Food and Drinq

If you're a food-follower, you know that Eric Ripert -- the three-star executive chef of Le Bernardin -- will set up shop this spring in the grand lobby of the Ritz-Carlton with a restaurant. Ripert has been on a tear of late, opening eateries such as Westend Bistro in D.C. and Blue and Periwinkle, both at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman.

In advance of the big announcement on Jan. 22, I hear that the name will be 10 Arts by Eric Ripert, playing off the hotel's address, 10 S. Avenue of the Arts. (I guess 10 S. Broad St. or "10 Broad" doesn't have the same ring.) I've also heard that the chef whom Ripert will bring in to run it is a woman who grew up in Philadelphia. (Hence, "10 Broad" would also be sexist.) Concept will be American cuisine with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients.

Here's the first word on the project, from The Inquirer of May 20, 2007:

INQlings
Hot N.Y. chef will check in here

First time Eric Ripert came to Philadelphia a year and a half ago, he stepped into the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton across from City Hall.
The much-honored chef from New York's Le Bernardin did what everyone does: looked up at the 140-foot ceiling modeled on the Pantheon and did an oh-wow.

Last week, Ripert and hotelier Craig Spencer struck a deal to place a Ripert restaurant in the lobby. Don't call yet for a rez - it's nearly a year out as part of a multimillion-dollar renovation.

Though name and concept haven't been nailed down, it will be "sexy, modern, sophisticated and casually elegant - keeping the grandeur of the dome but at the same time creating an intimate space," Ripert said Friday. Unlike his formal New York seafood restaurant - where adherents drop $107 and up for the tasting menu - this will be a "good value in terms of price." He said he'd export a chef from Le Bernardin to run the kitchen.

Ripert (sounds like "repair") consults for Ritz-Carlton, with two restaurants in Grand Cayman, and just announced a similar project at the Ritz-Carlton in D.C.'s West End.