New York may not have been nominated in every category, but we sure did come away with a strong group of winners at last night's James Beard Awards at Lincoln Center. Danny Meyer, per usual, was a happy man last night, as his restaurants took the awards for Best Pastry Chef (Angela Pinkerton of Eleven Madison Park), Outstanding Restaurant (Eleven Madison Park), and Outstanding Wine Service (The Modern). Meanwhile Gabrielle Hamilton, a media darling right now after the release of her well-received memoir, finally won after three years in the nominating pool for Best Chef NYC.
Here are a few of the highlights:
· Outstanding Chef: José Andrés (minibar, Washington, DC)
· Outstanding Pastry Chef: Angela Pinkerton (Eleven Madison Park, New York)
· Rising Star Chef: Gabriel Rucker (Le Pigeon, Portland, OR)
· Outstanding Restaurateur: Richard Melman (Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Chicago)
· Best New Restaurant: Jean-Georges Vongerichten's ABC Kitchen (New York)
· Outstanding Restaurant: Danny Meyer's Eleven Madison Park (New York)
· Outstanding Service: Thomas Keller's Per Se (New York)