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No James Beards for Buffalo, but the nominations speak volumes

Theo

This is not the year for Buffalo to win its first James Beard Award in more than two decades.

Neither Ryan Fernandez of Southern Junction nor Waxlight Bar à Vin won in their respective categories at the James Beard Foundation awards ceremony in Chicago Monday night.







South Junction

Ryan Fernandez, center left, demonstrates how to slice meat and present a platter during a pre-meeting with his staff at Southern Junction in Buffalo, May 25, 2024.


Libby March/Buffalo News



Ryan Fernandez: James Beard-nominated chef draws crowds to Southern Junction with unique 'Tex-ish' barbecue

Ryan Fernandez describes his West Side restaurant as “Tex-ish,” a blend of Texas barbecue and South Indian flavors, reflecting Fernandez’s multicultural life as an immigrant whose childhood was spent on the coast of the Arabian Sea.

But this is still the first year since 2003 that a local restaurant has made it to the finals for a James Beard Award, often called the culinary equivalent of an Oscar. Only one Buffalo restaurant, Anchor Bar, has ever won a James Beard Award.

Masako Morishita, a chef who prepares Japanese comfort food at Perry’s in Washington, D.C., won Emerging Chef, the award for which Fernandez was nominated. Lula Drake Wine Parlor in Columbia, South Carolina, beat out Waxlight to win the outstanding wine and other beverage program.

But like the Oscars, being nominated for a James Beard Award is an honor in itself.

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Jess Railey-Forster, co-owner and sommelier of Waxlight (27 Chandler St.), said in April that she thought the James Beard Foundation’s decision to name two Buffalo restaurants as finalists was “an indication of where Buffalo is headed has been working on, and the direction it has been moving towards for a few years now. »







Tony Rials makes Waxlight Bar a Vin a drinking destination (copy) (copy)

For two years in a row, Waxlight Wine Bar, 27 Chandler St., has been nominated for a James Beard Award for its wine and beverage program.


Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News



At Waxlight Bar a Vin, explore the disciplined passion of Buffalo's creative landmark

What makes Waxlight a workshop, an artist’s studio, is the intention of its founders. In 2019, a team of catering professionals opened a place designed to let creativity be the main ingredient.

Southern Junction (365 Connecticut St.) and Waxlight started in the same building on Chandler Street that served as an incubator for new businesses. Both restaurants offered something new to Buffalo at the time. Fernandez’s “Tex-ish” barbecue combines authentic Texas barbecue with South Indian flavors, while Waxlight’s menu is constantly evolving with innovative ingredient combinations and international wines from small producers.

Fernandez credits incubation spaces, such as the small kitchen he started out in on Chandler Street and the Westminster Economic Development Initiative’s West Side Bazaar and Downtown Bazaar, with fostering new culinary concepts in Buffalo.

“It gives a lot more opportunity for people to get their ideas out there,” Fernandez said in April. “There are more opportunities in Buffalo right now to come in and do something different and it’s very well received.”

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