Taking a walk through the Arts District of Downtown LA can lead you on an accidental afternoon of exploration that you will eagerly partake in. You may find yourself snapping a single photo of a JR mural and then before you know it, your camera is lit up with colorful street art. In between all the captures and walking, you hear that roar in your stomach and realize you haven’t eaten. Amongst all of the great eateries available in the colorful district, one restaurant you should take a break in, is Fritzi.

Fritzi is a 2016 concept opened by the respected Chef Neal Fraser who has a select number of restaurants under his belt. I’ve been to his beautiful location, Redbird and enjoyed it! Earlier this year I was a part of his fun little “social experiment” with McDonald’s that went viral in the food industry. But this time, I was invited to Fritzi to review a dish that would be sold to celebrate National Rotisserie Chicken Day. If you guessed I would be eating chicken, you guessed right! Thankfully, McDonald’s would be nowhere in sight on this trip.

Walking into the restaurant, the first thing you notice is how simple it is. The walls aren’t covered in art, as you would assume a restaurant would be in this part of town. Instead, there’s a nicely colored quote that catches your eye, fruit on a counter acts as decorative pieces, and exposed pipes add personality. I ordered my dish at the counter and the manager was kind enough to throw in an extra entree for me to review. “Let’s add the burger too.” She said. I smiled and nodded. She knows me so well and we just met.

The first dish to arrive to the table was the Fritzi Burger ($11.50). A patty hybrid of bacon and beef was placed between two soft brioche buns alongside iceberg lettuce, calabrese relish, thousand island dressing, and a fontina fondue. In traditional Chef Fraser fashion, even the meat is prepped in an elaborate way. For nine hours, the chef sous-vides the meat in order to lock in the flavor. From the bites I took, I could taste the juices and the moisture that was sealed into the burger from the sous-vide. The burger as a whole was delicious, but it felt like something was missing. That something: tomatoes. The citrus accent that blends into the meat was the only thing that I wish was there. But if you find tomatoes to be an ordinary component to a burger, then you won’t need to make any special request to include it.

And what’s a burger without a side of fries? Nothing, a burger is absolutely nothing without fries. In this case, the fries would not be upstaged by a burger even if it is considered a side. At Fritzi, the fries are double fried. This makes the outer portion very crispy but not to the point that they become brittle to the touch. Surprisingly, they interior is still very soft which means the fries are the best of both worlds! If you thought the fries were going to be served with simple ketchup, think again. You get a serving of their black garlic aioli and Sir Kensington Ketchup. The aioli is semi-thick with a smooth, deep, and rich taste where the accent of garlic picks up towards the end. On the other hand, the ketchup is light and subtle with a tart after taste. It’s like an advanced level of your every-day ketchup. Basically, Sir Kensington Ketchup is Heinz with a bachelor’s degree.

Not to be outdone, the next dish entered stage left. The Wood Fire Rotisserie Chicken (¼ chicken for $15) was served with a single potato waffle and a whole grain mustard gravy. My piece of dark meat chicken was marinated nicely to the point that I could taste that it was slow roasted. The skin was a golden brown color and the meat was moist and tender. Dipping the chicken into the gravy made the dish feel like thanksgiving dinner in May.

Since I don’t recall having a potato waffle before, I had to ask how they were made. I found out that they take shredded potato and mix it with cream and eggs. The batter is then pressed in a waffle maker and a few seconds later, the potato waffle comes out! The waffle is definitely a refreshing change to what could be served with chicken, but there isn’t an exciting taste to it when you eat it dry. Adding the gravy amps it up a bit more making it something memorable. When the two are together, and even when you wrap it around the chicken, you have a dish that is well worth it.

My walk through the Arts District was nice and so was my lunch at Fritzi! I liked the burger, but would have loved it with tomatoes; and I enjoyed the chicken and waffle especially when it was all pressed together. Should they ever make a potato waffle chicken sandwich, I would be the first one in line for it and you could be second. Until then, you can get your own chicken and potato waffle tomorrow for National Rotisserie Chicken Day! Fritzi will be serving their wood-fired rotisserie chicken with a potato waffle for $5 staring at noon and running until it’s sold out. Since you don’t want to miss out and leave empty handed, you may want to get there early—like right now.

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Address: 814 Traction Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90013
Phone: (213) 537-0327
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