The city has two chefs in the running for Outstanding Chef and five chefs in the running for the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic award, among others.

Ginnie Cooper, D.C.’s chief librarian, has been awarded the Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.

A local cabbie will be recognized as the best cab driver in the country later this month.

Chef and restaurateur José Andrés has done a lot, and he can now add making Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World list.

Congratulations are in order for Laura Amico, the reporter behind Homicide Watch D.C., who has been awarded a 2011 MJ Bear Fellowship by the Online News Association.

A hearty congratulations to M.E. Swing Coffee — the local brewer we highlighted in March — who earlier this month was awarded the KRUPS “Cup O’ Joe” prize as the best local coffee shop in the District.

When TBD laid off a whole cadre of talented reporters and editors after a mere six months in existence, most people appeared to agree that it was a hasty move. A move which seems even more foolish now, since the site was recently awarded the Edward R. Murrow Award for the best Online News Operation in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia or the District of Columbia.

Did you think we were just being cheeky when we reported that “One City has to be branded on everything” story? Well, here’s the proof that we’re serious about the manner in which Vince Gray’s mayoral campaign slogan has infiltrated even the tinest nooks and crannies of the District’s business.

Courtesy Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Even though the proposed bubble at the Hirshhorn Museum hasn’t yet inflated yet (latest plans for inflation are October 2012) it has won a progressive architecture award from the Architect, the magazine of the American Institute of Architects. The controversial bubble, designed by New York firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, earned praise from the magazine for its playful and vibrant nature. Says the magazine: Both installation and building, the…

Turns out we weren’t the only ones gushing over the Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library, which opened in August — the Wall Street Journal named the modern facility as one of its best buildings of the year.