Who Did John Curtas Vote for on His JBF Ballot?

The James Beard Foundation Awards short list came out on March 18 with only two Vegas restaurants making the cut. Now local food critic John Curtas, who is one of the 400 JBF judges, reveals his nominations and final ballot.

Curtas says, "This year he nominated Julian Serrano for Chef of the Year, Mitsuo Endo for Best Chef West, Nicole Grimes of Rao's for Rising Star Chef, and Raku for Best Restaurant West. He also nominated Sirio Maccioni for Best Restaurateur (like he's done every year for the past six), Picasso for Outstanding Wine Program (like he's done for the past five) and Kamel Guechida of Robuchon for Outstanding Pastry Chef (ditto)."

He also notes that since Nevada was dumped into the West region last year, no Vegas chef will probably ever receive a JBF win again.

"?we now have to compete with the twin biases held against us by California and New York food snobs plus the plain fact that any notable California joint is going to be serving many more JBF voters than any Vegas one."

Here's a look at who Curtas voted for in the final ballot:

BEST NEW RESTAURANT:
The Ordinary, Charleston, SC
OUTSTANDING BAR PROGRAM:
The Aviary, Chicago, IL
OUTSTANDING CHEF:
Gary Danko, Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco, CA
OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT:
Spiaggia, Chicago, IL
OUTSTANDING RESTAURATEUR:
Piero Selvaggio, Valentino Restaurant Group (Valentino, Vin Bar), Los Angeles, CA
OUTSTANDING SERVICE:
Del Posto, New York, NY
OUTSTANDING WINE PROGRAM:
Picasso, Las Vegas, NV
OUTSTANDING WINE & SPIRITS PROFESSIONAL:
Neal Rosenthal, Rosenthal Wine Merchant, New York, NY
BEST CHEF: GREAT LAKES:
Stephanie Izard, Girl & the Goat, Chicago, IL
BEST CHEF: MID-ATLANTIC:
Brad Spence, Amis, Philadelphia, PA
BEST CHEF: NEW YORK CITY:
! Wylie Dufresne, wd~50
BEST CHEF: NORTHEAST:
Jamie Bissonnette, Coppa, Boston, MA
BEST CHEF: NORTHWEST:
Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland, OR
BEST CHEF: SOUTH:
Tory McPhail, Commander's Palace, New Orleans, LA
BEST CHEF: SOUTHEAST:
Edward Lee, 610 Magnolia, Louisville, KY
· James Beard Awards — Fuzzy End of the Lollipop [Eating Las Vegas]
· Who Made the James Beard Foundation Awards Short List? [~ELV~]
· All Coverage of the James Beard Foundation Awards [~ELV~]