Restaurateur Threatens Top Chef Ilan Hall

J.E. Englebert, owner of Prime and Suzie Wong, has publicly threatened chef Ilan Hall (pictured), who won Top Chef during the show's second season. Englebert is outraged because he says Hall reneged on an agreement to run the kitchen at ¡pasé!, a Spanish eatery/lounge planned for Chelsea. According to the Post, Englebert has vowed to "rip his head off for screwing me! I thought we had a done deal... He may be a reality-TV star, but this doesn't give him the right to act like an ass. If he was nervous about putting money into the space, he should have talked to me man to man, not running like a dog with his head between his legs." How do dogs run like that? For his part, Hall says he agreed to "consult a little bit" but nothing more, and calls the situation "bizarre." Which might also describe the cuisine at his upcoming L.A. restaurant Gorbles, which he calls "old Jewish food, date-raped by bacon."