Changing of the Chefs at Fenix; Pizza From the Pit

Ken Frank Leaves Fenix--and L.A.: Ken Frank left Fenix at the Argyle Hotel on Monday, where he was the opening chef three years ago. He says the reason is that he didn’t jibe with the Argyle’s new management. Now he’s pursuing his dream to own a restaurant in the Napa Valley.

That means leaving Los Angeles, where Frank got his start among a new generation of very young, very talented chefs in the late ‘70s. He first made his mark at Le Guillotine in 1976, when he was 20. Three years later, after having starred at Michael’s, he opened Le Toque at the La Guillotine location, where he proceeded to establish himself as a major culinary force. Since the closing of Le Toque four years ago, he has worked at House of Blues and Fenix.

Now he’ll be back to working for himself again. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. It’s cooking at the highest level without compromise,” Frank says. He plans a place where he can cook for a very small clientele.

Back at the Fenix, sous-chefs Brian Gerritsen and Jaime Covarrubias will be taking over chef duties until a new helmsman is found. The plan is to change Frank’s menu very little and to carry on with the annual truffle menu, which begins this week. Frank and the hotel are currently in negotiations over the ownership of the name “Fenix,” so only time will tell if the restaurant gets a name change.

Fire in the Pit!: Been wondering where to get a pizza made in a barbecue pit? Wonder no more now that Pit Fire Pizza Co. has opened in North Hollywood. Owners Paul Hibler and David Sanfield messed around with grilled pizza dough recipes until they found one they liked, then tried the pizzas out on the customers of their catering company. Finally they decided to build a restaurant and got a Texas firm to make them a barbecue pit. Pit Fire Pizza Co. offers nine varieties of grilled pizzas using Hibler’s and Sanfield’s own semolina flour-dough recipe. “We grill it over a combination of live wood and mesquite hardwood charcoal,” says Sanfield.

One pizza, the Tuscan, is topped with roasted potatoes, chicken, caramelized onions, pesto sauce and Asiago cheese. You can also get what they call the rollzone, a cross between a wrap sandwich and a calzone. It’s pizza dough, rolled out very thin and grilled, wrapped around meat, vegetable and cheese combinations. The Goodzilla rollzone, for instance, has seared tuna, Japanese greens and miso vinaigrette inside. Pastas and salads are also available.

The owners say they’ve aimed for fun and casual. Sanfield: “We have a funky red floor.” Hibler: “It’s got a lot of jointiness about it.” Their outdoor patio deck sits next to a small North Hollywood park. Pizzas cost between $3.95 and $7.25; rollzones are $5.25-$6.95; pastas are $5.75-$7.95.

* Pit Fire Pizza Co., 5211 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood; (818) 980-2949.

Tempest in a New Teapot: Tempest Bar & Restaurant, which used to be in the Beverly Center, has moved to the old Checca and Studio Grill site in West Hollywood. The new space has two rooms: a dining room with a stage and a bar/dance floor room. The decor is described as “neo-Gothic”; we’re talking burgundy brocade booths, crystal chandeliers and stained glass. There’s also a patio on which neo-Gothic smokers can congregate. The entertainment program is still being worked out, but for now Tuesday is comedy night, Thursday is swing night and Sunday is for poetry. Consulting chef David Slay has contributed a menu that includes a warm scallop salad, spicy shrimp pizza, chicken ravioli and filet mignon.

Tempest is open until 4 a.m. every night (well, morning, really) and owner Michael Najjar ambitiously aims to keep the kitchen open at least as late as 2 a.m. No cover charge if you eat there; otherwise it varies according to the entertainment.

* Tempest Bar & Restaurant, 7323 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood; (213) 850-5115.

Renewed Revival: Revival Cafe on Beverly Boulevard, one of the places famously closed after the KCBS-TV Channel 2 investigative report on restaurant health-code violations five weeks back, has reopened as of Jan. 7. Reason for the longish wait: a big remodel, starting with the kitchen and including the menu. Some breakfast and lunch items have changed and more dinner menu items have been added.

* Revival Cafe, 7149 Beverly Blvd., L.A.; (213) 930-1210.

50 Years of Canter’s: Canter’s Deli on Fairfax celebrates its 50th anniversary on Monday. Canter’s moved to its present location from Boyle Heights in 1948. To celebrate this rite of passage, Canter’s is offering corned beef sandwiches for 50 cents Monday from 10 a.m. to midnight. One per customer.

* Canter’s Deli, 419 N. Fairfax, L.A.; (213) 651-2030.

Beard Night in Vegas: The Rio Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is hosting a benefit dinner for the James Beard Foundation next Thursday. Chef Jean-Louis Palladin of the Napa Restaurant in the hotel (and formerly of his own Jean-Louis at the Watergate in Washington, D.C.) will host the evening, which boasts eight mega-major guest chefs. Cocktails are at 6:30 p.m.; dinner begins at 7:30. For Beard Foundation members, the price of dinner is $125, for nonmembers, it’s $150. If you want to stay in the hotel that night, rooms start at $59. Call for dinner and room reservations.

* Rio Suite Hotel and Casino, 3700 W. Flamingo, Las Vegas; (702) 252-7777.