Chef Robert Wiedmaier accepts the award for Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year at the 2016 RAMMY Awards, flanked by family and staff. (Photo by Simoneink)
It may have been Tony Awards night in New York last night, but here in D.C., it was all about the RAMMYs, the awards program of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW). A trade association representing several hundred restaurants and food service providers across the D.C. area, it’s an event when restaurateurs celebrate each other, although there’s an important caveat: because it’s a membership organization, your favorite restaurant may not have been a nominee if it is not a RAMW member (sorry, devotees of Pineapple and Pearls).
The top prize of the evening went to chef Robert Wiedmaier’s restaurant Marcel’s, which won for Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year, beating out Iron Gate, Rasika, Restaurant Eve, and Trummer’s on Main. Known for an extremely high standard of service, a deep wine list, and finely crafted French-influenced Belgian cuisine, chef-owner Wiedmaier acknowledged the honor of an award that is determined by a panel of industry experts, saying, “They’re the ones who understand what goes into making and maintaining a successful restaurant. They know it’s not as easy as we make it look.”
While Marcel’s can deservedly be called a Washington institution, having served up fine cuisine for 17 years, there were several awards that went to relative newcomers to D.C.’s burgeoning restaurant scene. Alex Levin, who left the world of high finance just five years ago to become a pastry chef at the age of 32, was recognized as Pastry Chef of the Year; Levin has already made his mark in short order at Osteria Morini, wowing diners with carefully composed deconstructed desserts that exhibit modernist flair, while still pursuing the perfect halva recipe in his spare time.
Other winners include Jonah Kim of Yona as Rising Culinary Star of the Year, 2 Birds 1 Stone for Cocktail Program of the Year, and Maketto for New Restaurant of the Year. Check out the full list here.
