10 Arts chef Jennifer Carroll is going to be competing in the upcoming season of Top Chef and now you can try her new summer menu for $35.

The deal is offered Tuesday through Saturday until September 30th. Diners get 3-courses from a changing menu and can add a 2-glass wine pairing for just $15.

Highlights include:

• Grilled octopus with crispy chickpeas
• Wild salmon with wasabi pea puree and citrus vinaigrette
• Steak frites with shallot sauce
• chocolate peanut, a dark chocolate, caramel and peanut tart with TastyKake ice cream
• carrot cake served with Philadelphia Cream Cheese mousse with hazelnuts and carrot sorbet

10 Arts by Eric Ripert [Official Site]

Rick’s Steaks will be opening today at the food court in the Bellevue. It’s been just about 8 months since he was forced to leave the Reading Terminal Market.

It’s Open [Inside the Bellevue]
Rick’s Steaks [Official Site]

The ongoing saga of Rick’s Steaks continues. The Bellevue location was set for a Monday but the inspector was sick. So the L&I inspection was put off till today. That means if all goes well Rick’s will be open for business Monday.

The official grand opening will be Thursday, June 25th and such luminaries as Al Roker and Ed Rendell are scheduled to appear.

Inside the Bellevue [Official Site]

Honest Tom’s Taco Shop tweeted yesterday that they’re taking their truck on the road, this week stationing the vehicle at Broad and South. We took advantage of a lull in this morning’s apocalyptic downpour and sprinted down to the corner at about 7:45am. We watched lightning strike and the rain come down for 25 minutes or so but no sign of Honest Tom. Not that we blame him for lying low till the locusts receded but he claims he’ll be at the corner of BroSo all week from 8am to 2pm.

If anyone can bear witness, let us know.

Honest Tom’s [Twitter]

Dealing with Philadelphia government must just be maddening. Rick’s Steaks will not be opening tomorrow because the Licenses and Inspections inspector is out sick today.

Steakwatch Monday [Inside the Bellevue]

Eagle-eyed HughE Dillon spotted tables for 10 Arts at the top of the landing of the Ritz Carlton on Broad Street. According to Dillon there are 6 tables, 4 two-tops and 2 four-tops. Just please mind the luggage carts.

We’ve already updated our Outdoor Dining Guide with the 10 Arts listing and plenty of other outdoor dining options since our launch last week.

Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia Adds Alfresco Dining [Philly Chit Chat]

David Snyder tries out the new incarnation of Girasole and finds excellent pasta but some price inconsistency.

Restaurants love to trumpet their hand-crafted pasta, but all too often housemade gnocchi are dense and leaden. Girasole’s gnocchi, on the other hand, is the best I’ve eaten in a long time — resting in a thoughtfully humble sauce of crushed plum tomatoes and stracchino cheese, each petite morsel had just enough heft to prove its worth before the bite melted away with the warmth of my palate.

Another pasta that caught my eye was the elusive passatelli. Traditionally, this thick, flourless pasta/dumpling hybrid — seen only in soups, and almost never in restaurants — is made with eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano and bread crumbs, which give it a uniquely grainy texture. Angela Iovino adds a touch of flour to her version for consistency and serves it in a light sauce with sausage and porcini mushrooms for a wonderfully rare treat.

Mostly Sunny [City Paper]
Girasole [Official Site]

the Insider reports that Rick’s Steaks has signed the lease, work is underway and steak slinging to commence in 6 to 8 weeks.

Rick’s Steaks lives [The Insider]

The wandering tribe of Rick’s Steaks may have a new home in the food court at the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue on Broad Street. Owner, Rick Olivieri is meeting today with officials from the hotel building.

Olivieri has turned down offers from other locations including at Broad and Arch.

Rick’s may find new home in Center City [Metro Philadelphia]

An authentic German Christmas Village is coming to Dilworth Plaza at City Hall this Christmas season. The winter wonderland will consist of 63 wooden booths, 2 timberhouses and a central stage for live performances. The crafts and of course the treats look like a must-see.

The food booths will include grilled brats and steaks, pretzels, potato pancakes, crepes and candy.

Christmas Village In Philadelphia [Official Site]
Philachristmas [Twitter]