HOLLYWOOD: Chef Michel Richard was all over town last weekend. He was guest chef at Bin 8945, co-cheffed a dinner at Providence, and he was at AWFF. But it's not like he's a stranger to these parts: He opened a patisserie in 1977, and when he opened Citrus on Melrose in 1987, it put him on the culinary map (oh how he must cringe to see the same space as Red Pearl Kitchen now). His Cintronelle restaurant in Washington D.C. continues to garner praise and hit all the top restaurant lists. But so much time in LA? All at once? Something is definitely afoot. Today we hear that Richard is in preliminary negotiations---and we mean preliminary---to take over at Social Hollywood. If the rumor is true, Jeffrey Chodorow's China Grill Management group would still retain control of Social, but Richard, we assume, will tweak the concept and change the menu. Chodorow and Richard = dream team?
The thing about Social is that it's such a stunning venue, all rooms have incredible design, a very cool bar, comfortable, sexy. But we were in for a special wine dinner a couple months ago (gratis), and the dining room was dead. Granted, it was early in the evening. We gave it the benefit of the doubt: Perhaps it gets busier later. But we left around 9pm and pretty much crickets. In general, we hear little to nothing about the restaurant, and except for Thu-Sat, it's on the OpenTable 1,000 points page. A cry for help if there ever was one. We know Chodorow is not one to back down from defeat. So Super Richard to the rescue. You know calls have been placed. All lines are open. [EaterWire]
