{"id":46155,"date":"2026-01-22T17:56:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T01:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/?p=46155"},"modified":"2026-01-22T18:41:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T02:41:24","slug":"james-beard-semifinalists-honors-places-you-probably-havent-been-to-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/james-beard-semifinalists-honors-places-you-probably-havent-been-to-yet\/","title":{"rendered":"James Beard Semifinalist List Honors Places You Probably Haven’t Been To Yet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the restaurant world, the James Beard Awards are a very big deal. They’re referred to as “the pinnacle of culinary recognition.” Mostly by, you know, the James Beard Foundation. Just being nominated for a James Beard Award is enough to make a chef spontaneously ejaculate. Why do you think everyone in the food service industry is so jumpy? “The James Beard Awards were announced!” a food service employee will say, and another will reply, “Time to lean, time to clean!” It’s all very awkward and one of the reasons service at restaurants can be so slow sometimes, everyone’s in Human Resources.”<\/p>\n

The James Beard Foundation announced its Restaurant and Chef Awards semifinalists for the 2026 James Beard Awards, and a record number of Las Vegas restaurants and individuals were among the nominees.<\/p>\n

The awards provide a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon how many great Las Vegas restaurants you haven’t visited yet. We went through the unbearably long list of semifinalists<\/a> so you can see all of the Vegas-related noms at a glance. There really needs to be a James Beard Award for “Best Las Vegas Blog If You Define ‘Best’ by Snark and Also Least Effort Exerted.”<\/p>\n

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Take that, chef-driven foam-forward sensory interventions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We would begin our story with an overview of the James Beard Awards and James Beard Foundation, but in our experience, nobody gives a shit.<\/p>\n

As with any organization involving human beings, the James Beard Foundation has been rife with drama<\/a>, corruption and a metric hell-ton of straight-up racism.<\/p>\n

In 2020, the James Beard Foundation canceled its awards after somebody pointed out there were no black winners in its 23 award categories.<\/p>\n

Since then, thankfully, racism has been cured, so we can proceed like nothing ever happened.<\/p>\n

Here, then, are the 2026 James Beard Awards Semifinalists.<\/p>\n

Outstanding Restaurateur<\/h2>\n

Elizabeth Blau, Blau + Associates (Buddy V’s and Honeysalt)<\/p>\n

Emerging Chef<\/h2>\n

Ellie Parker, Main Street Provisions<\/p>\n

Best New Restaurant<\/h2>\n

Tamba<\/p>\n

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker<\/h2>\n

Kimberly Mcintosh, Milkfish Bakeshop<\/p>\n

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program<\/h2>\n

Ada’s Wine Bar<\/p>\n

Best New Bar<\/h2>\n

Nocturno<\/p>\n

Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service<\/h2>\n

Bank Atcharawan, Jipata<\/p>\n

Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service<\/h2>\n

Mariena Mercer Boarini, Aft Cocktail Deck<\/p>\n

Best Chef: Southwest<\/h2>\n

Oulay Ceesay Fisher, Calabash African Kitchen
\nBrian Howard, Sparrow + Wolf
\nYuri Szarzewski, Partage
\nSarah Thompson, Casa Playa
\nJamie Tran, Black Sheep
\nJames Trees, Bar Bohème<\/p>\n

As mentioned, this is a record number (14) of semifinalists for Las Vegas bar and restaurant talent.<\/p>\n

In other statistics, of the 14 people and places nominated, we haven’t been to 71% of them, mostly because those places aren’t in casinos. Of the 14 nominations, we have not even heard of 57%. We know 21% of the people personally. Elizabeth Blau is fleek AF, James Trees is a pasta wizard and Mariena Mercer Boarini doesn’t just do the cocktails at Aft, she creates all the cocktail menus at Wynn and Encore, making her a straight-up inebriatory goddess (ditto her invention of the Verbena cocktail at Cosmo).<\/p>\n

It’s worth mentioning that if you want to try Ada’s Wine Bar (also the work of James Trees), you might be looking in the wrong place. It recently moved from Summerlin to the Arts District. Trees also had a hand in Al Solito Posto in Summerlin, reliably spectacular.<\/p>\n

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Today we learned Al Solito Posto, home of one of the world’s best chicken parms, has a happy hour from 9:00 p.m. to close—half price handmade pasta with any cocktail at the bar. @tivolivillagelv<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/EhcV5SfGzx<\/a><\/p>\n

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) December 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n