So close you can taste it

Austin-area chef and restaurant named finalists in the James Beard Awards

Photo courtesy of Birdie's

The James Beard Awards are heating up, and Austin is along for the ride — albeit in small numbers. (We're doing much better than last year.) Two of the area’s 9 semifinalists advanced to finalist status.

Considered the Oscars of the food world, the James Beard Foundation announced the finalists for its Restaurant and Chef Awards on April 3. Here are all of the Texas nominees in the national categories:

Best New Restaurant: Barbs-B-Q (Lockhart)
Outstanding Bar: Las Ramblas (Brownsville)
Outstanding Hospitality: Gemma (Dallas)
Outstanding Restaurant: Mixtli (San Antonio)
Outstanding Restaurant: Convenience West (Marfa)
Outstanding Chef: David Uygur, Lucia (Dallas)

Austin's four semifinalist nominees in the national categories were Ramen Del Barrio and Barbs-B-Q for Best New Restaurant, Mariela Camacho of Comadre Panadería for Outstanding Pastry Chef, and Bufalina for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.

The foundation also announced the finalists for Best Chef: Texas. Of Austin’s five semifinalists, only one, Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel of Birdie’s, earned finalist status. Even if Malechek Ezekiel just stays in this round, she's swimming in other recent achievements; on April 2, Food & Wineranked Birdie's the No. 4 best restaurant in the country, and on April 11, the chef will be featured at CultureMap's Tastemaker Awards celebration for her Chef of the Year nomination.

Photo courtesy of Birdie's

Chef Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel made it to the final round in Texas.

Best Chef Texas:

Emmanuel Chavez, Tatemó (Houston)
Christopher Cullum, Cullum’s Attaboy (San Antonio)
Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel, Birdie’s (Austin)
Misti Norris, Petra & the Beast (Dallas)
Ana Liz Pulido, Ana Liz Taqueria (Mission)

The finalists are drawn from a pool of semifinalists that included 11 nominations for Houston, eight for Dallas, and five for San Antonio.

Notably, only Las Ramblas returns from 2023 in the national categories. All of this year's other finalists are new to the categories. Similarly, none of last year’s finalists for Best Chef: Texas returned to the category. Ernest Servantes and David Kirkland of Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin had been among last year’s finalists for Best Chef: Texas. This year, they earned a semifinalist nomination in the nationwide Outstanding Chef category but did not advance to the finals.

The awards recognize excellence by chefs and other culinary professionals in a wide range of categories ranging from Outstanding Chef to Best New Restaurant. Winner must also have “demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive,” according to the organization’s website. The awards also include media categories that will be announced on April 30.

“Congratulations to all of our esteemed honorees and nominees on this remarkable achievement,” Beard Foundation CEO Clare Reichenbach said. “Your vision, and continued dedication to excellence — both on and beyond the plate — make you true leaders of American culinary. Thank you for all you are doing to set a better standard for our industry and broader food system.”

The Foundation will reveal its Restaurant and Chef Award winners at an awards ceremony on Monday, June 10, 2024, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

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Genuine Surprise

Austin coffee shop announces return immediately after sudden closure

Genuine Joe Coffeehouse/Instagram

Genuine Joe Coffeehouse is now under and optimistic spell.

An Austin coffee shop has experienced a roller coaster over the past week. On October 31, Genuine Joe Coffeehouse announced it would close, but after some community help, it's back on track to stay open with some changes to make the business more stable going forward. One of those seems to be a new location that hasn't been announced yet, according to a social media post.

The original message announcing the closure was posted on Instagram: "Genuine Joe is closed for the foreseeable future," it said. "Yesterday was our last day of business. We are sorry to the community for the short notice- it surprised all of us too."

As Genuine Joe owner Josh Brown explained to KVUE, the property he rented had been sold to build condos in 2021. After that, the coffee shop only had a lease for up to six months at a time. Finally, KVUE reported, a hard demolition date has been set for February.

In the shop's next Instagram post, management thanked fans for their comments and established a GoFundMe page, which they explicitly said would not go toward reopening. "Donations will not go towards reopening, relocating, or any debt incurred by Genuine Joe Coffeehouse. Everything will go to the staff," wrote Leann Tipton, who is listed as the organizer of the fundraiser.

Just days later, another post went up announcing that Genuine Joe would reopen and continue business at the original location — meaning 2001 W. Anderson Ln. According to the post, what was raised from the now-disabled GoFundMe ($7,762) went entirely to staff in limbo.

The most explanation the post offers is that "a few special members of the GJ family" stepped up to help. It does not mention whether the help was financial or otherwise. It also announced some changes: an increase in prices, reduced hours, and fewer non-core offerings — namely, breakfast tacos.

This is, of course, not the whole story. The post promises to share more news later, specifically detailing the demolition and a new location.

Genuine Joe's current hours according to the post at 7 am to 7 pm on weekdays, and 8 am to 7 pm on weekends. Customers had strong reactions, and it looks like none bemoaned the reasonable changes.

"Crying tears of joy….. my family and friends are going to be so relieved they don’t have to hear me mourn genuine joe on the daily anymore," wrote one commenter. They weren't the only one in tears, if the rest of the comments were any indication.

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