FRAICHE @ CULVER CITY

Yesterday we felt nostalgic visiting our old neighborhood Culver City. Boy, has it changed here. I know, I know, this is no breaking news, but every time I visit, I am pleasantly surprised how lively the scene has become - it almost has the vibe of an Italian piazza. We decided to have dinner at Fraîche, a restaurant, I hadn't crossed from my "restaurants I want to try" list, yet.

We ordered Beef Tartare with Bacon Sabayon, Chives and Argula; Ravioli with a Ricotta/English Pea filling and Francobolli (postage stamp in Italian), small rectangular Raviolis with fresh corn, sage and mushroom nage. It was good. The Beef Tartare was nicely seasoned, the Argula very, very fresh, aromatic and crisp. The Ravioli dough thin (as it should be), the fillings not bad, although the English Pea/Ricotta ones, were a teeny tiny bit on the bland side for my taste. The one thing that was really off, was the presentation. Splash - drop it off on a plate and don't bother  - that's how it looked. My better half ordered espresso, which I very rarely do, since a REALLY good espresso is one the hardest things to find in town. This one didn't proof me wrong, either, as I was told. We also had the Piccola Pasticceria, a selection of housemade confections, basically cookies. They were served warm, which some people might think of as sophisticated. It's not. Warm pastries just taste too much like dough - it is only with the cooling that the lovely aromas are being released.

It's is hard to complain about the food at Fraîche - but it also didn't excite me. My palate doesn't scream MORE, I WANT MORE, that's for sure.