Vegan ramen and pho stall headed for Grand Central Market

Remember that now-closed downtown restaurant that served bacon-wrapped matzo balls by that guy who won “Top Chef”? He’s back -- and he’s going to make vegan ramen and pho at a stall in Grand Central Market.

Ilan Hall, chef-owner of the downtown L.A. restaurant the Gorbals, which closed in late 2014, and the winner of the second season of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” plans to open L.A.’s first vegan ramen and pho restaurant at the downtown market this summer.

“Our food isn’t only for vegans,” Hall said in a news release. “We plan to showcase the versatility of fruits and vegetables in both traditional and non-traditional ways.”

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On the menu, you can expect khop ramen-doenjang broth with curry-roasted celeriac and kimchi; pho-ginger onion broth with rice noodles, lime, basil, cilantro and smoked tofu; and BBQ beet buns dressed in hoisin sauce with pickles.

And because this is L.A., every ramen dish will include a gluten-free option.

Rahul Khopkar, who worked at the Gorbals with Hall, will head the kitchen most of the time at the yet-to-be-named new ramen shop.

Hall’s soup shop joins a growing list of new restaurants at Grand Central Market, including Fernando Villagomez’s La Tostaderia, Mark Peel’s Bombo, and Sara Kramer and Sara Hymanson’s Madcapra falafel shop. A fresh pasta bar by Union chef Bruce Kalman and a food and beer counter by Golden Road Brewery are also coming soon.

317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, (213) 624-2378, www.grandcentralmarket.com.