VEGAS DINING NEWS: James Trees Leads Record James Beard Nominations, Cosmo Opens Corner Store
Posted on: January 21, 2026, 10:19h.
Last updated on: January 21, 2026, 11:11h.
Las Vegas posted a milestone moment in its culinary rise Wednesday, landing 14 semifinalist slots in the 2026 James Beard Awards — the largest single‑year showing the city has ever recorded. The annual honors are considered the Academy Awards for food.
The jump is striking compared with last year, when the region produced five semifinalists. (Three advanced to the finalist round in 2025, and none took home a medal.)
Las Vegas also made a strong showing in Best Chef: Southwest, with six nominees including James Trees for Bar Boheme. Trees also received the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program nod for Ada’s Wine Bar, which he moved from Tivoli Village to the Arts District late last year.
These are Trees’ second and third semifinalist placements, following his first for Esther’s Kitchen in 2020. Trees also recently opened High Steaks Vegas on top of the Rio’s Masquerade Tower. (Click here to read Casino.org’s exclusive interview with the rising chef about the experience.)
This year’s slate includes a breakout name: Ellie Parker, the 26‑year‑old executive chef of Main St. Provisions and a finalist on the current season of Hell’s Kitchen, which airs its finale Thursday. Parker earned a nod in the Emerging Chef category, marking her first appearance on a Beard ballot.
Elsewhere on the list, Tamba secured a nod for Best New Restaurant and Kimberly McIntosh of Milkfish Bakeshop was tapped for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.
In the national categories, industry powerhouse Elizabeth Blau was recognized in Outstanding Restaurateur for her work with Honey Salt, Buddy V’s, and Blau + Associates.
The semifinalists will be narrowed to finalists on March 31, and on June 15, the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Chicago.
Beard Semifinalists
Best Chef: Southwest (alphabetically)
Oulay Ceesay Fisher
Calabash African Kitchen
Brian Howard
Sparrow + Wolf
Yuri Szarzewski
Partage
Sarah Thompson
Casa Playa (Encore)
Jamie Tran
Black Sheep
James Trees
Bar Boheme
Emerging Chef
Ellie Parker
Main St. Provisions
Best New Restaurant
Tamba
Outstanding Restaurateur
Elizabeth Blau
Blau + Associates (Buddy V’s, Honey Salt)
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Kimberly McIntosh
Milkfish Bakeshop
Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
Ada’s Food + Wine
Best New Bar
Nocturno
Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service
Bank Atcharawan
Jipata
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
Mariena Mercer Boarini
Aft Cocktail Deck (Wynn)
And the Honors Keep Coming!
It’s not as marquee as a 14 James Beard semifinalist nods, but four Las Vegas restaurants also landed on Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in the US for 2026. (The website says its editorial team assembled the list using platform data and community input.)
Rock N’ Potato in the Strip’s Showcase Mall — known for its maximalist spuds — leads the local pack at No. 23. Following at No. 26 is Lucky Noodle (6120 W. Tropicana Ave., Suite A1) with its Taiwanese comfort bowls.
At No. 31 is Ton Shou Katsu & Izakaya (4049 Spring Mountain Road) with Japanese staples including crisp katsu cutlets and charcoal‑kissed skewers. And rounding out the Sin City selections is Rutba Indian Kitchen (5115 Spring Mountain Road, Suite 223A) at No. 34, spotlighted for its mix of classic Indian clay‑oven specialties.
Dining Ins & Outs
Blue Ribbon American Grill & Oyster Bar, which opened at the Cosmopolitan shortly after the casino hotel debuted in 2010, will close on February 16. Its replacement will be Corner Store, which debuted in New York’s SoHo in late 2024, this fall. From the same Catch Hospitality Group that runs Catch at Aria, the Corner Store is most famous for seating Taylor Swift. (Multiple times!)
Charter 75 Modern Kitchen will open in February at the Gold Coast Casino.
Istanbul Mediterannean is opening its second Las Vegas location at 505 Fremont St. downtown, the former Flippin’ Good space.
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