On Wednesday morning, the highly anticipated semifinalists for the 2016 James Beard Awards were announced, and, once again, Austin is well represented.
Newcomer Launderette, the casual East Austin concept from Rene Ortiz and Laura Sawicki, is in the running for Best New Restaurant. Only one other Texas restaurant joins Launderette, Houston's Helen Greek Food and Wine. Laura Sawicki, famous for her playful desserts (birthday cake ice cream sandwich, anyone?) is also a semifinalist in the Outstanding Pastry Chef category.
There are some familiar Austin faces too. Grae Nonas, whose restaurant, Olamaie, was among the semifinalists for Best New Restaurant in 2015, is a contender for Rising Star of the Year for the second year in a row.
Bryce Gilmore of Austin favorite Barley Swine again has a chance at Best Chef: Southwest. And Uchi's Tyson Cole, who won Best Chef: Southwest in 2011, is a semifinalist in the prestigious Outstanding Chef category.
The James Beard Awards will be held on May 2 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Look for the final nominees to be announced in mid-March.
Grae Nonas (right) is again a contender for Rising Star of the Year.
Photo by Robert J. Lerma
Grae Nonas (right) is again a contender for Rising Star of the Year.
Rosie Flores and Robert Plant are hitting the road together again.
An Austin guitarist is embarking on a musical journey with one of rock's biggest icons — for the second time. Rosie Flores will be a special guest on Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant's 2026 Saving Grace tour. Austinites can see the show on Saturday, March 21, at ACL Live at the Moody Theater; then they can spread the word to friends across the country.
According to Flores' tour calendar, she kicks off the tour in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 14, and wraps it up in New York, New York, on April 7. She'll be joined by Austin drummer Chris Sensat and bassist Tommy Vee from St. Cloud, Minnesota, to form her band; singer Suzi Dian will accompany Plant.
Flores, who was born in San Antonio and has lived in Austin for many years, is known for her rockabilly style, both in sound and fashion. She is almost always pictured with a guitar, but she is also a singer and songwriter. At 75 years old, she is still playing live regularly outside of the major tour with Plant.
Although Flores certainly knows her niche, her rockabilly reputation doesn't flatten her appeal; she consciously pulls from many genres that she reckons all fit under the umbrella of "American roots music" in a video for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). In 2024, the government organization presented her with the NEA National Heritage Fellowship Award, their highest honor for folk and traditional arts.
Flores opened 16 dates on Plant's tour in November 2025. Her stylistic fluidity with rock-and-roll roots is a great complement for Plant's style, which since his Led Zeppelin days has mellowed out and drifted deeper into folk rock. (Led Zeppelin, many would argue, was already at least a cousin to folk rock.)
“Opening for Robert Plant last fall with my Rockabilly trio was one of the greatest honors of my life,” said Flores in a press release. “We're thrilled to have been invited back for the Spring tour. And I'm excited to once again get to see Robert with singer Suzi Dian and their killer band performing songs from their latest release, Saving Grace."
Saving Grace is Plant's 12th studio album, presenting covers of songs by blues artists like Blind Willie Johnson, as well as Plant's take on traditional tunes. It was released in September of 2025 and reached No. 1 on the U.K. Americana Albums chart and No. 17 on the U.S. top album sales chart.
Tickets to the Saving Grace Tour are available via rosieflores.com.
