2012 James Beard Award Winners
Best New Restaurant
Next, Chicago
Outstanding Chef
Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park in New York
Outstanding Pastry Chef
Mindy Segal of Mindy’s Hot Chocolate in Chicago
Outstanding Restaurant
Boulevard in San Francisco
Outstanding Restaurateur
Tom Douglas of Tom Douglas Restaurants in Seattle
Outstanding Service
La Grenouille in New York
Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional
Paul Grieco of Terroir in New York
Outstanding Wine Program
No. 9 Park in Boston
Outstanding Bar Program
PDT in New York
Rising Star Chef Of The Year
Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar in New York
REGIONAL CHEF AWARDS
Great Lakes
Bruce Sherman of North Pond in Chicago
Mid-Atlantic
Maricel Presilla of Cucharamama in Hoboken, N.J.
Midwest
Tory Miller of L’Etoile in Madison, Wisc.
New York City
Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern in New York
Northeast
Tim Cushman of O Ya in Boston
Northwest
Matt Dillon of Sitka & Spruce in Seattle
Pacific
Matt Molina of Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles
South
Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Ala.
Southeast (tie)
Hugh Acheson of Five and Ten in Athens, Ga. & Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta
Southwest
Paul Qui of Uchiko in Austin, Texas
James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award
Wolfgang Puck
James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year
Charlie Trotter
James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America Inductees
Grant Achatz, chef and author, Chicago
Mark Bittman, journalist and author, New York
Dana Cowin, editor-in-chief at Food and Wine magazine, New York
Emily Luchetti, pastry chef and author, San Francisco
Marvin Shanken, publisher, New York
James Beard Foundation America’s Classics
The Fry Bread House in Phoenix
Owner: Cecelia Miller
Nora’s Fish Creek Inn in Wilson, Wyo.
Owners: Nora Tygum, Trace Tygum and Kathryn Tygum Taylor
St. Elmo Steak House in Indianapolis
Owners: Stephen Huse and Craig Huse
Jones Bar-B-Q Diner in Marianna, Ark.
Owners: James and Betty Jones
Shady Glen in Manchester, Conn.
Owners: William and Annette Hoch
King Cake History
Mardi Gras was first celebrated in the New World in Mobile, AL in 1703. A half century later residents of the newly established settlement on the Mississippi River called New Orleans wanted to adopt this American style of carnival. Being neighborly members of Mobile’s Cowbellion de’ Rankin Society ventured west to help out the newcomers. Le reste appartient à l’histoire. Today N’Awlins is famous for its Fat Tuesday celebration but other cities along the Third Coast have a century or more a parading under their belts as well like Biloxi, MS, Pensacola, FL and of course Mobile is still home to the oldest Fat Tuesday celebration in the country.
Many uniquely American customs are part of Mardi Gras lore like secret societies, floats and throws. Also a key element is the legendary King Cake. The King Cake is the heart of many a Mardi Gras party.
Little more than a Danish decorated with colorful purple, green and gold icing the King Cake has something to separate it from the average paczki, a baby. Each cake has a tiny plastic baby stashed inside. The tradition being that whomever gets the piece with the baby is the King of the party. The tradition, like Fat Tuesday itself, predates Christianity in Europe. That original Pagan ritual ended with the “winner” being sacrificed.
For the longest time King Cake, in a word, sucked. It was dry and virtually tasteless but of late Third Coast bakers have begun adding flavor to their King Cakes. Cream cheese is a popular ingredient now which adds both flavor and moisture. Fruits and fruit compotes are also en vogue. Even those with special diets can enjoy King Cake with recipes for sugar-free and gluten-free cakes now in abundance.
Laissez les bon temps rouler!
Fresh Fish: Pumpkinseed
The past few weeks I have taken to hiking the woods behind the house. About a half-mile deep I have found a creek roughly 15 feet across and 3 to 4 feet deep. I have made it my halfway point.
Today I packed a light weight collapsible rod-n-reel called an ultralight into my backpack and on it was a small lure. When I got to the creek I first checked the trees for moccasins (they like to hang on limbs and drop onto their prey) and then I pulled out the ultralight. To my surprise I had several aggressive hits. The largest looked to be a descent size bream according to the brief flash I got as it shook my hook. As sometimes happens when fishing I hung the lure leaving me no choice but to cut the line.
I had no other artificial lures so I tied on a small hook, shot weight and a cork. Next to the creek was a leaf pile that had been building with each successive autumn creating a natural compost. I raked the leaves until I got to the rich soil beneath. I used my hunting knife to dig up the dirt and sure enough I spotted of few small wigglers (earthworms). Before long one was impaled on the brass hook and the cork was drifting with the current.
It didn’t take long for the cork to submerge and start heading opposite the current. I was treated to 10 to 15 seconds of fight before pulling my prey from the stream.
The Pumpkinseed was about three and a half inches in length with a fat belly, not quite big enough to eat, but close. As I removed the hook it pissed on me. Who could blame it, right? The memories of how I had learned to manipulate nature into food came rushing back only after the skills had done their job. Hopefully, I won’t ever need to use these talents but it is nice to know I can still put food on the table should civilization ever take a powder.
Thanks, dad.
