The James Beard Foundation held its annual Restaurant and Chef Awards on Monday in Chicago, and to say that the South’s field of winners has a Latin flair is an understatement. Here’s how the region’s restaurants, bakeries, and bars took a bite out of what many call the Oscars of the food world.
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
Carlos Delgado, Causa/Amazonia, Washington, D.C.
After working as an executive chef at José Andrés’s D.C. eatery China Chilcano, Delgado couldn’t decide whether to open his own Peruvian-themed restaurant or bar—so he opened both. Amazonia, the upstairs bar, is big on the grape-based liquor pisco, while below, Causa’s kitchen turns out beautiful plates of whole fish and a version of lomo saltado that features wagyu beef. Nominated in the best new restaurant category three years ago, Delgado finally returns to D.C. with the prize.
Best Chef: South
Nando Chang, Itamae Ao, Miami
Chang’s immigrant family first opened a food counter serving Nikkei cuisine, a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian fare, in 2018. Last year his sister Valerie Chang won Best Chef: South at the helm of her Miami spot, Maty’s. And this year he earned the same honor with his own ten-seat establishment, which focuses on sushi and anticuchos (Peruvian meat skewers), just months after receiving a Michelin star. “Becoming a cook felt natural—to obsess over raw fish, sushi rice, sashimi knives, and rap music,” he said at the ceremony. “That beautiful chaos gave me the identity I’d been looking for my entire life.”
Best Chef: Southeast
Jake Howell, Peninsula, Nashville
Music City already boasted a burgeoning restaurant scene in 2017, when Howell and a couple of compatriots arrived from Seattle to open a spot specializing in Spanish and Portuguese cuisine. Now, Peninsula seems like an East Nashville stalwart, drawing eaters into an intimate, light-filled space to relish dishes of octopus with potato and grilled pork tenderloin solomillo with mussels. “The Nashville community welcomed us from out of town,” said a surprised Howell in his acceptance speech. “They let us try something different. They let us fail, and they were there with us when we succeeded. And I can’t thank you enough for that.”
Best Chef: Texas
Thomas Bille, Belly of the Beast, Spring, Texas
Talk about a comeback. After cooking his way up the culinary ladder in Los Angeles for years, Mexican-American Bille relocated his young family to the Houston area to open Belly of the Beast in 2020…a month before the COVID pandemic basically flatlined the restaurant industry. Undeterred, Bille re-emerged in a strip mall in 2023 and has never looked back, garnering widespread acclaim for cheffy takes on empanadas and birria tacos, plus unexpected creations such as an amazing sliced duck with strawberry mole.
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Cat Cox, Country Bird Bakery, Tulsa
“I’m super excited to represent Tulsa,” Cox said backstage just moments after having the award medallion placed around her neck. “My community is so important to me.” The self-taught baker’s community has returned that loyalty, supporting her mission to work with regional grains and flour whenever possible. (It helps that Country Bird’s sourdough loaves and fruit tarts are habit-forming.) Now she returns to her hometown with a renewed commitment—and Tulsa’s first-ever James Beard Award.
Best New Bar
Identidad Cocktail Bar, San Juan, Puerto Rico
“It’s not easy to run a business on an island,” said Stephen Alonso in his acceptance speech. “Amazing things can happen when you put your heart and soul into a project.” Starting with a humble bartending gig at a pizza joint, Alonso immersed himself in mixology and met future Identidad partner Edrick Colon along the way. Now their passion project finds itself at the center of San Juan cocktail culture. As you might guess from the name, their Boricua (Puerto Rican) identity is on proud display on the menu, from tuna-plantain croquettes to the signature Mi Ultima Palabra cocktail that blends mezcal with grapefruit and jalapeño.
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
Charleston, Baltimore
They must have seen it coming. Charleston, a white-tablecloth eatery serving gourmet surf-and-turf fare in Baltimore’s Harbor East, has racked up two dozen James Beard nominations since it opened in 1997. This time around, it was chef-owner Cindy Wolf and master sommelier Lindsay Willey’s 1,300-bottle-strong wine cellar that clinched a win. By the next day, the long-awaited recognition was in bold type all over the restaurant’s website. One thing’s for sure—they had good Champagne on hand to celebrate.
Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service
Arjav Ezekiel, Birdie’s, Austin
Opened in 2021, Birdie’s has its own spin on keeping Austin weird, serving elevated prix-fixe fare in a casual, concrete-floor spot that welcomes kids and dogs. Co-owner and beverage director Ezekiel designed a wine list that pairs perfectly with that vibe, emphasizing natural wines produced through mindful farming and minimal intervention in the cellar. Erasing any snootiness from being a world-class sommelier, Ezekiel is almost always on hand to share his recommendation, from a simple glass of rosé to a special-occasion splurge bottle that he likes to refer to as “ballers.”
