As much as we love watching the reality cooking competition “Top Chef,” we’ve never had the chance to check out the culinary talents of someone who won. Until now.

The recently opened Sbraga, 440 S. Broad St. (in the space formerly known as the Asian-fusion restaurant Chew Man Chu), is the perfect storm for dining on the Avenue of the Arts: the skills of owner and executive chef Kevin Sbraga, winner of season seven of the popular TV show, as well as a prime location and elegant, modern styling. It also doesn’t hurt that the restaurant offers an impressive four-course menu for $45.

Before we could indulge in the menu, we had to navigate some of the cocktails. Being suckers for punch, we tried the punch drunk love ($11), a convergence of premium rum, amaretto and grapefruit juice. We also tried the Sbraga punch ($10) with Absolute mandarin, Amaretto, orange and pineapple juices. Both were adult-beverage nirvana, with the punch-drunk love having more Southern charm compared to the tropical influences of the Sbraga punch.

Our first course got off to an excellent start with the foie gras soup, a smooth, rich and flavorful experience punctuated by the crunchy kick of rose-petal relish. The blue crab with pineapple and kohlrabi was delightful as well, offering a pleasant combination of familiar flavors.

The second course also had a wonderful sense of flair. The black-truffle risotto was classic — creamy, hearty and stocked generously with squash and hen of the woods. The clams were a pleasant treasure hunt, served up perfectly steamed in their shells, swimming in bacon and sea-urchin butter.

The third course was a knockout as the dishes we tried were familiar concepts elevated to upscale fare. The buffalo chicken was pure joy on a plate, with pieces of fried-chicken perfection accompanied by apple, blue cheese and a spicy buffalo sauce.

Now, we’ve seen more than a few chefs do their gourmet reinterpretation of a cheesesteak in our time and Sbraga’s ranks as one of the best, with tender slices of short rib surrounded by a Parmesan mousse, onion straws and a savory helping of bread pudding, the latter of which went a long way to making the dish a desirable tangent to Philly’s signature sandwich.

Damn our New Year’s resolution: We skipped the dessert course. Yeah, we’re kicking ourselves, but we’re destined to backslide sooner or later.

Sbraga is a welcome addition to Philly’s restaurant scene, and it’s obvious Chef Sbraga is putting his “Top Chef” prize money to good use.