As Grub Street predicted last week, Bradford Thompson has been named the new chef of Lever House. Owner John McDonald tells us that Thompson will start in three weeks. Will the Beard-winning Thompson wow the critics here the way he did at Mary Elaine's, in Arizona? Time alone will tell.

Related: Bradford Thompson Near the Top of the Lever House List

We're told by several sources close to Lever House that a leading candidate has emerged for the chef job in Bradford Thompson, of Mary Elaine's at the Phoenician resort in Arizona. Thompson, a Daniel alumni, won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2006, and was one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs two years earlier. Besides being a major force in the kitchen, Thompson also loves New York — he creates elaborate gourmet tailgates as he follows the Giants from as far away as Scottsdale. Ownership tells us that there are other candidates still being interviewed, but if Thompson is announced as the restaurant's new chef, don't be too surprised.

Bradford Thompson Bio [Culinary Vegetable Institute]
Earlier: Scott Bryan Leaves Lever House at the Altar