Laurent Tourondel

American Kobe Burger at Brasserie Ruhlmann

Sink your teeth into this baby -- if you can afford it. Sometimes you have to have a hamburger. The fries don't even have to be that great. In NYC, the burger is probably the most ubiquitous meal available -- ahead of pizza, falafel, salad-bar salads, sushi, and a dozen others you can find anywher ... More >>

Robert Sietsema at St. Anselm

This week in the Voice, Robert Sietsema finds mostly hits and a few misses at the recently reopened St. Anselm: "The appetizers were terrif... Which is not to say a steady hand always rested on the tiller of the restaurant." Sam Sifton approves of Danji: "Hooni Kim, who opened this place in Decembe ... More >>

Charges Against Lucali's Mark Iacono Dropped; Gordon Ramsay Tweets Photo of Himself "Planking"

​A Brooklyn DA dropped all charges against both Lucali pizzaiolo Mark Iacono and alleged assailant Benny Geritano due to lack of cooperation from both witnesses. [NY Post] Jake Klein, who previously apprenticed under Masaharu Morimoto, is taking his Caribbean- and Southeast Asian-style cookin ... More >>

Laurent Tourondel and Jimmy Haber Aren't on the Best of Terms

​The New York Times today has a long, interesting, and inadvertently humorous account of the professional breakup between Laurent Tourondel and Jimmy Haber, the owner of BLT Group, and it reads like a lost episode of Divorce Court.

Laurent Tourondel Owns the BLT (The Name, Not the Sandwich)

The man, the brand​Who would have thought the acronym BLT would be so controversial? Really, can you really own the trademark to the ubiquitous sandwich? Apparently so. Crain's delves into the legal battle between chef Laurent Tourondel and his ex-business partner Jimmy Haber. The Frenchma ... More >>

Our 10 Best NYC Restaurants For Pre-Theater Prix-Fixe

Lauren ShockeyBright lights, big city. But where to eat?​The Village Voice's Obie Awards are on Monday, celebrating the best Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway theater. So what better time to take in a variety of shows and performances? Yet the Theater District can be confusing culinary wate ... More >>

Robert Sietsema at Coppelia; Lauren Shockey at The Brooklyn Star

This week in the Voice, Robert Sietsema finds that "the food runs from inspired to terrible" at Coppelia; Lauren Shockey drinks the Kool-Aid at the Brooklyn Star. Sam Sifton awards The National Bar and Dining Rooms one star: "[The décor] is appetizing, as it happens: it is the sort of restaurant w ... More >>

Open & Closed: Say Hello to Post Office; Goodbye to Apizza

Restaurants and bars, they come and they go. Here are a few making their debuts and bowing out this week. American Trash, a biker bar located on the Upper East Side, is closing after 22 years in business. [Grub Street] The East Village pizzeria Apizza has shuttered. It tweeted its permanent closur ... More >>

Robert Sietsema at Strong Place; Sarah DiGregorio at Gourmet Sweets & Restaurant

This week in the Voice, Robert Sietsema reckons that Strong Place "might be the most perfect evocation of the Brooklyn bistro to date." Sarah DiGregorio finds that the food at Gourmet Sweets and Restaurant "is a testament to all the many wonderful things one can make with humble cuts of meat, lentil ... More >>

White Castle to Branch Out; Lawyers Targeting Chefs

​Laurent Tourondel is being sued by the BLT Restaurant Group for the menu at his new Hamptons burger joint being too similar to the BLT concept. [NY Post] White Castle is looking to launch three new concepts: a barbecue restaurant, a pressed-club-sandwich spot, and an Americanized Asian noodl ... More >>

A Closer Look at the BLT Group Divorce

Laurent Tourondel​A few months after Laurent Tourondel split from the company that bore his initials, Crain's has a closer look at what precipitated the chef's seemingly abrupt departure from the BLT Group.

Bon Appetit's Pop-Up Café Will Open Sept. 12 With Food From Baked NYC, Momofuku, A Voce, Et Al

entertainment-link.comMmmm, pop-ups.​To mark the occasion of Fashion Week, an event not normally associated with caloric intake, Bon Appétit is opening its annual pop-up café in the lobby of Avery Fisher Hall from Sept. 12 through 16.

Plein Sud Plain Sucks

A Top Chef contestant bombs in his own restaurant

David Amorelli "in" at Parlour Midtown

David Amorelli, who once helmed the kitchen at his own midtown brasserie, Cité, and later worked under David Burke and Laurent Tourondel, is now the executive chef at Parlour Midtown, a new place billing itself an "Irish-style gastro-steakhouse." Amorelli's inaugural menu includes contemporary take ... More >>

Laurent Tourondel Migrates to Sag Harbor; Michael Psilakis Still Waffling on Williamsburg

​ Christopher Lee of Aureole and the creators of TLC's American Chopper have joined forces to open Orange County Choppers Roadhouse, an 8,500-square-foot "restaurant, bar, microbrewery, gaming, hospitality, retail and entertainment experience" in Newburgh, N.Y. [Zagat Buzz] Laurent Tourondel ... More >>

Rodelio Agilbot to Create Asian Ventures With BLT Restaurant Group

Rodelio Aglibot​Less than a month after Laurent Tourondel announced his departure from the BLT Restaurant Group, the company has announced that it will be joining forces with Chef Rodelio Aglibot to develop a number of Asian concepts, including a grill and gastropub that will pair Agilbot's "i ... More >>

Nurse That Post-St. Patrick's Day Queasiness at Laurent Tourondel's Pop-Up Food Truck

Morning-after munchies brought to you by Tabasco.​Not feeling so hot this morning? Nothing chases away a hangover like a stiff drink and greasy meal. Get your fill of at least one of these today at a pop-up food truck manned by Laurent Tourondel, now just of BLT Market. Tabasco has teamed up w ... More >>

Laurent Tourondel Splits From the BLT Group

What will Lauren Tourondel find next?​Back in September, Laurent Tourondel was in the midst of a global BLT expansion, opening BLT Steak outposts in Hong Kong and Waikiki and planning a BLT Burger for Hong Kong. Now, it looks as though he's got some other plans on his plate....

BLT Shoots for Waikiki, Hong Kong, the Moon

​Laurent Tourondel is continuing his expansion across the globe: having first gone international in January with a BLT Steak in Hong Kong, he's opening a BLT Steak in Waikiki next month, and then heading back to Hong Kong to open a BLT Burger in December 2010, according to his reps. All told, ... More >>

'Top Chef': When the Merde Hits the Fan

Bravo TV​Oh, those French and their talent for deadpan drama. What we Americans express with operatic levels of emotion, the Gauls communicate with a sniff, a raised eyebrow, an indifferent shrug. That may be why the decision to have a panel of intractably French chefs judge last night's gusta ... More >>

James Beard Semifinalists Announced

The semifinalists for the illustrious James Beard awards have been announced, with a quite a few hometown favorites in the lot, including Dan Barber and Tom Colicchio in the the Outstanding Chef category; Babba and Jean George for Outstanding Restaurant;  Corton, Momofuku Ko, and Scarpetta for ... More >>

Edible News Roundup

NYC Wine and Food Fest: Tickets On Sale Monday!

Laurent Tourondel's Last Meal: Not a BLT

Laurent Tourondel's last meal

. . . is raw, drunken, and oh so lonely

Beefin' Burgers

Our intrepid critic stuffs his face with the latest examples

Frieze and Furze

Heart-snatching amid much mustard at new Parisian brasserie

Worth the Splurge

Upper-end places worth the expense