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LA's Gold: 2009 James Beard Award Nominees Announced
Will Suzanne Goin be named Best Chef? (Photo from Lucques' BBQ in '08 by Foodwoolf via LAist Featured Photos)
This year's list of nominees for the prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards has been released, and Los Angeles is repped via a venerable food scribe in the writing category and a bold newcomer and a perennial favorite in the restaurant categories. The Awards spotlight the best of the previous year in media food coverage and dining.
LA Weekly's Jonathan Gold, who nabbed top honors in 2005 & 2006, is up once again in the newspaper review category, for “A Proper Brasserie,” “A Fine Palate,” and “Pho Town” proving that he just might be the reason the paper stays in print while the newspaper world falls to shreds.
One oft-discussed new LA eatery garnered two nominations; The Bazaar by José Andrés at SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills has caught attention from both the eye ("Outstanding Restaurant Design" for the work by Philippe Starck, Bruno Barrione, and Theresa Fatino of the Starck Network and SBE Design Team) and the palate ("Best New Restaurant"). Curiously enough, The Bazaar's Chef/owner José Andrés is up against Suzanne Goin of Lucques for his work at DC's Minibar. And for those inclined to wine and dine, LA's Patina gets a nod in the "Outstanding Wine Service" category.
The James Beard Foundation Award winners will be announced in May, at a gala celebration in New York City.
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