Norcal and Socal Filipino Tweatup Brunch at Fraiche

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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The Love is There at Le Saint Amour

If you're going to name your restaurant, Le Saint Amour, which when translated through Google Translate means "holy love", that's a lot to live up to. Given that, I have to say that I did enjoy the media dinner set up by Daniela Galarza of Bread and Butter PR on behalf of Owners, Chef Bruno Herve-Commereuc and his wife, Florence.

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Though this was my first time at Le Saint Amour, I actually did dine once at Angelique Cafe when it was previously owned by the couple and really enjoyed the food and my dining experience.  With such a positive memory, I was looking forward to my meal.

Arriving a little late, everything was in full swing, but they did manage to serve me one Kumamoto Oyster with Champagne Mignonette before they brought out the first course.  Apparently, Le Saint Amour works with a seafood sommelier whose specialty is with oysters and he personally selected the oysters that we had that evening.  It was a nice oceany-briny-fresh way to begin the meal.

Soon the Charcuterie Plate came which had Country Pate, Duck Rilette, Galantine avec Pistachio, Toulouse Pork Sausage and Moroccan Merguez. Chef Bruno did come out to talk a little bit about the charcuterie which he makes in-house, but it was a little too noisy to hear him. Regardless, I enjoyed sampling the different ones that were presented to us with my favorite ones being the Galantine avec Pistachio and the Duck Rilette.

The next dish to arrive at our table were the Escargots en Croute.  How could you say no to snails baked in garlic and parsley butter? I certainly couldn't.  The pastry itself was flaky and buttery and breaking into the crust to get at the garlicky and buttery snails put a smile on my face.

After enjoying our escargots, we were served Moules Marinières, which are mussels cooked with white wine and shallots, accompanied by crispy French fries. The mussels were prepared just right, but what did it for me was the broth. I happily either sopped bread or dipped the fries in it.

Following the mussels came the Merguez, a baby carrot salad with couscous and a Moroccan lamb sausage. I liked that salad wasn't over-dressed and the peppery arugula was a nice complement to the sausage which had a little kick to it. The couscous also added a tasty, starchy texture to the dish.

Speaking of sausage, we had a quite a few of those in the Choucroute Saint Amour which had lyonnais sausage, toulouse sausage, boudin noir and braised cabbage. Boudin noir, if you didn't know, is blood sausage and not my cup of tea, but I did enjoy partaking of the other two and even more so, when eaten with the sour cabbage.

Also on the menu was their Loup de Mer, a sauteed seabass with artichokes, baby Savoy spinach, lemon, caper and brown butter. I only had a small taste, but other than wanting a crispier fish skin, I liked the combination of the tart, piquant and buttery flavors of the sauce.

The last savory dish to arrive was the Boeuf Bourguignon which were red wine braised beef cheeks, carrots, and gnocchi. This was my favorite dish of the night. The beef was meltingly tender and it's a comfort food that I'd want to have even if I didn't need comforting.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of it, but you can see what it looks like here.

Our meal ended with two desserts.  First was the Fondant au Chocolat with a warm chocolate cake, banana ice cream and caramel sauce. My last two chocolate cake desserts at other restaurants weren't anything to write home about, so I was happy to finally get this moist chocolate cake which went well with the salted caramel sauce and banana ice cream.

Although I did enjoy the Fondant au Chocolat, my heart definitely belonged to the Mousse au Citron which was a blood orange granita with tangerine ice cream and lemon mousse.  With a meal that was meat and butter-intensive, this dessert was refreshing on my palate and the icy tartness was much appreciated.

Overall, this was a lovely meal and when Chef Herve and Florence talked about their restaurant and food, their love for what they do was very evident.  I've always found that good food always start with love and that's very much evident at Le Saint Amour.

Le Saint Amour
9725 culver bld
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 842-8155


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Bouchon is Too Subtle for My Taste Buds

Last November, I was lucky to be invited to the Private Grand Opening of Bouchon and although it was a fun experience, I definitely wanted to go back and a sit down meal. Finally, a few months a later, I went with friends for a Sunday lunch. It was definitely a different vibe from my last experience. Literally, day and night, but it was a relaxing 3 hours that gave us a chance to catch up.

One thing I love about my friends is that we enjoy dining family-style, even from a la carte menus. That's how four out of six of us were able to share 10+ dishes, as a way to experience more of Bouchon's menu. However, the meal started with their housemade bread, which was crusty on the outside and soft in the inside. It was so good, we asked for one more.

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As we were enjoying the bread, our appetizers started arriving. The first one I tried was the Poireaux en Vinaigrette et Oeufs (mimosa chilled leeks, piquillo peppers, eggs mimosa and a red wine vinaigrette) and I thought it was okay. I liked eating into the leeks, but the egg was a dry crumble and just wasn't very appealing.

We also ordered a bowl of Moules (mussels). There's not much to say about them. Overall, they were fine as is.

The last appetizer to arrive was the Frisée aux Lardons et Oeuf Poché (frisée salad with lardons, poached egg, bacon vinaigrette and toasted brioche). I absolutely liked breaking into the egg and eating the runny yolk mixed in with the rest of the ingredients. Maybe, I'm just too much of a bacon person, but this salad needed more of it. I could taste hints from the bacon vinagrette, but it was too subtle for my taste.

Suffice to say, the appetizers we just had didn't do much for me; however, the complimentary charcuterie board with various meats and pickled veggies were way up my alley. I gravitated the most towards the beets and the duck proscuitto.

Now it was time for entrees, but not before we devoured everything on that charcuterie board. Two in our party opted to order their own individual entrees. One was the Croque Madame (toasted ham and cheese sandwich on brioche, fried egg and mornay sauce served with French fries) and the other was the Moules au Safran (Maine bouchot mussels steamed with white wine, mustard and saffron served with French fries). I actually did try one of the mussels with some of the broth spooned into it and it was absolutely delicious.

Along with the two entrees mentioned above, four others arrived with them. First, there was the Truite aux Amandes (pan-roasted trout with haricots verts, almonds and beurre noisette). The trout was beautifully presented and I also enjoyed eating the delicate white fish meat, although I found it a little bland overall.

One of the specials on the menu board was the open faced Tuna Nicoise Tartine and was highly recommended by our waiter. It was nicely prepared and it tasted fine, but just like the trout, it needed something else to take it up a notch, flavor wise. I almost wished that I had asked for pepper. That may have livened it up a bit or perhaps I'm expecting too much from a tuna sandwich.

The third entree was the Poulet Rôti Grand-Mère (roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes, button mushrooms, lardons, pearl onions and winter savory jus). Everything was there to make this a really good dish. There was crispy chicken skin to enjoy. I thought the sauce was seasoned well. I love all kinds of mushrooms. Unfortunately, the chicken breast was dry. Pouring the sauce on the chicken helped, but it would have been better if the meat itself was juicy.

Our final entree was the Plat de Côtes de Boeuf (red wine braised beef short ribs with caramelized Savoy cabbage, glazed sweet carrots, parsnips & jus de boeuf). If I hadn't tried the Moules au Safran, I would have said that this short rib was the best of the four. The beef was tender and the red wine added great flavor; however, that broth from the Moules au Safran and the mussel itself was absolutely stellar.

It was soon dessert time and we started with the Tarte au Citron (lemon tart), which I absolutely loved. Tart in all the right places and simple in its presentation. You don't need bells and whistles when something so simple can stand on its own.

Our second dessert was the Ile Flottante (meringue with vanilla creme anglaise, almond & caramel). I enjoyed the light texture of the creme anglaise and how this dessert wasn't overly sweet. It was just right.

Third to arrive was the Chocolate Bouchons, the signature dessert the restaurant is named for. It's a fudgy chocolate cake sprinkled with powdered sugar that is in a signature shape, similar to a cork. The chocolate bouchons aren't on the regular dessert menu, so if you do see it on their specials menu and you are a chocolate lover, this is one dessert you may want to consider ordering.

Last, but not least, we were served a complimentary Pot de Crème (infused custard), which came with short bread cookies. I would have been fine without it, although a smear of the custard on the short bread cookie was quite tasty.

To end, I enjoyed my time at Bouchon. The food was well prepared using great ingredients and the service was awesome. Our waiter really catered to us and when one of my friends asked if Chef Keller would pose for a group picture with us, he was happy to do so. They were also nice enough to let us take a peek into the kitchen.

There's definitely quite a few positives to Bouchon, but is it a restaurant I'd return to? Probably not in the near future, unless it's on someone else's dime. Overall, I just need my food to have stronger flavors with more zing for my tastebuds, which I didn't really get at Bouchon. For those who like more subtle flavors in the food they eat and can appreciate a fine dining experience, Bouchon offers that and more. For me, there's still a lot of restaurants on my to go list and I'm not getting any younger. :)

Bouchon
235 N. Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 271-9910



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