Fraiche

More friends coming into town (it's summer, what can I say?...well, WAS summer), and I wanted to take them somewhere special. Downtown Culver City is now officially a hot spot for restaurants (considering the lack of parking that I usually encounter there on a Friday night) so I figured, somewhere around there. I had been wanting to try Fraiche for awhile, so I took Brian, Goldie and Leonard here.

The place felt a bit trendy and I was admittedly a bit under-dressed (I'm just not a "dressed up" person, I suppose), but I felt glaringly so this time around. We were seated outdoors, which was nice. I have to admit, service was pretty spotty. Our waitress pretty much ignored us. I know we're not the "high rollers" or anything, but Goldie wanted sugar for her iced tea...is that too much to ask?

The cloudier shade of brown liquid was my Arnold palmer, and in the background, Goldie's unrequited non-sugared iced tea. Also, bread and olive oil were placed on the table - I remember the bread being not so special (kinda like biting into a weird sponge) but the olive oil was something special - really flavorful and robust.


Leonard and I got the Royale with Cheese - a burger topped with Gruyere, with a different kind of bun - basically, a circular croissant. On the side, it came with mayo (no ketchup, after all, this is a french restaurant!), iceburg lettuce and tomatoes, and fries, all arranged on what I could only describe as a 80's yuppie's glass tv dinner tray. The bun was very different, I liked it, but the patty was not really anything special, sadly. I don't remember it being cooked to my specifications - more of a well done than a medium rare. The cheese helped this burger a lot - the tasty melted gruyere is always welcome on my burgers. And disaapointing iceburg lettuce?? Iceburg is totally acceptable at Apple Pan (mainly because of the nostalgia) but here, at Fraiche? I was a bit disappointed, actually. Fries were alright. Dipping them in mayo is still weird to me.

Brian got the chicken pita, again served on a bubbled glass yuppie tray. Doesn't it kind of look like this pita threw up what it ate all over itself?!! Okay, that's not the most appetizing thing to think of. Concentrating on the food...I tried a bit, it was alright, Brian liked it (but mainly because I think he is an eternal carb hater, and this seemed to have little in the carb department.) I dislike huge wedges of cucumber (thinly sliced cucumber is my preference) so I probably would have been a bit disappointed with this had I ordered it.

Goldie was in a pasta ravioli kinda mood, so she got these cute mint pea ravoilis. This was a deceptively small serving, I tried half a ravioli and was overwhelmed by how dense each one of these is. This ends up being a pretty heavy plate. The intense flavor when biting into a piece of one of these was surprising, as was the combination of mint and pea. I almost felt refreshed after biting into one.

Honestly, I was a bit let down by Fraiche, after reading so many good reviews about this place. Perhaps I will give it another try, during dinner. And if Goldie comes along, I'll try to remember to bring some extra sugar for her iced tea.

Fraiche
9411 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 839-6800