NYC People and Places Shine at the JB Awards

The annual James Beard Awards took place last night at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center and some of the city's talent walked away with great honors.

Paul Grieco won for Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional, PDT won for Outstanding Bar Program, and La Grenouille gets the Outstanding Service award. 

Christina Tosi, the mind behind Momofuku's Milk Bar empire, won the Rising Star Chef of the Year award, one that is given to "A chef age 30 or younger who displays an impressive talent and who is likely to have a significant impact on the industry in years to come."

Responsible for the kitchens at The Nomad and Eleven Madison Park, Daniel Humm takes home the Outstanding Chef award for his work at EMP.

After some time away from the kitchen to recover from open-heart surgery, Gramercy Tavern chef Michael Anthony won the award for Best Chef: New York City.

Here's the list of all the winners and photo's from last nights event.

Is San Pellegrino's World's Best Restaurants List Sparkling or Flat?

San Pelligrino's list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2012 came out earlier this week and Copenhagen's Noma keeps its number one spot.  Noma has made the list for seven out of the nine years that it's been a restaurant, and according to the World's Best website, Noma offer's "a dazzling array of one-bite starters that are alone worth the air fare to Denmark."

Per Se, #6, and Eleven Madison Park, #10, are the two NYC restaurants to make the top ten, EMP doing so for the first time.  Grant Achatz's Alinea in Chicago is the other U.S. resto to make the top ten and falls in the #7 spot.

Mexican Cuisine Mastermind Rick Bayless isn't thrilled about the list and digestny wonders if Brooklyn Fare and Marea feel left out.

What Do You Mean I'm Funny?

The Nomad is the new project from the Eleven Madison Park team.  It opened in the The Nomad Hotel on Broadway and 28th last Monday.  On Friday, to celebrate the end of the week, and the immediate success of the restaurant, Henry Hill Daniel Humm and James Conway Will Guidara star in this Goodfellas-inspired video that takes us through their kitchen and dining room.

NoMad from Eleven Madison Park on Vimeo.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Tonight, the night after Mad Men aired its season premiere following a 17-month hiatus, The Nomad opens its doors for dinner and feeds the buzz around Madison Avenue.

The NoMad comes to us via Daniel Humm, the chef at Eleven Madison Park, and Will Guidara, who is EMP's manager.  The restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and it all looks pretty damn good.

You can't smoke there but you'll likely get one hell of an old fashioned if you want to stop in after a day at the office.

The Nomad Will Bring Wanderers

The Nomad is the new project from Eleven Madison Park chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara, EMP's manager.  The two started their own company together, appropriately named MadeNice, and the NoMad restaurant is the second property to their name.  The other being Eleven Madison Park, which the team bought from Danny Meyer last year.

The restaurant is opening in the hotel, at 1170 Broadway (at 28th Street), in the neighborhood with the same name, which stands for north of Madison Square Park.  It is in the vein of The Breslin and John Dory Oyster Bar, a hotel/restaurant concept with food as enticing as the decor.

Daniel Humm plans a more casual menu than EMP and will offer a la carte options that include a chicken dish with black truffles and foie gras that showcases his ability to pamper the palate.  As if the project needs any more credibility, they get Brooklyn cred for the Le Poulet, a beer made by Brooklyn Brewery specifically designed to wash down said chicken.

The restaurant opens Monday and will start taking reservations tomorrow.