... New York.
The James Beard Foundation's second awards hoo-haw of the year took place last night, this one honoring restaurants and chefs. The Bay Area, as usual, sent quite a few chefs to the event, but this year ― like almost every year ― most of the big awards went to New York restaurants. Notable exceptions were José Andrés, who won Outstanding Chef for his D.C. restaurant minibar; Lettuce Entertain You's Richard Melman, a Chicagoan named Outstanding Restaurateur; and Gabriel Rucker, chef of Le Pigeon in Portland, Ore., who won Rising Star Chef.
A few of our own who were honored: Winner of the Pacific Coast regional competition this year is Michael Tusk of Quince, who beat out Michael Cimarusti (Providence), Christopher Kostow (the Restaurant at Meadowood), Daniel Patterson (Coi), and Richard Reddington (Redd).
Darling Design justly won the Outstanding Restaurant Design for Bar Agricole. Slanted Door's Charles Phan was inducted into the Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America. And French Laundry owner Thomas Keller was on hand to accept the Best Restaurant Service award ... for his New York restaurant, Per Se.
Congratulations to all! The full list of winners:
Best New Restaurant: ABC Kitchen, NYC (chef: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Phil Suarez)
Outstanding Restaurateur Award: Richard Melman, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Chicago
Outstanding Restaurant Award: Eleven Madison Park, NYC
Outstanding Chef Award: José Andrés, minibar, Washington, D.C.
Outstanding Restaurant Design: Darling Design, Bar Agricole, San Francisco
Outstanding Restaurant Graphics: Love and War, The National Bar & Dining Rooms, NYC
Outstanding Service Award: Per Se, NYC, Chef/Owner: Thomas Keller
Outstanding Pastry Chef Award: Angela Pinkerton, Eleven Madison Park, NYC
Best Chef, Northeast: Tony Maws, Craigie On Main, Cambridge, MA
Best Chef, Pacific: Michael Tusk, Quince, San Francisco
Best Chef, Northwest: Andy Ricker, Pok Pok, Portland, OR
Best Chef, South: Stephen Stryjewski, Cochon, New Orleans
Best Chef, Southeast: Andrea Reusing, Lantern, Chapel Hill, NC
Best Chef, Southwest: Saipin Chutima, Lotus of Siam, Las Vegas AND Tyson Cole, Uchi, Austin, TX
Best Chef, Great Lakes: Alex Young, Zingerman's Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, MI
Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic: Michael Solomonov, Zahav, Philadelphia
Best Chef, Midwest: Isaac Becker, 112 Eatery, Minneapolis
Best Chef, New York City: Gabrielle Hamilton, Prune
Rising Star Chef of the Year Award: Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland, OR
Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional Award: Julian P. Van Winkle, III, Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, Louisville, KY
Outstanding Wine Service Award: The Modern, NYC, Wine Director: Belinda Chang
Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America inductees: Jonathan Gold (LA Weekly), Lee Jones (Chef's Garden), Charles Phan (Slanted Door), Frank Stitt (Highlands Bar and Grill), Nick Valenti (Patina Restaurant Group)
America's Classics: Chef Vola's (Atlantic City, NJ), Crook's Corner (Chapel Hill, NC), Noriega Restaurant and Hotel (Bakersfield, CA), Le Veau d'Or (NYC), Watts Tea Shop (Milwaukee)
Lifetime Achievement: Kevin Zraly
Humanitarian Award: FareStart, Seattle
