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Jean Banchet 2018 Award Nominations Spotlight Monteverde and Sixteen

Here’s the full list of nominees for Chicago’s restaurant industry awards

Monteverde Photos Sarah Greueneberg West Loop Italian Restaurant
Monteverde
Marc Much
Ashok Selvam is the editor of Eater Chicago and a native Chicagoan armed with more than two decades of award-winning journalism. Now covering the world of restaurants and food, his nut graphs are super nutty.

The 2018 Jean Banchet Award nominations are out, and Monteverde’s Sarah Grueneberg could yet again win big. The Banchet panel nominated Grueneberg (who won this year’s James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes) for Chef of the Year and her West Loop Italian restaurant is nominated for Restaurant of the Year. This year’s Banchets, which honor Chicago’s chefs, restaurants and other members of the dining industry, take place on January 14 at Venue Six10 in the South Loop.

Sixteen, the restaurant inside Trump Tower, was recognized with four nominations, the most of any restaurant this year. Staff already celebrated last month when they retained their two-star Michelin rating despite hiring a new chef earlier this year. Michelin inspectors enjoy continuity and could have made a case to penalize Sixteen. The Banchet panel was also impressed and gave them a Restaurant of the Year nod. Sixteen’s Nick Dostal earned a Rising Chef of the Year nomination, Evan Sheridan earned a Pastry Chef of the Year nod, and Parag Lalit earned a Best Sommelier nomination.

Oriole received three nominations, and the owners of Sepia and Proxi in the West Loop also earned a trio of nominations. Proxi, which opened earlier this year, somehow didn’t earn a nomination for Best Ethnic Restaurant, despite the restaurant’s global influences. Katsu and Haruko Imamura of Katsu, the North Side sushi spot that’s closing in November after 29 years, will also receive the Banchet Culinary Achievement Award. One quirk: Mari Katsumura of Entente earned a nominee for Pastry Chef of the Year. She left the Lakeview restaurant earlier this year before Michelin awarded the restaurant a star.

Other quick observations: Even though Perennial Virant closed in Lincoln Park, chef Paul Virant’s suburban restaurant, Vie, received two nominations: Restaurant of the Year and Vie’s Angelyne Canicosa earned one for Rising Pastry Chef of the Year. Diana Dávila was nominated as Rising Chef of the Year, but her Logan Square restaurant Mi Tocaya Antojería — which has garnered plenty of national attention — was shut out of the Best New Restaurant category. Also, Chicago’s beer industry received some spotlight with two brewpubs, Old Irving Brewing Co. and Forbidden Root, earning nominations.

The panel received more than 11,000 nomination suggestions from the public this year, according to a news release. They’ll hand out 15 awards this year with one new category: Best Bar. They nixed Best Alternative Dining this year, a category that recognized pop-ups and food trucks.

Earlier this year, Blackbird took home the Banchet for 2017 Restaurant of the Year. Take a look at 2018’s full list of nominees below. The awards take place in January.


Restaurant of the Year

Monteverde

The Publican

Sixteen

Vie

Chef of the Year

Sarah Grueneberg (Monteverde)

Noah Sandoval (Oriole)

John Shields (Smyth and The Loyalist)

Andrew Zimmerman (Sepia, Proxi)

Rising Chef of the Year

Diana Dávila (Mi Tocaya Antojería)

Nick Dostal (Sixteen)

Brian Fisher (Entente)

Sam Plotnick and Don Young (Temporis)

Best Chef-de-Cuisine

Ross Henke (Quiote)

Joel Heseman (The Bristol)

Bill Montagne (Nico Osteria)

Sarah Rinkavage (Lula Cafe, Marisol)

Pastry Chef of the Year

Mari Katsumura (Entente)

Genie Kwon (Oriole)

Greg Mosko (NoMi Kitchen)

Anna Posey (Elske)

Rising Pastry Chef of the Year

Kyleen Atonson (Honey’s)

Angelyne Canicosa (Vie)

Maree Rogers (Momotaro)

Evan Sheridan (Sixteen)

Best Neighborhood Restaurant

Daisies

Le Bouchon

Old Irving Brewing Co.

Osteria Langhe

Best Ethnic Restaurant

HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen

Isla Pilipina

La Chaparrita

Ras Dashen Ethiopian Restaurant

Best New Restaurant

Elske

Proxi

Quiote

Smyth

Best Sommelier

Andrew Algren (Cherry Circle Room)

Matty Colston (Parachute)

Jill Gubesch (Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Leña Brava, Cruz Blanca, Xoco, Xoco Bistro)

Parag Lalit (Sixteen)

Best Mixologist

Stephanie Andrews (Billy Sunday)

Julieta Campos (The Whistler)

Amit Gilad (GreenRiver)

Joshua Novy (Homestead on the Roof)

Best Restaurant Design

The Albert

Beatnik

Portsmith

Proxi

Best Service

Acadia

Cherry Circle Room

Oriole

Sepia

Best Bar

Best Intentions

Forbidden Root Restaurant & Brewery

Income Tax

Lost Lake

Perennial

1800 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614 Visit Website

Katsu

2651 W Peterson Ave, Chicago, IL 60659 773-784-3383

Nico Osteria

1015 North Rush Street, , IL 60611 (312) 994-7100 Visit Website

Parachute

3500 North Elston Avenue, , IL 60618 (872) 204-7138 Visit Website

Isla Pilipina

15 W. Washington, Chicago, IL 60602 (773) 271-2988 Visit Website

The Loyalist

177 North Ada Street, , IL 60607 (773) 913-3774 Visit Website

Smyth

177 North Ada Street, , IL 60607 (773) 913-3773 Visit Website

Elske

1350 West Randolph Street, , IL 60607 (312) 733-1314 Visit Website

Quiote

2456 North California Avenue, , IL 60647 (312) 878-8571 Visit Website

the Albert

228 East Ontario Street, , IL 60611 (312) 471-3883 Visit Website

Leña Brava

900 West Randolph Street, , IL 60607 (312) 733-1975 Visit Website

Acadia

1639 South Wabash Avenue, , IL 60616 (312) 360-9500 Visit Website

NoMI Kitchen

, , IL 60611 (312) 239-4030 Visit Website

Osteria Langhe

2824 West Armitage Avenue, , IL 60647 (773) 661-1582 Visit Website

Momotaro

220 West College Avenue, , PA 16801 (814) 308-9436 Visit Website

Mi Tocaya Antojería

2800 West Logan Boulevard, , IL 60647 (872) 315-3947 Visit Website

Oriole

661 West Walnut Street, , IL 60661 (312) 877-5899 Visit Website

Sepia

123 North Jefferson Street, , IL 60661 (312) 441-1920 Visit Website

Homestead On The Roof

1924 West Chicago Avenue, , IL 60622 (773) 332-2354 Visit Website

Two

1132 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60642 (312) 624-8363 Visit Website

Best Intentions

3281 West Armitage Avenue, , IL 60647 (312) 818-1254 Visit Website

Monteverde

1020 West Madison Street, Chicago, IL 60607 (312) 888-3041

Cruz Blanca

904 West Randolph Street, , IL 60607 (312) 733-1975 Visit Website

Old Irving Brewing Co.

4419 West Montrose Avenue, , IL 60641 (773) 916-6421 Visit Website

Entente

700 North Sedgwick Street, , IL 60654 (312) 285-2247 Visit Website

Proxi

565 West Randolph Street, , IL 60661 (312) 466-1950 Visit Website

Marisol

205 East Pearson Street, , IL 60611 (312) 799-3599 Visit Website

GreenRiver

259 East Erie Street, , IL 60611 (312) 337-0101 Visit Website

Daisies

2375 North Milwaukee Avenue, , IL 60647 (773) 697-9443 Visit Website

Lula Cafe

2537 North Kedzie Boulevard, , IL 60647 (773) 489-9554 Visit Website

The Publican

837 West Fulton Market, , IL 60607 (312) 733-9555 Visit Website

Blackbird

614 North 2nd Street, , PA 19123 (267) 324-5224 Visit Website

Topolobampo

445 North Clark Street, , IL 60654 (312) 661-1434 Visit Website

Lost Lake

3154 West Diversey Avenue, , IL 60647 (773) 293-6048 Visit Website

The Whistler

2421 North Milwaukee Avenue, , IL 60647 (773) 227-3530 Visit Website

Cherry Circle Room

12 South Michigan Avenue, , IL 60603 (312) 792-3515 Visit Website

Le Bouchon

1958 North Damen Avenue, , IL 60647 (773) 862-6600 Visit Website

Temporis

933 North Ashland Avenue, , IL 60622 (773) 697-4961 Visit Website

Income Tax

5959 North Broadway, , IL 60660 (773) 897-9165 Visit Website

HaiSous

1800 S. Carpenter St., Chicago, IL Visit Website

Portsmith

660 North State Street, , IL 60654 (312) 202-6050 Visit Website

The Bristol

2152 North Damen Avenue, , IL 60647 (773) 862-5555 Visit Website

Sixteen

401 North Wabash Avenue, , IL 60611 (312) 588-8030 Visit Website

XOCO

1471 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622 (872) 829-3821 Visit Website

Forbidden Root

1746 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622 (312) 929-2202 Visit Website

Beatnik

1604 West Chicago Avenue, , IL 60622 (312) 929-4945 Visit Website