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Since 1991 the James Beard Foundation has been honoring the best chefs and restaurants in the country with the prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards. For this guide we asked past JBF Award winners from our regional Best Chef in America categories about the food at their own restaurants. They told us, in their own words, what their favorites dishes are and which foods best represent their culinary style.
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Crab and Heirloom Beet Salad with Chicory and Pecan-Smoked Mangalitsa Bacon @ Restaurant August
301 Tchoupitoulas Street New Orleans, LA
At August, Louisiana native (and 2006 Best Chef: Southeast winner) John Besh uses the bounty of the area’s fishing grounds as often as possible on his menu. Besh calls this crab salad “right on so many levels.” “The foundation of the dish is Crab Ravigote,” Besh explains, “and we jazz it up the way we like to do in New Orleans. And oh yeah, it tastes fantastic—salty, sweet, sour, bitter, soft and crunchy, everything held in a balance of near perfection.”
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Muscovy Duck Leg Confit with Dirty Rice and Citrus Gastrique @ Herbsaint
701 Saint Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA
Donald Link won the Best Chef: South award in 2007 for his French-influenced, Southern-inspired cooking at Herbsaint. He loves to recommend the nightly specials for regulars, but if you’re a first-timer he’ll steer you towards his take on this French bistro classic. His other favorite? The French fries. “We put a ridiculous amount of effort into those fries.”
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Housemade Spaghetti with Guanciale and Fried Poached Farm Egg @ Herbsaint
701 Saint Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA
When asked about this decadent starter, chef Link told us “people go nuts over that one.” Makes sense to us. Who wouldn’t go crazy over this amped up version of carbonara topped with an oozy poached and fried farm egg?
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Shrimp and Grits @ City Grocery
152 Courthouse Sq Oxford, Mississippi
The menu changes seasonally at John Currence’s City Grocery in Oxford, Mississippi, but this classic Southern dish is always on the menu. Currence’s version is an homage to New Southern cuisine pioneer Bill Neal. “It is entirely outside (at least in my mind) what the rest of our food is,” the 2009 Best Chef: South explains, “but it remains because of what it represents: a simple core group of ingredients, assembled in exacting proportion which blend to a magnificent result—truly Southern in every respect.”
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Croquetas @ Michy's
6927 Biscayne Blvd Miami, FL
Michelle Bernstein took home the award for Best Chef: South in 2008 for her eclectic cooking, which draws on the culinary traditions of her Latin and Jewish background, as well as her native Miami. A perfect example of her unique style? Bernstein’s take on the classic croqueta. Whether they’re filled with jamón Serrano and blue cheese or spinach and feta, they’re always delicious.
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Malaysian Snapper @ Michy's
6927 Biscayne Blvd Miami, FL
Not something you’re likely to find on many South Florida menus, this snapper dish was inspired by chef Bernstein’s experience working in Malaysia. “I fell in love with this dish when I would eat it in the streets late at night,” she explains, “No one taught me how to make it—I recreated the recipe piece by piece by memory of taste. I love it.”
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Kimchi Benedict @ Michael's Genuine Food & Drink
130 Northeast 40th Street Miami, FL
Brunch is one of Michael Schwartz’s favorite times at his Miami restaurant Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink. “We started doing it on Sundays about a year ago and it’s awesome.” The 2010 Best Chef: South winner says. “It’s all about sharing good food in good company.” His brunch dish of choice? The kimchi benedict: toasted crumpet with poached eggs, crispy pork belly, kimchi, and kimchi hollandaise.
