Ilan Hall and Friends Rock The Sunset Strip With Quality Food and Drink Via Gorge

Rewind to The Gorbals' opening party nearly three years ago. Owner and Top Chef Season 2 winner Ilan Hall could be found both in and out of the kitchen distributing bacon-wrapped matzoh balls, while another former Top Chef contestant from the same season, Elia Aboumrad, was positioned behind the kitchen counter passing out additional foodstuffs. Now fast forward to Shiro Kuro, that almost year-old black and white colored Japanese restaurant on W. Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood. It's closed. And Hall along with The Gorbals partner Natan Zion plus Aboumrad and Uyen Nguyen are picking up the pieces and transforming the space into Gorge, a French-influenced charcuterie and wine bar to open in early July.

Nguyen is a longtime friend of Aboumrad. The two met in Paris at culinary school, and Nguyen pursued pastry, working at Vegas' Le Cirque, Fleur de Lys, CraftSteak, and Guy Savoy. Meanwhile, before her Top Chef days, Aboumrad worked under Joel Robuchon and became his first ever female sous chef. She opened both Joel Robuchon and L'atelier de Joel Robuchon in Vegas.

Gorge was named after the French expression "A La Gorge!" or "To The Throat!" which was screamed by soldiers when running toward battle and later adopted by serious French kitchen brigades when beginning service.

Hall, Zion, Aboumrad, and Nguyen have brought on Darius Allyn to run the adult beverage program. Allyn is one of the revered 169 people in the world touting the title 'Master Sommelier.'

Future patrons can anticipate an intimate wine bar serving house-made charcuterie, French pastries, and other seasonally driven small plates.
·Ilan Hall's Next Restaurant: A Mix of High and Low Cuisine? [~ELA~]
·ExpansionWire [~ELA~]