Scotch Lodge, Nodoguro win James Beard honors
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From left: Scotch Lodge manager Katsumi Manabe, owner Tommy Klus, bartenders Nathan Beals and Joey Bradford. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios
Portland restaurants and bars had a strong showing at the James Beard Awards in Chicago Monday, bringing home two of the culinary world's most prestigious honors.
Why it matters: Portland has been on a hot streak over the last few years, picking up big wins in heavy-hitter categories and cementing us as an innovative food city.
Driving the news: Scotch Lodge, the Central Eastside whisky-focused cocktail bar, won Outstanding Bar.
Tommy Klus opened Scotch Lodge in 2019 because he wanted top-shelf spirits to sit on the table beside high-quality Pacific Northwest food — like fried Brie sticks, candied duck pappardelle and wagyu tartare.
- "There was a little confusion early on about whether we were a restaurant or a bar," Klus told Axios last year. "We didn't feel like we wanted, or needed, to be either-or, but to celebrate both."
What they're saying: "Portland deserves the recognition that it's been getting lately," bartender Nathan Beals told Axios as the team celebrated their win.
- "This is an amazing city with amazing food, amazing bars, and people are recognizing that. That's awesome."
Ryan Roadhouse, chef-owner of Japanese fine dining restaurant Nodoguro, also took home an award for Best Chef — Northwest and Pacific.
- Roadhouse had been nominated nine times in the category in the past, and finally secured the award just one year after relocating his reservation-only restaurant downtown.
Catch up quick: Nodoguro has been known and celebrated locally for its Kyoto-style kaiseki cuisine since it opened in 2014 because of Roadhouse's keen ability to bend the rules.
- Roadhouse told Axios last year that he views his 20-plus course tasting menu as theatrical acts — introducing diners to a concept, like landscapes, and then advancing the story through shifting textures, flavors, temperatures and settings as they move through the space.
What he's saying: "I don't think we could have done this sort of restaurant, created this thing, anywhere else but Portland," Roadhouse told Axios after his win.
Fun fact: The James Beard Foundation, which hosts the ceremony, is named in honor of the iconic Portland-born food writer and chef.
Between the lines: Win or not, being named a finalist is an achievement on its own.
- Thomas Pisha-Duffly, the Malaysian-born chef-owner of Hollywood's Gado Gado, was also up for Best Chef after being previously nominated three times.
Find a full list of James Beard Award winners here.