La Toque’s Ken Frank: ‘Time to Move On’

“I’ve worked a third of my life in the same 600 square feet of kitchen,” says La Toque chef-owner Ken Frank, who is 37 years old. “It’s time to move on.” So Frank is doing just that. He’s put his Sunset Strip restaurant up for sale, but he plans to continue there until the site is sold.

In the 13 years he has been running La Toque, Frank says he’s only had only two vacations. “Now,” he says, “if everything goes right, I may even get away for a while.” Aside from that, Frank has made no definite plans. “I might even work for somebody else for a while.”

Since opening the highly acclaimed French restaurant, Frank has had his share of money problems. In 1986, he filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. Several years later, he had to give up his dream of converting his upscale establishment into a larger and more casual place.

Eventually Frank hopes to open a larger version of La Toque on the Westside. “People finally want to eat at a nice restaurant where they don’t have to wait three weeks for a reservation. I have been waiting for this for years.”

PLAY MISTO FOR ME: Coming up with the right name for a restaurant isn’t easy--so many people just seem to have the same ideas.

Take the latest example of the restaurant name game. “A lot of our customers thought we had opened another restaurant in Santa Monica,” says Mary Dunfee of Caffe Misto in Torrance. And no wonder: About six months ago a Cafe Misto opened in Santa Monica. The Torrance Misto, owned by Melange Inc., owners of Chez Melange, Fino and Depot in the South Bay, is not related to the Santa Monica Misto, which is owned by David Williams.

Williams has agreed to rename his restaurant. “They are absolutely right,” Williams says. “We made a mistake. My former partner and I should have checked. It’s just that Misto, which is Italian for mixed, is such a good name.” (At one time Williams was part owner of Frito Misto restaurant.) He adds that this time he is doing a statewide fictitious name check before he makes the change. If the name’s not already spoken for, Cafe Misto will become Misto Neighborhood Italian Cafe.

But other mistos are already in the mix. Does Williams know there is a year-old Misto Los Feliz on Hillhurst, and a Misto Trattoria about to open on the corner of Olympic and Sawtelle?

Says Williams: “Oh, my God.”

SWEET CHARITY: “Merci Julia!”--a Feb. 7 Marina del Rey dinner honoring Julia Child for her contributions to French cooking--is sold out. A source says organizer Michel Richard plans to make it an annual benefit for Child’s favorite cause: the American Institute of Wine & Food. “Next year they plan to honor Paul Bocuse,” says the source, “and the year after, Robert Mondavi.”

MANAGING: The still-unopened Cafe Morpheus (formerly Asylum) has a new management team. A source says the duties of former operations manager Gardiner Gilless (who is no longer with the restaurant) will be split between Gerard Marini, who ran Remi, office manager Melissa Baker, and owner John Thomas. Last-minute inspections at the Beverly Hills restaurant have delayed its debut, which was scheduled for November.

OPENINGS: The noisy, high-powered, nationwide Palm steakhouse chain has opened a Las Vegas location at the glitzy Forum Shops at Caesars (the same mall that now houses a Spago). . . . After weeks of practice dinners, Tatou restaurant and supper club has finally opened at its Beverly Hills location (in the former Max Au Triangle space). . . . Angel’s Flight Restaurant & Lounge, located in downtown’s new Hotel Inter-Continental, is now open and features a special pre-theater a la carte dinner menu from 5:30 to 7 p.m., with free parking and courtesy car service to the Music Center. . . . Jerry’s Famous Delis will open this summer on Beverly Boulevard (across from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center), and in Westwood (right up the street from Hamburger Hamlet). . . . Scarola’s (the name’s Italian for escarole ) will open mid-January on San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood.

CLOSINGS: Rondo, the Melrose Avenue Northern Italian restaurant, has closed. After minor cosmetic surgery, the space is expected to reopen on Friday as Il Barbone (Italian for the drunkard ), by the owners of La Loggia and Barsac Brasserie in the San Fernando Valley. . . . Call Frank’s Bel-Air Steaks and Seafood and you’ll get a recording saying that the restaurant has “closed for 1992.” No word yet on when, or if, the place will reopen. . . . Say goodby to the Marina del Rey and Studio City branches of Manhattan Coolers. The two remaining locations (the original in Manhattan Beach and the Los Angeles one) will stay open.

PRIX-FIXE BARGAINS: To celebrate its 100-year anniversary, the Stonehouse Restaurant at the San Ysidro Ranch is offering a special four-course prix-fixe dinner ($39.59), Jan. 22-24, from 6 to 10 p.m. . . . In honor of Bill Clinton’s inauguration on Jan. 20, St. Moritz in Studio City has come up with a special $20 prix-fixe President’s dinner that includes a bowl of black-eyed pea soup, choice of three entrees and dessert.