james beard awards

Le Bernardin Wins the Luxist Award for Best Seafood Restaurant

Filed under: Dining

Le Bernardin in New York is nominated for a Luxist Award for Best Seafood Restaurant

A world-renowned New York restaurant that has received numerous awards, Le Bernardin, is also the winner of the Luxist Awards' Readers' Choice Award for Best Seafood Restaurant.

A seafood restaurant with French roots, Le Bernardin is known for its understated elegance. The mid-town Manhattan restaurant is beautifully and tastefully decorated: the restaurant reportedly spends $12,000 a month on fresh flowers. Its menu is extensive and includes such delectable dishes as warm lobster carpaccio, smoked yellow fin tuna, "prosciutto", bread crusted red snapper, crispy black bass and whole red snapper baked in rosemary and thyme salt crust. There are several tasting menus from which to choose, including Le Bernardin's Tasting Menu, which costs $138 per person, or $225 with wine pairing, per person. The prix fixe dinner costs $112 per person.

Gallery: Le Bernardin in New York

Tags: awards-main, best restaurants, best seafood, Best Seafood Restaurant, Eric Ripert, james beard awards, Le Bernardin, luxist-awards, Miguy Le Coze, New York, winners-fine-dining

Continue reading “Le Bernardin Wins the Luxist Award for Best Seafood Restaurant”

Shafer Vineyards Releases 2007 One Point Five

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Napa Valley's Shafer Vineyards, recipients of the James Beard Foundation's 2010 "Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional" award, recently released their 2007 One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon.

Located in the Stag's Leap District of the region, Shafer has continuously produced top-rated Cabernets, Chardonnays and Merlots under the guidance of winemaker Elias Fernandez, and this release is no exception. Comprised of 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petite Verdot, the 2007 spent 20 months in 75% new French oak and 25% one-year-old French oak barrels.

Aggressively jammy notes greet the nose and are followed by plum and musty barnyard scents. A pleasantly dryer alternative to the much-maligned "fruit bombs" of the area, the palate receives gamy flavors and lots of clove. The finish is short without being fleeting.

Shafer recommends pairing with everything from Ahi tuna to roast lamb loin, although I served the bottle with shrimp and mussels in a spicy tomato sauce over fresh linguine, to praise.

And while the name One Point Five may elicit thoughts of a software upgrade its provenance is actually a bit of a familial in-joke: Doug Shafer joined his father John in 1983, just two years after Shafer's initial release. It wasn't so much a new generation taking over as a son catching up to his father. Nearly 17 years later, that partnership has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation for its fecundity.

(750ml, $70)

Tags: 2007, cabernet sauvignon, doug shafer, james beard awards, john shafer, one point five, petite verdot, ShaferVineyards, stags leap, wine, wine review, wine reviews

James Beard Award Winners 2010: Marea, Daniel, Craft and French Laundry

by Carrie N. Culpepper (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Events

It's no surprise that New York and Napa Valley restaurants dominated the top spots at Monday night's James Beard Awards held at Lincoln Center. Foodies of every stripe -- from Food Network stars to French Laundry chefs -- were in attendance at the black-tie event. A red carpet was even set up in the new courtyard outside Avery Fisher Hall so the truly food-obsessed could catch a glimpse of chefs like Wolfgang Puck, Lidia Bastianich and Alton Brown, the evenings co-hosts. (Pictured above is Brown, JBF president Susan Ungaro, Bastianich and Ted Allen arriving on the red carpet.)

The big awards of the evening went to New York's Marea for Best New Restaurant; Tom Colicchio of the Craft restaurants (and a regular "Top Chef" judge) won the Outstanding Chef Award; Daniel Boulud won the Outstanding Restaurant Award for Daniel, another New York restaurant; the Outstanding Pastry Chef award went to Nichole Plue of Redd in Napa Valley; and Timothy Hollingsworth of Napa's famous The French Laundry, won the Rising Star Chef of the Year Award.

Backstage, talk turned to to food trends -- something fine-dining chefs don't look kindly on -- and the seemingly omnipresent locavore movement. And we even found out where these top chefs are excited to eat.

Tags: ad hoc at home, AdHocAtHome, best new chef new york, best restaurant in the world, best restaurants, BestNewChefNewYork, BestRestaurantInTheWorld, BestRestaurants, CA, chopped, daniel boulud, daniel humm, DanielBoulud, DanielHumm, eleven madison park, ElevenMadisonPark, james beard award winner, james beard awards, james beard awards 2010, james beard foundation, JamesBeardAwards2010, JamesBeardAwardWinner, marea, noma copenhagen, NomaCopenhagen, per se, PerSe, s. pelligrino awards, S.PelligrinoAwards, ted allen, TedAllen, The French Laundry, TheFrenchLaundry, thomas keller, ThomasKeller, top chef, TopChef, Yountville

Continue reading “James Beard Award Winners 2010: Marea, Daniel, Craft and French Laundry”

Where to Eat Now: James Beard Award Finalists Announced

by Carrie N. Culpepper (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Events

Chefs, sharpen your knives, the food community is abuzz with news of the 2010 James Beard Award nominations, which were announced earlier this week. Aside from Michelin stars and positive restaurant reviews, these awards are the biggest recognition in the food world. Chosen by a non-profit made up of food and wine enthusiasts, the awards take a nationwide look at the dining scene pulling out the stars of today and tomorrow. What that means to you is: Make your reservations now -- especially at Robert DeNiro's latest New York restaurant, Locanda Verde (right) -- these places are about to get hotter.

Anyone can attend the black-tie Chef and Restaurant Awards which take place on May 3 at Lincoln Center in New York. Tickets are $450 for non-members and include the awards ceremony hosted by The Food Network's Alton Brown, Wolfgang Puck and PBS chef Lidia Bastianich (whose cookbook "Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy" is up for a nomination). But the best part will be the gala reception afterward where guests can sample food by notable chefs from around the country who were chosen by a past Outstanding Chef winner.

And the nominees are ...