For the first time since 1992, a Bay area restaurant has walked away from the annual James Beard Foundation Awards with a win.
That restaurant? Bern's Steak House.
The Tampa icon, which houses 6,800-plus selections with more than half a million bottles in its wine cellar, was acknowledged for its Outstanding Wine Program during Monday night's awards gala, hosted by chef and restaurateur Carla Hall in Chicago.
San Francisco-based A16 landed the Outstanding Wine Program win last year, while Tennessee's Barn at Blackberry Farm received the title back in 2014.
In the American culinary world, the Beard Awards are recognized among the highest honors chefs, journalists, restaurateurs and other professionals can snag.
This year, Bern's was the region's sole winner and finalist. The first and only other time a local has won a James Beard Award was back in 1992, when Bern's took home the Outstanding Wine Service category.
This article appears in Apr 28 – May 4, 2016.