FAIR MARKET

The latest restaurant in Laurent Tourondel’s growing empire will have its soft opening tomorrow. BLT Market (BLT stands for Bistro Laurent Tourondel) at the Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park (1430 Avenue of the Americas at Central Park South, 212-521-6125) will be serving dinner only, and offering a preview menu at a 10% discount on food as it works out the inevitable kinks that new restaurants have. It is scheduled to start serving breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner at regular prices on September 10.

The menu, which will change monthly, will feature local seasonal items. Blackboard specials will be updated weekly. Opening selections include arugula and dandelion salad with artichoke, yellow wax beans and summer truffle; half-cooked tomato soup with fried green tomatillo and spicy aioli; and pan-seared striped bass with cranberry bean caponata and fennel confit.

THE CURE

Crave Ceviche (946 Sevcond Ave. at 50th Street, 212-355-6565) opened Monday. In addition to traditional lemon- and lime-cured seafood ceviche, Chef Todd Mitgang is curing mammal products, such as veal, beef, and ham, and using pomelo, yuzu, and other curing fruits. Sandwiches and salads (and beer and wine) are available too.

BURGERS NEAR BERGDORF’S

Roy Liebenthal, owner of Pop Burger (60 Ninth Ave., between 14th and 15th streets, 212-414-8686), will open a second unit of the restaurant in Midtown, next to Bergdorf Goodman Men’s, this fall. The new restaurant (14 E. 58th St., between Madison and Fifth avenues) will occupy three floors, with the ground floor devoted to counter service, the second floor for customers who want to sit down, and the third floor, which will have a pool table, for private events.

Mr. Liebenthal said he is hoping for a mid-September opening, but expecting an October one.

MEDITERRANEAN MENU

The space that once was Frutti Di Mare (84 E. 4th St. at Second Ave.) will reopen as Belcourt and feature menu items with ingredients from throughout the Mediterranean. Owner Mehenni Zebentout, who also owns the neighboring restaurants Cucina di Pesce and Nomad, which serve Italian seafood and North African food, respectively, says he hopes to open the new spot in early to mid-September. He has yet to name a chef.

TABLE TENNIS

Guests can mingle with top tennis players and eat food from New York chefs next Thursday, August 23, at the Dacor Taste of Tennis, a benefit for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation at the W New York Hotel (541 Lexington Ave, between 49th and 50th streets, 212-705-1200). Participating chefs include Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit, Waldy Malouf of Beacon, David Burke of davidburke & donatella, Michael Psilakis of Anthos, Ivy Stark of Amalia, and Todd Mark Miller of STK. Tennis stars slated to attend include Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, Tommy Hass, Jonas Bjorkman and Daniela Hantuchova. Tickets are $500 a person and can be purchased by calling 877-282-7100. More information about the charity is available at www.laureus.com/foundation.

Mr. Thorn is food editor of Nation’s Restaurant News. He maintains nrnfoodwriter.blogspot.com.