I think the niftiest part of T31 is outside on the JFK plaza side of the Comcast Center: The Plaza Cafe, built around a fully contained kitchen. By summer, there will be patio seating for lunch, dinner and drinks beneath a trellis and beside a fountain.
10 Arts is the Philly outpost of Le Bernardin's Eric Ripert, who has his former righthand woman, Northeast Philadelphia-bred Jennifer Carroll, overseeing a French-influenced new American menu in sumptuous quarters in the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton (10 S. Broad St., 215-523-8273). Dinner menu starts at $19 for a burger and heads to $34 for the filet or whole striped bass. There's major lounge potential as well as breakfast and lunch too, as this is the hotel's restaurant as The Grill will close shortly.
What's new
Azul Cantina, a Mexican bar-lounge, is the second newcomer on the corner of 10th and Spruce in recent weeks, following
Kanella, the Greek-Cypriot BYOB from former Meze chef-owner Konstantinos Pitsillides. Azul (941 Spruce St., 215-627-5200) is owned by George Markakis, who recently sold GiGi in Old City and still owns Little John's Pizza at 21st and Cherry. He's brought in as chef Jesse R. Vega, a 22-year-old, whose heritage is Spanish, Puerto Rican and English. His resume includes Alma de Cuba, Happy Rooster and GiGi, and he says he's a graduate of the school of hard knocks.
