Alison McLean
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After a one-year hiatus caused in part by the pandemic, the James Beard Foundation is back with its esteemed annual awards, and North Texas restaurants scored nearly a dozen nominations.
Over the past year, the Beard Foundation said it took some time “for self-reflection around who and where we are as an organization.” In addition to a full “audit of the policies and procedures of the Awards,” they looked to increase diversity among their voting body. They also worked to improve awareness of their annual awards and specifically how candidates apply. You can read more about those goals on their website.
Our local restaurants have certainly taken a beating the past two years, but many gems have persevered. Every restaurant on this list has us nodding yes. We’ve swooned about them all.
Tiffany Derry’s Roots Southern Table has two nods; one for the best new restaurant with Roots, which was our favorite, so why wouldn’t it be everyone’s? Derry is also a semifinalist for best chef in Texas.
Revolver Taco Lounge’s Regino Rojas is making his fourth appearance as a semifinalist for Texas’ best chef. Misti Norris at Petra and the Beast is also on the list of nominees for best chef in Texas, for a second time after also having been nominated for best new restaurant in 2019.
Anasticas Quinones-Pittman and her Adidas Superstars also appear twice, once for outstanding hospitality (it’s literally one of the best places to sip a margarita) and also best chef in Texas.
Following are the local semifinalists for the 2022 James Beard Awards. In about a month, the list will narrow to finalists; winners will be announced on June 13 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Best New Restaurant
Outstanding Baker
Marisca Trejo, La Casita Bakeshop
Outstanding Hospitality
Outstanding Wine Program
Outstanding Bar Program
Petra and the Beast Chef Misti Norris
Alison McLean
Those are the national nods. There are also categories for best chef by geographic region, of which there are a dozen; California, New York and Texas each make up their own category while all the other states are smushed together in regions.
Best Chef: Texas Semifinalists
Tiffany Derry
Roots Southern Table
Matt McCallister
Homewood
Misti Norris
Petra and the Beast
Anastacia Quiñones- Pittman
José
Regino Rojas
Revolver Taco Lounge
Koji Yoshida
EBESU Robata and Sushi
For a full list of all the nominees, head to the James Beard Foundation website.
