Restaurants in locations some foodies couldn’t find with a map figure prominently in the list of finalists for this year’s James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards, which was released today.
This year’s nominees for the culinary equivalent of the Oscars continues the trend of recognizing standouts far outside the usual fine-dining meccas of New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. The finalists in the Outstanding Restaurant category, for instance, include Highlands Bar and Grill, in Birmingham, Ala., and Frasca Food & Wine, in Boulder, Colo. The other nominees are The Spotted Pig and Momofuku Noodle Bar, both in New York City, and Alinea, in Chicago.
The fine-dining strongholds that dot the nation’s perimeter still dominate the field, however. Only one of the nominees for Best Chef, Sean Brock of Husk in Nashville, isn’t located in a coastal city. The others are Suzanne Goin of Lucques in Los Angeles; Donald Link, Herbsaint, New Orleans; Michael Solomonov, Zahav, Philadelphia; and Michael Tusk, Quince, San Francisco.
The nominees for Best New Restaurant include an outpost in Raleigh, N.C., called Death & Taxes; and a newcomer in Austin, Texas, Launderette. The other finalists are Staplehouse in Atlanta, Wildair in New York, Shaya in New Orleans and Liholiho in San Francisco.
Here is the list of nominees.
Best New Restaurant
Death & Taxes, Raleigh, N.C.
Launderette, Austin, Texas
Liholiho Yacht Club, San Francisco
Shaya, New Orleans
Staplehouse, Atlanta
Wildair, NYC
Outstanding Baker
Joanne Chang, Flour Bakery + Café, Boston
Mark Furstenberg, Bread Furst, Washington, D.C.
Zachary Golper, Bien Cuit, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Belinda Leong and Michel Suas, B. Patisserie, San Francisco
William Werner, Craftsman and Wolves, San Francisco
Outstanding Bar Program
Arnaud’s French 75 Bar, New Orleans
Bar Agricole, San Francisco
Clyde Common, Portland, Ore.
Cure, New Orleans
Maison Premiere, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Outstanding Chef
Sean Brock, Husk, Nashville, Tenn.
Suzanne Goin, Lucques, Los Angeles
Donald Link, Herbsaint, New Orleans
Michael Solomonov, Zahav, Philadelphia
Michael Tusk, Quince, San Francisco
Outstanding Pastry Chef
Meg Galus, Boka, Chicago
Maura Kilpatrick, Oleana, Cambridge, Mass.
Dolester Miles, Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, Ala.
Dahlia Narvaez, Osteria Mozza, Los Angeles
Ghaya Oliveira, Daniel, NYC
Jennifer Yee, Lafayette, NYC
Outstanding Restaurant
Alinea, Chicago
Frasca Food & Wine, Boulder, Colo.
Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, Ala.
Momofuku Noodle Bar, NYC
The Spotted Pig, NYC
Outstanding Restaurateur
Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, Boka Restaurant Group, Chicago (Boka, Girl & the Goat, Momotaro, Swift & Sons, and others)
Ken Friedman, NYC (The Spotted Pig, The Breslin, Tosca Café)
Michael Mina, Mina Restaurants, San Francisco (Michael Mina, Bourbon Steak, RN74, and others)
Cindy Pawlcyn, Napa, Calif. (Mustards Grill, Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, Cindy's Waterfront at the Monterey Bay Aquarium)
Stephen Starr, Starr Restaurants, Philadelphia (Serpico, The Dandelion, Talula's Garden, and others)
Outstanding Service
Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, N.Y.
Eleven Madison Park, NYC
North Pond, Chicago
Quince, San Francisco
Topolobampo, Chicago
Outstanding Wine Program
Bern’s Steakhouse, Tampa, Fla.
Canlis, Seattle
Commander’s Palace, New Orleans
FIG, Charleston, S.C.
Sepia, Chicago
Rising Star Chef of the Year
Alex Bois, High Street on Market, Philadelphia
Angela Dimayuga, Mission Chinese Food, NYC
Grae Nonas, Olamaie, Austin, Texas
Matt Rudofker, Momofuku Ssäm Bar, NYC
Daniela Soto-Innes, Cosme, NYC
Jenner Tomaska, Next, Chicago
Best Chef: Great Lakes
Abraham Conlon, Fat Rice, Chicago
Curtis Duffy, Grace, Chicago
Lee Wolen, Boka, Chicago
Erling Wu-Bower, Nico Osteria, Chicago
Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia, Chicago
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
Peter Chang, Peter Chang, Arlington, Va.
Eli Kulp, Fork, Philadelphia
Rich Landau, Vedge, Philadelphia
Aaron Silverman, Rose’s Luxury, Washington, D.C.
Greg Vernick, Vernick Food & Drink, Philadelphia
Cindy Wolf, Charleston, Baltimore
Best Chef: Midwest
Paul Berglund, The Bachelor Farmer, Minneapolis
Justin Carlisle, Ardent, Milwaukee
Kevin Nashan, Sidney Street Café, St. Louis
Lenny Russo, Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market, St. Paul, Minn.
Kevin Willmann, Farmhaus, St. Louis
Best Chef: New York City
Marco Canora, Hearth
Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi, Carbone
Anita Lo, Annisa
Jonathan Waxman, Barbuto
Jody Williams, Buvette
Best Chef: Northeast
Karen Akunowicz, Myers + Chang, Boston
Brian Hill, Francine, Camden, Maine
Zak Pelaccio, Fish & Game, Hudson, N.Y.
Susan Regis, Shepard, Cambridge, Mass.
Mike Wiley and Andrew Taylor, Eventide Oyster Co., Portland, Maine
Best Chef: Northwest
Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton, Ox, Portland, Ore.
Mike Easton, Il Corvo Pasta, Seattle
Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins, Seattle
Justin Woodward, Castagna, Portland, Ore.
Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule, Seattle
Best Chef: South
Vishwesh Bhatt, Snackbar, Oxford, Miss.
Justin Devillier, La Petite Grocery, New Orleans
Jose Enrique, Jose Enrique, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Slade Rushing, Brennan’s, New Orleans
Isaac Toups, Toups’ Meatery, New Orleans
Best Chef: Southeast
Kevin Gillespie, Gunshow, Atlanta
Edward Lee, 610 Magnolia, Louisville, Ken.
Steven Satterfield, Miller Union, Atlanta
Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Memphis, Tenn.
Tandy Wilson, City House, Nashville, Tenn.
Best Chef: Southwest
Bryce Gilmore, Barley Swine, Austin, Texas
Steve McHugh, Cured, San Antonio
Hugo Ortega, Caracol, Houston
Alex Seidel, Fruition, Denver
Justin Yu, Oxheart, Houston
Best Chef: West
Matthew Accarrino, SPQR, San Francisco
Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles
Dominique Crenn, Atelier Crenn, San Francisco
Jeremy Fox, Rustic Canyon, Santa Monica, Calif.
Corey Lee, Benu, San Francisco
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Animal, Los Angeles
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