Vegas Restos Land on the JBF Awards Long List

This morning, the James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists in the 2012 Restaurant and Chef Awards.

The finalists will be announced on March 19 right here in Las Vegas at the Venetian and Palazzo (we hear it will be at the pools there) and livestreamed right here on Eater. This is the "long list" before the list is winnowed down to the official finalists.

From Vegas, Picasso at the Bellagio nabbed nominations for Outstanding Restaurant and Outstanding Wine Program. Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand landed a nomination for Outstanding Service. Mitsuo Endo, the chef at Aburiya Raku, was nominated for Best Chef: Southwest.

Outside Vegas, Bruce Bromberg and Eric Bromberg, owners of Blue Ribbon Restaurants in New York City, were nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur. The have an outpost at Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. ?Piero Selvaggio of Valentino Restaurant Group based in Santa Monica, Calif., is also up for the award. He has Valentino at the Venetian.

Other notables: Michael Mina, San Francisco, was nominated for Outstanding Service. Mina has restaurants at the Bellagio, MGM Grand and Aria. CUT at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Calif., from Wolfgang Puck and Emeril’s New Orleans were both nominated for Outstanding Wine Program. Puck has a version of CUT at the Palazzo, while Emeril Lagasse has restaurants at the MGM Grand and the Palazzo. Scott Conant was named in the Best Chef NYC category for Scarpetta in New York. He has an outlet in Vegas at the Cosmopolitan.
· Awards Watch: The 2012 Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists [JBF]
?· All James Beard Award Coverage on Eater [-E-]