A Fraiche Four Years

This weekend we celebrated our anniversary and to celebrate we did what any good food bloggers would do; we stepped out for a culinary adventure.

Fraiche is located in downtown Culver City amongst many now trendy restaurants and trendy people.  As we parked and made our way toward the restaurant, I reassured Bob that the food was worth overcoming the hipster scene (Bob sort of is allergic to people in tight jeans and Ray-Ban eyeglasses).  We got there a little early to have a pre-dinner cocktail.  I had the Fraiche Fizz (Vodka, Champagne, Essence of Cucumber and something else) and Bob had the old stand-by (Jameson and Soda).  We sat at the bar for a while and drank our drinks and took in our surroundings.  Nothing earth-shattering, just typical L.A.; exposed brick, a wait staff that probably got the job after wandering off the Sony lot a block away and a clientele that talked "actor's strike" in between bites of spicy arugula and homemade mozzarella salad.  What did impress us, however, was that they had Stone beers on tap and an open kitchen armed with a gang of chefs in white coats and red bandannas (we wouldn't mind being jumped into that gang).

Fraiche, which is pronounced 'fresh' has a name that really reflects the food.  Yes, the food is fresh, but that is not where I am going with this.  It is a fancy name that looks complicated, but actually has a familiar and comfortable pronunciation.  As soon as you open the menu and hear the specials you realize that the food is sophisticated comfort food with a French and Italian twist.

For our appetizer we ordered the short rib raviolis and for our entrees I ordered the Lamb Spezzatino, which came with ricotta gnocchi and geremolata.  Bob ordered the Duck Confit, which came with Italian black rice. Being the lovers of drink that we are, we wanted to order a bottle of wine, but not spend $100. Being the class acts that we are, we asked the waitress to suggest the cheapest, but still tasty, wine that would pair well with our dishes.  She recommended a Spanish wine, Petalos, that was smooth (just like our four year relationship) and cost only $40 (unfortunately I have cost Bob way more than that).

I had been here before, but this was Bob's first time so I'll let his virgin tongue do the rest of the talking.

The joint had the usual uppity feel, although there's nothing wrong with that.  Everyone needs to feel like they've got some kind of money to spend sometimes.  The bar was tiny and tucked in the corner, but hell, we weren't there to sit at the bar, we were there to treat ourselves to some delicious chow.

Upon sitting down, we were greeted with an awesome bread plate. The plate consisted of two different kinds of bread tucked nicely into a napkin.  The breads hung out of the napkin, almost like small bread children who have been tucked snugly into their bed for a night's rest.  Too bad the only dreams that would befall these little breadlings was a nice layer of olive tapenade and a meeting with our bellies.  Sweet dreams and bready-bye.

Time for the short rib raviolis.  I've never had ribs encased in pasta pockets, but I had a hunch it was going to be quite delicious.  When the plate arrived, we were greeted with little raviolis that looked similar to flying saucers from those old library books about UFO's.  The only thing extra-terrestrial about these little guys was their flavor.  All I know is that they were so tender that my knife met no resistance in cutting them and they were bursting with the kind of flavor that makes you shut off all other senses.  As I ate, I found myself with eyes closed and ears deaf to my surroundings.  I've heard that some meetings with alien life results in loss of memory and anal probing, but I can guarantee that I do remember this divine encounter and my buttocks was left unmolested.

My little pasta pals were out of this world

Alison's order was the same thing she's had the last three times she's been to Fraiche.  I tried a bit, but I was already hypnotized by my dish, so I couldn't focus on the flavors of Alison's Fraiche go-to.  I figure that since there were so many awesome dishes on the menu and Alison has opted for the same thing every time she's been there, it must be good.

Third time's a charm

My duck was definitely the highlight of the night.  Meat so tender that my knife was just an accessory.  The meat slipped cleanly off the bone like nothing I've ever seen before.  A bite of the duck with the black rice and a little of the balsamic reduction and I was in heaven.  The food and wine went down quite easily and I was left full and content.  Although with the level of content that my Fraiche meal had left me, there came a desire.  A desire to return again.  A desire to taste more of what Fraiche has to offer.  I'm thinking the sweetbread and pasta dish may be next.  I think it's safe to say that dining on thymus glands doesn't sound that exciting, but I'm sure that Fraiche knows how to make eating them a thrill.

Fin.

Fraiche Restaurant

9411 Culver Blvd.

Culver City, CA 90232

Tongue and Head Tacos

Anyone for tongue and head tacos?

As I've gotten older, I've become more prone to trying out a lot of types of food that most would tend to steer clear of.  In the past couple of years, I've come to acquire a taste for octopus, shrimp heads, urchin and other tasty treats found at some of my favorite sushi places.  One thing I've never tried but have been very curious about is some of the more bizarre meats served at some mexican restaurants.

Lengua (tongue), Cabeza (head) and Seso (brain) have been tasting goals of mine for a while now, but I haven't had the opportunity to find any of these alternate meats since most of the Mexican places I frequent don't have these on the menu.  Well, that changed when we visited Taqueria la Mexicana in Long Beach last night.

Taqueria la Mexicana is a small taco stand tucked away in a Long Beach neighborhood, where I bet the neighbors are constantly hungry due to the delicious smell of fresh Mexican food wafting from the joint.  Alison wasn't too courageous and went with an Asada Tostada, I on the other hand, hooked myself up with a Lengua Taco, a Cabeza Taco and an Asada Burrito with the works.  When I received the Lengua and Cabeza tacos, I couldn't tell which was which since I've never seen either of the meats before, but I figured that the tongue was the lickable little meat cube with, well, the tongue like texture.  Taqueria la Mexicana uses a really potent green sauce on their tacos that packs a hell of a spice-filled punch, so within the taco itself, there was not a clear taste to the tongue or head meat.  The texture, however, was much different than I was accustomed to.  Both were very tender and buttery, not tough at all.  I think I liked the lengua a little more since it was less fatty and had a bit of a more familiar, firmer consistency.  I found both of the new meats to be very interesting, but I'm glad I opted to have them as tacos.  I don't think I liked them enough, or are accustomed to them enough, to commit to a whole burrito full of tongue or head meat.  I did however back up my tacos with an Asada Burrito, which was a damn fine burrito that was packed with flavor from the spices, onions rice and company.  Definitely worth going back for.

Sopes

Alison had finished her tostada and saw that they had Sopes on the menu, so she headed back to grab one.  I think that may have been the most delicious $2.50 investment of the night.  I've never had Sopes before, but I'm glad Alison got one because I was treated to a small mountain of asada, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce and sauce on a base of what seemed like a fried tortilla.  Damn good.

Mouth's view of an Asada Burrito

Taqueria La Mexicana

3270 E. 4th St

Long Beach, CA

Sausage Party

Do you ever find yourself slightly hungover and thinking about rabbit and snake sausage?  On Saturday morning this is exactly where we found our stomaches and thoughts wandering.  Lucky for us, we didn't have to do in the Easter Bunny ourselves because there exists an exotic sausage restaurant right in downtown L.A.

Wurstüche is not the easiest place to find.  We had tried to go there before for some serious sausage eating, but were met with much opposition.  It was a Monday night, which is just a stupid night, and on the way there our Garmin™ malfunctioned and we got lost in the land of one way streets.  The combination of being hungry, lost and having the Monday blues had put us in a pretty foul mood by the time we finally found the joint.  We were greeted by a long line and the prospect of having nowhere to sit, not to mention the fact, that the place was stuffed full of scenesters (a.k.a. one giant scenester sausage).  So we left with our sausages between our legs and did not return until this Saturday.

We headed up to L.A. with our friend Brandon to buy a variety of sausages that we were going to cook ourselves for our sausage party.  We decided to have a sausage party with our friends because what's a good sausage if you can't share it with someone.  This time we found the place pretty easily and parked right in front of the iconic Crazy Gideon's (get your used electronics here).

We had planned to just get the sausages and leave, but while we were in line Brandon started roaming around and discovered that they had opened up a large bar and dining area in the back.  Always thirsty, we headed into the bar to sample some German and Belgian bier.  We didn't really know what we wanted and our bartender was super helpful.  I told her I liked IPA's and she recommended the Houblanchouffe, which was light and slightly sweet.  Bob got the Koestritzer Schwarzbler which was a dark, sweet and malty beer.  They say you can tell a lot about someone by the beer they order and Brandon ordered the Abentinus which was intense and complex and also came in a glass with phallic similarities.  While we were at the bar the bartender and one of the owners, Tyler Wilson, were super personable and helpful and were more than happy to give us recommendations and samples.

After a couple of beers we headed back into the line of people waiting to get stuffed, which was twice as long, but we didn't mind this time because we had a couple of beers in us and some refreshing cucumber water.  After our wait in line came to an end, we were ready to order.  We figured that 8 of their exotic sausages would be enough to at least meet the minimum capacity for a sausage party, if not go over the maximum occupancy and send the sausage elevator crashing to the ground.  We got exotic with the following beautiful sausages:

Roasted Red Pepper & Corn

Green Chillies & Cilantro

Austin Blues

Apricot

Duck & Bacon with Jalapeño Peppers

Rattlesnake & Rabbit with Jalapeño Peppers

Bockwurst

Mango Jalapeño

With a bag full of exotic tube steaks and a great party ahead of us, we headed back to the apartment to embark on a sausage fest.  In attendance were Cooper, Brandon, Melissa, Alex and ourselves.  Armed with a few cases of beer, a sufficient amount of Jameson and our appetites, we were ready to get exotic on some meat.  With Bob at the grill pan laying down the sausage and preparing some peppers and onions the party was underway.

For the sake of brevity, everyone ended up consuming plenty of tubed meat which resulted in moans of pleasure from the mastication of strong and savory flavors overcoming the palette of the revelers at the sausage party.  None in attendance had any complaints about being stuffed with meat, for most it was their first time dancing with rattlesnake and rabbit.  In the consumption of both predator and prey in one divine sausage, the party had reached the sublime and all in attendance were launched into the Dionysian celebration of food and drink.

Feelin' Stoney

We all have that person in our life that is arrogant, bold, abrasive, in-your-face, makes you drink too much, but for some reason you just can't get enough of.  Stone in North San Diego is the brewery equivalent of that person.  Every time we head south to San Diego (usually en route to the Casbah) we have to stop for a pint, or five.  With beers that have alcohol contents of 6, 7 and 8 % their flavors can best be described as a punch to the mouth.  Would you expect anything else from an ale called 'Arrogant Bastard'?  Stone beers are not for amateurs.

Stone's well crafted and delicious beers are not the kind you would indulge in on a heavy night of drinking.  These are beers with flavor, body and long winded tasting notes, so you know it's bound to be good.  We've been to Stone quite a few times now, done the tour of the brewery, the tasting, the whole 9 yards.  You could say we're a couple of stoners.  Getting into the taste, subtleties and description of beer is something that I find to be wholly subjective and ineffective, so I'll spare you the hassle of trying to taste with your mind.  That's why God gave us tongues.

Connected to the brewery is a restaurant / bar and their food is not for the weak either, being that many of the dishes feature stone beers as one of the ingredients.  We usually just have appetizers, being careful not to reverse the all-important pre-Casbah buzz.  Our favorite appetizers are the Mushroom Pillows.  These little guys are dreamily delicious mushrooms stuffed with jalapeños and cream cheese that live in a crisp little home made of dough.  The perfect home for the explosion of tasty goodness.  I wish I had a home made of dough where I would let mushroom and jalapeño live in harmony and free from the gawkers opinions of their sultry love triangle with cream cheese.  Other tasty morsels they have include the Spud Buds, deep fried mashed potato balls, and the Homemade Hummus.

Stone not only offers a delicious feast for the hungry, as well as, nectar of life for the thirsty, they also provide a playground for the eyes.  Their facility is very uniquely designed from their high ceilings with floating beer displays, to their outside dining area with blooming garden, fireplaces and pond.  They even have a gift shop, which we took advantage of on this visit.  This time we picked up a couple of pint glasses and beers which would soon fill said pint glasses.  When we got home we noticed that there was a warning sticker on the bottoms of the glasses:

Some materials used in the color decorations on this glass contain lead which are known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm.

So it looks like our enjoyment of Stone products will not only leave us with hangovers and bad livers but cancer and sterility.  No big.

Tim Barry Weekend

"I write standard, boring songs with standard, boring chords...",  but Tim Barry's music is anything but standard.  It is not easy to write songs that cover topics like friends that have passed, gentrification, and hopping freight trains in a way that you understand the complexity of his messages and experiences yet can still party, drink a beer and sing along with fists in air.

Like people in general there are a lot of musicians that just don't seem approachable, but Tim is the exact opposite.  Tim needs his fans; he needs his fans to have a drink and a smoke with and he needs his fans' energy when he is on stage.  The louder and more excited the audience gets the better Tim plays.  When you are at a Tim Barry show you really feel what music is supposed to be; a shared experience between musician and audience.

This weekend Josh Small, Tim's long time touring mate and friend, called him 'Papa Barry' and it stuck with us because, yes, Tim's band is family (Josh and usually sister Caitlin) and once you go to one of his shows you feel the same.  Tim and Josh always seem to recognize your face and are more than happy to bullshit about music, the tour, etc.  The other fans also feel like family.  Over the years, you start to see the same faces and at every show you are likely to make friends.  After the show at the Casbah, in San Diego, on Friday we partied well into the night with a couple we met during Tim's set.

On Saturday the gig was at Alex's Bar in Long Beach, a venue very close to home, and we brought friends who have never seen Tim Barry perform before.  They had much of the same experience we had when we first saw Tim at Alex's Bar years ago and so it happens...  Tim's family continues to grow.

The other great thing about Tim is the musicians he surrounds himself with.  On this tour Tim brought along Josh Small and Austin Lucas. As we mentioned before, we have known Josh for awhile since he has been on many tours with Tim.  Josh has a really strong voice and usually switches between banjo and steel guitar.  He also backs Tim with vocals and guitar during a handful of Tim's songs which really adds a great depth to the music.

Austin Lucas, who was also on the bill, is a musician we'd never really heard too much about besides a few tracks that Suburban Home Records had put out online.  This guy's a real talent.  He possesses a great voice, some crazy guitar skills and lyrics that are strikingly well-written.  Needless to say, after seeing him we spent some time at the merch table stocking up on Austin's records.

We had a hell of a weekend watching these guys play music and sitting down to write this post is depressing since we won't be able to have this kind of fun until the next time Tim and crew come back to town.

Heading South and fueling up on Sandwich Saloon

Tim had some technical problems so he just hopped into the crowd and played

Mr. Josh Small

Austin Lucas

An Open Letter to Guy Fieri

Dear Mr. Fieri,

I remember first watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and really enjoying your show a lot since you get to cruise all over the U.S. eating and drinking awesome stuff.  The only thing that I am taken aback by is that you have a mid-90's OC-bro vibe going on with your style.  The bleached hair, uniquely groomed facial hair, permanent sunglasses, etc. aren't helping your credibility.

They say we eat with our eyes.  Well, I think the same would go for who we take culinary advice and opinions from.  I know you are going for the young and hip look, but you're about 10 years too late with your style.  It's hard to listen to a dude who's always looking like he's returning from a frat party at Orange Coast College.

Would you take dining advice from these dudes?

I know you have great taste in obscurely awesome culinary adventures, and I envy what you get to do on your show, but please leave behind your youth and the wardrobe that you have managed to preserve for over ten years.

I beg you Mr. Fieri, please stop dressing like the Peter Pan of Orange County.  Your credibility is waning and I want to see you succeed.  I think you have some great recipes and would probably be a fun guy to have a drink with,  but just step aside from yourself and look what people are likening you to:

I hope you will understand that change is good and necessary for us all and that you should consider my advice.  Guy, I don't want you to be a perma-bro or a fat little kid with spikey hair.  I want you to be successful for years to come in both your culinary and entertainment career.  I think you host a good show and are entertaining.  Just ditch the whole look you have going on for yourself.  I beg of you.  You don't want to be remembered as the chef with bad fashion. Mario Batali already is a step ahead of you, albeit a small one.

Only you can prevent yourself from being 'that bro-dude' on the food channel.  Oh, and the T.G.I. Friday's thing isn't helping your credibility either.

Sincerely Yours,

The Tasty Morsel

Tunesday: Tim Barry

We here at The Tasty Morsel have a pretty good weekend to look forward to.  This weekend one of our favorite musicians to see live is performing a couple of shows in our area, and that means we get to travel around a little bit, chow some food in a bit of a different area and have some drinks.

We have a handful of musicians that we try to see every time they are in town.  These artists are all from out of state, so we usually only get the chance to see them once or twice a year if we're lucky.

This weekend, Tim Barry will be in town.  Tim Barry is from Richmond, Virginia and is also the singer for the now-on-hiatus Avail.  We first heard about Tim's music a handful of years ago when he was opening for Drag the River.  I think at that point he was performing with Josh Small on guitar and banjo and his sister, Caitlin on fiddle.  There were a handful of songs that caught our ear and turned us into fans that night, but I think the one that really got me fired up was 'One Quick Minute'.  Really Awesome song writing.

So, this year, we'll be down in San Diego then to Long Beach to enjoy two Tim Barry shows.  It looks like he'll be playing with Austin Lucas and Josh Small, and from what I've heard is that the show will not be in sets, but will be all three artists sharing the stage on each other's songs.

Since we are going down to San Diego, this gives us the opportunity to write about a few drinking and eating establishments that we run into along the way.  So in tow with seeing Tim Barry (Alison's 'boyfriend' as she likes to call him) we also get to find a few new places to eat and drink at, then write about said eating and drinking.  How Productive.

Here's Tim Barry Performing one of my favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rMCGoALAds

Foodtography

How come the food in commercials, or on packages always looks so tantalizing? You could have a piece of fecal matter on a stick and if photographed properly it would look like the most delectable fudge brownie you've ever seen. So was the case when we went to the grocery store for fixens' for burgers, turkey burgers that is. Everyone knows that turkey burgers are not the real thing, but we're trying to eat healthy in order to bring you "The Tasty Morsel" well into 2050. We purchased the patties and noticed that Jennie-O was really making a strong effort to make turkey burgers seem just as satisfying as a Quarter Pounder with Chee.

This got us thinking about the world of Foodtography and we set out in this meal to prove that foodtography can make the same turkey burger either look orgasmic, or anti-climatic.

Brunchin' at the Top

Breakfast for under a Lincoln

a tasty morsel...

and a view.

Our Sunday mornings have really come a long way...

Tunesday: Munly and the Lee Lewis Harlots

A day late, but not a dollar short on this one since you don't pay us for this.

I found out about Munly and the Lee Lewis Harlots about 5 years ago when I had to review their record for a 'zine I write for.  The least I could say about it was that I was completely blown away by what I heard and I made sure to keep a copy of the album for myself.

The lead singer, Jay Munly, had really deep vocal range and when he hits the low notes, it's downright scary.  Couple that with upright bass / bass cello, fiddles and female backups that there you have Munly & the Lee Lewis Harlots.

I guess to some they are in the genre of Goth Country, but to me they're in the genre of awesome.  Have a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow7akIhwcGE

Man, Are My Potatoes Stuffed

On Sunday night Bob was commissioned to cook a gourmet meal for a 6oth birthday party. It was an intimate party of four and the host and hostess asked Bob to develop the menu for the evening. Bob waited until Sunday morning to decide what to cook and being that Saturday night was spent with friends drinking Jameson and soda, we let our hangover guide our selections. It should come as no surprise then that we settled on the fancy version of a burger and fries; flank steak (red meat= hangover cure) with chimichurri, stuffed potatoes and a mozzarella salad. 

Actually, I have a confession to make, the private party Bob was cooking for was actually his parents and I. It was, however, really his Dad's birthday and Bob likes to cook for his parents' b-days in lieu of going to the mall and buying them gifts (who ever knows what to buy their parents anyway?). 

Let me now delve further into the menu. The potatoes were stuffed with  adult goodies (no, not those kind of goodies), appealing to both the traditional yet eclectic palate like; sour cream, horseradish, sauteed garlic, onions, bacon, jalapeño, avocado and pepper jack cheese.

The flank steak was marinated simply with just olive oil, salt and pepper, as to not compete with the chimichurri sauce. Picking up on the flavors in the potatoes, the sauce consisted of pureed jalapenos, cilantro, parsley, bay leaves, olive oil and a special vinegar ingredient that Bob will not divulge. It was the perfect accompaniment to the beef and I will find myself yearning for it next time I am forced to use that one ordinary and boring steak sauce, or even worse catsup. 

To balance out our meal we prepared a fine salad of tomatoes, bocconcini (small balls of cheese), basil, parsley, and green onions. Yes, a salad with cheese as the main ingredient is still a salad, in fact it is the best kind of salad you can have.

We paired our Argentinian-Mexican-Redneck American-Italian fusion meal with a bottle of Fuerza. It is a lovely Argentinian wine, available at Trader Joes for 3.99, if you can't find it at Trader Joes you can contact me and I'll give you my aunt's address in SLO. She has pretty much bought every bottle in California.

The host and hostess of the evening declared this meal, "One of Bob's best ever," and I would have to agree. FYI Bob is available to cook for private parties if the images from Sunday night are making you hungry, but there are some conditions. You must have a state-of-the-art kitchen, an ocean view and clean up after his super-sized mess.

Guest Chef: Cooperdilla

Sometimes friends like to come by the apartment and eat my food.  Most of the time, the fridge is bare.  Most of the real estate in the fridge is either occupied by beer, yogurt, aging condiments and maybe fruit... all depending on the day of the week or the last time I restocked at the grocery store.

My friend Coop decided to stop by on a Sunday afternoon .  I think his intentions were in his stomach, because no sooner did he arrive was he in my kitchen.  My laboratory of culinary delight.  Well, that's a stretch.  Since I didn't have much to go with along the lines of ingredients, Coop had limited options.  Yet, being the creative genius that is one Cooper Wilt, he pooled his resources and culinary know how to create  the both delicious looking and tasting dish you see in the following images.  Bon Appetit!