Here at Bandazian & Holden, we are proud to be a Silver Sponsor of the 2nd Annual Richmond Magazine Elby Awards! This awards program is THE restaurant awards program for Richmond, Virginia and was a hit from the start, last year. This is a time when the stars of the Richmond restaurant scene (some of the ongoing conversation can be found under #rvadine in the Twitterverse) take time out to honor the best and brightest among them.

I have not been involved in the selection or judging processes, but I don’t envy such a difficult decision. We have a lot of great talent and passionate operators and chefs here in town, and I hope that these awards will continue to honor and encourage more talent to develop.

If you are in any way involved in the restaurant scene, I encourage you to buy tickets and attend. Come support your favorite spots!

The event is on Sunday, February 10, 2013 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the doors open at 6pm. The awards are held at 6:30pm with a reception afterwards.

2013 NOMINEES 

Fine Dining Restaurant

  • Acacia Mid-town
  • Arcadia
  • Julep’s
  • Lemaire
 New Restaurant (Opened between Nov. 1 2011 and Oct. 31, 2012)

  • Deco Ristorante
  • Heritage
  • Peter Chang China Café
  • Tio Pablo
 Excellence in Service

  • Tiffany Gellner of The Magpie
  • Paul Heitz at Amour
  • Wendy Kalif at Bistro Bobette
  • John Van Peppen at Arcadia
Upscale Casual

  • Pasture
  • The Roosevelt
  • Sapori
  • Stella’s
 Cocktail Program

  • Heritage
  • Lemaire
  • Pasture
  • The Roosevelt
 Rising Culinary Star

  • Kyle Cox of Patina
  • Carly Herring of the Dining Room at the Berkeley
  • Jen Mindell of Avalon
  • Mike Yavorsky of Belmont Food Shop
Neighborhood Restaurant

  • Africanne on Main
  • The Black Sheep
  • Kuba Kuba
  • Tastebuds American Bistro
 Restaurateur of the Year

  • Jason Alley of Comfort & Pasture
  • Kendra Feather of Garnett’s, Ipanema & The Roosevelt
  • Ren Mefford and Chris Tsui of EAT Restaurant Partners
  • Paul Keevil of Millie’s, LuLu’s and Tio Pablo
 Chef of the Year

  • Tim Bereika of Secco Wine Bar
  • Peter Chang of Peter Chang China Café
  • Lee Gregory of The Roosevelt
  • Dale Reitzer of Acacia Mid-town
Culinary Student of the Year

  • Dana Goodchild at Culinard
  • Stephanie Louise Boehles at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College
  • Jean Marie Kennedy at University of Richmond’s Center for Culinary Arts 

 

Who are you hoping will win? Who isn’t mentioned on this list that you think deserved to be on there? I would love to hear what you think!