With three national semifinalists and another three in the regional Southwest, Dallas' recent drought at the James Beard Foundation Awards appears to be over.
Semifinalists for the restaurant and chef awards were announced this morning, and leading off was Misti Norris, whose iconoclastic restaurant Petra and the Beast in East Dallas was in the top category of best new restaurant in the U.S. Ricardo "Ricchi" Sanchez of Bullion in Downtown Dallas was named a semifinalist for outstanding pastry chef, and the French Room at the Adolphus Hotel got the nod for outstanding service.
In the regional categories, Bruno Davaillon of Bullion, Regino Rojas of Purepecha Room at Revolver Taco Lounge and David Uygur of Lucia and Macellaio were all singled out in the best chef in the Southwest.
A full list of the semifinalists is here. It will be narrowed down to final nominees on March 27, and the winners will be announced at the awards gala in Chicago on May 6.
The James Beard awards, often called the Oscars of the food world, are the most coveted by chefs and restaurateurs, and it stung to see Dallas overlooked in the past. Last year, there was just one semifinalist, Rojas of Revolver Taco Lounge.
What's particularly gratifying about today's semifinalists is that they represent so much about what makes Dallas such an exciting food city right now. The range of restaurants, from elegant modern French cuisine at Bullion to the experimental foraged and fermented fare at Petra and the Beast, and the range of styles, from classic formal service at the French Room to an ambitious tasting menu served behind a taqueria at Purepecha Room: Dallas chefs are pushing boundaries and holding themselves to high standards. It's about time that was recognized nationally.
For Norris, the recognition caps a stunningly eventful year. Petra, which opened last spring as a pop-up in a 1930s gas station in East Dallas, made every restaurant of the year list in town in 2018, then picked up a nod from from Esquire magazine as one of the best new restaurants of the year.
The Beard foundation defines a semifinalist as a restaurant that "demonstrates excellence in cuisine and hospitality, and that is likely to make a significant impact in years to come," an apt description of Norris' restaurant. In August we broke the news that Petra would go from being a pop-up to a permanent fixture on the Dallas dining scene, and noted that Petra was following in the footsteps of some of the country's most influential restaurants, which also began as pop-ups.
After earning notice as a sous chef at FT33, Norris left her job as chef at Small Brewpub and started Petra without the benefit of a deep-pocketed partner or the security of working for a restaurant owner. She took over a bare-bones, 1930s filling station and decorated it with foraged branches and the bleached white bones of the pigs she used to make the charcuterie. Her menu is posted on a chalkboard. Wine is strictly BYOB. And each meticulously composed, complex dish is served in a paper takeout container.
In my three-and-a-half-star review of Bullion last year, I singled out Sanchez's desserts as somehow lighter, crisper and thinner than the classics they emulate. His minimalist mille-feuille turns what can be a heavy, creamy pastry into a conversation-stopping revelation, with merely two layers of vanilla cream, three disks of crunchy pastry and a touch of dulce de leche. Even his chocolate fondant has that characteristic lightness and pleasantly bitter edge.
Flawless service was also a highlight of my two-and-a-half-star review of the French Room last year, where Victor Rojas is general manager. After a turbulent year that saw two chefs debut two entirely different menus, the front of the house held steady. Overseen by Rojas, a veteran of the Dallas dining scene, its blend of professionalism and warmth brings the room to life, guides you through the menu without condescension and makes a formal evening a fun one, too.
The Southwest's best chef category was all about Texas, with the state accounting for 12 of the 20 semifinalists in a category that covers Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah as well as Texas.
In addition to the three Dallas semifinalists, there were another five chefs from Austin (Iliana de la Vega of El Naranjo, Kevin Fink of Emmer & Rye, Michael Fojtasek of Olamaie, Bryce Gilmore of Barley Swine and Maribel Rivero of Yuyo), two from Houston (Kaiser Lashkari of of Himalaya and Trong Nguyen of Crawfish & Noodles) and one each from San Antonio (Steve McHugh of Cured) and Pearland (Ronnie Killen of Killen's Steakhouse).
Nationally, the other Texas nominees were Suerte in Austin, which joins Petra and the Beast in the best new restaurant category. The Original Ninfa's on Navigation in Houston was among the outstanding restaurant semifinalists.
Houston also had a good showing nationally, with Anvil Bar & Refuge recognized for outstanding bar program, Chris Shephard of Georgia James for outstanding chef, and Tracy Vaught of H Town Restaurant Group, which includes Hugo's, Caracol and Xochi, for outstanding restaurateur. Hugo's and Tony's also joined the French Room in the outstanding service category.
And Kim McPherson of McPherson Cellars in Lubbock and Jeffrey Stuffings of Jester King Brewery in Austin were named among outstanding wine, spirits or beer producers.
Clearly, it's a great time to be eating — and drinking — in Texas. For the full list of nominees, go to jamesbeard.org/awards.
Updated at 12:00 p.m., to correct 2017 semifinalists; that year, there were six semifinalists but no nominees.
