During last night's chefs and restaurants portion of the James Beard Awards (i.e., the Grammy Awards of food), New York took home most of the top awards, leaving many Bay Area gastronomes empty-handed. Best New Restaurant went to ABC Kitchen, beating out San Francisco's resplendent Benu. On this side of the coast, Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon in Portland edged out Thomas McNaughton of Flour + Water and Aaron London of Ubuntu to win the Rising Star Chef of the Year Award. The only major Bay Area winner was Michael Tusk of Quince and Cotogna. He beat LA’s Michael Cimarusti, Christopher Kostow of Meadowood, Daniel Patterson of Coi, and Richard Reddington of Redd to nab the Best Chef: Pacific honor. List of winners below:
- Rising Star Chef of the Year Award: Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland, OR
- Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional Award (Presented by Southern Wine & Spirits of New York): Julian P. Van Winkle, III, Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, Louisville, KY
- Outstanding Wine Service Award: The Modern, NYC, Wine Director: Belinda Chang
- 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
- 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
- Outstanding Restaurant Design: Aidlin Darling Design, Bar Agricole, San Francisco
- Outstanding Restaurant Graphics: Love and War, The National Bar & Dining Rooms, NYC
- Outstanding Service Award (Presented By Stella Artois): Per Se, NYC, Chef/Owner: Thomas Keller
- Outstanding Pastry Chef Award: Angela Pinkerton, Eleven Madison Park, NYC
- Best New Restaurant (Presented by Mercedes-Benz): ABC Kitchen, NYC, Chef/Owner: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Owner: Phil Suarez
- Outstanding Restaurateur Award: Richard Melman, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Chicago
- Outstanding Restaurant Award: Eleven Madison Park, NYC, Owner: Danny Meyer
- Outstanding Chef Award: José Andrés, minibar, Washington, D.C.