The nominations for the restaurant industry's prestigious 2025 James Beard Awards are out, and five Chicago spots have made the list.
Winners of the culinary honors will be announced during a June 16 ceremony at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago, according to an announcement. In addition to the more than a dozen longstanding categories, three new categories were introduced this year, the announcement said: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.
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WATCH HEREIn 2024, just one Chicago restaurant -- Lula Cafe, at 2537 N. Kedzie Blvd. -- took home a James Beard Award, nabbing the organization's honor for "Outstanding Hospitality," though three Chicago chefs had made the list of nominees.
Chicago restaurants, chefs and bars that made the nominee list for 2025 are below:
Outstanding Restaurant
- Coquine, Portland, OR
- Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, CO
- Galit, Chicago, IL
- Nonesuch, Oklahoma City, OK
- Oberlin, Providence, RI
Outstanding Bar
- Kumiko, Chicago, IL
- Scotch Lodge, Portland, OR
- The Lovers Bar at Friday Saturday Sunday, Philadelphia, PA
- Water Witch, Salt Lake City, UT
- Wolf Tree, White River Junction, VT
Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
- Jennifer Blakeslee and Eric Patterson, The Cooks' House, Traverse City, MI
- Thai Dang, HaiSous, Chicago, IL
- David Jackman, Wildweed, Cincinnati, OH
- Chris Jung and Erling Wu-Bower, Maxwells Trading, Chicago, IL
- Noah Sandoval, Oriole, Chicago, IL
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