September 15, 2008 5

Fraiche (Culver City)

//// By in 13: Culver City

Met up with two classmates whom I haven’t seen for a long time since graduation. We decided to check out Fraiche for some good food and wine. Fraiche was all hyped up since it was opened last year, a la “best new restaurant in LA” from magazines etc etc. I’ve heard mixed review of the place from people around me, some friends love it while some just found it ok. The menu is half French half Italian. I found the menu’s description of the dishes don’t sound very inventive or inspiring — they sound like stuff you’ve seen at other restaurants. However, it’s the restaurant’s execution that counts. Afterall Wilson had an “interesting menu” and my dining experience there was so disappointing.

My friends weren’t so hungry (they ate so little~) so we shared one appetizer and two main courses. I felt like I ate most of the food, no complain there.

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Appetizer: Baby Beets with hazelnuts, mache, house made ricotta.
A favorite of the night! The baby beets were sweeter than regular beets which I love. And beet and hazelnut gotta be my new favorite combination, they taste really great together. The ricotta was fresh tasting. I really love this dish.

Rigatoni – Lamb Bolognese with rosemary
It was a bit normal tasting but was well executed.

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Monkfish “Francaise” with spinach, white wine, potato puree and shallots. Comes in 3 pieces, so one for each of us. I found the sauce to be a bit too salty for my taste. It’s not particularly memorable either, don’t think I’ll order it again.

Perhaps due to the fact that we found the dishes somewhat unsatisfying, we went all out for the desserts.
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Paris-Brest – almond Praline, Chantilly cream, saffron golden raisin sauce. Beautiful presentation! A good cream puff. The saffron golden raisin sauce was very tasty, its sourness balanced the sweetness of the cream and the golden sugar thing on top.

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Forgot the name of the yogurt dessert, it’s light and refreshing. Gianduja Semifredo – frozen custard of hazelnut and chocolate, whipped creme fraiche.

Overall I like the food but  wasn’t blown away. Perhaps we didn’t order the right dishes?  I definitely love the baby beats though. I do want to go back and try their other dishes, like the lamb or steak. Just not in hurry.

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

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September 15, 2008 2

Pete’s Cafe and Bar (Downtown)

//// By in 06: Downtown LA

I had brunch at one of my favorite Downtown spots in one fine morning with two friends. The “Eggs & Stuff” are served till 3, good for people who had a crazy night. 😉

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I got a side of the Spinach and Pear Salad that wasn’t fresh. But I’m not here for salad…

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The Belgian Waffle was what I came here for and it smelled heavenly. Everyone at the table couldn’t help to be drawn to the waffle. The texture was light and crunchy, very good!

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The Vegetarian Quiche with gruyere was also good. The crust was thin and the egg fillings were unbelievably fluffy. The side salad wasn’t fresh as well.

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This cube was Smoked Turkey and Brie with Apple on Toasted Focaccia. The apple added a fresh and fruity taste to this incredibly creamy and heavy (but not messy) sandwich. My friend got the side of Chipotle Fries. It’s not ‘dried’ chipotle as we expected, which would have been better. The chipotle sauce fries got soggy very soon.

Pete’s Cafe and Bar
400 S. Main Street

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September 10, 2008 6

El Giraldillo Gourmet (Chiapas: Tuxtla Gutiérrez)

//// By in 02: Mexico

IMG_3724On the last night in Chiapas, our client Lenn treated us gourmet dinner at the fancy and chic El Giraldillo Gourmet in the capital city Tuxtla Gutierrez. Apparently the governor recommended it as it’s his favorite restaurant in town. Once again it’s wonderful to have Lenn to handle the ordering. Though that also means I don’t know the names of some of these dishes. It’s a nice restaurant but the price is very affordable, most dishes are under $15. Chiapas price.

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The service was top notch. When they brought out the dishes they seperated them for us. The tacos were the most delicate tasting tacos I’ve ever had. Good shrimp and meat with refine tasting sauce, very very good. Duck meat to make your own tacos (green color tortillas comes in a seperate basket).

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I forgot what this is, there’s mushroom and onion…

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Charboiled meat wrap asparagus. Very good.

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Gourmet churros, chocolate souffle with vanilla icecream and Flan. I like the churros the most.

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I was introduced to this alcoholic coffee drink Carajillo. Originally from Spain, in Mexico they use liquor 43 to mix with the espresso instead of brandy or rum. Creamy and very rich.  It’s so delicious! I got a bottle of 43 at the airport and tried it at home. Roughly about 2/3 liqor and ice + 1/3 espresso.

This concludes my trip to Chiapas. Next food entry back to LA~

El Giraldillo Gourmet
Boulevard Belisario Dominguez # 2008, Tuxtla Gutierrez – 29000, Chiapas

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September 5, 2008 4

Marisqueria El Ceviche (Chiapas: Sumidero Canyon)

//// By in 02: Mexico

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On the 2nd day in Chiapas we had the wonderful Mexican experience a lot of people go to Mexico for: drink and eat good food by the beach. Well there’s no beach here, but Chiapas has the beautiful and majestic Sumidero Canyon. We took a fantastic boat ride down the canyon that lasted 3+ hours. We saw beautiful geological formations, waterfalls and wildlife. There were only 2 restaurants toward the end of the canyon, our boat took us to this place.

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His name is Paquito and he sang us beautiful songs. We all got some good tequila to go with the scenery and music.

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The restaurant specialized in fresh seafood. Really good shrimp and octopus ceviche! I’ve never had ceviche so fresh and tasty before. Love how they mixed the flavors, it’s not too sour nor too overwhelming like a lot of ceviche out there. This beautiful photograph is taken by Monika, a professional photographer who’s with us.

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Small crabs, a bit hard to pick out the meat from the shell but they’re tasty to chew on.

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I wish I know the name of this dish, it’s incredibly delicious! Shrimp with this really tasty red sauce that’s perfect blends of tastes — savory yet sour; sweet yet spicy. The dish was gone in a few minutes.

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Fish cooked in leaves. Juicy and fresh.

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Love the mini merry-go-round inside the restaurant. Gorgeous view from where I’m sitting. Good food, good music, good tequila, good view…I couldn’t believe this is work!

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September 4, 2008 1

El Buen Ranchero (Chiapas)

//// By in 02: Mexico

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I don’t exactly know where this is at Chiapas. We were on the way to an indigenous village called San Juan Chamula from the capital Tuxtla Gutierrez after arrival. We had to wait a long time to get some documents approved for our cameras which greatly delayed our trip. It was a long drive toward the mountains and all of us were starving to death. So we stopped at this small restaurant for a quick bite. It was almost 4:00 pm and all I had was a small pastry for breakfast in the morning.

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I love the onion on the condiment platter. Quesos Fundidos – Melted Cheese. Love the burnt parts. We’re definitely cheese-overdose on this trip.

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Quesadillas with Cactus and with Chorizo (sausage). The quesadillas were a big hit among us, I especially love the cactus one, they reminded me a bit of Chinese pickled vegetables with a more slimey texture (like natto). We added the onion, lime juice and the green sauce from the condiment platter to the quesadillas.

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Huaraches – Tacos al pastor meat on top of a big sheet of tortilla with beans. The pork meat was marinated with spices and herbs, very delicious.

I was so full from this meal that I had to skip dinner that night, otherwise I felt like I would fried my stomach. It’s a pity because I missed out a lot of amazing dishes (according to my colleagues). Oh well, gotta take care of the stomach first.

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