Nashville Lands Five James Beard Award Nominations

This morning, industry-leading culinary arts group the James Beard Foundation released its annual list of Beard Award semifinalists, and — much like last year — it's a good one for Music City.

Among the 30 semifinalists for Best New Restaurant is chef Philip Krajeck's acclaimed — and well-reviewed, wink wink — East Side establishment Folk, which opened in April. 

Meanwhile, three noted Music City chefs have pulled in nominations. Longtime Margot Café & Bar owner-chef Margot McCormack is up for Outstanding Chef, while Bastion's Josh Habiger and Henrietta Red's Julia Sullivan — the latter of whom won last year's Scene Iron Fork competition, as it happens — are both nominated for Best Chef: Southeast. Sullivan and Habiger's partners Benjamin and Max Goldberg of Strategic Hospitality are nominated in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. The Goldberg brothers' Strategic is the restaurant group behind Henrietta Red and Bastion, as well as The Patterson House, The Catbird Seat and many others.

Habiger, McCormack and the Goldbergs have all been nominated in various categories in previous years.

The Beard Foundation folks say they'll announce the Restaurant and Chef Award finalists — along with the Media and Restaurant Design Awards — in Houston on March 27, with the 2019 James Beard Awards Gala set to take place May 6.