The Inquirer has some more tidbits on Starr’s Butcher & Singer and how exactly it’ll be different from Barclay Prime. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

Mediterranean delights come to south 10th Street as Mazag Cafe is pumping out stuffed grape leaves, couscous, Turkish coffee and more. [Meal Ticket]

File this under things that we find exceptionally cool but we don’t really think anyone else will care about. Victory Prima Pils is available in the mini-bars at the Ritz Carlton. [Seen Through a Glass]

Giorgio’s on Pine is opening Monday. Who’s Giorgio? Well he’s Giorgio Giuliani, a veteran of Monte Carlo Living Room and Primavera. [Table Talk, Philadelphia Inquirer]

Lew Bryson visits Yards Brewery to get the lowdown on Yards big plans. [Seen Through a Glass]

Teri’s Restaurant gives South Philadelphia another breakfast and option, this one featuring BBQ Brunch. [Feeding Frenzy, City Paper]

Straight from the publicists, shilled for your pleasure:

Buddakan is offering a $14 bento box lunch and will be opening at 4p.m. on Sundays, so your 90-year-old grandmother can also enjoy the Starr experience. Snore.

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You may have heard that Eric Ripert, one of the country’s top chefs, is opening a restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Broad St., formerly home still home to the Grill. The Inky has the scoop on the restaurant’s name and chef:

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.)

Not to be sexist either, but Eric Ripert is HOT. Also, 10 Arts is not such a compelling name. We won’t hold it against him.

[Thanks to Michael Klein for reminding us the Grill at the Ritz is still open.]

Eric Ripert’s Restaurant’s name is… [Food & Drinq]

Sometimes it’s the breaks that can make holiday shopping bearable. Like this one at the Ritz-Carlton.

On Thursdays and Sundays from 1 to 3 PM through December 23rd stop in for Yuletide Tea and take a load off.

Through December 23
Yuletide Tea
1-3pm, Thursdays and Sundays
Rotunda
Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia
10 Avenue of the Arts
215.523.8221
www.ritzcarlton.com

PW’s Field Guide looks into getting a proper martini around town. Among the choices is the Ritz Carlton which keeps it local with Philadelphia’s own Bluecoat Gin and Southwark which “is like sticking your head under a cold, clear waterfall: refreshing, crisp, clean and just about perfect.”

Vermouthing Off

Copa Too will be closing by June 3rd or earlier if inventory doesn’t last that long. Owner Lisa DeVicaris is planning a big party on May 30. Rumor has it a burrito bar is going to replace the longtime 15th Street watering hole. [Dan Gross, Philadelphia Daily News]

New York chef Eric Ripert will be taking on the task of building a new restaurant in the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton. Completion won’t be for a year but you can check out Ripert’s New York restaurant, Le Bernardin, to see what you think. [Inqlings, Philadelphia Inquirer]

You may have heard that Pam from the office, Jenna Fischer, fell down some stairs at a New York nightspot and fractured her back in four places, but did you know the New York restaurant was none other than Stephen Starr’s Buddakan? [Page Six, New York Post]

Kevin Sbraga, chef de cuisine at the Ritz-Carlton’s Grill has created a special Valentine’s day menu where each course features chocolate. The chocolate dinner is available through February for $45 per person.

For Sbraga, that translated to using Equatoriale, a chocolate made from cocoa beans grown in Equador, to accent one of that country’s national dishes, scallop seviche.

Another unique offering: a sweet-and-sour broth of coconut milk and white chocolate served with black bass fillets.

More familiar to some might be the chipotle mole made with spiced Ibarra chocolate and served with grilled flank steak.

A classic chocolate souffle caps off the meal.

Haute cocoa: Chefs subtly raising the bar [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Hot Chocolate has gone through a renaissance, transforming itself from a kids drink to a rich,sensual, decidedly adult experience.

“While no one was looking, hot chocolate went from Nestle’s Quik to a rich, sensual pleasure,” says Tom Block, who started Naked Chocolate Cafe, a boutique and dessert lounge on Walnut Street offering a thick and luscious chocolate drink that’s like a melted chocolate bar in a cup. The shop opened in August and already has a loyal following.

Classy chocolate is hot [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Photo by stellabella via Flickr.

Uwishunu is a new blog created by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation providing an insider’s look at the Philadelphia scene, including of course, eating and drinking.

And today Uwishunu lets you in on the Grill Steak and Cheese sandwich at the Ritz Carlton. For a just a bit more than the vendor outside (OK, four times as much) you can get a cheesesteak with carmelized onions, aged cheddar and roasted peppers. It even comes with a shot glass full of root beer.

Only the Finest Steak for You, Big Cheese [Uwishunu]

According to TheIlladelph the Ritz Carlton is going to be replacing the Grill and going with a restaurant that will “more closely emulate the vitality and buzz that occupies their Rotunda lounge.”