And the Nominees Are In!

Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington president Lynne Breaux, left,
congratulates the team from Equinox on their two RAMMY nominations. From second
to left, Executive chef and owner Todd Gray, is a “Chef of the Year” nominee;
Melanie Parker is on the list of “Best Pastry Chef” honorees; and Ellen Gray, is
general manager of the Connecticut Avenue restaurant now famous for being the
first local eatery at which the Obama family dined after they relocated to DC.

The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington held the nomination party at the Ritz Carlton in Georgetown to announce their 2009 RAMMY Finalists. And many of those finalists were our own Northern Virginians - such as, Bastille, Majestic Cafe, Vermillion, Willow, PassionFish, and the ever present Restaurant Eve. A full list follows.

2009 RAMMY Finalists

Neighborhood Gathering Place
Belga Café, Washington DC; Cork ,Washington DC; EatBar, Arlington VA; The Liberty Tavern,
Arlington VA; Marvin Washington DC

Upscale Casual
Bastille, Alexandria VA; Majestic Café, Alexandria VA; Oyamel, Washington DC; Rasika,
Washington DC; Zaytinya, Washington DC

Hottest Restaurant Bar Scene
CoCo. Sala, Washington DC; Marvin, Washington DC; Proof, Washington DC; The Source by Wolfgang Puck, Washington DC; Willow Creek Farm, Broadlands VA

More than 300 restaurant glitterati convened at the Ritz
Carlton in Foggy Bottom Tuesday night for the Restaurant
Association of Metropolitan Washington’s RAMMY award
announcement party. The nominees will learn who wins this
year’s “Best” awards at the RAMMY gala set for June 7th.
Among the happy guests who enjoyed hors d’oeuvres prepared
by the “best new restaurant” nominees were, from left,
Meshelle Armstrong, co-owner of Old Town’s Restaurant
Eve and The Majestic Cafe; Amanda McClements Martin,
food blogger of Metrocurean.com; and Shannon Overmiller,
chef at The Majestic Café. Overmiller was nominated for
“Rising Culinary Star” and her restaurant was tapped as a
“Best Upscale Casual Dining” spot. In addition,
Restaurant Eve has been nominated for “Best
Fine Dining” restaurant.

Rising Culinary Star
Cedric Maupillier – Central Michel Richard, Washington DC; Daniel Giusti – 1789, Washington, DC; Mike Isabella – Zaytinya, Washington DC; Shannon Overmiller – Majestic Café, Alexandria
VA; Tony Chittum – Vermilion, Alexandria VA

New Restaurant
Adour, Washington DC; Art and Soul, Washington DC; CommonWealth, Washington DC; Cork,
Washington DC; PassionFish, Reston VA

Pastry Chef
Josh Short – Neighborhood Restaurant Group; Kate Jansen – Willow, Arlington VA; Melanie
Parker – Equinox, Washington DC; Michelle Garbee-Poteaux – Bastille, Alexandria VA; Travis
Olson – 1789, Washington DC

Associate Member
B B & T; Belair Produce Inc./Watermark Foods; EagleBank; The Legacy Group; ProChile

Wine and Beverage Program
Cityzen, Washington DC; Neighborhood Restaurant Group; Oya, Washington DC; The Willard Room, Washington DC; Zola, Washington DC

BLT Steak, Washington DC; Central Michel Richard, Washington DC; Charlie Palmer Steak, Washington DC; The Source by Wolfgang Puck, Washington DC; Teatro Goldoni, Washington DC

Cheers,

The Vino Vixen™ is Mari Stull – Syndicated wine columnist, correspondent for Wine Taste TV, and member of the Society of Wine Educators. See her picks in this month’s Travel Girl Magazine and BlueSky Magazine. Have a wine question or comment for Mari? She can be reached at VinoVixen@vinovixen.com.