Golden boy Nate Appleman has left both A16 and SPQR where he is both chef and co-owner. The grapevine news comes only a month after Appleman cooked at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, which honored his selection for one of the annual, coveted "Best New Chef" slots, and just a couple months after he accepted his Rising Star Chef award from the James Beard Foundation.

We've heard that Appleman is headed to New York which would kind of make sense because rumor has it that he's set to be the next Iron Chef, which requires clocking a lot of NY time. He might also be tossing in the toque to become a tattoo model.

I will leave you with this much to ponder as my mouth is still agape.