The Cities Blog

2013 James Beard Award nominees have a Twin Cities flavor

Butcher & the Boar chef Jack Riebel, center, visits with guests Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at his restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. (MPR Photo/Jennifer Simonson)
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Butcher & the Boar chef Jack Riebel, center, visits with guests Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at his restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. (MPR Photo/Jennifer Simonson)

Writers have the Pulitzers, actors have the Academy Awards, and foodie fans have the James Beard Awards, which are handed out tonight and Monday in New York City.

Minnesota had a big showing in the semifinal round, as we reported here in February. When the final nominees were announced in March, the showing had been whittled down.

Minneapolis restaurateurs Michelle Gayer of "Salty Tart," and Jack Riebel, of "Butcher & the Boar"are among the competitors for Best Chef: Midwest. (We recently profiled Riebel's eaterie in a photo gallery here.)

Andrew Zimmern, the local chef, writer, social media maven and television host of Bizarre Foods America, is nominated for Best Television Program, On Location, and Outstanding Personality/Host, on The Travel Channel.

Creators of the web series "The Perennial Plate: Real Food World Tour," Daniel Klein and Mirra Fine, are competing for the Best Video Webcast, On Location award. Klein described Perennial Plate as an online weekly documentary series dedicated to socially responsible and adventurous eating.

“We try to 'quote unquote' educate people, but really we try to tell a story and make something entertaining," he said. "So hopefully they get a message or start to think about something different through being inspired by a farmer on the other side of the world or the town next door.”

Food writer Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl is up for a MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award for her profile of “The Cheese Artist,” in Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. She told MPR’s Jess Mador she’s excited that the Twin Cities are getting some attention in New York: “Minneapolis has become a force to be reckoned with in food content creation and I think that's really great and shines a much-deserved light on our local farmers, chefs and other people doing great work in food."

Meanwhile, the drama's over for Kramarczuk's, the landmark Eastern European deli and restaurant in northeast Minneapolis. It's already won a 2013 James Beard American Classic Award. More on that here.

Here’s the complete list of nominees: