James Beard Semifinalists revealed

Houston chefs, bars, and restaurants nab 11 James Beard semifinalist nominations in 2019

The James Beard Foundation will be in Houston next month to announce the finalists for its annual awards, which are considered the Oscars of the culinary world; they recognize achievements by chefs, bartenders, restaurant owners, media members, and more. When it does, several of the city's chefs will be eagerly awaiting the news.

The foundation announced the semifinalists for its chef awards, and once again, Houston is well-represented in the category of Best Chef: Southwest. This year's local nominees are: Ronnie Killen (Killen's Steakhouse), Trong Nguyen of Crawfish & Noodles — both of whom were nominated last year — and, for the first time, Kaiser Lashkari of Himalaya.

Other intriguing Texas nominees include: Austin chefs Kevin Fink (Emmer & Rye), Bryce Gilmore (Barley Swine), and Michael Fojtasek (Olamaie); Dallas chefs Bruno Davaillon (Bullion) and David Uygur (Lucia); perennial nominee Steve McHugh (Cured in San Antonio), and others.

Jonny Rhodes, chef-owner of Indigo, earns a nomination for Rising Star Chef of the Year, a national award for the most-promising talent under the age of 30. Despite being a 13-seat, tasting menu restaurant, Indigo has attracted major buzz in recent weeks, including being among Texas Monthly food editor Pat Sharpe's list of the state's best new restaurants for 2018.

Houstonians earned nominations in a number of the prestigious national categories, too. For the first time, The Original Ninfa's on Navigation is nominated for Outstanding Restaurant. Chris Shepherd, already a Best Chef: Southwest winner, is nominated for Outstanding Chef in America. Tracy Vaught, chef Hugo Ortega's wife and business partner in the H-Town Restaurant Group (Hugo's, Caracol, etc), receives another nomination for Outstanding Restaurateur. Anvil Bar & Refuge has once again been nominated for Outstanding Bar Program; Pappas Bros. Steakhouse is up for Outstanding Wine Program. Both Tony's and Hugo's have been nominated for Outstanding Service.

Overall, Texans earned 27 entries in the various categories, which Texas Monthly notes is the most ever and is up from 20 last year. How many will become finalists remains to be seen, of course, but surely the Beard Foundation wouldn't come to Houston just to shut the city out — right?

The awards will be presented in Chicago on Monday, May 6.

Tracy Vaught has been nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur.

Backstreet Cafe Hugo Ortega cooking video October 2013 Tracy Vaught

Photo by Joel Luks

Tracy Vaught has been nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur.

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New York Times critic awards Houston restaurant 2 stars in glowing review

Courtesy of ChòpnBlọk

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Let’s just call 2025 the year of ChòpnBlọk. In a review published Tuesday, December 16, the New York Times has awarded the Houston restaurant two stars (“very good”).

Written by chief restaurant critic Tejal Rao, the review touts many of the same qualities that the Times already praised when it included ChòpnBlọk on its list of America’s 50 best restaurants.

Rao writes that she usually avoids restaurants that serve food in bowls, but she’s impressed by the way that chef-owner Ope Amosu has put a West African spin on the concept.

“For inspiration, Ope Amosu looked to the kind of chain restaurants that were built to scale, where flavors are often subdued to appeal to the broadest possible audience, focus-grouped to death. But the delight of ChòpnBlok is in its sure sense of self, its lively, multidimensional cooking and clear, delicious vision for modern food from the Black diaspora,” Rao writes.

She singles out specific dishes, including the Nigerian red stew with short rib, the Black Star bowl with shrimp, and the signature Motherland, made with chicken, greens, and plantains. “It’s utterly simple, but draws you in for more with the mouthwatering twang of not-too-much MSG — an international shortcut to building umami that tends to be used carefully, and layered with other forms,” she writes.

The review also touches on the way Amosu switched the restaurant from counter service to full service — described as “warm, informal, and quick with the jokes” — and his time working at Chipotle to learn the basics of the restaurant operations.

A two-star review is only the latest instance of ChòpnBlọk receiving national attention. In addition to the Times 50 best list, Esquire recently named it one of America’s best new restaurants. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand designation for 2025. Amosu earned a semifinalist nomination for Best Chef: Texas in the 2025 James Beard Awards.

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