Neal Fraser is on a roll lately, with his Downtown upscale dining stop Redbird garnering all sorts of praise. That’s not to say the longtime Grace/bld/ICDC chef has forgotten the little guy, as evidenced by this week’s arrival of the much more casual Fritzi to the Arts District.
Tucked in next to the now-open Arts District Brewing on Traction Avenue, Fritzi is a sort of complimentary restaurant to Fraser’s popular hot dog walk-up at the Original Farmers Market, Fritzi Dog. Except this one doesn’t just serve dogs (there is a burger, though), instead relying on more sit-down dinner fare, but done at an extremely approachable price point. Much like Eric Greenspan’s neighborhood-casual turn with Maré on Melrose, there’s nothing over $19.
The menu, as you’ll see below, is full of sub-$12 wines by the glass, $6 craft beers, and food options as varied as a $5.50 quinoa salad or some $3.25 tots, with a plate of $19 steak frites thrown in for good measure. Simple, effective, inexpensive.
The Fritzi space itself is equally simple and quietly charming, with a wood-fired rotisserie dominating the open kitchen. There’s space for maybe 50 seats inside the 1,000 square foot industrial room (with half a dozen being bar seats), which feels surprisingly open thanks to some large warehouse-style windows up front. Fritzi opens Friday in the Arts District, and will keep hours from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Sunday.
Fritzi
814 Traction Ave.
Los Angeles, CA