Watch out, James Beard Foundation. You may host the most prestigious food world awards for now -- they're often called the "Oscars of the Food World." But there's a new set of food awards in town. They have a powerful supporter in the form of Andrew Zimmern -- and even a catchy title: The Munchies.
The new awards are sponsored by Tablespoon.com, which is owned by General Mills. They cover almost everything that could be covered by food awards: chefs, print media, TV, restaurants, even individual dishes. And they're being billed as the "People's Choice Food Awards," which means that users are able to vote on the winners. The nominees were chosen by a 13-person panel of culinary experts, including Zimmern, food writer Mark Kurlansky and Twitter personality Ruth Bourdain.
The nominees they chose include great picks in almost every category. But the list -- published in full below -- also illustrates the main problem that every food award has to confront: timing. Restaurants and dishes, unlike movies and music, aren't usually associated with the year of their release. Most people who see a movie do so once, within the first couple weeks after its debut, while it's not unusual to keep going to the same restaurant for decades. That means that any list of the best foods is bound to come up with some strange results. 36-year-old gastopub star April Bloomfield is competing against legendary French Laundry owner Thomas Keller for Best Chef, for example. And bare-bones New Haven pizza mainstay Pepe's is up against glitzy, Mario Batali-owner Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles for "Best Pizza."
Still, there are some interesting picks. Read the full list below, and vote on your favorites at Tablespoon.com until April 30:
Terrific Tastemakers
Favorite Food Reality TV Show
o “Chopped” (Food Network)
o “Cupcake Wars” (Food Network)
o “Iron Chef America” (Food Network)
o “The Great Food Truck Race” (Food Network)
o “Top Chef” (Bravo)
Favorite Food TV Personality
o Andrew Zimmern, “Bizarre Foods” (Travel Channel)
o Bobby Flay, “Food Network Star” (Food Network)
o Mario Batali, “The Chew” (ABC)
o Padma Lakshmi, “Top Chef” (Bravo)
o Tom Colicchio, “Top Chef” (Bravo)
Favorite Food Related Magazine
o Bon Appétit
o FOOD & WINE
o Food Network Magazine
o Lucky Peach
o Saveur
Favorite Food Blog
o 101 Cookbooks, Heidi Swanson
o David Lebovitz, David Lebovitz
o Homesick Texan, Lisa Fain
o Poor Man’s Feast, Elissa Altman
o The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond
Most Newsworthy Cookbook
o Food52 Cookbook, Amanda Hesser & Merrill Stubbs
o Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys, David Tanis
o Primal Cuts, Marissa Guggiana
o Ruhlman’s Twenty, Michael Ruhlman
o The Art of Living According to Joe Beef, David McMillan, Fredric Morin & Meredith Erickson
Best Food Podcast or Radio Show
o “Edible Radio”
o “Good Food” (KCRW)
o “Mike & Tom Eat Snacks!” (Nerdist)
o “NPR: Food” (NPR)
o “The Splendid Table” (American Public Media)
Best Chef
o April Bloomfield, The Spotted Pig, New York, NY
o Daniel Boulud, Daniel NYC, New York, NY
o David Chang, Momofuku, New York, NY
o Eric Ripert, Le Bernardin, New York, NY
o Thomas Keller, The French Laundry, Yountville, CA
Most Inspiring Food Visionary
o Alice Waters, The Edible Schoolyard Project
o Dan Barber, Blue Hill Farm
o Jamie Oliver, Food Revolution
o Michelle Obama, Let’s Move
o Will Allen, Growing Power
Best Bites
Most Iconic Burger
o Cheeseburger, Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien, New York, NY
o Double Double Animal Style, In-N-Out Burger, Irvine, CA
o Double Shackburger, Shake Shack, New York, NY
o Green Chile Cheeseburger, Bobcat Bite, Santa Fe, NM
o Jucy Lucy, Matt’s Bar, Minneapolis, MN
Best Pizza
o Frank Pepe Pizzeria, New Haven, CT
o Giordano’s, Chicago, IL
o Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, Brooklyn, NY
o Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix, AZ
o Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles, CA
Best Taco
o Big Star, Chicago, IL
o Kogi BBQ Truck, Los Angeles, CA
o La Condesa, Austin, TX
o Loteria Grill, Los Angeles, CA
o Torchy’s Tacos, Austin, TX
Best Cookie
o Chocolate Sable, Miette, San Francisco, CA
o Coconut Macaroon, Salty Tart Bakery, Minneapolis, MN
o Compost Cookie®, Momofuku Milk Bar, New York, NY
o Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie, Levain Bakery, New York, NY
o Macaroons, Kee’s Chocolates, New York, NY
Best Ice Cream
o Amy’s Ice Creams, Austin, TX
o Bi-Rite Creamery, San Francisco, CA
o Humphry Slocombe, San Francisco, CA
o Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Columbus, OH
o Thomas Sweet, Princeton, NJ
Best Food Truck
o Big Gay Ice Cream, New York, NY
o Kogi BBQ Truck, Los Angeles, CA
o Odd Duck Farm to Trailer, Austin, TX
o Rickshaw Dumpling Truck, New York, NY
o Wafels & Dinges, New York, NY
Delicious Destinations
Best Local Farmers Market
o Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, San Francisco, CA
o Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA
o Portland Farmers Market, Portland, OR
o Santa Monica Farmers Market, Santa Monica, CA
o Union Square Greenmarket, New York, NY
Favorite Stadium Eats
o Crazy Crab’z Dungeness Crab Sandwich, AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA
o Ivar Dog, Safeco Field, Seattle, WA
o Shack-Cago Dog, Citi Field, New York, NY
o Sweet Victory Peach Cobbler, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
o Tony Luke’s Cheesesteak, Citizen’s Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
Coolest Coffee Shop
o Café Grumpy, New York, NY
o Intelligentsia Coffee, Chicago, IL
o Joe, New York, NY
o Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Berkeley, CA
o Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Portland, OR
Best Craft Brewery
o Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY
o Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
o Rogue Ales, Newport, OR
o Sixpoint Craft Ales, Brooklyn, NY
o Summit Brewing Co., St. Paul, MN
Most Intriguing Cocktail Bar
o La Belle Vie, Minneapolis, MN
o Monkey Bar, New York, NY
o Prime Meats, Brooklyn, NY
o The Aviary, Chicago, IL
o The Violet Hour, Chicago, IL
Favorite Gluten-Free Bakery
o BabyCakes NYC, New York, NY
o Bittersweet Bakery, Eagan, MN
o Defloured, Chicago, IL
o Mariposa Baking, Oakland, CA
o Tu-Lu’s Gluten-Free Bakery, New York, NY