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Los Angeles Times
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
A new iteration of Taco María opens, in an unlikely place
Carlos Salgado wowed the world of Mexican food the moment he opened Taco María in 2013. His marriage of high-end with homestyle — sturgeon tacos, Flamin' Hot chicharrones, handmade blue corn tortillas from kernels he imported from Mexico and milled himself — seemed better suited to Los Angeles or Mexico City than a hipster food hall in Costa Mesa. The accolades came quickly: L.A Times restaurant of the year in 2018. Four straight Michelin stars. One of Esquire's most important U.S. restaurants of the 2010s. Salgado was a Best Chef in California finalist for the James Beard Awards — the Oscars of the restaurant industry — in June 2023. A month later, Salgado shocked his fans by closing Taco María. As his good friend, I have the exclusive on what's next. It's … Wisconsin? A few months after the restaurant closed, Salgada relocated to Door County — the childhood home of his wife, Emilie Coulson Salgado — in a move that left Southern California's food scene befuddled, if people knew at all. If anyone deserved to go all 'Walden,' it was the thoughtful Salgado. He had worked nonstop for a decade, weathering the pandemic and an Orange County audience that usually got mad when he explained why his space didn't serve chips and salsa or had 'Black Lives Matter' stenciled on the patio window. Taco María's lease was up, the location was never the best fit and Carlos and Emilie wanted to spend more time with their two young children and her parents while they recharged and decided what was next. Now, after some time off, they're in the restaurant business again, opening La Sirena this month in Ephraim, population 345, about an hour and a half away from the nearest big city, Green Bay. Expect everything that made Taco María so incredible — a prix fixe menu, a focus on local produce and meat, those fabulous blue corn tortillas that taste like a time portal to Tenochtitlan — except on the shores of Lake Michigan instead of off the 405 freeway. Nothing against the Badger State, but the idea of a Mexican chef of Salgado's caliber setting up on a peninsula jutting into a Great Lake is like Shohei Ohtani announcing he's leaving the Dodgers to join a Sunday beer league. Gustavo Dudamel deciding his next gig isn't the New York Philharmonic but the Whittier Regional Symphony. Gov. Gavin Newsom forsaking his office to run the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library. About 8% of Wisconsin's population is Latino, and Door County is 96% white. The Mexican food scene outside Milwaukee and maybe Racine is still mostly combo plates washed down with massive margaritas, or cartoonishly big burritos in the Chipotle model. Wisconsin is ... Wisconsin, land of cheese curds and brats and brandy Old Fashioneds. 'I would push back that [Mexican food] is out of place anywhere in the United States,' Salgado told me by phone last week. 'We are the foundation of the restaurant and hospitality industry, farming and construction — I don't need to say all the ways we're embedded.' He sure shut me up there! Besides, I'm proud that his and Emilie's next step is in an isolated spot in a state that went for Donald Trump in two of the past three elections. California needs all the ambassadors we can get, especially in places that don't look like us — and we can't get better ambassadors than them. 'In parts of the Midwest, you mention you're from California, there's inevitably haters who want to believe that we left California because it's a failed state, and they try to commiserate with us about how California is uninhabitable,' the 45-year-old Salgado said. 'Of course, I don't believe that. I have pangs of longing for my home state every day, especially fruits!' 'I actually thought we'd live in California forever, and I still consider us California people,' Coulson Salgado, 41, said in a separate interview. 'But this experiment to be here [Wisconsin] turned out to be really good for us and our children.' The two met in San Francisco in 2008, when Coulson Salgado was working for a literacy nonprofit and Salgado was a pastry chef at a high-end restaurant. He moved back to his native Orange County in 2011 aiming to help with his immigrant family's Cal-Mex restaurant in Orange. Instead, he capitalized on the era's food truck craze and opened Taco María. Coulson moved down in 2013 to help transition the luxe lonchera to a brick-and-mortar, eventually becoming the restaurant's general manager and beverage director, roles she will also assume at La Sirena. Taco María was a daily miracle, especially given its Orange County location. Salgado got nationwide media coverage and forced Angelenos to do the unimaginable: travel to O.C. for Mexican food. His exhortations for people to value Mexican cuisine and the people who make it was essential in an era where too many Americans love the former and loathe the latter. But the grind of running a restaurant — which I know too well, through my wife — wore on the couple. They didn't want to be rushed into opening a new Taco María, so they decided a sojourn to Door County would be fun and also right. 'Emilie put in 15 years with me in California,' Salgado said, and moving to Wisconsin 'was something we felt we deserved as a family.' He unwound from the restaurant rush by hiking through Door County's forests and fishing in its waterways while continuing Taco María's successful salsa macha mail-order business; Emilie moonlighted as a grant writer. The plan was to return to California sometime in 2024 and hop back on the restaurant hamster wheel. But the more they experienced Door County's slower pace of life, the more they realized it would be nearly impossible to replicate that in Southern California. 'We started Taco María without kids,' Salgado said. 'This trial gave us the opportunity to imagine the kind of balance that we wanted, and we realized that we stood a very good chance of creating it here.' I asked if he meant the cost of living or the sclerotic traffic or the lack of affordable housing or any of the other reasons California quitters give when they leave and whine about their move. 'We're certainly not California quitters,' Salgado deadpanned. 'People talk all the time about making career changes to spend more time with their families, and this is really it for now.' Coulson Salgado said it's been 'wonderful' to return to where she grew up 'with the eyes of an adult.' Door County has seen newcomers from California in recent years, mostly young families drawn by its immaculate landscapes. She does miss the multiculturalism of Southern California — 'My son will say, 'Let's get pho!' and I have to remind him we're not in Orange County anymore,' she said with a laugh. She doesn't frame the opening of La Sirena in the rural Midwest in the age of Trump as a political act. But she brought up the 'terrible' deportation deluge that has hit Southern California this summer (Wisconsin has so far been spared, 'but we're on high alert for it') as a reason why their presence matters. 'It's not like we're in some alternate universe out here,' she said, 'but you could be if you weren't paying attention, and that's what's scary … But that's why it's more important than ever to create more pockets of joy.' Her husband vowed that California 'hasn't seen the last of us yet,' while giving no timeline for a return. In an ideal world, he and Emilie would run both La Sirena and a restaurant back in O.C. 'I'm proudly Mexican American,' Salgado said. 'And I'm not going to shy away from taking up space and perform brown excellence in anywhere that I am.'
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Restaurant review: Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita, a flagship for pork in Chicago
Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita, the newest Mexican restaurant by the first family of pork in Chicago, brings 50 years of tradition and transformation to a flagship committed to the community in Little Village. Inocencio Carbajal opened the original Carnitas Uruapan in 1975 with his wife, Abigail Carbajal, in Pilsen. While , as the family patriarch is known in the neighborhood, a nickname for his fair skin and green eyes, still roams the dining rooms, his son now runs the family business built on carnitas, and hospitality just as tender. Marcos Carbajal, a former banker and second-generation owner of the enterprise, expanded with a second location in Gage Park in 2019. They celebrated the grand opening of the third and largest restaurant in January. Carbajal was named a James Beard Awards semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur this year. The flagship in Little Village has become a dining destination for locals and regional tourists too. 'We see people of Mexican origin from around the Midwest,' said Carbajal. 'They come to buy quinceañera dresses and then eat carnitas.' When you wend your way past shops blooming with birthday ballgowns, and sidewalk vendors selling limes or Labubus, a crunchy puff of chicharrón may magically appear. 'If you're waiting for takeout with 15 or 20 plus people, we'll go up and down the line to offer you chicharrón,' said Carbajal. 'Just to make that wait a little easier to manage.' If you dine in, instead of chips and salsa, your server will bring to your table a captivating spread of complimentary chicharrón and salsas. That's an amazing gift at a restaurant where you can feast for under $20. The stunning carnitas 'Especial' is their signature sampler meal with a half pound of glorious pork, a crackling taco dorado, velvety refried beans, six house-made tortillas with all the garnishes (onion, cilantro, lime) plus more chicharrón and seriously spicy salsas (verde and jalapeño tomato). You can choose your cut of carnitas, but I highly recommend getting the trio mix, with lean shoulder (like pulled pork), rib meat and lush skin. Then build your own tacos with the warm tortillas, inhaling the elusive perfume of toasted corn. Do note that the special is only available weekdays. On weekends, the corundas reign. The deeply flavorful Michoacán-style triangular tamales are wrapped in fresh corn leaves, and served unwrapped, but fully dressed with brick red chile de arbol salsa, fresh crema and a dusting of cotija cheese. They're not filled like the more familiar tamales, but studded with Oaxacan queso, similar to mozzarella, or acelgas y queso (Swiss chard and cheese). 'It's a very nostalgic item,' said Carbajal. 'In a neighborhood with a lot of people from our part of Mexico in Michoacán, I think that one hits home.' But they're not from his family's recipe. In the early days of the pandemic, he hosted a pop-up with chef Danny Espinoza, now co-owner with his wife, Jhoana Ruiz, of Santa Masa Tamaleria in Dunning. 'He's a friend and his grandmother was a tamale vendor in Michoacán,' said Carbajal. 'So it's his family recipe.' The corundas are made with manteca (lard), he added, of which they have plenty from cooking their carnitas, and two kinds of fresh masa. 'I'm a big fan of our friends at El Popo,' said Carbajal about El Popocatepetl Tortilleria. 'We've been using them since the '70s and they're our neighbors in Pilsen.' Carnitas by the pound cannot be dethroned as their all-around bestseller, but the most popular cut has changed from the old neighborhood to the new, reflecting changing demographics. In Pilsen, they now sell a lot more lean shoulder, Carbajal said. Meanwhile, the pork ribs and fantastically funky skin are a lot more popular in Little Village. The silky chicharrón guisado, fried pork rinds simmered soft in red sauce, remains a weekend-only item at the original store, but is available every day at the sibling locations to tuck into tortillas. Glossy green guacamole and thick-cut chips, the metamorphosis of those tortillas by baptism in bubbling hot manteca, offers a cooling contrast, as does a bright ensalada de nopales (cactus salad). The golden tacos dorados — filled with pillowy pockets of potato and cheese, potato and chorizo, or sesos (spicy pork brain) — crackle when hot from the fryer. Surprisingly, there's one filling that's common across the neighborhoods. 'By far the traditional pork brain,' said Carbajal. 'Because carnitas places in Michoacán are known for selling those hand in hand with the carnitas.' The sesos gets seasoned and cooked with salt, garlic, serrano chile, onion and cilantro before it's stuffed into a tortilla and flash-fried in the caso, or cauldron. The tacos dorados are best when eaten immediately, otherwise they'll harden, and do need a tart squeeze of lime or fire from salsa. Dessert is limited to the frozen paletas first launched in Gage Park, with an especially lovely Gansito pop that's layered with the beloved Mexican chocolate and strawberry snack cake. At the flagship, I would have liked at least one more sweet, perhaps a variation on a regional specialty. After all, they're serving alcoholic drinks for the first time in Little Village, highlighting charanda, the sugarcane spirit made nearly in their hometown in Michoacán. The refreshing Tarasco Secrets cocktail, mixed with Charanda Uruapan and Nixta Licor de Elote (corn liqueur), is familiar and fruited with guava, and shockingly low-priced at $10, when drinks elsewhere go for easily twice as much. 'We wanted to make cocktails that your Mexican aunt or uncle wouldn't think, 'What are you handing me? This tastes weird,'' said Carbajal, laughing. He worked with cantinero (bartender) Luis Estrada, bar manager at The Press Room. Nonalcoholic drinks are delicious too, from an iced café de olla to the house-made horchata, both delicately spiced and sweetened. Regulars should note that a horchata or agua de jamaica (hibiscus) is no longer included with the weekday carnitas meal. 'We can blame inflation for that,' said the restaurateur. But the weekend-only menudo is still a steal. One of the world's legendary hangover cures transforms beef tripe, guajillo chiles and aromatics into a soothing stew. You dress your bowl to taste with onion, cilantro and oregano as part of the restorative ritual. 'Price is something I'm very mindful of,' said Carbajal. 'I want big families to come by.' I ordered online for one visit, because the majority of the business is still takeout, and dined in for another. When I called to confirm my order, after I got through the voice prompts in Spanish, I was able to speak to a live bilingual person. Service was excellent for takeout and dine-in, both fast and friendly. But the thoughtful hospitality starts even before you arrive, with two parking lots in the high-traffic area. The colorful interior by designer Aida Napoles of AGN Design features ribbons on a ceiling installation hiding little marionettes. Everybody used to have those when they were kids down in Mexico, Carbajal said. They're just another detail to discover when a culture is truly seen. Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita 3801 W. 26th St. 773-940-2770 Open: Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Prices: $10.99 (weekday only Carnitas 'Especial' meal), $6.99 (guacamole and tortilla chips), $6 (weekend only corunda), $10 (Tarasco Secrets cocktail), $3.50 (12 ounce iced cafe de olla) Sound: OK (65 to 70 dB) Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible with restrooms on same level Tribune rating: Excellent, three of four stars Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
Forbes
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
2025 James Beard Award Winners: Best Chefs, Restaurants & Bars
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 14: A view of the James Beard award on display during the 2025 James Beard ... More Media Awards on June 14, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo byfor James Beard Foundation) Getty Images for James Beard Foundation Last month, the James Beard Foundation held its annual Restaurant and Chef Awards at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, marking 35 years of what many consider the highest honor in American dining. While the night crowned standout chefs and restaurants across the country, what stayed with many wasn't just who won—it was what they chose to say once they got on stage. While the spotlight was on national and regional winners across categories like Outstanding Chef, Best New Restaurant, and Best Bar, the evening also made space for something more grounded: the America's Classics—a set of honors given to longtime, locally loved, independently owned restaurants that reflect the culinary identity of their communities. You can read more about this year's America's Classics honorees here. But for now, here's a look at this year's standout wins across the national Restaurant and Chef categories. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 16: Jungsik Yim winner of the Outstanding Chef award speaks on stage during ... More the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards on June 16, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo byfor James Beard Foundation) Getty Images for James Beard Foundation Jungsik Yim, the celebrated chef behind his eponymous fine-dining Korean restaurant in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood, took home the Outstanding Chef award. Known for blending modernist techniques with deep-rooted Korean flavors, Yim has helped expand the definition of what luxury dining can look and taste like in the U.S. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 16: Bobby Stuckey winner of Outstanding Restaurant award speaks on stage ... More during the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards on June 16, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo byfor James Beard Foundation) Getty Images for James Beard Foundation Located in Boulder, Colorado, Frasca Food and Wine has earned national acclaim for its Northern Italian–inspired cuisine and exacting hospitality. The restaurant, co-founded by master sommelier Bobby Stuckey and chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, has become a benchmark for service-driven excellence outside the expected coastal cities. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 16: Jeanie Janas Ritter winner of the Best New Restaurant award speaks on ... More stage during the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards on June 16, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo byfor James Beard Foundation) Getty Images for James Beard Foundation Minneapolis's Bûcheron was named Best New Restaurant of 2025. Helmed by chef Christopher Nye, the French-inspired spot stands out for its intimate, ingredient-driven menu and quiet confidence. In a year where many new restaurants leaned into maximalism, Bûcheron's restraint and sense of place set it apart. Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker: Cat Cox (Country Bird Bakery, Tulsa, OK) CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 16: Cat Cox winner of the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker award speaks on ... More stage during the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards on June 16, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo byfor James Beard Foundation) Getty Images for James Beard Foundation Cat Cox of Country Bird Bakery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was recognized for her work as a baker and pastry chef, one of the few honorees this year to work outside a traditional restaurant setting. Her naturally leavened breads and seasonal pastries have drawn national attention to Tulsa's growing food scene. Outstanding Bakery: JinJu Patisserie (Portland, OR) CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 16: (L-R) Jin Caldwell and Kyurim Lee winners of the Outstanding Bakery ... More award speak on stage during the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards on June 16, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo byfor James Beard Foundation) Getty Images for James Beard Foundation This year's Outstanding Bakery award went to JinJu Patisserie, a jewel-box bakery in Portland known for its meticulous viennoiserie, elegant pastries, and refined, architectural approach to dessert. Founded by pastry chef Jin Caldwell and her partner, Kyurim 'Q' Lee, the bakery has earned a national reputation for its attention to detail and artistic presentation. While Portland has long been recognized as a haven for independent bakeries, JinJu's win underscores the growing national attention toward pastry-forward shops operating outside of major coastal cities. Outstanding Bar: Kumiko (Chicago, IL) CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 16: Julia Momosé winner of the Outstanding Bar award speaks on stage during ... More the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards on June 16, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo byfor James Beard Foundation) Getty Images for James Beard Foundation Chicago's Kumiko was named Outstanding Bar this year, a win that recognized not just its cocktail program but the intention behind it. Led by bartender and owner Julia Momosé, Kumiko is known for drinks that are precise, expressive, and deeply personal, rooted in Japanese tradition but built for the moment. It's the kind of place that reminds you a bar can be more than just a backdrop. This year also marked the debut of three new beverage categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service—a sign that the Beard Foundation is starting to take bars, and the people who run them, more seriously. The Theme That Kept Surfacing CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 16: Jon Yao winner of the Best Chef: California award speaks on stage ... More during the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards on June 16, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo byfor James Beard Foundation) Getty Images for James Beard Foundation One of the most consistent themes of the night was the immigrant story. Across three hours of speeches and introductions, the word immigrant surfaced 27 times—roughly once every seven minutes. And of the 15 moments where it appeared, 12 came directly from award recipients themselves. Some honorees spoke plainly about their own beginnings. 'Los Angeles is a city built by the toils of immigrant communities… now being ripped apart,' warned John Yao, accepting Best Chef: California for his work at Kato. Some honorees turned their gratitude outward. 'I want to thank every immigrant that works for us,' said Chef Cindy Wolf of Charleston in Baltimore, accepting the award for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. 'We all know that in our business we are nothing without immigrants… We are better for immigrants, and we support you so much. I love every Latino that works for me from the bottom of my heart.' And then there were those who widened the lens. Arjav Ezekiel, winner of Outstanding Beverage Service for Birdie's in Austin, named his life 'the story of undocumented immigration and its many subplots.' After describing years of fear, hiddenness, and labor done in the shadows, he closed with a line that brought the room to stillness: 'My undocumented journey ends here—but the fight doesn't.' These weren't side comments. They were the pulse of the evening—woven into speeches, made visible on the stage. And the numbers back it up–according to a recent report from the National Restaurant Association, 46% of chefs and 31% of cooks are foreign-born, compared to 18% of waitstaff. Even among restaurant managers, nearly one in four were born outside the U.S. Kitchens are also the most linguistically diverse workplaces in the industry, with half of chefs speaking a language other than English at home. The medallions handed out that night may honor excellence, but the labor they represent has long been global and often invisible. That gap between recognition and reality was the story the night kept circling back to, whether through a speech, a name, or the quiet refrain that ran beneath it all. About the James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation's Restaurant and Chef Awards recognize excellence across the hospitality industry, with a mission rooted in 'Good Food for Good®.' In addition to celebrating culinary innovation and leadership, the Foundation expanded its recognition this year to include new beverage categories, while continuing its long-standing commitment to uplifting community-rooted restaurants through the America's Classics honors. You can view the full list of 2025 James Beard Award winners on the official James Beard Foundation website.
Eater
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
Yotaka Martin of Phoenix Restaurant Lom Wong Wins James Beard Award
is a cities manager at Eater overseeing editorial operations for city sites in the Southern California/Southwest and Texas regions. She earned a master's degree in multidisciplinary writing at the University of Southern California. The James Beard Foundation Awards were held tonight, June 16, and Phoenix, Arizona walked away with one winner. In April, the James Beard Foundation revealed Arizona's two finalists, whittled down from a semifinalists list that spanned 12 categories: Crystal Kass, of Valentine in Phoenix, received an Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker nomination for her genre-bending desserts — think an apricot tostada with burnt honey cremeux and sweet salsa macha — that speak to the soul of the Southwest. Cat Cox of Country Bird Bakery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, took home that award. The James Beard Awards, often considered 'the Oscars of food,' are among the most prestigious awards in the food and hospitality industry. Each year, the James Beard Foundation restaurants, bars, and hospitality professionals in categories like Outstanding Restaurant, Best Chef, and Best New Chef. This year's awards added three brand-new categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. The first James Beard Awards ceremony was held in 1991, when chefs like Rick Bayless, Nancy Silverton, and Wolfgang Puck walked away as winners. In recent years, the foundation has been under increased scrutiny after canceling its programming in 2020 and 2021 due to misbehavior and abuse allegations against nominated chefs, and a lack of nominated and winning Black chefs among the categories. In response, the James Beard Foundation conducted an internal audit to make its voting processes more inclusive and equitable before returning in 2022. The awards have also shifted the Best Chef category to a regional model to better recognize the diversity and depth of talent. Get the full list of James Beard Award winners from across the country on Eater. Chef Yotaka Martin, of Lom Wong in Phoenix, holds up a freshly caught fish by the tail. Lom Wong Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards. Eater is partnering with the James Beard Foundation to livestream the awards in 2025. All editorial content is produced independently of the James Beard Foundation.
Eater
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
Philly Chef Phila Lorn Wins a James Beard Award
is the deputy editor of Eater's Northeast region, covering Boston, Philly, D.C. and New York. Based in Boston, she has spent years covering the local restaurant industry. Chef Phila Lorn of Cambodian hot spot Mawn took home the James Beard Award for Emerging Chef on Monday, June 16, at the foundation's annual gala in Chicago. In his acceptance speech, Lorn dedicated the award to 'having confidence in owning what you do as a craft' and also the many assumptions that Mawn had to fight through in its opening days, including 'that the food wasn't gonna be good enough, or authentic enough, [or] I wasn't popular enough.' 'When I found out I was nominated for this award, the assumption was that I was gonna win it,' Lorn said to cheers from the crowd. The chef was up against four other nominees in the category, including Nikhil Naiker of Nimki in Providence, Rhode Island, and Jane Sacro Chatham of Vicia in St. Louis, Missouri. Mawn has quickly become one of Philly's hardest-to-snag reservations since it opened two years ago in Philly's Bella Vista neighborhood. The self-proclaimed 'noodle house with 'no rules'' serves dishes like a rich beef noodle katiew (a Cambodian noodle soup) with sliced wagyu and braised oxtail, and a crowd-favorite all star seafood rice packed with crab, bay scallops, shrimp, crab fat butter, and trout roe. There's also the 'Puck & See' family-style tasting menu, a fun option for groups where Lorn and his crew pick a variety of dishes to send out for $65 per person. Looking forward, the team is hardly slowing down: Phila and Rachel Lorn, his wife and business partner, are about to open a second restaurant, a Southeast Asian oyster bar called Sao, in East Passyunk. Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards. Eater is partnering with the James Beard Foundation to livestream the awards in 2025. All editorial content is produced independently of the James Beard Foundation. Eater Philly All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
