Break out the fancy champagne: Colorado was well-represented in the , announced this morning. Considered to be the top honors for dining, our fine food and drink purveyors scored eight nominations, double what we had .
Boulder’s Frasca Food and Wine made the short list of 20 semi-finalists for Outstanding Restaurant in the country. .
Newcomer Annette and its chef/owner Caroline Glover got nods for both Best New Restaurant and Best Chef: Southwest. last summer as one of the nation’s best new restaurants.
Joining Glover in the Best Chef category are Dana Rodriguez of Work & Class and Alex Seidel of Mercantile Dining & Provision. The three will battle it out with 20 chefs from the region that includes Texas, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.
Andy Clark of Louisville’s Moxie Bread Co. was recognized in the Outstanding Baker category. Clark, a first-time semifinalist, got the news via a friend’s text while working early this morning.
“It’s obviously a tremendous honor to be selected for recognition like that, and I’m just totally blown away,” he said. “To be up there with the amazing bakers and chefs that have been nominated is staggering. It’s such an honor.”
We’ve got some good drinks, too — The Little Nell in Aspen is a semi-finalist for Outstanding Wine Program and Todd Leopold of Leopold Bros. is nominated for Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional.
Finalists will be announced on March 14 and winners will be crowned on May 7, so get your office pools going now.