the appropriate diner. Even when we'd raise our hand or point to the person who should receive the correct dish, our gestures were ignored and our food placed wherever.
The food
The good: In short, the food overall was very nice. I felt a couple of items were a bit over-salted but Aki thought it was seasoned just right. To be fair, I did try his dish after eating mine.
The Menu
Appetizers: Chef's Selection of Salumi/Charcuterie - tasty but maybe a tad too oily; Half dozen Oysters - very fresh and I really enjoyed the mignonette and horseradish; Boudin Noir with Lentils & Dijon Creme Fraiche - a good one for you blood sausage lovers
Entrees: Monkfish "Francaise" with Spinach, Potato Puree, White Wine, Shallots; Red Snapper with Mussels, Clams, Saffron, Chorizo, Sunchoke Puree - I really enjoyed this. Not that the fish was boring, but adding the chorizo gave it a little extra kick that worked surprisingly well with fish. The sunchokes were a tad sweet but the chorizo also balanced it out by off-setting the sweetness with salty and spicy. I ate every bite.
Dessert: Ricotta Fritters (anything with ricotta rocks) with strawberries and aged balsamic reduction - the best of the lot, bar none
In short, better wait staff service would greatly improve the overall ambience of Fraiche. It's too bad that most of the workers in L.A. restaurants really do act like it's a part-time job before they make it big in Hollywood. The service in N.Y. C. is just spot on, even when it's more casual, because you know the staff has been doing it and they actually care about what they do. L.A. staffers act like it's a job, and maybe one they are not too proud of. I am not sure it will ever change, but good service at places like Craft (yes, Craft L.A.) does give one hope that it's possible to find better service.
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