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NYC restaurants take top honors at Beard Awards

Nate Appleman, chef of A16 in San Francisco, was named "Rising Star" chef of the year, while New York City establishments nearly swept the restaurant honors at the 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards.

Click here to see a slideshow of the awards.

New York City restaurants won big at Monday night's awards ceremony here, with Momofuku Ko taking the prize as best new restaurant. Jean Georges was named outstanding restaurant, and Dan Barber, executive chef and owner of Blue Hill in New York and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., won the outstanding chef award.

Gina De Palma of Babbo in New York was named outstanding pastry chef, and the outstanding service award went to restaurant Daniel, also in New York. Drew Nieporent of the Myriad Restaurant Group was named restaurateur of the year.

Appleman's "Rising Star" award recognizes a chef aged 30 or younger who is deemed likely to make a significant impact on the restaurant industry.

“Being recognized by my peers is one of the greatest honors ever,” a teary Appleman said at the awards ceremony.

The outstanding wine service award went to Aldo Sohm, wine director of Le Bernardin.

Dale De Groff of Dale DeGroff Co. was named outstanding wine & spirits professional.

The outstanding restaurant design award went Thomas Schlesser, a New York-based designer from the firm Design Bureaux Inc., for The Publican in Chicago.

Boston-based designers Denise Korn, Javier Cortes and Bryant Ross of Korn Design won the outstanding restaurant graphics award for The Corner Office in Denver.

In the regional chef awards, Douglas Keane of Cyrus in Healdsburg, Calif., won in the Pacific region, which includes California and Hawaii.

Paul Bartolotta of Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at Wynn in Las Vegas won in the Southwest region -- Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. 

Maria Hines of Tilth in Seattle was named best chef in the Northwest region -- Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

John Currence of City Grocery in Oxford, Miss., was named best chef in the South region -- Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana and Mississipp

Tim McKee of La Belle Vie in Minneapolis was named best chef in the Midwest region -- Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, the Dakotas and Wisconsin.

Michael Symon of Lola won for the Great Lakes region -- Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. 

Mike Lata of Fig in Charleston, S.C., won for the Southeast region --  Georgia, Kentucky, the Carolinas, Tennessee and West Virginia

Jose Garces of Amada in Philadelphia won in the Mid-Atlantic region -- Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Rob Evans of Hugo’s in Portland, Maine, won in the Northeast region -- New England and New York state.

Gabriel Kreuther of The Modern was named best chef in New York City, which has its own regional category.

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].

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