10 ARTS BISTRO & LOUNGE

The Ritz-Carlton

10 Avenue of the Arts

Philadelphia, PA 19102

(215) 523-8273

This rainy December afternoon Bro and I decided to make 10 Arts our rest stop while shopping in Philadelphia. Located inside of the Ritz-Carlton lobby, in what used to be an old bank, the 10 Arts is like drinking in a Roman temple. Perhaps to Bacchus? Anyway, it embodies everything that hotel bars are supposed to embody. It's fancy and expensive and you worry about the drinks later.

Eric Ripert, who was on an ex-girlfriend's I'd-cheat-on-you-with-this-guy-list (right behind Anthony Bourdain) is the brain behind the menu. Bro and I ordered some bites (the French Fries with a rosemary spice dusting and some Mini Burgers in a tangy mayo) and they were very good. As for our liquor, well, I ordered a Negroni and a Sazerac, both classic drinks, both made wrong but drinkable. Bro ordered a Godfather.

Of course, such consternations completely miss the point of a place like 10 Arts, which is entirely to feel important and wealthy. Doormen open the door for you and warmly say hello as though you live there and paid for their kid's college with your Christmas tip. It's marble and granite from floor to ceiling and being an old bank, that ceiling happens to be fifty feet high. The seats are plush and the liquor is top-shelf. Need I remind you that Eric Ripert made the bar food? Sure, there's a guy drinking Miller Lite watching a muted ESPN on a flat screen next to you, and some businessmen from a Cincinnati suburb you wouldn't remember the name of even if you were paid to are doing shots of tequila, but you barely notice them. You're too busy relaxing away from the grind of the city outside. You're too busy trying not to smile at the cute tourist girls. You're too busy letting go of the day. You're too busy not being busy, eating a mini-burger.