On May 4, the country's top toques, journalists, publicists and associated Twitterati will descend upon the new, ultra-glam Avery Fisher Hall for the 2009 James Beard Awards, a.k.a. the "Oscars of the food world." Much like last year, there will be no shortage of starpower on stage, with hosts Stanley Tucci, Iron Chef Cat Cora and Emeril Lagasse handing out the hardware.
To prep for the fete, we've once again asked three industry insiders—a critic, publicist and chef—for their predictions in categories featuring NYC-based nominees. All respondents remained anonymous, for maximum truthfulness. And nastiness!
The Critic
This esteemed food journalist is one of NYC's top critics and has contributed both feature stories and reviews to numerous publications.
In the Outstanding Restaurateur category, New York moguls Keith McNally and Drew Nieporent square off against Stephen Starr, Richard Melman, and Tom Douglas. Our Critic feels that Keith McNally deserves to win, particularly with the success of the brand-new Minetta Tavern. "The chefs at his restaurants never surpass him. It's always a ‘Keith McNally restaurant' before anything else—definitely the sign of a great restaurateur. And he's never had a flop. "
However, The Critic predicts the winner will be Drew Nieporent, who brought Paul Liebrandt out of hiatus last year to helm the critically acclaimed Corton. He says of Nieporent: "He's had his ups and downs. He got burned this year by Mai House, but he knows how to find talent."
For Outstanding Chef, The Critic picks NYC's own farm-to-table guru Dan Barber of Blue Hill over Tom Colicchio, Paul Kahan, Suzanne Goin, and José Andrés. "The Beards are New York-centric. Barber is an insider and he hasn't won before, although I'd love to see José Andrés win too. If he won, it'd be a big nod to other cities."
As far as Best Restaurant goes, money is on Babbo over Jean Georges and Fore Street among other nominees: "Mario has won just about every other award, so it would make sense if Babbo won. It's also been around long enough and has been consistently popular. There's also a chance that Boulevard in SF could take it—great restaurant."
In the Best New Restaurant category, The Critic is less than thrilled with this year's entries. "This year sucked for new restaurants." But he's pretty sure this award is going to Momofuku Ko over Scarpetta, L20, The Bazaar and Corton, and is not happy about it. "Corton is one of the great meals in New York, maybe even the world-it's the whole experience. But let's face it, this award will probably going to go to Momofuku Ko. How many awards can that guy win?"
For Best Chef NYC, The Critic thinks Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern will just eke by Terrance Brennan for victory. As far as the other nominees go: "Wylie's restaurant is on the verge of failure. Chefs love him, customers don't. He's not even a player when you really look at it. As far as Gabi Hamilton, she has a modest, homey restaurant, but it's nothing exciting."
Lastly, Daniel will win the Best Service Award hands down. "Daniel is the best service in NYC. No question about that. La Grenouille is the last restaurant of its kind, but it doesn't touch Daniel. Emeril's New Orleans? That's a joke. There's your nod to the Food Network."
