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
