17-06-2025
A Boulder Italian Restaurant Just Won Its Fourth James Beard Award
The James Beard Foundation (JBF) Awards swept Chicago into a frenzy on Monday, June 16, at the Lyric Opera. Of all the Colorado contestants, upscale Italian restaurant Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder was named Outstanding Restaurant. This makes the restaurant's collective fourth James Beard Award. Though there was a lot of finalists headed into the final night of ceremony, 99 percent of the Colorado contestants lost out.
That means Josh Niernberg for his work at Bin 707 Foodbar in Grand Junction did not win the Outstanding Chef award. In the Best New Restaurant, Denver's Alma Fonda Fina did not take home the gold, either. Further, Penelope Wong of Yuan Wonton did not win Best Chef: Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY), nor McLain Hedges and Mary Allison Wright for their drinks at Denver's Yacht Club. In Parker, Carolyn Nugent and Alen Ramos's creations at Poulette Bakeshop lost in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category.
The awards just keep rolling in for Frasca, though. In 2008 Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson won the then-applicable Best Chef: Southwest for his work at the restaurant. In 2013 the JBF awarded Frasca in the Outstanding Wine Service category. And in 2019 the Boulder restaurant loved for its inventive, seasonal dishes won the Outstanding Service award. In 2023, that old tire company Michelin came to town and honored the business with a star and an Outstanding Service award.
The night was a testament to the cuisine and work immigration brings to the United States. Only a few winners failed to mention the foodways that make their restaurants not just popular but possible. 'If you are new to the country and you don't speak the language, the hospitality industry is here for you,' Frasca Food and Wine's partner and master sommelier Bobby Stukey said on stage.
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