la.foodblogging

Whenever my sister comes to town, I always try to find some good restaurant for us to go to. What can I say? Being a foodie is in the family genes. My sis is very easy to please. I just have to take her to a restaurant I like, and I know she’ll enjoy it, too. I made an exception this time. Instead of taking her to one of my standards, this time we went somewhere that would be a first try for us both. Fraiche is a restaurant that has been on my list to try for a very long time now… pretty much since they first opened. I had heard horror stories about the wait - even with reservations - so I thought I’d delay my visit for a few months. Time flies, and next thing I know, it’s a couple years later. Fraiche is still popular, but fortunately, we were seated immediately, even without reservations.

We each picked out a cocktail quickly and enjoyed noshing on the bread assortment served with tapenade. I can’t say I was impressed with the cocktails, especially at whopping $11 per drink. I picked Tammy’s Thyme, which is rum with muddled fresh blueberries and thyme. It was fairly refreshing, but the blueberries often got stuck in the straw. My sis made fun of my facial expressions as I was trying to suck up my blueberries and drink. She chose some vodka drink with strawberries and vanilla. What I will say is I loved that Fraiche used fresh fruit in the drinks.

Next up were appetizers. I do love my soups, but I tend to be turned off by them once summer comes around. Before it gets too hot, I wanted to try Fraiche’s French onion soup ($7). I was delighted to find it had a lovely balance of salty and sweet. I also enjoyed the caramelized onions at the bottom of the bowl. My sister went with the beef tartare ($13), which was served on top of two slices of toast. She was kind enough to offer me a bite, which was quite good. The crunchiness of the bread nicely contrasted the softness of the beef. I imagine though eating the two whole pieces would be quite filling, so I’m pretty content with my appetizer, especially once I got my main course.

I chose the leg of duck confit (I think it was about $25), which our server said is slowly cooked so that the meat just falls off the bone. She was not exaggerating. I only used the knife to remove the skin. I used just the fork the rest of the time. I loved the duck. This is by far the best duck confit I’ve had in quite some time. Absolutely delicious. It was served with some sort of berry sauce and black rice, which was something I’ve never tried but enjoyed immensely. My sis chose the Arctic char ($26), which was served with some pea puree. When we ordered our server said the puree tastes like spring. I chuckled a little at her sales pitch, but when my sister tried it, she said that it really did taste like spring. I wouldn’t know because I didn’t get any of it. I did get to try the Arctic char, and while it was good, it wasn’t impressive. I think my duck confit was far more flavorful and memorable.

We didn’t have any room left for dessert, but we were most certainly tempted. I also want to add that my sister was kind enough to pick up the tab for this venture, which somewhat makes up for me not getting to taste the pea puree. All in all, I think Fraiche was well worth the wait, though my next visit will definitely be sooner than later.

Fraiche
9411 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 839-6800
Lunch: Monday - Friday 11:30am - 2:30pm
Dinner: Daily 5:30pm - 10:30pm, bar menu availabe until 12:00am

By Pauline (see more of her posts).