New England 2011 James Beard Award Semifinalists

You can find the full list here, but I'm just going to highlight the ones in places I could conceivably visit... though truth be told, I'm unlikely to visit anything in Connecticut or Rhode Island, but technically they are in states in New England so I guess I should show some flinty New Englander solidarity. I skipped the non-food categories like service or wine:

Best New Restaurant

• Community Table, Washington, CT
• Cook & Brown Public House, Providence
• Menton, Boston
• Shepherd’s Pie, Rockport, ME

Outstanding Chef

• Sam Hayward, Fore Street, Portland, ME
• Melissa Kelly, Primo, Rockland, ME

Outstanding Pastry Chef

• Joanne Chang, Flour Bakery + Café, Boston
• Maura Kilpatrick, Oleana, Cambridge, MA
• Cheryl Maffei and Jonathan Stevens, Hungry Ghost Bread, Northampton, MA

Outstanding Restaurant

• Fore Street, Portland, ME

Rising Star Chef of the Year

• Will Gilson, Garden at the Cellar, Cambridge, MA
• Bjorn Somlo, Nudel, Lenox, MA

Best Chef: Northeast

• Tim Cushman, o ya, Boston
• Krista Kern Desjarlais, Bresca, Portland, ME
• Brian Hill, Francine, Camden, ME
• Matt Jennings, La Laiterie, Providence
• Megan Chase, Penelle Chase, Phoebe Chase, and Ted LaFage, Chase’s Daily, Belfast, ME
• Evan Mallett, Black Trumpet Bistro, Portsmouth, NH
• Tony Maws, Craigie On Main, Cambridge, MA
• Peter Platt, The Old Inn On the Green, New Marlborough, MA
• Demos Regas, Emilitsa, Portland, ME
• Bjorn Somlo, Nudel, Lenox, MA
• Champe Speidel, Persimmon, Bristol, RI
• Bill Taibe, LeFarm, Westport, CT
• Nathaniel Wade, ¡Duino! (Duende), Burlington, VT
• Eric Warnstedt, Hen of the Wood, Waterbury, VT

Obviously Best Chef: Northeast is a little New England dominated since their definition of "Northeast" is New England +  New York State - New York City, but it's a handy list of "best restaurants" in the area. I must say it's very nice to see one of the best vegetarian restaurants I've ever been to make the list, but it's hard enough to get a table at the place as it is...  FSM knows how it would be if they won. But they deserve the props.

We're going up to Maine this afternoon for the long weekend for some relaxing, cooking, and maybe some snow shoeing (if it hasn't been too warm lately)... so maybe I'll see if Anna wants to make a detour to Rockland on the way up and hit Shepard's Pie. It'd be better than takeout Thai methinks, and we should hit it before any Friday rush.