Chicago Can Be Proud of Beard Award Weekend

The looks on their faces were undeniable. Whether it was a sponsor, an official from the Illinois Restaurant Association or an extremely tanned Mayor Emanuel, there was no hiding the obvious civic pride from hosting the first James Beard Awards outside of New York City. The city can rightly pat itself on its collective back for putting together the herculean feat of hosting dozens of food world celebs, chefs and restaurateurs over the past three days. I’ve been attending the awards in NYC for the past 19 years, and what I saw/experienced here this weekend wasn’t that much different; in fact, in some ways, it was a hell of a lot better.

But first, I need to address Chicago’s anemic showing in this year’s actual Chef/Restaurant Awards. Last night, our food community was positively giddy, having had nominees in seven national categories plus one regional (Best Chef: Great Lakes). That last one is typically a Chicago shoo-in, since four of the five are from Chicago. But in an upset, Cleveland’s Jonathon Sawyer (Greenhouse Tavern) took home the Beard, beating out Grace’s Curtis Duffy and Nico’s Erling Wu-Bower, not to mention Paul Virant and Andrew Zimmerman. Noms for Pastry Chef, Rising Star, Best New Restaurant and Outstanding Service all went elsewhere, and you could feel the wind being slowly punched out of our city’s sails (if you weren’t already straining to hear over the din of the obnoxious VIPs, who paid a couple thousand dollars per head to eat dinner on the balcony of the Civic Opera House during the awards; to say nothing of the sound-challenged press room).

At the end of the night, it was a simple trifecta for Chicago: Outstanding Bar Program (The Violet Hour), Outstanding Restaurateur (Donnie Madia – One Off Hospitality), and Best Design, 75 seats or less (Brindille). Rich Melman took home the Lifetime Achievement Awards and yours truly, in an earlier ceremony in NYC last week, took home the Best Podcast along with Rick Bayless for The Feed Podcast. For a full list of winners, click here.

“We all know how good Dana [Cree, the pastry chef at Blackbird] is. We all know how good Parachute is,” said an upbeat Abe Conlon in the kitchen at The Aviary earlier this morning during one of the several after parties. The chef/owner of Fat Rice told me Chicagoans already realize how rich our talent pool is, and I had to agree that we don’t need a medallion to remind us. He said he was swamped this weekend, even opening on Sunday for Thomas Keller and the crew at Per Se. I loved hearing stories like this from local restaurateurs, who were getting exposure to chefs and writers from around the country they might not otherwise have had. I can’t tell you how many texts and emails I received in the days leading up to this weekend, asking for recommendations, and to be able to share my favorites with eager out-of-towners is something I will look forward to in the next two years as well (the Beards are locked here for 2016 and 2017).

One of the more enjoyable aspects of the Beard Weekend was the parties. In New York, there are a handful of course, all of them overcrowded with lines four-deep at the bar, food an afterthought (unless you’re at Daniel for an over-the-top brunch fiesta). Yet here, on Sunday, I attended a morning panel and brunch I co-moderated with Bayless at Kendall College for a group of high school culinary students, which filled all of us – including our six Beard nominated panelists – with a sense of pride; I then attended an event at The Purple Pig, promoting the upcoming Chicago Food & Wine Festival in August – again, plenty of food, wine and cocktails (thanks Maison Premiere fellas) with nary a line. Then it was off to the alley behind Three Dots and a Dash, where they and the Lettuce team were having an urban luau with drinks from at least four different bars from around the country, and again, plenty of room to roam and mingle without holding your food on your elbow and your drink on a garbage can. I swung by the Rioja event at Union Station, attended a Culinary Historians talk by Beard President Susan Ungaro about the history of James Beard and ran into plenty of people who couldn’t stop gushing about our hospitality.

The Soho House hosted the official welcome party, and unfortunately, it was a mess. I was able to stay for about 10 minutes, before the beads of sweat began pouring from my brow. Apparently the 5th floor isn’t capable of handling 2,000 (a guess) all arriving at the same time, so many of us retreated to the open-air 6th floor, where we were able to breathe (note to planning committee: make the party on two floors next year, or just find another venue).

There were other parties of course – a rosé event, a Rare Tea Cellars shindig, and a few more I couldn’t possibly get to – which meant attendees had plenty of options to customize their visit here, thus reducing the pressure on any one location. Sunday night, they held the annual Chef’s Night Out party at The Montgomery Club, the former Brasserie Ruhlman space on West Chicago Avenue, which now has all of its catering controlled by the Gibsons Group. They tented the back yard, almost doubling the space, making it 10 times more comfortable than the basement food court of the Plaza Hotel, where its been the past few years. Not that you expect to eat dinner at this event (it starts at 9:30 p.m.) since most people come from a dinner elsewhere, but they did a killer job of providing great bites, including a massive seafood tower and a row of food trucks outside that were all complimentary. Nothing like a Beavers Donuts or a Lou’s pizza on your way home.

Last night, there were no less than four after parties in Chicago, and the two I attended – Frontera/Toplo’s and The Aviary – set a new standard: great food, drink and music in a comfortable environment. Frontera had an amazing DJ and the adorable Potash Twins on trombone and trumpet, playing jazz along with him (they miraculously popped up everywhere over the weekend) while Redmoon Theater actors moved about the space in their elaborate costumes/contraptions (loved the Mezcal Pouring Girl). Compare that to the frat boy after party I attended at Acme last year, in a dark basement with blasting rap music, occasional pork buns and an impossible line at the bar – I distinctly remember talking with one of the One Off guys there, asking why couldn’t an after party be fun – and I knew it wouldn’t be hard to top in Chicago. Other after parties took place at Big Star, La Sirena Clandestine and Girl & the Goat; I’m not sure how anyone could actually attend all of these, but clearly, by having several options, there isn’t going to be one place that gets slammed.

One of the Beard people told me how they’ve talked with more Chicago city officials in the past week than they have with New York officials in the past 20 years. That kind of indifference is what led to the NFL Draft coming here (and probably staying), and will no doubt keep the Beards from returning, as long as sponsors can pony up millions of dollars (Lexus, HMS Host and Mariano’s came up with $1.75 million this year; there are commitments for $2.75 over the next two years, which essentially shores up the Beard’s budget).

“We all have the innate sensibility of digging in…by leading and helping each other,” an elated Donnie Madia told me shortly after winning his Beard last night. The same could be said for the city we call home. Looking forward to next year. Cheers.