- Michael Gebert
- Guests visiting the kitchen at El Ideas
Before we talk about the semifinalists for this year’s James Beard Foundation Awards, some perspective is in order. The list, released yesterday, is a short list for the even shorter list of actual finalists, and includes lots of people who aren’t really going to be up for an award. The finalists list is full of people who will spend years waiting to get an award, if they ever do. And the Beard Awards are not the final word of God herself; like the Oscars or anything else, they’re a snapshot of what people thought was best at the time.
Now, it is worth noting that when you look at the national awards, it’s a more blue-chip list—Nico Osteria and Brindille are the two short-listed for Best New Restaurant, and those are both more-classical dining spots with Beard-veteran pedigrees (Paul Kahan and Carrie Nahabedian). And then there’s the oddity that Spiaggia, which has pretty much had a locked-in spot at the Beard Awards for decades, is nominated for Outstanding Restaurant right as it’s between chefs (with Sarah Grueneberg having departed); this would have been a good year not to phone that one in, but to wait and see where the venerable Italian spot is headed next.
Outstanding chef: Carrie Nahabedian (Naha)
Outstanding service: L2O, Topolobampo
