Brunch at The Fat Cow, Los Angeles

Earlier this year, news surfaced that after less than two years in business, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s gastropub in The Grove was possibly closing, not due to lack of business but because of various alleged lawsuits (involving the name “The Fat Cow,” the contractors, and the employees). Sure enough, a few months later, at the end of March 2014, the restaurant closed for good.

Oddly enough, The Fat Cow was never on my Los Angeles to-do list, but when I visited my sister Lana and my friend Kyley in LA in April last year, we ended up there for brunch. The decor was cute even if a bit calculated, and the restaurant was definitely busy. I had coffee and was obviously very entertained by the on-theme, cow-shaped cream pourer.

We all split an order of cheese-dusted onion rings with buttermilk ranch and BBQ sauce for dipping; looking back on it this seems like an odd way to begin brunch, but it was delicious.

To be honest, I’m wary of any celebrity chef restaurant since they are usually just slapping their name on it and aren’t involved; however, I was pleasantly surprised and thought that the food was all very good. Lana had the steak and eggs and loved it. Instead of home fries, the brunch entrees came with tasty roasted fingerling potatoes.

Kyley ordered some sort of sliders; it’s hard for me to remember the details a year later.

I had the eggs Benedict, served with the same fingerling potatoes and broccoli rabe, an unusual but welcome surprise.

The Benedict was simple but honestly really tasty, especially when I doused it in black pepper. Not sure exactly why the restaurant closed, but it’s too bad, considering that it was actually quite good.

The Fat Cow – CLOSED

Location: 189 The Grove Dr. Los Angeles, CA 90036