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The Saturday Morning Post
Written by DCist Contributors Gayle S. Putrich and Mike Roscoe
Awards season: long gone in Hollywood; just getting started for D.C.'s restaurants. If you don't believe us, just ask Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve, Eamonn's, and the forthcoming Majestic. Armstrong has been named a contender for two awards in as many days: Best Mid-Atlantic Chef from the James Beard Foundation on Monday and now Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. Not bad for a nice Irish boy who just likes to mess around in the kitchen (How long before we see him on Iron Chef America? Someone get Alton Brown on the phone). "I'm just a simple cook from Ireland trying to keep his head down," Armstrong said, when cornered by adoring fans (okay, us) last night.
A rowdy crowd at the Ritz-Carlton bore witness Tuesday night to the unveiling of the nominees for the 2007 Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington Awards, affectionately known as the RAMMYs, including Armstrong's nods for Chef of the Year, Best Fancy-Pants Dinner and Best Damn Drinking in Town. The mention of Bebo Trattoria da Roberto Donna came as something of a surprise, since everyone we know is usually too busy recounting some kind of service debacle to even talk about the food. But perhaps the work of Bebo's chef de cuisine, Amy Brandwein (whom we did see on Iron Chef, when Donna took on Morimoto for the second time) transcends the continued front-of-the-house issues in the eyes of the judges. But, without any more color commentary, we give you the 2007 RAMMY Nominees:
New Restaurant of the Year
Blue Duck Tavern
PS 7's Restaurant
Rasika
BLT Steak (Bistro Laurent Tourondel)
Farrah Olivia
Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year
1789 Restaurant
CityZen
Komi Restaurant
Eve
Vidalia
Informal Restaurant of the Year
Bangkok 54
Corduroy
La Chaumiere
Pesce
Tallulah Restaurant
Chef of the Year
Cathal Armstrong -- Restaurant Eve
Yannick Cam -- Le Paradou
RJ Cooper -- Vidalia
Robert Wiedmaier -- Marcel's
Eric Ziebold -- CityZen
Restaurant Employee of the Year
Chris Kelley, Lead Bartender -- Mie N Yu
Dave Vorhees, Waiter -- 2941 Restaurant
Jonathan Crayne, Senior Captain -- Marcel's
Apolonario Flores, Cook -- Chef Geoff's
Jennifer Roe, Maitre'd -- DC Coast
Pastry Chef of the Year
Kate Jansen -- Willow Restaurant
Steve Klc -- ThinkFood Group
Naomi Gallego -- PS 7's Restaurant
Huw Griffiths -- Tabard Inn
Tom Wellings -- Maestro
Wine and Beverage Program of the Year
Michel Richard Citronelle
Restaurant Eve
2941 Restaurant
Taberna del Alabardero
Vidalia
Restaurant Manager of the Year
Ellen Kassoff Gray -- Equinox
Emily Jarmuth -- Mie N Yu
Paul (P.J.) Kern -- Charlie Palmer Steak
Christine de Clerfay -- The Oceanaire Seafood Room
Paco Pena -- Taberna del Alabardero
Rising Culinary Star of the Year
Nathan Beauchamp -- 1789 Restaurant
Amy Brandwein -- Bebo Trattoria da Roberto Donna
Mark Hellyar -- Blue Duck Tavern
Barton Seaver -- Cafe Saint-Ex
Tony Conte -- The Oval Room
You can have a say in four of the awards; there is public voting for Neighborhood Gathering Place of the Year, Hottest Bar Scene of the Year, Power Spot of the Year, and the People's Favorite at the RAMW site and in the May 20 edition of The Washington Post Magazine. The nominees for these categories are as follows:
Neighborhood Gathering Place of the Year
Ardeo
Busboys & Poets
Hank's Oyster Bar
Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar
Willow Restaurant
Hottest Bar Scene of the Year
EatBar
Mate
Oya
Urbana Restaurant & Wine Bar
Zatinya
Power Spot of the Year
Bistro Bis
Charlie Palmer Steak
Georgia Brown's
The Oceanaire Seafood Room
The Oval Room
People's Favorite
(to be selected by the public)
This year's gala /awards show/gastronomic throwdown—the 25th annual—will be held June 17 at the Marriott Wardman Park. More than a chance for the local food industry to pat itself on the back, the RAMMYs are also good for you. Well, not because of healthy snacks, but they are good for the community. Last year's RAMMY gala raised around $200,000 for restaurant workers displaced by Hurricane Katrina and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington's Education Foundation. The foundation handed out three scholarships to deserving high school students attending The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and Johnson and Wales in Providence, R.I. We only hope those kids will remember who loves them best and come back to The District to keep the D.C. food scene growing.
Photo from littlerottenrobin.
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Rasika is way overpriced for what you get. Indique kicks their arse from here to Bangladesh.
I think Hank's is one of the best values in the city if you have the time to wait for a table.
Waitaminit, I thought the RAMMYs was the gay adult film awards. Color me embarrassed.
Monkey- do you ever do any work during the day, or just comment on DCist? (please ignore the fact that I'm the one most often commenting with you...)
This explains why you looked so out of place at last year's event, which was themed "glam-rock." This year is "black tie and boas," so I guess that means leather straps, huh?
"WHOM we did see on Iron Chef...."
Either leather straps or a boa constrictor hanging out of my popozao, a la Robert Mapplethorpe.
"out of my popozÃo..."
positively evil to put a picture of those yummy looking cupcakes on at the mid-afternoon hungry time. and I don't even like sweets. Now all I want is a damn cupcake.
Hmmmmm. Cathal is not the only chef in dc to have James Beard nominations and rammy nominations for best chef!!!!!!! Hmmmmmmm.