March 15--The finalists for the 2016 James Beard Awards were just announced in San Francisco, and once again, Chicago area chefs and restaurants made a strong showing.
Fourteen local restaurants and chefs made the cut, up from 10 last year. That includes an outstanding restaurant nod for Alinea on its first year of eligibility, even though it's currently closed for major renovations.
Andrew Zimmerman of Sepia is up for the best chef (Great Lakes) award for the fifth straight year; meanwhile, Topolobampo earned its sixth nomination for outstanding service. Will one of them pull off a Leonardo DiCaprio?
We'll see May 2, when, for the second year in a row, the awards ceremony will be held in Chicago at the Civic Opera House.
Below is a list of all the Chicago nominees, narrowed from 27 local semifinalists.
Outstanding pastry chef
Meg Galus (Boka)
Outstanding restaurant
Alinea
Outstanding restaurateur
Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz (Boka Restaurant Group)
Outstanding service
North Pond
Topolobampo
Outstanding wine program
Sepia
Rising star chef of the year
Jenner Tomaska (Next)
Best chef (Great Lakes)
Abraham Conlon (Fat Rice)
Curtis Duffy (Grace)
Lee Wolen (Boka)
Erling Wu-Bower (Nico Osteria)
Andrew Zimmerman (Sepia)
Best restaurant design or renovation in North America since Jan. 1, 2013 (76 seats and over)
Land and Sea Dept. for Cherry Circle Room
Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors for Cindy's Rooftop Restaurant
2016 James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Awards: documentaries
"For Grace" by Kevin Pang, a former Chicago Tribune food writer, and Mark Helenowski
Earlier this month, JBF nominee Meg Galus was honored with a Tribune Dining Award for best pastry chef, while in February, Boka, North Pond, Topolobampo, Sepia, Next, Fat Rice, Grace and Nico Osteria all landed on Phil's 50, a list of Tribune food critic Phil Vettel's most recommended restaurants in Chicago right now.
Vettel is the chairman of the Restaurant and Chef Awards Committee for the James Beard Foundation, which helped compile the list of semifinalists for the awards. The finalists were chosen by a panel of about 600 voters, including critics, food writers and previous James Beard winners.
nkindelsperger@tribpub.com
Twitter @nickdk
