We walked by the shuttered Scarboni restaurant over the weekend, and a homeless guy stopped out front and asked if we knew why the work stopped. "They were hammering away inside, and then nothing for about the last two weeks," he told us. We thought he was just an interested Plywood watcher, but no: That's where he sets his bike full of his life and holes up for the night. Here's why this space on Wilshire near the Third Street Promenade is so interesting to us: The pending ABC license has Thierry Perez listed as one of the company officers. Perez, as we know, is part owner of Fraiche in Culver City with chef Jason Travi. Let us remind you that Travi is opening a second restaurant in Santa Monica: yet unnamed, somewhere near the beach, in a spot the city wants to designate as a historical building, all Italian, pizzas, desserts by wife, pastry chef and co-owner Miho, to open by the end of the year. So let's look at the evidence: in a historic building (1), which we heard was somewhere around Third or Fourth streets (2), near the beach (3ish). Put it all together and we ask: Is the former Scarboni restaurant home of the next Travi/Perez venture? Story developing...
· The Shutter: Scarboni was Scarbonied [~ELA~]
· Week in Reviews: Fraiche Gets Fraichier [~ELA~]
Tony Bourdain isn't the only celeb chef who can make an entertaining TV show. This weekend mega chef Daniel Boulud launches the third season of his show After Hours with Daniel, which was purportedly inspired by his great love of chillin' with his homies after their restaurants close. This season Boulud heads to New Orleans and South Florida, but last year he was in LA, and we have some super duper special Eater bonus outtakes with Nancy Silverton at Mozza and La Brea Bakery. And at Hatfield's, Boulud hangs with Fraiche's Jason Travi, Ludovic Lefebvre, food journo Russ Parsons and others, and learns an important lesson about the southern 'delicacy' that is chitterlings, or as the adorable Boulud pronounces them, "shitlins."
Another reason why Fraiche made Frank Bruni's 10 best new restaurants from coast to coast: Chef Jason Travi's decision to put an obscure Bjork track on the restaurant play list, one of the Frankster's "all-time favorite songs." Travi told the critic: "My goal with the play list is to have the older people not complain, and have the list obscure enough that people can’t sing along in the restaurant.” Mission accomplished. One Fraiche play list coming up, via Bruni's blog. Thoughts and comments welcome.
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