James Beard Nominees

I'm ridiculously excited by this year's nominations, because I've been to several, and because others are on the infamous "list".

Those I've visited include:
Best Chef: Northwest (AK, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY)

Joseba Jiménez de Jiménez
The Harvest Vine
Seattle

Best Chef: New York City (Five Boroughs)

Gabrielle Hamilton
Prune

(went there with The Scot and The Pastry Chef, among others)

Outstanding Chef Award
A working chef in America whose career has set national industry standards and who has served as an inspiration to other food professionals. Candidates must have been working as chefs for at least the past 5 years.

Dan Barber
Blue Hill
NYC

(you'll no doubt recall the mixed experience I had at Blue Hill)

Best New Restaurant
A restaurant opened in 2008 that already displays excellence in food, beverage, and service and is likely to have a significant impact on the industry in years to come.

Scarpetta
NYC*

*just last Saturday - it was amazing.

I'd like to note that Momofuku Ko was also nominated for Best New Restaurant, but I'm boycotting their stupid reservations system on the grounds that I should be able to get into a restaurant I can see from my damn balcony, without a fleet of interns or law clerks to "refresh" the screen for me umpteen times a day.