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The fellow pictured above is named Robert Smith. Boring name that. So boring in fact, ELV thinks his name been working against him when it comes to his (not yet) winning a James Beard Award for having the best wine program in the nation. ELV thinks if his name was Shirley Yamamoto or Rampun Anamanawannamoana he would’ve garnered one by now.
Good evening Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea.
Item: José Andrés wins James Beard Award tonight for Outstanding Chef.
Item: Saipin Chutima of our very own Lotus of Siam ties with some guy from Austin, Texas for Best Chef Southwest. (In other words: The Thai tied.)
Item: Most of the major awards go to New York City chefs and restaurants. (Filed under: So What Else Is New?)
Item: Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon in Portlandia, Oregon wins rising star chef.
Item: Robert (Lucci) Smith and Picasso get passed over for the fifth time for Outstanding Wine Service.
Item: ABC Kitchen, one of the New York restaurants ELV did vote for, wins Best New Restaurant.
Item: Click here for the complete list of winners.
Item: In his capacity as a JBF voter, ELV vows to continue nominating, lobbying and voting for Smith until justice is done!
ELV doesn’t mean to start him no scandal, and he counts as his friends and respected colleagues both the executives and officers of the James Beard Foundation, but many of the James Beard Award winners of last night gave him and his staff pause for reflection — not the least of which is Momofuku Ko (a restaurant that no one has dined at) winning Best New Restaurant in the entire nation for 2009. For if ever there was an example of food writers and voters voting for a place based only on hype, this is it.
Continue reading “The James Beard Awards – A Tempest In A Teapot Or Something That Needs Fixing?”