Chai Pani serving Indian street food in North Carolina awarded America’s best restaurant

New Delhi: Chai Pani which serves Indian street food at affordable prices at North Caroline is considered the best restaurant in America. The eatery was named America’s most Outstanding Restaurant at the James Beard Foundation Awards in Chicago on Monday, surpassing nominees such as Brennan’s in New Orleans.

After a hiatus of two years, it was the first time the honors were awarded. It was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 to remove the systemic bias and as Covid-19 imposed lockdown forced the temporary closure of many US restaurants. 

The award comes amidst the Americans paying the highest prices for food in four decades owing to the increased inflation that is threatening the border economy. The award recipients’ and nominees’ lists were more diverse to better reflect the makeup of the US. Considerably, there was more geographic variety than in the years in the past when many winners came out of New York or Chicago.

Chai Pani which translates to tea and water provides Indian snacks like “chaat” which are known for a mix of spicy, sweety, and tangy flavours that have won the hearts of Americans. Other winners are the Native American restaurant Owamni in Minneapolis, where the staff is 75% indigenous, as Best New Restaurant.

Outstanding Baker was Don Guerra at Barrio Bread in Tucson, Arizona, where the usage of ancient grains that have seeds adapted to grow in the desert are used. Mashama Bailey of The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, was named Outstanding Chef.

Dawn Padmore, vice president of awards stated that the foundation did a “deep dive” on itself during its interval of two years.

“Looking at the audience and seeing so many different people, it feels different,” she said. “It’s about reflecting the true diversity of the industry.”

See the full list of winners below.

Outstanding Restaurant: Chai Pani, Ashville, North Carolina

Outstanding Chef: Mashama Bailey, The Grey, Savannah, Georgia

Best New Restaurant: Owamni, Minneapolis

Outstanding Restaurateur: Chris Bianco, Tratto, Pane Bianco and Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix

Emerging Chef: Edgar Rico, Nixta Taqueria, Austin, Texas

Outstanding Baker: Don Guerra, Barrio Bread, Tucson, Arizona

Outstanding Pastry Chef: Warda Bouguettaya, Warda Pâtisserie in Detroit

Outstanding Wine Program: The Four Horsemen, New York

Outstanding Bar Program: Julep, Houston

Outstanding Hospitality: Cúrate, Asheville, North Carolina

Best Chefs

Best Chef: California

Brandon Jew, Mister Jiu’s, San Francisco

Best Chef: Southwest

Fernando Olea, Sazón, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Best Chef: Midwest

Dave Baldwin, The Diplomat, Milwaukee

Best Chef: Mountain

Caroline Glover, Annette, Aurora, Colorado

Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific

Robynne Maii, Fête, Honolulu

Best Chef: Texas

Iliana de la Vega, El Naranjo, Austin, Texas

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic

Cristina Martinez, South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia

Best Chef: New York State

Chintan Pandya, Dhamaka, New York

Best Chef: South

Adam Evans, Automatic Seafood and Oysters, Birmingham, Alabama

Best Chef: Southeast

Ricky Moore, SALTBOX Seafood Joint, Durham, North Carolina

Best Chef: Northeast

Nisachon Morgan, Saap, Randolph, Vermont

Best Chef: Great Lakes

Erick Williams, Virtue Restaurant & Bar, Chicago -Bloomberg