Ripert coming to Philly

[handmc]

I read in Food and Wine that Eric Ripert is opening, a yet un named, restaurant in the Ritz here in Philly. Assuming it is true, I can't wait.

[michaelklein]

I read in Food and Wine that Eric Ripert is opening, a yet un named, restaurant in the Ritz here in Philly. Assuming it is true, I can't wait.

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That's true. Construction starts after new year's in the rotunda. I wrote this in The Inquirer back in May:

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 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.

[zeffer81]

...and he was at the Ritz this weekend exploring Philly. Ate at Brasserie, I believe.

[michaelklein]

...and he was at the Ritz this weekend exploring Philly.  Ate at Brasserie, I believe.

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Yep. Brasserie, Rouge, Striped Bass....

[gfweb]

Can only be an improvement. I'm consistantly disappointed at the Ritz restaurant, and with that whole hotel for that matter.

[Holly Moore]

Eric Ripert's 10 Arts will begin serving dinner on May 20th. Breakfast, lunch and brunch follow on June 9th.

From the press release:

10 Arts’ menu pays homage to the area’s indigenous products, simply prepared so that the natural flavors shine through.  In the lounge, a variety of light items and snacks including warm homemade pretzels with creamy cheese sauce and Dijon mustard, mini fish burgers with saffron aioli, prosciutto with grilled sourdough and truffled popcorn. Prices range from $7 to $18.

For dinner, selections include the best of earth and sea from the light bite to the full feast.  Appetizers include Wellfleet clams and a variety of oysters, locally made wild boar prosciutto and ‘pork and beans’ --braised pork belly, wax beans, broad beans and haricot vert.  Soups and salads feature everything from a seasonal market salad to heirloom corn chowder.  Entrees highlights are brook trout with baby bok choy and Hazelnut brown butter sauce, roasted chicken for two with country cornbread stuffing and natural jus and pan seared filet mignon with green peppercorn sauce.  A variety of side dishes are available to complement any dish.  Breakfast and Lunch service will begin June 9th with a midday menu that features several entrees including Tagliatelle with tomato, basil and meat sauce and roasted chicken Cobb salad with avocado, bacon, egg and chick peas as well as sandwiches such as a fish burger with fennel, oven roasted tomato and saffron aioli, classic sirloin burger with all the trimmings, 10 Arts BLT made with crisp and braised pork belly, lettuce, tomato and spicy mustard and a grilled vegetable panini with fresh mozzarella.  Lunch and dinner prices range from $18-$34

[percyn]

Yahhh !! I sense an eGullet outing in the near future.

[KatieLoeb]

The bar must already be open. I heard tell of a Jennifer Aniston sighting there over the weekend.

[jimk]

If I'm not mistaken this place has been open for a week or so now ... anybody been, or heard anything? We're going to be in Philadelphia in a few weeks and really torn between Osteria and this place.

[brucedelta]

We visited 10 Arts this weekend and overall had a favorable experience. I think the room is impressive and I just loved the big space and found the room to just register as comfortable, I really loved the architectural details wish all restaurants were as comfortable in their own way. I should point out that we were originally seated in the big foyer area and asked to sit inside on the carpeted area so it was a little quieter with the carpeted floors.

My wife and I split the Tuna Carpacio to start and it was very pleasant, with a wonderful toro texture and a nice olive oil sheen. I liked the light seasoning of shallot and chive as they were very mild, but the tuna stood with a good fresh flavor on it's own, so no complaints here. We both ordered the John Copes Corn Chowder, which I just loved and my wife not so much. I just found the corn flavor combined with the smokey taste of bacon in the base to a flavor I enjoyed and it has a much thinner base that is typical for corn chowder which is usually pureed and too sweet and rich. I was more like a oyster stew with a nice broth and whole corn nibblets as opposed to the thicker variants. As I said I loved it along with my friends wife, but my wife was expecting something sweeter I think and did not like the strong smoked bacon flavor.

I finished with the fish burger which I found to be very tasty. I was going to get a fish which I am sure would have been great based on what I saw server at other tables, but I have this rule of thumb that says if I find something unexpectedly pedestrian (That I generally like) on the menu of a high end restaurant, then I should try it as often if will be a surprisingly good variant of said dish. So basically this rule comes into play with things like meatloaf and pot pie. I decided that the fish burger fell into this rule, and I was very happy with a flavorful and moist fish sandwich. My wife had the fillet which was basically a fine cut of meat as expected.

The other couple we were with chose to go full boat on App, salad, and sides and split a fillet entry. Their ratatouille was surprisingly tasty. The only hiccup of our meal was a delay getting a extra plate for them to split their entree, which seemed to be a communication issue while multiple tables were being served at the same time. Totally astounding and surprising us when the dessert menus came, they offered to comp us all dessert to make up for this minor faux pas. It really goes to speak volumes about customer satisfaction that they took what was the only minor annoyance of out meal and turned it into a positive, because the deserts were stellar. I had the bengiets which were killer good and my wife had the milk chocolate parfait another winner.

The main advice I would offer is to skip the hotel valet parking which took about 30 minutes to get our car, after a $25 fee. I hate waiting 20 minutes at a casino when parking is free, but at $25 this was awful. I did not bother to add my complaints to that of other waiting patrons who remained waiting when we drove off.

[monavano]

Here in the DC area, we are fortunate to devour Michel Richard's Kit Kat bar for dessert (and enjoy Ripert's Westend Bistro). In Philly, you can soon enjoy a Tastykake, courtesy of blogging pastry chef Michael Laiskonis.

http://www.phillymag.com/blogs/philly_dini...-us-tastykakes/

http://michaellaiskonis.typepad.com/main/2...atching-up.html

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/0.../27ten190.3.jpg

[dagordon]

As I said I loved it along with my friends wife...

Damn, Bruce, and Shirley was there watching this???

[brucedelta]

As I said I loved it along with my friends wife...

Damn, Bruce, and Shirley was there watching this???

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Well, sometimes she just likes to watch;)

[andanand]

I just ate at 10 Arts tonight and had a mostly favorable experience. I'm just going to list food stuff here.

The Amish bread was nice and the smoked sea salt butter it came with was delicious. I didn't really taste any smoke, but definitely tasted (and crunched on) some nice salt flakes.

For starters we had the house salad and the grilled octopus ceviche. The salad was well seasoned, and well dressed, but to our dismay it was a pile of romaine hearts with a couple of chives thrown on top for presentation. It tasted great, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're really craving some plain lettuce.

The grilled octopus ceviche on the other hand was fantastic. It came in a beautiful presentation with slivers of red and yellow adding some vegetal crunch and a bit of sweetness to some sharp onions, olive oil, and beautifully prepared, perfectly toothsome octopus slices.

The trout with hazelnut brown butter was also good. The fish was perfectly cooked, and the brown butter was delicious. The little capers thrown in added a great light brinyness to a dish that could easily have been overly heavy. The bok choy that this came with, however, was crying for some seasoning. Just a little salt would have done.

Desserts on the other hand were flawless. The beignets literally melted in your mouth, and the warmness of them followed by a shooter of cold orange-milk chocolate drink was fantastic.

The standout of the night, however, was the ChocolatePeanutbutter (as blogged by Michael Laiskonis). This was a tart with a chocolate crust and a soft chocolate covering caramel encased peanuts, much like a snickers bar without the nougat. It was served next to a malted tastykake ice cream (great touch) and powdered peanut butter with a few maldon salt flakes thrown in. Absolutely delicious. I could eat 3 of these and call it a night.

[KatieLoeb]

One of my regulars told me they stopped by there and were stunned at the bar prices. $13 for a Ciroc on the rocks + $2 for the rocks. And it actually showed on the check!

Somebody needs to teach them how to program the POS system so that stuff is either transparent, or there are separate prices for mixed drinks, rocks drinks and up drinks. I'd have a cow if that showed on my check and have a word with management. $15 for a tiny glass of vodka on the rocks is usury and offensive to boot.

[rlibkind]

For starters we had the house salad and the grilled octopus ceviche. The salad was well seasoned, and well dressed, but to our dismay it was a pile of romaine hearts with a couple of chives thrown on top for presentation. It tasted great, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're really craving some plain lettuce.

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Was the salad billed as anything other than dressed romaine? What were you expected? If what you ordered as a green salad, seems to me you got a fine version of one: fine quality lettuce in an excellent dressing. When I order a house salad, I wouldn't expect anything more nor would I really want more, especially if you are also ordering other apps, like the octopus. I don't need sub-par tomatoes and cukes to call it a salad.

[dagordon]

Well, our expectations were pretty low, and we were still disappointed.

It's hard to imagine that Eric Ripert actually tasted much of this food.

We started with corn chowder and the "grilled octupus ceviche." The corn chowder was pretty bland. We didn't care for the "ceviche." Calling a dish centered around grilled fish "ceviche" can be justified if the preparation otherwise resembles a ceviche, but in this case it was just sliced grilled octupus and yellow and red peppers. There was absolutely no acid, and it really could have used a fair amount. The octopus was a bit rubbery. The flavor of the peppers was overwhelming.

We then had the striped bass and the wild salmon. The striped bass was served in a broth with some vegetables. This was a pretty austere presentation, and the quality of the ingredients wasn't up to the task. There was a flavor deficit.

The salmon was the best dish of the night, but it was still underseasoned and pretty unremarkable. Even just some crispy skin would have really elevated the dish.

Overall, the food was underseasoned, uninspired, and not very flavorful, and the quality of the ingredients was unremarkable. It seemed like generic hotel food. I predict two or three bells.

[Andrew Fenton]

Overall, the food was underseasoned, uninspired, and not very flavorful, and the quality of the ingredients was unremarkable. It seemed like generic hotel food. I predict two or three bells.

Ooh, snap!

[handmc]

Uninspired, I never quite understand this criticism. There is a menu, I presume the person eating can read, the dishes either inspire you or not before you even order them.

I this a veiled complaint about an execution issue or what? It seems to me just another rock to throw often times by someone who has not worked in a kitchen

[Yannii]

Uninspired, I never quite understand this criticism. There is a menu, I presume the person eating can read, the dishes either inspire you or not before you even order them.

I this a veiled complaint about an execution issue or what? It seems to me just another rock to throw often times by someone who has not worked in a kitchen

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I didn't write the original post that you were responding to, but i personally use the term 'uninspired' in two distinct ways.

1) boring. the dish, whether in concept or execution or both, is devoid of the creativity, nuance or finesse that makes eating a dish at a good restaurant special and different than getting something at cosi or whatever.

2) lack of artistic vision. good restaurants allow the customer to sort of learn something about the food they are eating through the way they prepare it. for instance, i had a special at amada the other day that paired roasted pork with monkfish in a way that actually helped me better understand the nature of monkfish's particular richness and flavor. does that make sense. that dish, by providing a comparison of the two main ingredients combined with appropriate minor players (golden raisins, swiss chard, pork jus, chicarones, etc..), definitely helped me understand the nature of flavor of monkfish better than just having the fish on it's own. Inspired! that dish had a clear and beautiful artistic vision.

The food, in my opinion, at 10 arts is uninspired. the menu reads like many other basic hotel restaurants, boring. and the execution is not consistently excellent enough to overcome that lack of creativity in the design of the menu. The restaurant and bar are fairly expensive, and in my opinion, not worthy of my hard earned money ever again.

ps i have worked in a kitchen in the past, but do not currently

[handmc]

Uninspired, I never quite understand this criticism. There is a menu, I presume the person eating can read, the dishes either inspire you or not before you even order them.

I this a veiled complaint about an execution issue or what? It seems to me just another rock to throw often times by someone who has not worked in a kitchen

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I didn't write the original post that you were responding to, but i personally use the term 'uninspired' in two distinct ways.

1) boring. the dish, whether in concept or execution or both, is devoid of the creativity, nuance or finesse that makes eating a dish at a good restaurant special and different than getting something at cosi or whatever.

2) lack of artistic vision. good restaurants allow the customer to sort of learn something about the food they are eating through the way they prepare it. for instance, i had a special at amada the other day that paired roasted pork with monkfish in a way that actually helped me better understand the nature of monkfish's particular richness and flavor. does that make sense. that dish, by providing a comparison of the two main ingredients combined with appropriate minor players (golden raisins, swiss chard, pork jus, chicarones, etc..), definitely helped me understand the nature of flavor of monkfish better than just having the fish on it's own. Inspired! that dish had a clear and beautiful artistic vision.

The food, in my opinion, at 10 arts is uninspired. the menu reads like many other basic hotel restaurants, boring. and the execution is not consistently excellent enough to overcome that lack of creativity in the design of the menu. The restaurant and bar are fairly expensive, and in my opinion, not worthy of my hard earned money ever again.

ps i have worked in a kitchen in the past, but do not currently

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I don't think you have to work in a kitchen to be a critic of food but having worked in a couple before my current career, I went in every day trying to turn out the best possible food. While I can accept criticism on how the food was executed plated, taste, etc., I always wondered how anyone expects the restaurant, cook,chef to turn out a better quailty plate of food, to cook in differently in response to a criticism...."the dish/food/menu (insertwhatever you want) was uninspired"

I am reacting to the criticism to call something unispired without offering more to go on as little unfair to the restaurant/chef/cook, etc., how can they improve if they don't know what was negative about the diner's experience.

Your response provides some insight, thanks. No on has really explained it to me that way

[dagordon]

Couldn't have said it better than Yannii.

Also, just to add: it's not like the only thing I said about the restaurant was that the food was 'uninspired'; this would have been unfair. I wrote about specific dishes and what I didn't like about them, and 'uninspired' comment was part of a conclusion/summation.

More the point, though, my primary purpose in posting wasn't to inspire the restaurant to change its ways, but rather to warn other potential customers.

[ulterior epicure]

Any more promising reports from 10 Arts?

[philadining]

Joy Manning gives it a a good review in Philly Mag. She hedges a little, but ultimately gives it an A-minus for food.

Carroll likes to defy expectations in her cooking, to marry the daring and the familiar. One of her most successful attempts is a dish that combines a breaded and fried rabbit paillard with baby arugula, fresh peas and mustardy vinaigrette. It’s one part South Philly chicken cutlet, one part haute cuisine. Similarly, the grilled octopus ceviche has the same charred exterior as Dmitri’s popular starter, but the interior is left rare, and the octopus is sliced paper-thin and tossed with a citrus marinade that really does recall a traditional raw ceviche.  Pennsylvania brook trout, a plebeian fish by some standards, is elevated with a fragrant, nutty brown butter sauce kissed with chicken stock, lemon, herbs and capers.

Philly Mag also just gave the Chef, Jennifer Carrol, "Best New Chef" in their 2008 Best of Philly awards.

I still haven't been there, but as described in previous posts, some folks I know haven't had quite as good luck. So I'm not sure what you could expect.

[Buckethead]

I was there a while ago and had a passable meal, but the high prices were out of whack with the food. I had the burger, and for $18 or whatever it was, I felt like I had been ripped off. The burger itself was not seasoned properly, and the fries were terrible. Perhaps I shouldn't have ordered the burger at a fine-dining establishment, but if they're putting it on the menu, and charging $18 for it, it has to be great, and I've had better burgers and fries at Five Guys, not to mention the Good Dog, which is right around the corner. As Katie mentioned, the drink prices are especially egregious. With all the other great (and less expensive) restaurants in that area, I doubt I'll be going back.

Edited July 28, 2008 by Buckethead (log)