A Falling Out at Pyramid
When Robert Gadsby created the menu at Pyramid in October, owner Alan Philips so loved the chef’s style of piling his culinary creations onto the plate that he named the restaurant after the food. But the honeymoon’s over. Philips just fired the chef. In August, Philips told The Times that he had given Gadsby free rein in the kitchen. Now he says, “Robert is very headstrong and I cannot have an employee that will not consult with me.”
Contacted by The Times, Gadsby was surprised to hear the news of his departure. “I haven’t spoken to anyone at the restaurant,” he says. “The thing now is, do I go into work or not?”
WINING: Since Eberhard Mueller left two months ago, says Opus owner Charles Almond, the restaurant stopped losing money and is a much happier place. Almond refused to go into detail. “Let’s put it this way,” he says, “Eberhard was supposed to be the chef. Instead, he brought somebody out from New York to be the chef. Now Eberhard is no longer taking the credit.”
There’s been another change too: To increase business, Almond has slashed prices on the restaurant’s extensive wine list. “Sort of like buying it at the grocery store,” he says, “and then paying a teeny little service charge.”
Mueller, who no longer lives in Los Angeles, could not be reached for comment.
SPAGO BAJO: The huge Spago which just opened in Las Vegas, not only has the same name as the original, but also the same menu.
There are differences too. The designer, for one: Adam Tihany. There’s also a front cafe, where nothing costs more than $10. The menu includes pizzas and sandwiches. There’s also a boutique, selling everything from caps ($14) to suede bomber jackets ($295). And there are rules: No ripped clothing, singing telegrams or strippers.
“The whole frontage opens on the Forum shopping mall,” Kaplan says, “and at night when you are really tired and you squint a little, you almost feel like you are in Europe. But not during the day that’s for sure. . . . Actually, its tastefully done.”
LAST CHAPTER: Penn and Teller’s recent book, “How to Play With Your Food,” has been recalled. The book features a series of food tricks, but the last laugh was on the authors. The fake unopenable sugar packet does indeed open. What’s inside is silica gel dyed with cobalt chloride: a potential health hazard if ingested.
First Impressions returns next Sunday.
