- THE FEED/FACEBOOK
- Steve Dolinsky, Beverly Kim, and Rick Bayless, nominees all
Last year I said the takeaway from the James Beard Foundation media award nominations was that Chicago food writing wasn’t trying hard enough. Well, I guess for once the claim of a rebuilding year actually proved true, as even a chef, Rick Bayless, managed to get as many media nominations as all of Chicago media did last year. As half of The Feed (the other half being Steve Dolinsky) Bayless picked up one, in addition to being nominated for Best Restaurant Service, which will apparently be the case for Topolobampo until the end of time. By comparison, last year, Chicago’s only non-cookbook nomination went to This American Life.
And two women chefs got nominations for being up-and-comers. Tanya Baker, who took over the Boarding House to less fanfare than she’s really deserved so far, got a Rising Star Chef nomination, while chef-owners Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark saw their much-loved Parachute land a spot on the list of Best New Restaurants. It’s especially nice to see a small neighborhood place, pretty much built by the owners on a shoestring, see its creativity rewarded over a scene full of mega-openings in the same timespan (hint, hint, Michelin). Finally, Carrie Nahabedian’s Brindille was nominated for best design or renovation, 75 seats and under.
