The Fat Cow

Scottish chef Gordon Ramsay trademarked the name "The Fat Cow" in the UK in 2011, leading to speculation that he was about to open a chain of mid-priced steak and barbecue restaurants. Prior to its opening in the United States, it was publicised as partially following this concept with Ramsay describing it as "a place where people can just relax and enjoy a delicious European inspired meal". The Fat Cow opened on 1 October 2012, The head chef at the time of opening was Mathew Woolf, The restaurant was fitted out with communal tables, and decorated with reclaimed wood and unfinished metal. The design was created by Interior Design firm AK DESIGN NETWORK. A year after opening, Ramsay was sued by the contractors he used to fit out the restaurant over an unpaid bill of $45,350.35 out of $191,235.24. A few months later a class action lawsuit was brought by the employees of the restaurant over his failure to pay minimum wage, give sufficient breaks, and pay overtime. The restaurant was closed on 27 March 2014, amid a legal dispute over the name. The owner of a Spanish restaurant in Florida, Las Vacas Gordas, was said to have exclusive use of the name, In addition, the landlord of The Grove shopping centre launched an action against Ramsay for $6 million in unpaid rent on a long-term lease of $52,000 a month. ==Menu==

The menu was intended to be more casual than some of Ramsay's other restaurants. He said that "The concept for The Fat Cow came from my desire to have a neighborhood restaurant that you could go to all the time to just relax and enjoy a terrific meal". Ingredients were to be sourced seasonally and using the farmers' market next door to the restaurant. Dishes included salads, pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven, a Kobe beef burger, and lobster macaroni and cheese. There was also a separate ice-cream bar, serving soft-serve and ice-cream sandwiches. ==Reception==

Besha Rodell in the LA Weekly was disappointed with the food on offer at The Fat Cow, saying that her fries were "tepid" and that the Kobe burger "tasted no more special than any pub burger anywhere in America". She was more impressed by a couple of dishes: a salmon with celeriac coleslaw and a pizza with burrata and sausage, but she criticized Ramsay for trading on his name, and summed it up by saying that What galls is the act of misleading those folks, the people who are curious about all the hype given to food these days, who might decide to put themselves into Ramsay's hands to help them figure it out. The hoodwinking of those customers is the real reason this restaurant is more offensive than the sum of its not-very-good parts. ==See also==