19 Chicago restaurants and chefs are James Beard Awards semifinalists

Come spring, the James Beard Awards will once again take over the city of Chicago, doling out top honors to the country's best chefs, restaurants, bartenders and sommeliers. But before then, the James Beard Foundation teases us with a roster of semifinalists, which will eventually be whittled down to nominees before the winners are announced at the Old Post Office on May 4. This year's contenders include 19 familiar names from Chicago, like Boka, Lula Cafe and Monteverde.

Notable local newcomers Thattu and Tzuco are recognized in the Best New Restaurant category, which includes 28 other all-star eateries from across the U.S. Thattu opened last year inside West Loop food hall Politan Row, and chef Margaret Pak and her husband, Vinod Kalathil, use the quick-service counter to dish out Indian street food from the state of Kerala. Tzuco is the crown jewel of chef Carlos Gaytán's triumphant return to Chicago, serving a menu of French-inspired Mexican fare that's been met with rave reviews. Both spots made Time Out Chicago's list of best new restaurant openings of 2019.

On the booze front, Lost Lake is once again up for Outstanding Bar Program, while Spiaggia is again recognized for its killer vino list in the Outstanding Wine Program category. First-time semifinalist Emily Spurlin represents Chicago as as a leading pastry chef for her work at Lula Cafe, where she whips up chocolate-rye scones and chocolate-beet cake. The Best Chef: Great Lakes category is unsurprisingly dominated with Chicago chefs, including Thai Dang of HaiSous, Mariya Russell of Kikkō and Erick Williams of Virtue. Check out all of the Chicago semifinalists below and scope out the national competition here.

Best New Restaurant
Thattu
Tzuco

Outstanding Bar Program
Lost Lake

Outstanding Chef
Sarah Grueneberg, Monteverde

Outstanding Pastry Chef
Emily Spurlin, Lula Cafe

Outstanding Restaurant
Boka

Outstanding Wine Program
Spiaggia

Rising Star Chef of the Year
Alisha Elenz, mfk. and Bar Biscay
Jeanine Lamadieu, Yūgen

Best Chef: Great Lakes
Thai Dang, HaiSous
Brian Jupiter, Frontier
Gene Kato, Momotaro
Jason Hammel, Lula Cafe
Ethan Pikas, Cellar Door Provisions
Noah Sandoval, Oriole
John Shields and Karen Urie Shields, Smyth
Mariya Russell, Kikkō
Erick Williams, Virtue
Lee Wolen, Boka