FRENCH

where: fraiche
area: culver city
when: sunday, october 15, 2008
how was it: tres chien!

• supper club october
• appetizer = risotto in bacon confit, salame platter, pasta dish that literally translates to "priest suicide" or something like that; me = sea bass; my gf = lamb; my brother = sea bass; my friend = monk fish
• overall, the food was quite delicious, but of the above, my favorite had to be monk fish. the fish was quite tender and the seasoning was quite good. that being said, the sea bass was cooked to perfection, and with the sauteed vegetables, etc underneath, stewing within the enclosed bag, each bite was quite enjoyable. lamb was quite tasty as well
• as always, these types of "higher end," pricier establishments are delicious, due to the use of a lot of fat and delicious bad-for-you flavorings. but with the good, is also the generic nature of these "fine dining" joints. they all seem to lump together for me. i don't readily recall what exactly i had at one particular place, and in the end all seem to bleed into one another. thank god i take pictures of the food now...
• ...speaking of which, our waitress was a little annoying, in that she seemed to have some weird type of smug demeanor. not in the haughty, "oh you're here in this fine dining establishment" demeanor, but just more smart-assy. she was giving me shit about taking pictures of the food, and all i could reply was, "i don't remember what i eat very well, so the pictures help me to remember." the whole waiter-customer relationship that restaurants in amerca have established, to this day somewhat baffles me. can we not just order, eat, get what we want, and leave? what is the purpose of the banter? i understand it's for tips, but in the end, out of guilt and avoidance of confrontation, we all leave the required 15 ~ 20%, so why all the fuss? let's keep it real, shall we!
• one last extra comment about the risotto in bacon confit. i mean, doesn't that just SOUND delicious? it's cooked in its own fucking bacon fat juices! and there were large chunks of bacon. in rice. and butter. and bacon. i may return to this restaurant for this alone. special fat face rating for this dish: