The James Beard Awards (the CableACE Awards of food) announced their semifinalist list today. Not surprisingly, many Bay Area gastronomes made the cut. Mission Chinese Food's Danny Bowien, Thomas McNaughton of Flour + Water, Park Tavern, Mr. Gary Danko, Boulevard, and more all stand the chance of becoming finalists. But who doesn't get an award this year? Happy Donuts and Papalote, for starters. But feel free to complain about who lost out in the comments.
Roster of Bay Area semifinalists:
Best New Restaurant:
AQ
Park Tavern
Restaurant 1833
Outstanding Bar Program:
Bar Agricole
Beretta
Outstanding Chef:
Gary Danko (Gary Danko)
David Kinch (Manresa)
Charles Pham (Slanted Door)
Outstanding Pastry Chef:
Melissa Chou (Aziza)
Lisa Lu (Jardinière)
Outstanding Restaurant:
Boulevard
Foreign Cinema
Terra
Outstanding Restaurateur:
Doug Washington, Mitchell Rosenthal, and Steven Rosenthal, Stock & Bones, San Francisco
Outstanding Service:
Cyrus
Michael Mina
Nopa
Outstanding Wine Program:
A16
Perbacco
Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional:
Merry Edwards (Merry Edwards Winery)
Jörg Rupf (St. George Spirits)
Abe Schoener (The Scholium Project)
Rising Star Chef of the Year:
Danny Bowien (Mission Chinese Food)
Preston Clark (El Paseo)
Aaron London (Ubuntu)
Thomas McNaughton (Flour + Water)
Best Chef: Pacific:
Matthew Accarrino (SPQR)
Michael Chiarello (Bottega)
Chris Cosentino (Incanto)
Loretta Keller (COCO500)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood)
Mourad Lahlou (Aziza)
Corey Lee (Benu)
Daniel Patterson (Coi)
Richard Reddington (Redd)
The real finalists for this year's awards will be announced on March 19. The winners crowned on May 7. Read the entire list of nominees here.