Meet the Beard Nominees

Koren Grieveson, chef de cuisine at avec. (Photo: Jessica Tampas Photography)


We've gotta give it up to MenuPages Chicago, which has done a pretty thorough job interviewing several of the James Beard nominees, who will find out Monday in New York whether they go home with an award or not.

Helen Rosner, the site's tireless editor, snagged some pretty sweet interviews with BIN 36 Wine Director Brian Duncan; chefs Paul Kahan (Blackbird, Publican), Koren Grieveson (avec), Mindy Segal (Hot Chocolate) and Sarah Grueneberg (Spiaggia); as well as food writers Monica Eng and Phil Vettel from the Chicago Tribune and Mike Sula at the Chicago Reader.

We loved them all, but especially the one with Greiveson, who even talked about her favorite haunts:

"I'm kind of a creature of habit – I go to the same bars, the same restaurants. I was just at Volo last night, had a great dinner there. It’s nice to see (chef) Christophe David over at NoMI, to sit at the bar. I like Urban Belly."