San Antonio chef and restaurant named 2025 James Beard finalists
Why it matters: Despite local chefs and restaurants having been nominated in the past, none has ever won a James Beard award, which carries national prestige.
The latest: Oliva, who co-owns Leche de Tigre with his two brothers, is a finalist for Best Chef in Texas.
Mixtli, an innovative restaurant that transports diners through different regions of Mexico, was announced as a finalist for Outstanding Hospitality.
Zoom in: Mixtli became San Antonio's first Michelin-starred restaurant in November. Its sommelier, Hailey Pruitt, and bar director Lauren Beckman also won the Michelin Outstanding Service Award.
Leche de Tigre opened in February 2023 and had garnered plenty of local and national acclaim. It was one of 57 Texas restaurants " recommended" by Michelin.
In 2019, James Beard restructured the Best Chef category, giving Texas its own region. Here are the chefs representing that group with Oliva.
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San Francisco Chronicle
8 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
He left fine dining to make sandwiches. Now, his popular Bay Area shop is expanding
Since leaving the fine dining world behind, an alum of San Francisco's Michelin-starred Californios and Lazy Bear has quietly made a name for himself with a surprising specialty in an unlikely location: deli sandwiches in a gym. Raul Lopez's sandwich counter, the Local, has thrived since opening three years ago in Wine Country — despite being difficult to find. Sandwich seekers must drive through a maze of Petaluma office parks and past Lagunitas Brewing to the Active Wellness Center. There's no signage indicating that the Local is inside, tucked between the check-in desk and the pool deck. 'You gotta know,' said Chris Osborne, co-owner of the Local. 'It's as far north and as far east as Petaluma gets. You have to cross many barriers to find us.' Location notwithstanding, the Local has grown into one of Sonoma County's hottest fast-casual lunch spots, and now, it's growing. Set to open Aug. 18, the Local's second Petaluma location (229 N. McDowell Blvd.) will offer more space, an expanded menu and, most notably, convenience. A Petaluma native, Lopez was working at Californios when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the restaurant to temporarily close. 'For about a year and a half, I was out of the industry,' he said. 'I never thought I'd go back to it unless I owned my own space.' A cousin told him that the gym was leasing a spot, but it was tiny — just 160 square feet — and the kitchen was extremely basic. The only pieces of cooking equipment were a panini press and a countertop oven. Sandwiches seemed like the best option, said Lopez, who was adamant that he'd still apply his fine dining training to his menu by, for example, vacuum sealing fruits and vegetables in their juices to 'give them more flavor.' In his view, most Petaluma sandwich shops use 'mass-produced' ingredients, while Lopez has established close relationships with local farmers and only uses what's in season, making do without common sandwich ingredients, like tomatoes and pesto, during certain times of the year. For the first couple of months, the Local 'relied on gym traffic,' said Osborne, who met Lopez years ago when they were both working at a restaurant in Petaluma. But word of Lopez's sandwiches — often named after Sonoma County geographical landmarks, like the Petaluma, the 101 and Adobe Road — quickly spread. The Local's clientele grew beyond red-faced gym rats and hungry kids in bathing suits, dripping a trail of water from the pool. By the time the shop hit the five-month mark, a majority of its traffic was coming from outside the gym. 'We're a trek to get to, but people still find us six days a week, and we're busy all six days,' Osborne said. Lopez has made his corner of the gym work, but the new location — at a busy shopping center alongside a Starbucks, a bagel shop and a frozen yogurt spot — brings new possibilities. The space is nearly 10 times the size of the original. It has a full kitchen, including dry storage and a walk-in freezer. A new bread station will enable the Local to make sandwich breads in-house, though it will still source some from Petaluma's famed Della Fattoria bakery. Lopez said he'll finally have the tools to experiment with more high-end techniques, like water baths for a precise cook and foams to add new textures and flavors. 'Everything we've done we've had to do under these extreme conditions,' Osborne said of the original space. '(Raul) will now have all the equipment and toys that his heart can desire.' The expanded menu will break the sandwiches (also available as wraps) into two tiers: classic ($13) and specialty ($17). The classics all have a fancy twist, like a BLT with Havarti, avocado and Carolina barbecue aioli, or the pastrami sandwich with chimichurri, Fresno chile hot sauce and pickled mustard seed aioli. New specialty sandwiches include the Bodega Bay, a soft roll topped with braised chicken thigh, pickled vegetables, pepper jack and chile lime aioli. The Gold Coast, another newcomer, integrates bacon jam and Carolina barbecue aioli with chicken breast. Lopez said he's 'big on using the whole animal and having minimal waste,' which means using parts of a whole chicken for multiple sandwiches, including roasting the bones for sauces. The Local offers an unusually robust selection of vegetarian options, like the Helen Putnam; named after Petaluma's first female mayor, it features roasted beet hummus and artichoke hearts. 'When I thought about opening a sandwich shop, I ate at a bunch, and every time I got to the vegetarian menu, I realized there were only one or two options,' Lopez said. 'I was vegetarian for (a few) years, and working in fine dining, I learned a lot of cool techniques when it comes to vegetables.' The shop can accommodate most dietary restrictions — another takeaway from Lopez's years spent in Michelin-starred kitchens. The Local sources gluten-free bread from Mama Mel's in Petaluma and makes pestos without nuts or dairy. Like the gym counter, the new location will offer smoothies ($10-$12) and salads (from $13). Lopez has added a new section for seasonal bowls ($15), like a polenta bowl with braised chicken, fermented carrots, roasted broccolini and salsa verde. Drinks include specialty sodas, aguas frescas and shrubs. The menu will continue to grow over time, Lopez said, as he envisions adding flatbreads and sides, such as housemade potato chips and potato salad. The Local will be open Monday-Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., but Lopez has ambitions for a future dinner concept after hours that's closer to his fine dining roots. The new spot's interior is also a major upgrade from the gym's inconspicuous counter: Bright and minimalist, it features wood paneling, a classic sandwich board menu and fancy picnic tables, plus plants and flowers for decor. Windows provide a view into the kitchen and a side patio has additional seating. 'We're trying to make everything a little more elevated,' said Osborne. 'We wanted the dining area to match the food.' The Local. Opens Aug. 18. 229 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma.
Eater
21 hours ago
- Eater
A New(ish)-to-the-Bay Style of Pizza Drops With the Reopening of This Italian Restaurant
After 16 years, Redwood City's Donato Enoteca has undergone a much-needed renovation, as well as significant changes to the menu that will reshape the neighborhood favorite. Donato Enoteca reopens on Tuesday, August 12. The updated interior was a byproduct of 16 years of wear and tear, explains co-owner Donato Scotti, but as for changes elsewhere, it was a matter of survival. 'The demographic is changing,' Scotti says. 'A lot of younger people live in in Redwood City; we still have a regular customer base from the neighboring city and [our] city as well, but I felt like we needed to act on it, in order to say, 'How do we last another 16 years and be as successful the next 16, as we were before?' It's a question that many restaurateurs and chefs who have managed to stay open for over 10 years have asked themselves. An eternal question, really: How do you stay fresh and continue to attract new customers? 'The hardest part to me is how you keep generating [people] coming into your restaurant and how you sustain it, keep it going in a way so that you don't feel the downturn of the economy or whatever,' Scotti says. 'I know that a lot of the industry generally is suffering because of all the costs and the tariffs and this and that. But at the end of the day, it's a circle, and we'll all going to come out in a better position just like we did in 2009.' As part of the changes, Scotti will no longer be in the kitchen. He's brought on chef Marco Bertoldo, who worked at prestigious European restaurants such as Michelin-starred Ristorante Le Calandre and Osteria Degli Amici Figino before he moved to San Francisco as chef at Poesia. The new menu will offer shareable plates, and the bar menu will center cicchetti (Venetian snacks and small plates). 'If you wanted to keep the prices of our items in line with what our vision is, as far as pricing or check average, why don't we manage portion — offer smaller dishes, and increase the amount of dishes that people eat, so that they could try different things?' Scotti says. Nadia Andreini Nadia Andreini Nadia Andreini Nadia Andreini The homemade salumi is still on the menu, but from there, Bertoldo has new things in store for diners. Particularly, Scotti is excited for the new pastas, like the pasta patate e Provola, a pasta dish with potatoes that Scotti says is a staple of Naples that is lesser-seen in the Bay Area. The colore croccante, with crisp pork belly and Brentwood corn, is 'to die for,' per Scotti, while the baccala mantecato is a Venetian dish of milk-braised salted cod, another upcoming menu item. Another addition is the padellino-style pizza, a type most associated with Northern Italy. Created by Simone Padoan in San Bonifacio, Italy, pizza al padellino is a pizza that rises and is parbaked in a pan before being finished in a wood-burning oven. The result is 'really airy and very fluffy and very light,' Scotti says. 'After you bake it, you put the topping that you want on, or you slice it in half, lengthwise, and you can fill it with meat, tuna, or whatever. And so they became really popular, and nobody's doing this [here].' The bar menu is composed of cicchetti and cocktails, and with the food, Scotti says, 'we try to bring some of the tradition, but let Marco express his creativity and flavors.' Another bacala, or salted cod, appears on the menu as baccala e beitole, served with red beets and toasted bread, while the tonno al rafano is a seared ahi tuna with horseradish mayo. It's a step in a new direction for the restaurant. 'We've been here for 16 years,' Scotti says. 'We try to do something different now, because that's what we did when we first opened. We wanted to improve our bar business in general, because of the younger generation. So we redesigned the whole bar to create a sense of community.' Donato Enoteca (1041 Middlefield Road, Redwood City) reopens on Tuesday, August 11, and is open from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. Nadia Andreini Nadia Andreini Eater SF All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Eater
a day ago
- Eater
The Saddest D.C.-Area Restaurant Closures in August
This is a curated list of D.C. area's newly announced restaurant and bar closures, with new updates published every month. (See: July, May, April, March, February, and January.) See a closing we missed? Drop us a line. August 31 Lovettsville, Virginia: The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm will close its picturesque dining room on Sunday, August 31, after nearly two decades of service. Located about an hour's drive from D.C., the glassy greenhouse overlooking the Potomac was a pioneer in the 'farm-to-table' movement, with seasonal American menus made with vegetables, herbs, and other produce pulled from the attached Patowmack Farm. Founder Beverly Morton Billand, who started the farm in the late 1980s and opened the restaurant in 1997, announced the news on Monday, August 11. 'With a full heart and profound reflection, I share one of the most difficult decisions of my life,' says Billand. She thanked the 'passionate' farmers, winemakers, brewers, and other partner purveyors and producers, 'whose dedication has been the backbone of our mission.' 42461 Lovettsville Road, Lovettsville, Virginia August 28 Downtown: Capitol City Brewing Co., a go-to destination for beer flights and pub grub before or after a game at nearby Capital One Arena, will close on Thursday, August 28 after 33 years of business. Billed as D.C.'s oldest-running brewpub, Capitol City's award-winning pours like Capital Kolsch joined a menu full of nachos, salads, burgers, pasta, and pizza. Per a recently posted liquor application, a new restaurant named Le Midi will take over the 300-person space with a 60-seat patio out front. 1100 New York Avenue NW August 24 Shaw: All-day Petite Cerise, a once-promising, Eater 38-designated sibling of Michelin-starred the Dabney, will shut down after just two years in business on Sunday, August 24. Chef Jeremiah Langhorne and partner Alex Zink doubled down in Shaw with the 2023 opening of the French cafe-meets-bistro inside a 130-year-old brick corner building. Morning highlights like ham and cheese croissants, pains au chocolat, stuffed cruffins, and Gruyere-filled omelets join endive salads, crispy artichoke, Chesapeake catfish, and beef bourguignon for lunch and dinner. An affordable prix fixe option entered the fold last year with courses like scallops, escargots, and Parisian gnocchi. Petite Cerise remains open for brunch, lunch and dinner through its last date of service. 1027 7th Street NW Wheaton, Maryland: Hollywood East Cafe, one of the region's best Chinese restaurants, closes August 24 after nearly 30 years in operation. Founded by the Yu family in 1996, the Hong Kong-style destination in the Westfield Montgomery Mall is renowned for its daily dim sum carts, pan-fried dumplings, and crispy shredded beef. Its lease is ending, per a closing statement, and 'though this restaurant chapter is ending, our story isn't over.' Janet Yu will expand her 'Grannie Yu's' product line of chile oils, dumpling sauce, and almond cookies, and Timothy Yu will keep hosting pop-ups with Red Thread Table and do private catering. Customers can still order online for takeout and delivery (within a five-mile radius) or dine on-site through closing day. 11160 Veirs Mill Road, Wheaton, Maryland August 1 Downtown: Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj's mod northern Italian staple Modena ended a 17-year run in early August. Ashok replaced his long-running Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca in 2019 with Modena, complete with a revamped look, roving antipasti trolley, and house-made pastas like roasted carrot cavatelli, date-braised lamb ragu, and bucatini cacio e pepe. Lots of culinary talent led the kitchen here over the years, including longtime executive chef John Melfi, and most recently, L'Ardente alum Josh Hunt. Bajaj's prolific D.C. portfolio includes places like La Bise, Annabelle, Bombay Club, Rasika, and Sababa. 1199 H Street NW Eater DC All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
