Fraîche out of luck

living in Culver City, which has been more or less given the prom queen crown of New Foodie Mecca of Los Angeles, gives me the exquisite opportunity of having serious decision problems every time i go out to eat.  with so many restaurants to choose from, you'd think i'd have a bountiful supply of choices...but really, people, what do we do when faced with indecision?   that's right, we go with the familiar.  and every time i do, i always wonder briefly what food adventure i'm missing out on.
Fraîche, since it's opened, has been one of those potential adventures. so it was with great anticipation that i made plans with Ms. Jen to finally try this restaurant that has been getting swooned over by critics and regular eaters alike...and then found myself making plans to go again a week later with 2 girlfriends who both wanted to go there.  i figured this was a good thing: more menu sampling would be possible.
so, the nutshell reviews:  Trip Number One.  Ms. Jen & i had reservations, and were seated immediately.  tables are close enough so that you can easily eavesdrop on the ones beside you if your own dinner date isn't that interesting.  had a decent red wine and an order of the lamb spezzatino. Ms. Jen enjoyed the steak & frites.  the food was...good.  it wasn't anything super spectacular, and i failed to taste anything other than yummy lamb stew.  that's fine, but for all the hype & the prices, i was hoping for a surprise tingle of the tongue; something to distinguish this dish from one i might make myself at home, or an unexpected or especially memorable flavour to emerge.  Ms. Jen's steak had the same quality: completely good and delicious but nothing memorable.
now, i am not a foodie.  i am not a gastroperson.  i am a small girl of modest means who loves to eat and does so with great energy and pleasure.  i associate good food with good company and love it when i get a food buzz -- when a meal just blossoms with flavour intensity or quality so that the next day you remember it and have a Pavlovian response.  while Fraîche was a lovely restaurant, it did not provide that buzz.  and due to the modest means of which i mentioned, when those sorts of prices are charged and that sort of difficulty in getting a reservation is involved -- my expectations will indeed rise.
Ms. Jen wisely pointed out that i would have another chance in a week to see if our *eh* reaction was a fluke, or would be repeated.  i admit i really, really, really hoped it was a fluke.  after all, i can walk to Fraîche. 
so Trip Number Two.  two nights ago, as you may recall, was a downpour.  we had no reservations and were hoping that between the very Not Angeleno Friendly Rain and the weeknight, we'd be able to get a table.  upon arrival we were told that yes, we could get a table in about 15-20 minutes.  let's just say that about 70 minutes later, we were seated, and that after an ordeal ordering a glass of wine from very snotty bar staff.  ah well, the price of eating at an "it" restaurant in L.A., we think.  this time around i had the monkfish, which came in a delicious sauce with spinach. i also tried the roasted corn soup that one of my friends ordered.  and while i did enjoy the meal, i again had the total *eh* reaction: there wasn't a whole lot of interest or subtlety to the foods i ate.  maybe it was the rain, maybe it was being tired, but honestly -- i felt rather depressed going home.  it was as if i'd finally gotten to meet a good friend's new wonderful/smart/funny boyfriend that she's so excited about, and all he did was drink cheap beer, tell poopookakafart jokes, and not know who Vladimir Putin is.  does this make him a bad person?  no.  but not very sparkly or special. 
so does the *eh* factor make Fraîche a bad restaurant?  not by a long shot.  but not very sparkly or special.