Checking Back in on Fraiche Culver City

 

Fraiche in Culver City welcomed Chef Ben Bailly last November to much success. Scores of blogs have covered Chef Ben’s reinvention of Fraiche’s menu. I checked it out about three weeks after Chef Ben took over and promised him I’d be back soon. Soon meant coming back two weeks ago for the dineLA menu. I hadn’t planned on doing dineLA this round but when I was taking a friend out to dinner for her birthday and she loves dineLA so it was a natural fit that we go to Fraiche.

In addition to the three-courses for dineLA, we received lobster ceviche and my favorite mushroom angnolotti. Our neighbors inquired how were we liking the presentation and claimed to be the owners of the restaurant. They said it made them happy to see people appreciating the dishes. Something about the way they were laughing made we question if they were really the owners but in any case, yes, we did appreciate the food.

I never had the borscht from Petrossian where Chef Ben was previously but if I had known about it, I definitely would have ordered it! This beet gazpacho is similar. My friend didn’t even like beets and ate this up.

I literally gasped when I saw this tartare. It was just so pretty! All the flavors melded together. The crispness of the frisee really helped cut through the rich tartare with its signature creme fraiche topping.

I must be a terribly mean friend. I really wanted the lamb garganelli and so did my friend. She ended up getting the pine nut risotto but she was so glad she did. She would have eaten the whole thing if she didn’t have to run off before dessert. Oh, the life of musicians.

 

It’s too bad my friend had to run off because I ended up having to eat all three desserts by myself! My sweet tooth really appreciated it.

Now, I still need to do brunch at Fraiche.

 

Fraiche

9411 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232-2616
(310) 839-6800