And the award goes to . . . The finalists are in for the James Beard Foundation Awards, and where Minnesota is concerned, the names are familiar. In the Best Chef: Midwest category, Tim McKee of La Belle Vie and Alex Roberts of Restaurant Alma have both garnered their third nomination in as many years, and Isaac Becker of 112 Eatery has followed his 2008 nomination with a second nod. They share the category with another three-time nominee, Colby Garrelts of Bluestem in Kansas City, Mo., and first-timer Gerard Craft of Niche in St. Louis.
Duluth cookbook author Beatrice Ojakangas is the state's other nominee. Her "The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever" (Chronicle Books, $24.95) is competing in the Single Subject cookbook awards. (Ojakangas' "The Great Scandinavian Baking Book," a 1988 classic, was elevated into the Beard Foundation's Cookbook Hall of Fame in 2005.) Winners will be announced on May 4 in New York City.
There's a final Midwestern connection: Breitbach's Country Dining of Balltown, Iowa, is being inaugurated as an "America's Classics," the foundation's salute to "small, regional restaurants, watering holes, shacks, lunch counters or eateries that have offered good, down-home food and unmatched hospitality for generations." Previous America's Classics honorees include Al's Breakfast in Minneapolis and the Pickwick in Duluth.
Around town Bad news of the week: Bayport Cookery in Bayport has closed. "I'm going to get out of the business for a while and regroup," said chef/owner Jim Kyndberg. "But I'll be back." It's also sad to see that the Checkered Apron Cafe and Mill City Pizza, two indie-owned downtown Minneapolis lunch spots, have called it quits.
Restaurateur Thom Pham is expanding, and this time, rather than downtown or south Minneapolis, he's turned to the 763. The owner of Azia has opened a branch of Thanh Do, his casual St. Louis Park outpost, at 3716 7th Av. in Anoka.
RICK NELSON
