Revisit - Fray - a lot has changed!

When I first visited Fray back in January, I was ambivalent. There were some well-executed dishes, and then there were some major flops (the Fat Bastard Pork Belly comes to mind). So, with the intent of doing a revisit post in mind, we headed back there to see if things had changed. And boy, have they ever. Gone were many of the menu items we had liked, such as the simple Spinach and Blue Cheese salad, and my stepdad's favourite Mushroom Ravioli. Also missing were the F-bombs (bacon wrapped figs), Duck Fat Fried Chicken, and the Fat Bastard Pork Belly. All these things made them just a bit different, but instead, it was now essentially a burger joint. 
Well, it's good to see they at least still have their Portobello Fries, jenga-style no less. And yes, thick strips of portobello double fried to a crispy exterior, with a very juicy interior, these were good. But were the $9.95 good? I'm not so sure. As for the dip, the truffle aioli, it didn't impress at all.   Because his favourite pasta was off the menu, my stepdad ended up ordering the Mondo burger. Served open faced, you can see the bacon, cheese & mushrooms. There is also some lettuce, tomato and a smear of chipotle lime mayo on the other side of the bun. The burger looked and tasted quite good, all the flavours coming together quite nicely.  As a non-meatlover, my mom decided to try the Fraser Valley Shrimpboat. Essentially, this was a mayo based salad of baby shrimp and red peppers, atop of some Pacific Smoked salmon and cucumbers. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't amazing. I think it would have been much better if there was less mayo and you could actually see the shrimp in the sandwich. There are some crispy capers on top for a bit of texture. Otherwise, it was pretty one-dimensional. She did enjoy the Rosemary Chips that came with her entree, but they were more like taro chips than potato chips.   For my dinner, I decided to go for the Whistler Burger, which comes with two of my all time burger toppings, bacon and a fried egg. There is a slice of cheese as well as some onions, and oddly enough, there were a few slices of beets underneath the egg. That was quickly unearthed and donated to my mom. I then recalled that this burger was served Aussie-style, and they do put beets in their burgers! I tossed the basic lettuce/tomato combo on the top half of my bun and put some of the lightly dressed greens in there instead. This made for a tastier way to eat my veggies, that's for sure. I do like how they toasted their buns here, but it was still too much bread for me. I think more restaurants should start offering the "make it green" option a la Romer's Burger Bar: Kits and Fraserview.
I used to think of Fray as a "comfort food" venue, but will now have to recategorize it into a "burger joint". It's good for what it is, it's just not the same as before.  

Take Note:

• All pastas have been removed from the menu with the exception of Mac and Cheese
• Lots of board games
• Portobello Fries and Rosemary Chips are both a "must-try"

A foray to Fray on Fra(y)sier

Nestled amongst a bunch of Asian restaurants along Frasier is Fray. I headed down on a Sunday night to see what the fuss was all about. The menu was all over the place, I couldn't quite decide what to get, so it was a good thing that there were a group of us. Lots of Tongue-in-Cheek names (Sex Pistols, F-bombs, you get the picture) for their offerings, and that annoys me. Let's see if the food can overcome.

Here is the Portobello Fries...and yes, they call it that on their menu. I liked the architectural presentation, but I liked the taste even better. Lightly battered sliced of portobello...these were shocking good. Wonder how many other restaurants are going to imitate this!

We had a kid with us that night, and his meal came while we were eating the Portobello Fries. This is their Macaroni & Cheese for kids. I regret to say that I didn't try this, but as least it's not the neon orange KD that I was expecting.

Our next appy was their Rosemary Fries. I like the curl and crunch but the rosemary was lost on me. They charge $4.95 for these but reminded me of the ones that The Keg gives out for free with drinks at their Thurlow location. The rosemary sort of got lost on me. 

This is a shot of the TaunTaun Burger (yes, another punny name), and it was good. Pemberton beef with pulled pork, bacon cheese and all on a purple yam bun...served with some salad to make it all better. It was a good burger but gosh, I wish more people would toast their buns! 

My mom got the Spinach and Blue Cheese Salad...and um....yeah, that's exactly what we got here. The veggies were fresh, and I would have to say...plentiful...if you like that sort of thing.

We also got the Porchetta Sandwich with bacon and horseradish mayo, on top of a "rustica bun". To be honest, the bun was the same as the purple yam bun. That aside, it was a healthy serving of roast pork, and oh, yes, bacon! But the crackling was missed! 

This was my dinner, the Fat Bastard Pork Belly (yes, punny). Unfortunately, the bastard they harvested this belly from was anorexic. I wanted more...more pork, more skin, and more taste! What I was served was decent, the skin wasn't crispy enough, but my biggest complaint was the portion. There was more porchetta in the sandwich than what I got. Perhaps they were running out, I don't know...but the caramelized apples are supposed to be an accompaniment, but were it not for them (and I hate warm fruit in a savoury dish - no Hawaiian Pizza ever), I would have been hungry. As it was, I was loading up on Portobello Fries and coleslaw! 
I think this place deserves a revisit, but not for a few months. The servers are fairly new, ours certainly was. I believe she had to "check with the kitchen" three times during our order. I would rather go to a place where the staff have eaten everything and have informed opinions about everything on the menu.