The short list is in, and among the finalists i.e. the actual nominees for this years James Beard Foundation Awards are a number of San Francisco players, once again doing the local scene proud in what are often called the Oscars of the food world. In the category of Best New Restaurant in the country are both In Situ and Tartine Manufactory, and in the category of Best Chef: West, which includes chefs from California, Nevada, and Hawaii, are Corey Lee (Benu, In Situ, Monsieur Benjamin), and Dominique Crenn (Atelier Crenn, Petit Crenn).
On the semi-finalist list in that latter category, as we learned last month, were also the likes of Saison's Joshua Skenes, Liholiho Yacht Club's Ravi Kapur, Juhu Beach Club's Preeti Mistry, and Mourad's Mourad Lahlou. And this also means that in the Best New Restaurant category, the fancy and highly ambitious SingleThread in Healdsburg got the snub.
But plenty more local names that are familiar to the Beard Awards once again made the cut, including David Kinch (Manresa) and Christopher Kostow (Meadowood) who were both honored in the Outstanding Chef category; Quince, which is a finalist in the national Outstanding Restaurant category; Bar Agricole, which got its annual nomination in the Outstanding Bar Program category; and Belinda Leong and Michael Suas of B. Patisserie, who were nominated in the Outstanding Baker category.
And SingleThread did eke out a nomination in the Restaurant Design category along with Leo's Oyster Bar, which are two of the three nominees in the "under 75 seats" category for design, meaning the Bay Area has a strong chance of winning in this category.
As was announced earlier, the Mission's La Taqueria is also among a group of legacy restaurants being honored this year in the American Classics category.
Also, beloved Hayes Valley Tiki cocktail spot Smuggler's Cove got a nod in the books realm, for Smuggler’s Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki, by Martin Cate with Rebecca Cate.
Good luck to all, and stay tuned for the results of the awards following the ceremony in Chicago on May 1.
Previously: La Taqueria Wins Honorary James Beard Award
