In a year as the food and beverage industry recovered from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the talented and hardworking culinary stars of Dallas-Fort Worth deserved to be celebrated at the 2021 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.
The winners have finally been announced.
For weeks we have dedicated a special editorial series to the nominees in more than a dozen categories, including the best restaurants, chefs, bars and bartenders. A jury of experts helped select all winners, with the exception of Best New Restaurant. You, our readers, noticed that in a bracket-style tournament.
In addition to favorite categories like Rising Star Chef of the Year and Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year, we’ve added a delicious new wildcard category: Best Ghost Kitchen, that major takeaway trend that emerged during the pandemic.
We also presented two Hero Awards to highlight people who have done an excellent job supporting the hospitality industry during these troubled times.
On August 19, the winners were crowned at an awards ceremony and tasting in the Fashion Industry Gallery under the direction of comedian CJ Starr.
Now let’s raise a glass to the winners of the Tastemaker Award 2021:
DALLAS
Restaurant of the year: José
Park Cities hotspot offers modern Mexican-inspired cuisine and an artisanal mixology program highlighted by a collection of tequilas and mezcals. What was good became better when cook Anastacia “AQ” Quinones came on as head chef. A firm believer in modern Mexican, this CIA graduate and 2018 Tastemaker Award winner has channeled her creativity to layer complex flavors into every bite at José. In the middle of the pandemic, they conjured up a ghost kitchen called Provecho Pollos with fried chicken and homely Mexican soup.
Chef of the Year: Matt Balke, Encina
Born in Texas, Balke earned degrees in business marketing and hotel restaurant management from Texas Tech, then a degree from the Culinary Institute of America in 2007. He has worked on iconic York Street, Bolsa, Bolsa Mercado, The Rustic, and Smoke, and was head chef at Bolsa when it closed in 2020. He and his partner Corey McCombs took over the lease after Bolsa closed and in October opened Encina, their warm neighborhood restaurant serving New American cuisine, cocktails, wine and beer. He is another tastemaker nominee, who was nominated for best chef in 2017.
Aspiring Celebrity Chef of the Year: Carol Nguyen, Ngon Vietnamese
Nguyen started cooking Vietnamese food after moving to the US to recreate dishes and flavors she missed. She worked in New Orleans before opening Crazee Crab, a Cajun restaurant in Grand Prairie in 2014, out of a love of home cooking and Ha Noi upbringing, and inspired by food served by street vendors in Vietnam. Family pulls through: she is named after her mother and she uses her grandmother’s recipes.
Best new restaurant: Monarch
Downtown Dallas restaurant, The National, a residence-plus hotel in downtown Dallas, is a newcomer to Dallas who swears by the local Italian scene with dishes like a $ 55 lasagna and a $ 12 side of charred Alter asparagus. Its skytop perch offers breathtaking views, making it the newest choice for special occasions. It comes from the sociable Chicago chef Danny Grant, who has his sights set on Dallas with other openings.
Neighborhood restaurant of the year: Edoko Omakase
The ambitious restaurant in Irving is by Sara Nam, whose aunt Edoko owns Sushi & Robata in Richardson and kindly allowed her to use the name Edoko; and Chef Keunsik Lee, who worked at Nobu, Japonais by Morimoto in Chicago, and Wasabi Sushi in Fort Worth. They opened in March 2020, possibly the worst month in history, but they have attracted a following thanks to their “omakase” offering where diners leave the order to the chef. Not a question that put them on the foodies menu, but their menu also features a variety of affordable sushi options and bento boxes for lunch – just what you need to win over the locals as well.
Best ghost cuisine: TLC Vegan Kitchen
Vegan chef Troy Gardner was one of the first to introduce a ghost kitchen concept on his TLC debut in May 2020. It offers an extensive selection of vegan items that you can get in family meals or packed lunches. The menu features chili; Chicken Fried Steak; Lasagne with homemade ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan; and desserts like chocolate lava cake and banana care pudding.
Pastry Chef of the Year: Corey Thomson, Fearing’s
A graduate of Austin’s Le Cordon Bleu, Thomson had been the senior pastry chef for The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, for 10 years. He oversees all aspects of the pastry shop, including the dessert program at Fearing’s, as well as the creation of showpieces for display in The Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge. He also starred in the second season of Netflix’s Sugar Rush, where he and teammate Zach Manasan won $ 10,000.
Bar of the year: Cosmo’s
Cosmo’s was founded in 2000 – before a life of bar years – by brother and sister Gerald Stogsdill and Debra Peña, who created a chilled, funky retro atmosphere and sophisticated martinis that were ahead of their time. Bar manager and now business partner Jackson Tran has given Cosmo’s a second life, adding Vietnamese family recipes to the menu, such as pho and grilled pork chop with braised kale, which have attracted a new appreciative audience of foodies.
Bartender of the Year: Liz Mitchell, Thunderbird Station
Mitchell started out at Goodfriend Beer Garden and Burger House in East Dallas, where she worked for five years before joining the Double Wide Family, a collection of cool bar spots owned by hospitality expert Kim Finch that included singles Wide on Greenville Avenue. Mitchell currently runs the Thunderbird Station, the groovy retro bar and restaurant on the outskirts of Deep Ellum, where all the food and cocktails are super fun. Mitchell’s approach is to always try to make a personal connection before she serves you a drink.
Wine program of the year: Veritas Wine Room
The charmer Henderson Avenue has a strong neighborhood bar vibe, but with adventurous wines and a knowledgeable staff. They are known for their weekly wine specials and frequent tasting events, which resumed not a minute early after the recent pandemic. For $ 45, you can typically get 15 one-ounce passes from a wide range of incredible wines that owners have amassed over the years. If you’re looking to make new wine-savvy friends, enjoy Happy Hour with a $ 2 discount on weekdays from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Hero Prize: Meaders Ozarow
The owner and founder of Empire Baking Co. has always made it an integral part of her business by generously donating her baked goods to nonprofits and charities.
FORT VALUE
Restaurant of the year: Hatsuyuki Handroll Bar
Sushi chef Jun Mo Yeon, a former owner of Daan Sushi Asian Bistro & Bar in Grapevine, opened this small, quaint place in 2018, the first sushi bar in Fort Worth to specialize in hand rolls, or temaki – cylindrical sushi rolls that include rice, fish, and vegetables. Buns are cooked on site while you watch and given to you by the sushi chef who made them. Fillings include salmon, tuna, scallops, yellowtail, crab, eel, toro, and lobster. You’re a recurring tastemaker nominee nominated for Best New Restaurant in 2019.
Chef of the year: Felipe Armenta, Taverne, Towne Grill, Maria’s
Armenta is a nominated returnee who was nominated for best chef in 2020 and more than deserved it. He’s one of Fort Worth’s most prolific restaurateurs, with a portfolio of restaurants that includes The Tavern, Pacific Table, Maria’s Mexican Kitchen (which received a Tastemaker nomination for best new restaurant this year), and the recently opened Towne Grill, and Shines to grow every day.
Best new restaurant: La Onda
The Latin American-inspired cocktail, seafood, and caviar bar offers a unique and fun take on Mexican and South American culture and cuisine. It is the first joint venture for the local couple Victor and Misty Villarreal; Victor, who recently had a pizza concept called Abe’s Kitchen and has worked at restaurants like Grace and Clay Pigeon, takes care of the food while Misty oversees the drinks.
Bar of the year: tulips
The Caravan of Dreams is the first midsize music venue in town, which is also one of Fort Worth’s most popular neighborhood bars, serving up nifty cocktails, not to mention a Jewish delicatessen and coffee menu.
Hero Prize: Jon Bonnell
This chef and owner of Bonnell’s has emerged as a leader during the pandemic by getting in early with take-out meals at an affordable price while helping and supporting his colleagues.
[ad_1]
