Dallas is well-represented in the semifinals for the James Beard Awards. The awards celebrate excellence in cuisine and are considered "The Oscars of Food."
Stephen Pyles' newest restaurant, San Salvaje on Ross Avenue, is a semifinalist in the Best New Restaurant category. Pronounced San Sal-VAH-hay, the restaurant is a fusion of cuisines from Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean and Cuba.
Pyles, a Texas native, is also a semifinalist for "Outstanding Chef." Pyles is no stranger to the award, he first won Best Southwest Chef in 1991 while he was at Routh Street Cafe.
James Tidwell, the beverage manager and master sommelier at the Four Seasons Resort and Club at Las Colinas, is a semifinalist for Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Professional.
Four Dallas chefs made the semifinals in the Best Chef Southwest category.
It's a first time nomination for Omar Flores, the chef at Casa Rubia in Trinity Groves in Dallas. Casa Rubia opened in 2013 and was nominated by the James Beard Foundation for best '2014 Best New Restaurant.'
Matt McCallister, executive chef and owner of FT33 makes another appearance in the semifinals; he was a semifinalist for Best Chef Southwest in 2014.
The Scene
John Tesar, executive chef and chef partner of Knife, is a two-time James Beard Best Chef Southwest semifinalist. He was also a contestant on "Top Chef."
David Uygur, chef of Lucia in the Bishop Arts District, was also nominated in the same category in 2014.
More: JamesBeard.org — 2015 Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists | The Dallas Morning News — 2014 The Best in DFW Chefs
