Results tagged: James Beard Foundation Awards

On Monday night we had the privilege of helping the James Beard Foundation's editorial team with their live blog of this years awards. We were joined by Jennifer Leuzzi of snack blog, writer Adam Sachs, Meredith Arthur from Chow, Jody Williams of Gottino and Louise McCready of Savory Cities & Huffington Post.

This years live blog coverage chronicled the night from the first arrivals on the red carpet to the best moments on stage to the last bite of octopus carpacio at the gala afterwards. For all the juicy bits check out the James Beard Foundation blog. The JBF also kept a close eye on all of the awards-related Twittering going on and retweeted the best ones. Relive the minute by minute action on @beardfoundation.

Much like at last year's awards we shot video of Jennifer Leuzzi interviewing the bold faced names as they arrived on the red carpet. Find out how award-winning celebrity chefs start their day in the video below and then watch the full set of videos over on the JBF blog.

By Serena Brahney

No, Chicago doesn't yet have a Michelin guide. And nope, Eric Ripert isn't opening a restaurant here, either. But yesterday, this windy and wonderful city received another kind of culinary infusion.

Her name is Susan Ungaro.

The president of the James Beard Foundation was here Monday morning to officially announce the nominations for the organization's esteemed annual awards. Hosted by the ever-gracious Rick and Deann Bayless at Frontera Grill, the event - while decidedly lacking much chef presence - was rife with media and delectable Mexican chocolate. Though disappointed by the dearth of chef superstars, Bayless's 'bean-to-bar moka' certainly helped mollify.

With 52 categories (it really is like the Oscars), relaying all of the JBF Award finalists would take more time than re-creating a Ferran Adrià dish, so for both your sake and mine, I'll refrain. Instead, some notable highlights.

This year's Outstanding Chef category includes a geographically diverse lineup, with Tom Colicchio (Craft) and Dan Barber (Blue Hill) representing New York, Suzanne Goin (Lucques) from LA, José Andrés (Minibar) from D.C. and Chicago's very own Paul Kahan (Blackbird) in the running. Kahan's other ventures also received nominations with Avec's Koren Grieveson up for Best Chef: Great Lakes and his pork-pub, The Publican, nominated for both Restaurant Design and Graphics. It seems this could be a big year for my Chicago culinary sweetheart.

And perhaps for my California love, too - José Andrés also nabbed a second nomination, this time in the Best New Restaurant category for his LA eatery, The Bazaar. At once whimsical and serious, traditional and contemporary, the tapas destination is as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate. Unsurprising, then, that the Philippe Starck-designed masterpiece is also nominated for Outstanding Restaurant Design.

New York newcomers Corton, Scarpetta and Momofuku Ko round out Best New Restaurant, where Chicago again managed to make its presence known. L2O takes the final nomination in the category.

But on to the veterans, the heavyweights, the undeniable mainstays: the nominees for Outstanding Restaurant. New York titans Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich, who won in 2008 for Outstanding Restaurateur, this year got a best resto nod for Babbo. Jean Georges, Boulevard and Portland, Maine's Fore Street also made the cut, as did Highlands Bar & Grill of Birmingham, Alabama.

As for the people behind the operations, this year's Outstanding Restaurateur nominees are Drew Nieporent (Nobu, Corton), Stephen Starr (Buddakan, Morimoto), Keith McNally (Balthazar, Pastis), Rich Melman (L2O, Everest) and Tom Douglas (Dahlia Lounge, Serious Pie). FYI, my money's on Melman. Even if I am a little biased.

This, of course, scarcely dents the surface of nominees, and admittedly, I've neglected to give many a deserving finalist (like, say Fox, Orfaly or Dufresne) his/her play. Fortunately, you can peruse the rest of the categories at the awards website where, if you're like me, you'll fantasize over what it might be like to actually attend the ceremonies this May.

That's right - while we may have had the honor of hosting the nomination announcement, the James Beard Awards will be held in New York, per usual. But I think I have a pretty decent backup plan. With pork belly (and pen) in hand, I'll be keeping track of the results from my seat at Blackbird.

After all, someone's got to hold down the fort while Paul takes the podium.

N.B. Chicagoans: Aside from the nominations, Rick Bayless also revealed a new concept of his to open this summer. The torta- and chocolate-centered restaurant is aptly named Choco, and aptly located...right next to Frontera and Topolobampo. At this point, they probably ought to just rename that strip of Clark Street "the block that Bayless built." Or the "Enchilada Esplanade."

// This Week on Savory New York //

This week Elizabeth S. Bennett visits Bar Masa to round out her 'Best Chicken Wings' Destination Dish series. Find out whether or not master sushi chef Masa Takayama has the chops to turn out some of NYC's best wings.

The 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards are coming up in three weeks and will be hosted by none other than Sex and The City star Kim Cattrall. The awards ceremony will be held at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center on Sunday, June 8th. See the full list of award nominees here and watch Savory Cities videos of nominated chefs. Tickets are $450 for the general public and $400 for James Beard Foundation members.

Through a special arrangement with the James Beard Foundation we have a pair of tickets to give away to the awards. To be entered into a random drawing to win,  sign up for a Savory Cities account between now and May 31st. The winner will be announced on June 1st.

// Recently Opened //

• Scarpetta - Scott Conant, former executive chef and co-owner of Alto and L'Impero, has opened this sleek new Italian restaurant in the Meatpacking District.
• Hundred Acres - If at first you don't succeed, try try again. That's the motto of Cookshop and Five Points owners Vicki Freeman and Mark Meyers. They closed their recently revived Provence and reinvented it in a much more familiar format--homey seasonal American.
  

//This Week's Restaurant Reviews //

• NY Times: Frank Bruni gives 2 of 4 stars to Upper West Sider, Eighty-One. "Call it ego food -- that may speak less to the satisfaction of customers than to the self-regard of proprietors, who want you to marvel at the effort-per-bite ratio and the variety of techniques at play." Peter Meehan visits East Village low ambiance all-stars Punjab and Polish G. I Delicatessen for the delicious curries and homemade soups, respectively.
• New York Magazine: Adam Platt visits Olana and Mia Dona and gives both restaurants 2 of 5 stars. About Olana, "The location might be a killer, and the décor is slightly overwrought. But we'll give one star for the ambitious cooking and another for the desserts." About Mia Dona, "One star for the hearty Italian food, executed with flair. Another for the reasonable prices."
• The New York Sun: Paul Adams dines at Duane Park and notes some Southern touches that the chef brings to the cuisine as well as some unevenness in the execution.
• Bloomberg: Ryan Sutton visits Bar Q and I Sodi for cheap post-shopping eats.
• The New York Daily News: RG gives 1 of 5 stars to Ago. "But the pasta dishes - a bellwether of any worthwhile Italian restaurant - charted a much bumpier course. The veal-stuffed spinach cappelletti arrived in a greasy puddle of butter-sage sauce; the gnocchi tossed in a lamb ragu tasted like Play-Doh pelted with gravel; a bowl of spaghetti with clams and broccoli rabe was horribly oversalted."

// Blogs and Newsletters //

• NY Journal checks out the new BBQ joint, Wildwood Barbecue
• The Girl Who Ate Everything throws her opinion into the ring on Momofuku Ko (great pictures included).
• Midtown Lunch looks into the free McDonald's Chicken sandwich.

// In Other News //

May 14th was a big day in Chicago - Laurent Gras' much anticipated restaurant, L2O opened in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and the ban on foie gras was lifted. Champion of civil disobedience, Doug Sohn of Hot Doug's can resume sale of his foie gras dog without fear of $500 penalty (related: Sohn pays fine).

Over here at Savory, we're big fans of The Paupered Chef. While it's not a blog that covers restaurants, per se, we like to give them a shout out whenever they post something that tickles or fascinates us. This week, Blake takes us through curing his own guanciale. It's not something we're likely to do at home but it's definitely worth a quick read.

// Upcoming Events //

Prune is hosting a special dinner Thursday May 22nd honoring and celebrating wine importer Neal Rosenthal on his recently published book, "Reflections of a Wine Merchant." There will be two seatings; 6:30 and 9:30pm. Enjoy "delicious dinner, lots of excellent wine, a signed copy of the book, and conversation with Neal." Cost: $150. Call 212-677-6221 for reservations.

The lineup for this year's Big Apple BBQ Block Party was just announced and it looks like it'll be another great year. The event will be held, as always, in Madison Square Park and will run from noon to 6pm on Saturday, June 7th and Sunday, June 8. Get more details and watch our video interviews from last year featuring several of this year's pitmasters, including crowd favorites Mike Mills and Ed Mitchell.

The 2008 James Beard Foundation award nominees were recently announced and many of the nominated chefs are featured on Savory Cities. Have a first hand look at these chefs and their restaurants via the links below.

OUTSTANDING CHEF AWARD

Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago
Dan Barber of Blue Hill in NYC
Suzanne Goin of Lucques in Los Angeles

OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT AWARD

Boulevard in San Francisco
Chef/Owner: Nancy Oakes, Owner: Pat Kuleto
Campanile in Los Angeles
Chef/Owner: Mark Peel
The Slanted Door in San Francisco
Chef/Owner: Charles Phan

RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR AWARD

Nate Appleman of A16 in San Francisco

OUTSTANDING PASTRY CHEF AWARD

Mindy Segal of HotChocolate in Chicago

OUTSTANDING WINE SERVICE AWARD

Eleven Madison Park, NYC
Wine Director: John Ragan

OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD

Spiaggia in Chicago
Owner: Tony Mantuano
La Grenouille in New York City
Owner: Gisele Mason

BEST CHEF: PACIFIC (CA, HI)

David Myers of Sona in Los Angeles
Craig Stoll of Delfina inSan Franciso
Michael Tusk of Quince in San Francisco

BEST CHEF: GREAT LAKES (IL, IN, MI, OH)

Graham Elliot Bowles of Avenues in Chicago
Carrie Nahabedian of Naha in Chicago
Bruce Sherman of North Pond inChicago

BEST CHEF: NEW YORK CITY (FIVE BOROUGHS)

Terrance Brennan of Picholine
David Chang of Momofuku Ssäm Bar
Wylie Dufresne of WD-50
Gabriel Kreuther of The Modern