The Publicist
As head of one of the city's most influential firms, this PR maverick reps some of the hottest eateries in New York, and around the country.
"David Chang would be nowhere without the blogs," says The Publicist, who predicts Chang will take the win for Best New Restaurant: "I love Scott Conant, but I'm sure that Ko is going to get it because David Chang could take a bath and get an award from them. He can do no wrong. I think it's brilliant that he made no special concession for food writers to eat there—that the reservation system was democratic. It made writers want to eat there more."
When it comes to Best Chef NYC, the Publicist predicts molecular gastronomy god Wylie Dufresne will take it. "I would like to see Wylie win because I think that he deserves it for thinking outside of the box and for being his own person," he says. "Michael Anthony is very talented but not ready. He's been nominated every year. Brennan has been around but he will never win. I think Anita Lo should have been nominated over Gabrielle Hamilton. Gabi being nominated is a bit premature."
In the Service category, The Publicist also agrees that Daniel is the shoo-in: "Daniel has my vote. I like Daniel Boulud as a person. He keeps up with the way things are happening in the industry. La Grenouille doesn't keep up. Don't know about Vetri. It's a small restaurant, so it's a lot different. I think it's going to go to Daniel."
In the Best Restaurateur category, The Publicist is placing his chips on Drew Nieporent: "Drew redeemed himself with Corton. Everyone thought that he was finished. Tribeca Grill has never done anything really strong. Keith McNally is too trendy. People that vote aren't into his restaurants. Tom Douglas has done a nice job, but his restaurants are too chain-driven." As far as oversights go: "Stephen Hanson and Jeffrey Chodorow get shafted a lot because they lack critical approval. But they both have a good style as far as New York goes."
For Outstanding Chef, The Publicist is confident that José Andrés will take it: "Tom Colicchio is a very talented man, but José Andrés will win. He's inventive and creative and they need to recognize more non-Americans than they have done in the past."
"I think Boulevard has a good chance of winning. Nancy Oakes hasn't ever left," says our Publicist about the Best Restaurant category. He also explains how the nomination process is political: "The big problem is, once you've won an award you can vote. Those are the people who vote. Even though Danny Meyer has a huge amount of people in his organization, he wasn't nominated this year. But people that used to work at Babbo that are now on the committee—you can't tell me that they don't vote for it. These nominations depend so much on muscle."
In the Pastry Chef category, The Publicist is deadlocked between Gina DePalma and Mindy Segal: "Pichet isn't going to get it, unfortunately, because his restaurants just closed. As talented as he is, the Beards frown on this sort of thing. I think that Gina does great work and Nicole does too. But I've heard great things about Mindy's hot chocolate in Chicago. I think it's between Gina and Mindy."
