BREAKING: Something Happening in Citrus-land

This just hit the Breaking News desk: "As of Aug 12th, Chef Remi is no longer at Citrus---Why? He was told on Tuesday morning that they didn't need his services anymore." This is unconfirmed on our part, calls have been placed of course, but let's look at this objectively while we await official word. We had a lovely dinner at the hands of Remi Lauvand at the Jefferey Chodorow/Michel Richard experiement aka Citrus at Social a few months ago, but this news doesn't come as a shock. Not because the chef isn't top-notch, he is---French-born, well-trained, acclaimed---but because the restaurant isn't exactly packed every night.

There seemed to be a consensus among the critics: The food, service and space are polished, but it's not really Richard's great triumphant return to LA; he was little more than just a name on a plate, not the soul of the venture. And would that be enough? So back to Lauvand who was running the day-to-day. Was he too expensive in down times? What if the experiment is already over? Of course, maybe things just didn't work out. Or maybe there's a new plan for Social, like, perhaps, Chodorow's rumored Kobe Club? Stay tuned.
· Eater Inside: Citrust at Social [~ELA~]
· Week in Reviews: Citrus at Social Triples [~ELA~]
· Critic vs Critic: Citrus at Social [~ELA~]
· EaterWire: Chodorow Bringing Kobe Club to LA [~ELA~]