A couple of weeks ago I was asking for recommendations about where to eat the best steak in Toronto.

Today I go to http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-chef17oct17,1,6478900.story?coll=la-headlines-food and cry why not Toronto?

Regina Schrambling tells the story of Laurent Tourondel, the 40-year-old wunderkind behind Bistro Laurent Tourondel which is now sweeping the US.

"Three years ago Laurent Tourondel was a chef without a kitchen whose name was anything but a household word.

Today the 40-year-old has an empire so well known it can use shorthand for Bistro Laurent Tourondel: BLT. This month his second cookbook has just been published, his fifth restaurant in New York City -- BLT Market -- has opened to upbeat reviews and he is cooling his suede-topped heels while his first restaurant in Los Angeles is constructed in the old Le Dome on Sunset Boulevard for an opening this winter. Between now and then two more BLT restaurants will open, in Dallas and Westchester County, N.Y., joining those serving his Americanized French food in Washington, D.C., and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Tourondel's original concept is essentially a great American steakhouse crossed with a classic French bistro. The prime meats, generous portions and hearty flavors are all there, but they are matched with creative sauces, jazzy combinations and imaginative side dishes. And the ambience is just as important. Tourondel understood, probably even before New York diners did, that the future lay in top-quality food served in a relaxed but not unsophisticated setting.

Given that he comes at American appetites with a European's awe, he is also not afraid of excess. All his meals start with a hyper-rich bread item, whether a giant Gruyère popover at BLT Steak or cheddar-cream biscuits with melted butter at BLT Fish. What follows is usually just as irresistible.

"People who pay a lot of money for what I do should not leave hungry," Tourondel says simply. His most rewarding moments, he also says, come while "watching customers leave my restaurant -- happy."

Dallas, Westchester County, Washington DC....How about Toronto? Do we ever need a M. Tourondel!