James Beard Awards Await

Roughly the dining out equivalent of The Academy Awards, The James Beard Foundation annual awards ceremony takes place Monday, May 7, at the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. Go to www.jamesbeard.org for the complete list, but here's a partial list of national nominees:

-- Outstanding Restaurant: Boulevard, San Francisco; Frontera Grill, Chicago; Magnolia Grill, Durham, N.C., Picholine, New York; Spiaggia, Chicago.
-- Best New Restaurant: A Voce, New York City; Chochon, New Orleans; Cut, Beverly Hills, Calif; L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, New York City; Momofuku Ssam Bar, New York City; Restaurant Guy Savoy, Las Vegas.
-- Outstanding Restaurateur: Thomas Keller, The French Laundry, Yountville, Calif; Keith McNally, Balthazar, New York City; Richard Melman, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (R.J. Grunts, Wildfire, Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!), Chicago; Drew Nieporent, Myriad Restaurant Group (Tribeca Grill, Nobu, Rubicon), New York City; Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Jean Georges restaurant, New York City.
-- Outstanding Chef: Tom Colicchio, Craft, New York City; Lee Hefter, Spago, Beverly Hills, Calif.; Jean Joho, Everest, Chicago; Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Chicago; Michel Richard, Michel Richard Citronelle, Washington, D.C.
-- Rising Star Chef: Nate Appleman, A16, San Francisco; Graham Elliot Bowles, Avenues at The Peninsula Hotel, Philadelphia; David Chang, Momofuku Noodle Bar, New York; Patrick Connelly, Radius, Boston; Daniel Humm, Eleven Madison Park, New York City.

Restaurant magazine just released its list of the world's top 100 restaurants. (http://www.theworlds50best.com/2007_list.html) Here are the U.S. entries:

The French Laundry, Yountville, Ca. (No. 4)
Per Se, New York City (No. 9)
Jean Georges, New York City (No. 18)
Le Bernardin, New York City (No. 26)
Charlie Trotter's, Chicago (No. 30)
Daniel, New York City (No. 32)
Alinea, Chicago (No. 36)
Chez Panisse, Berkeley, Ca. (No. 40)
Masa, New York City (No. 56)
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the Four Seasons, New York City (No. 64)
Peter Lugar, Brooklyn, NY (No. 69)
Nobu New York, New York City (No. 89)
Gramercy Tavern, New York City (No. 90)
WD-50, New York City (No. 91)
Zuni Café, San Francisco (No. 98)
Alex at Wynn, Las Vegas (No. 100)

Playboy magazine's May issue includes its list of America's 10 Best Steakhouses. (Hey, now you can say you really DO read the articles!) Those deemed bunny worthy include:

Bone's in Atlanta.
Keefer's in Chicago
Cresecent City Steaks in New Orleans
Cut in Los Angeles
Bern's in Tampa
Craftsteak in Las Vegas
Grill 23 & Bar in Boston
El Raigon in San Francisco
Red in Cleveland
Sparks in New York City

Read more at www.playboy.com/style/a-list/steakhouses


IN THE NEWS: The Review-Journal's critic Heidi Knapp Rinella gives a B to downtown Mexican joint Casa Don Juan, 1204 S. Main St. From her notes column, The San Gennaro Feast is set for May 4-6 at 4245 Grand Canyon Drive, near Flamingo Road and the Las Vegas Beltway, with food, rides and entertainment. www.sangennarofeast.com for more info. (www.lvrj.com) ... Las Vegas Weekly reviews Hummus Mediterranean Grill, 2980 S. Durango Blvd., and King Kabob, 9400 S. Eastern Ave. www.lasvegasweekly.com ... City Life's Al Mancini reviews Italian restaurant Trevi in the Forum Shops. wwwlasvegascitylife.com ... Las Vegas Life magazine reviews Michael Mina's StripSteak inside Mandalay Bay. www.lvlife.com ... The travel guide LasVegasLogue.com reports that plans for the new Planet Hollywood resort, which has taken over the Aladdin, will offer everything from an upscale steakhouse to a 24-hour coffee shop. That includes: the Strip House, an offshoot of one of New York’s City's top steakhouses, which opens this summer; the Italian Alfredo of Rome; and contemporary KOI, an L.A. import. More casual offerings: Mexican food at Yolos; and gourmet sandwiches and salads from Earl of Sandwich, already at Walt Disney World; and Asian chain P.F. Chang’s. The Aladdin’s acclaimed Spice Market Buffet will remain. Quick bites include Planet Dailies upscale coffee shop and cafe, open 24 hours daily. And an offshoot of L.A.'s famed Pink’s hot dog stand is set to open this summer in the Race & Sports Book area ... The website also takes a look at Paris Las Vegas' newest eatery, Le Burger Brasserie ...