The James Beard Awards, named for the celebrated gay gastronome, announced their semi-finalists for the best culinary achievements of the past year, and Dallas’ Stephan Pyles appears on the list. Twice.
Pyles was among the nominees for outstanding chef, an overall award of the 20 best chefs nationwide for his eponymous Downtown Dallas restaurant. The list also include Pyles’ fellow founder of Southwest cuisine, Robert Del Grande of Houston’s Bar Annie, Craft’s Tom Colicchio and Michael Mina.
Pyles was also singled out for best new restaurant for Samar, which opened last fall across from Stephan Pyles. (You can read my review here.)
Sharon Hage of York Street was, again, a finalist for best chef in the Southwest.
Two recent Top Chef competitors, Kevin Gillespie and Bryan Voltaggio, are also in their categories — Gillespie for rising chef and Voltaggio for his Volt restaurant (Mid-Atlantic).
