Bowien, State Bird, Kostow Win 2013 James Beard Awards

The Bay Area made a very strong showing at last night's James Beard Awards, with State Bird Provisions taking home the award for Best New Restaurant, Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese Food winning the Rising Star Chef award, and Christopher Kostow of The Restaurant at Meadowood taking home Best Chef: West honors. But the laurels don't stop there: Merry Edwards of Merry Edwards Winery in Sebastopol won for Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional, and as previously announced, Mandarin trailblazer Cecilia Chiang was the lifetime-achievement honoree, while Michael Mina got inducted into the Who's Who in Food and Beverage in America.

Outside of our hometown heroes, the biggest wins of the night were NYC's Blue Hill, which took home the Outstanding Restaurant prize, and a very shocking tie between David Chang of NYC's Momofuku empire and Paul Kahan of Chicago's Blackbird for Outstanding Chef. Maguy Le Coze of NYC's Le Bernardin was named Outstanding Restaurateur, while Del Posto snagged prizes for Outstanding Service and for pastry chef Brooks Headley.

Sadly, there were still some Bay Area bridesmaids at the awards, which, in case you're unfamiliar, are The Oscars of the Food World™. State Bird's win meant that fellow wunderkinds Rich Table went home empty-handed, while Thomas McNaughton of Flour + Water is turning into the Rising Star Chef category's Susan Lucci, with three nominations and no wins. (Hurry up, guys, he's gonna turn 30!) Meanwhile, The Slanted Door got bupkis in Outstanding Restaurant, Gary Danko got beat for Outstanding Chef, A16 and Bar Agricole were empty-handed in Best Wine and Bar Programs, respectively (Colorado's Frasca Food & Wine and Chicago's Aviary snagged those), Melissa Chou of Aziza is now a two-time Best Pastry Chef bridesmaid, and Quince and Meadowood missed on Outstanding Service. All involved, however, should follow the example of Edwards, who got nominated six times before she won. Good things are coming your way.

Here's the full list of winners:

Rising Star Chef of the Year
Danny Bowien, Mission Chinese Food, SF and NYC

Outstanding Bar Program
The Aviary, Chicago

Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional
Merry Edwards, Merry Edwards Winery, Sebastopol, CA

Outstanding Wine Program
Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder

Best Chef: Great Lakes
Stephanie Izard, Girl & the Goat, Chicago

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
Johnny Monis, Komi, Washington, D.C.

Best Chef: Midwest
Colby Garrelts, Bluestem, Kansas City, MO

Best Chef: New York City
Wylie Dufresne, WD~50, NYC

Best Chef: Northwest
Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland, OR

Best Chef: West
Christopher Kostow, The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, CA

Best Chef: Northeast
Melissa Kelly, Primo, Rockland, ME

Best Chef: South
Tory McPhail, Commander's Palace, New Orleans

Best Chef: Southeast
Joseph Lenn, The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN

Best Chef: Southwest
Jennifer Jasinski, Rioja, Denver

Restaurant Design and Graphics: 75 Seats and Under
Isa, Taavo Somer, Brooklyn

Restaurant Design and Graphics: 76 Seats and Over
Juvia, Alejandro Barrios Carrero Designs, Miami Beach

2013 Who's Who Inductees
Zarela Martinez, Michael Mina, Bill Yosses, Eric Asimov, Dorothy Kalins, and Barbara Lynch

Lifetime Achievement Award
Cecilia Chiang (Chef and Restaurateur, San Francisco)

Humanitarian of the Year
Emeril Lagasse (Chef and Restaurateur, New Orleans)

Outstanding Pastry Chef
Brooks Headley, Del Posto, NYC

Best New Restaurant
State Bird Provisions, San Francisco, CA.

Outstanding Service
Del Posto, NYC

Outstanding Restaurateur
Maguy Le Coze, Le Bernardin, NYC

Outstanding Restaurant
Blue Hill, NYC

Outstanding Chef
TIE
David Chang, Momofuku Noodle Bar, NYC
Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Chicago

· Winners: 2013 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards [~ EN ~]
· Rich Table, State Bird, Bowien, Danko, McNaughton Snag 2013 Beard Nominations [~ ESF ~]
· 2013 James Beard Longlist Announced: Rich Table, State Bird, Craftsman & Wolves, More [~ ESF ~]