‘Girin’ in Seattle on the list of James Beard Best New Restaurant
Rachel Yang nominated again for James Beard Best Chef
These days it’s got everyone’s attention that a local Korean restaurant and local Korean chef were nominated for the semifinalists in the 2016 James Beard Awards Restaurant and Chef—a.k.a. the Oscars of the culinary industry.
On February 18, the foundation of James Beard, called the father of American cuisine, released its list of semifinalists in the 2016 Restaurant and Chef Awards, and will announce the final nominees in all James Beard Award categories on March 15, with the winners being announced at a gala on May 2.
Girin, the contemporary Korean restaurant opened in Pioneer Square last spring, is solely on the list amongst Korean restaurants for Best New Restaurant.
Steve Han, a 1.5 generation Korean American, and his friend Cody Burns had cofounded Girin, and its classical Korean cuisine has gained in popularity.
Burns made several trips to Korea to learn how to make makgeolli, Korea’s oldest alcoholic beverage, and now Kooksundang Makgeolli, a well-known makgeolli brand in Korea, is served to customers.
Girin serves its makgeolli the way traditional Korean bars do, with a nickel silver kettle and drinking bowls and kkakdugi as a side dish, which has attracted great interest from American foodaholics.
Girin was one of the top 10 new restaurants opened within a year that Providence Cicero, the Seattle Times restaurant critic, picked last year.
Rachel Yang, Seattle’s prominent chef, is on the list of the Best Chef in the Northwest. Yang, the co-restaurateur of Joule, Revel and Trove, the Korean-French fusion restaurants located in Seattle, was on the James Beard Awards semifinalists for 4 years in a row from 2009 to 2012, and was one of the final nominees last year.
Yang has become a rising star since she won against Iron Chef Jose Garces on the food show, Iron Chef America, and, in 2007, she opened the acclaimed restaurant, Joule, in Wallingford with her husband/chef Seif Chirchi.
The nominees in the Outstanding Wine Program of 2016 James Beard Awards contain Canlis, Seattle’s best restaurant, and Wild Ginger, an Asian restaurant located in Seattle and Bellevue.
Rachel Yang
Interior Space of Girin
