Last March, I wrote about a meeting of Norcal and Socal Filpino Twitter Foodies over the delicious meaty goodness of The Park's Finest BBQ. To read that post, click here. Well, the day after we bonded over bbq, a few of us met up again the next day for Sunday Brunch at Fraiche, where Remil aka @Limer35 set up a tasting menu for us. By the way, check out the quirky food-focused chalkboard art.
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After everyone arrived and settled into the seats, the food soon started coming out our way, starting with complimentary bread and butter on a wooden block.
Soon after, the first of two salads hit our table. First, there was the Baby Beet Salad with housemade ricotta, orange and pistachio. I'm definitely a beet lover, so I enjoyed the sweetness of the beets paired with the citrusy and nutty notes of the orange and pistachio.
Our second salad was the Frisse Aux Lardons with frisee, blue cheese, bacon and poached eggs. A nice gathering of flavors made up this salad, from slightly bitter to pungent to smoky. Of course, what I enjoyed most was breaking the yolk and mixing all the ingredients together. Delicious!
More egg love came our way in the shape of a cast iron skillet that contained Baked Eggs with goat cheese, olives and tomatoes and a side of grilled bread. All I have to say that I really didn't want to share this with the rest of table. Enough said.
Next to arrive at our table was Soft Polenta with wild mushrooms. I enjoyed how rich and buttery the polenta was and how the woodsy mushrooms cut into that to help balance the flavors.
It was burger time now and we all got to sample the Truffle Burger with onion fondue, Boschetto cheese, truffle aioli and and an egg. Egg is definitely a popular ingredient in this brunch menu. Not that I'm complaining. It's just an observation.
As for the burger, I think the ingredients gave it a hype that really wasn't there. There wasn't anything wrong with this Truffle Burger, but there was nothing that really stood out about it also. It also didn't help that burger meat itself leaned more towards well done and as such, it was a little dry.
I did like the Belgian fries that came with the burger though. They were golden and crispy and came with a garlic aioli dipping sauce that I enjoyed.
After the burger came the Croque Monsieur with smoked ham, comte and gruyere cheese. Like the burger, the Croque Monsieur sandwich didn't really do much for me, but I should also mention that I've never been a fan of Croque Monsier sandwiches in the first place. I just find them a little too uninteresting to my tastebuds.
When it came to dessert, we were showered with sweetness starting with molten chocolate lava cakes, which could satisfy one's chocolate craving, but weren't necessarily that memorable.
Then a trio of potted desserts arrived which were a Caramel Budino (with vanilla mascarpone and sea salt), a Chocolate Pot de Creme (with candied hazelnuts and creme fraiche) and a Pistachio Creme Brulee. My favorite of the three was the Pistachio Creme Brulee. I just loved its nutty sweetness.
A trio of jarred desserts also came our way and included a Mango/Pop Rock Panna Cotta, a Passionfruit Panna Cotta (with pistachios and balsamic reduction at the bottom) and a Tiramisu (with praline mascarpone and feuilletine). The Mango/Pop Rock Panna Cotta was delicious plus was fun to eat, but the Passionfruit Panna Cotta with its intense flavors was my favorite of this particular threesome.
Overall, it was a nice meal, but I doubt I'll be making any special trips from the Eastside to the Westside anytime soon for a repeat brunch experience. I liked the food, but I wasn't wowed by it and for me to make a 45 minute trek to dine somewhere, the food has to merit more than just a mere like. I have yet to visit Fraiche for dinner, so love may still be around the corner.
Fraiche
9411 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 839-6800
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