The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington recently announced the 23rd Annual RAMMY Award Nominees (.pdf). Four award categories — Neighborhood Gathering Place of the Year, Hottest Bar Scene of the Year, Power Spot of the Year, and Favorite Restaurant of the Year — will be selected by the public via ballots in the Post and on the RAMW website May 1. The other categories will be voted on by the judge’s panel, which consists of “esteemed Washington food writers and hospitality industry educators.”
Among the nominees for this year’s RAMMYs: Belga Cafe for Neighborhood Gathering Place and New Restaurant of the year (despite receiving one star from the Post); IndeBleu for Hottest Bar Scene; and José Andrés of Zaytinya, Jaleo, and Café Atlantico‘s minibar for Chef of the Year. CityZen adds a nomination for Best New Restaurant to another recent accolade; the restaurant’s head chef, Eric Ziebold, was recently named one of 2005’s Best New Chefs by Food & Wine magazine. The 2005 RAMMY award gala will be held June 6 at the Washington Convention Center. Ticket information is available on RAMW’s calendar.
The 2005 RAMMY’s goal is to celebrate the D.C. area’s “cool, new reputation,” one which Gala Chair Jodi Lehr claims “rivals New York” in terms of image as a restaurant town. But it seems the area’s “cool” reputation only goes as far north as Jaleo’s Bethesda location; no Maryland-only restaurants or restaurateurs are nominated, as the trade organization only represents restaurants in the District and Northern Virginia’s Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun counties.
