Restaurant: Fraiche Santa Monica [1, 2]
Location: 312 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401. Phone : 310.451.7482
Date: October 21, 2011
Cuisine: Cal French Italian
Rating: Not a bad facelift.
Fraiche and Fraiche Santa Monica have gone through a number of ownership and chef changes in the last year. It’s been a couple of months so we decided to try it again.
The is a new menu, about 80% different. Bigger, with more entrees.
“Hierloom tomato salad, burrata, pesto, crispy shallots.”
“Beef tartare. Hand cut NY strip. Bacon sabayon, lemon.” I’ve grown increasingly fond of steak tartare and this was a tasty one. The arugala and parmesan complemented nicely.
“Pizza Margarita.”
“Pancetta risotto. Black kale. Faum um bert.” A nice rissoto with a cheesy richness bolstered by the rich chunks of ham.
And a trio of creme brulee for dessert. Chocolate, vanilla, and caramel. Nothing not to like here.
While hardly a comprehensive survey of the new menu I enjoyed what we had here. I’ll check in sooner to try it again.