Posts Tagged ‘gala’
NoVA Well Represented in 2010 RAMMY Race
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
(Image: RAMW)
Restaurant awards season is now officially underway, with the James Beard Foundation unveiling its 2010 finalists yesterday and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington shining a light on the D.C.-Metro area’s culinary superstars today.
Though they are two very different competitions, there are at least one pair of hometown hopefuls in the running for both the national Beard Awards and local honors: restaurateur Jose Andres–whose minibar has him in contention for a Fine Dining RAMMY and Beard’s Outstanding Chef award–and CityZen pastry chef Amanda Cook (nominated for her delectable sweets by both hospitality scrutinizing bodies).
Meanwhile, Northern Virginia restaurants figure prominently in nine of the 14 RAMMY categories, including:
* Fine Dining: 2941
*Upscale Casual: Liberty Tavern, Vermilion
* Neighborhood Gathering Place: EatBar
* New Restaurant: Eventide, Inox
* Chef: Bertrand Chemel/2941
* Rising Culinary Star: Liam LaCivita/Liberty Tavern, Shannon Overmiller/The Majestic, Jon Mathieson/Inox
* Pastry Chef: Anthony Chavez/2941, Josh Short/Buzz (Neighborhood Restaurant Group)
* Wine Program: 2941
* Beverage/Mixology Program: EatGoodFood Group (AKA Todd Thrasher of Restaurant Eve/PX/The Majestic fame)
You can browse the full list of 2010 RAMMY nominees here. The winners will be feted June 6th during an awards gala at the Marriott Wardman Park.
Northern Virginia Magazine would like to congratulate all the nominees–yes, even you D.C. restos–and wish you all the best of luck on awards night!
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
Those who didn’t make the trek up to NYC this past weekend for the annual James Beard gala, didn’t miss much in terms of hometown love: all our local culinary champions were shut out come awards time.
But that doesn’t mean we weren’t well represented on the cooking front.
Plenty of folks greedily supped chef Ris Lacoste’s crunchy-rich oyster champagne stew (a heartwarming helping of fried oysters, diced ham, crushed walnuts and zesty chives):
And chefs Jamie Leeds and Antonio Burrell most certainly stunned a few palates with their daring swiss chard-stuffed trout rolls (the pickled fish made for fierce eating).
Meanwhile, we enjoyed watching chef Debbie Gold tend to her marrow and mustard crouton creation (the extravagant offal was coaxed from some 200+ pounds of bones):
But one cannot live on delicacies alone.
Tom Colicchio, for example, made sure to stay cool with a minty fresh Grey Goose cocktail that had plenty of fellow party goers in high spirits:
And protocol queen Martha Stewart let her hair down just a bit as she washed down a D’Artagnan duck dog (slightly gamey, but mostly satisfying) with a frosty Hoegaarden (cheers, Martha!):
Restaurant folks sure know how to party…
–Warren
Throwing Open the Dining Awards’ Floodgates
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
(Image: Zazzle)
Fellow food scribe Tim Carman wonders whether anyone will be genuinely surprised by the Washington City Paper’s forthcoming “Best of D.C.” picks, particularly as they pertain to the coveted Best Restaurant tag:
Personally, if you ask me, too much emphasis is placed on the Best Restaurant category.
Seriously, do any of you expect to be surprised by the winner of that category?
Carman suggests that he’s much more jazzed about the Best New Restaurant battle, laundry listing the 25 contenders–roughly 1/3 are from Virginia, including still green properties like Eventide and BRABO–and urging readers to weigh in on the recent hospitality boom.
Having recently sewn up our Best New Restaurants coverage (appearing in our May issue), I was intrigued to see whom Carman et al. are eyeing from across the Potomac. Conversely, his post also reminded me that I desperately need to increase the frequency of my exploratory trips into Hot Chocolate City, lest I lose further touch with the District dining heavies.
Of course, we’ll all be hearing LOADS about the “BEST NEW” this-and-that for weeks to come, as awards season is now in full swing.
Yesterday, the James Beard Foundation nominees were handed down (gala slated for May 4 at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall).
Tonight, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington will make known the candidates for the 2009 RAMMY Awards (gala slated for June 7 at the Omni Shoreham).
Thursday, the City Paper releases its readers takes’ on local toques.
And our round up of the most interesting newcomers to the restaurant landscape should be revealed the week of April 23 (you can reflect on our 2007 list here).
So, all you armchair food critics and amateur dining sleuths might want to skip on over to your favorite “undiscovered gem” one last time.
Because it’s unlikely to remain that way for much longer–especially if us awards-flinging media types have our way.
–Warren Rojas
