Craig LaBan reviews Philly’s 2024 James Beard semifinalists

Philly chefs are well-represented on the 2024 semifinalist list for the James Beard Foundation restaurant awards, meaning our city offers some of the best things happening in the American culinary scene. But we could have told you that.

Here’s what Inquirer food critic Craig LaBan has had to say over the years about this year’s semifinalists.

Semifinalist: Outstanding New Restaurant

Craig’s take: My Loup is an impressive debut for Philly’s newest restaurant power couple (2023)

If Her Place was [co-owner and chef Amanda] Shulman’s unplugged solo debut, My Loup is a fresh duet tapping the next phase of her life with [co-owner and chef Alex Kemp], two considerable culinary talents showcasing a shared history and passion for Canada’s modern approach to French cuisine. Close observers will see familiar Shulman touches in the details, from the clam-infused mayo paired with scallop or fluke crudo, to the deep fried “Philly balls” stuffed with roast pork sandwich fixings that debuted as a Her Place add-on.

Kemp’s imprint here is distinctive, as My Loup’s confident menu embraces familiar French ideas with updated tweaks of witty Quebecois abundance, Philly’s best ingredients, and a rare enthusiasm for disappearing classic sauces.

2005 Walnut St., 267-239-5925; myloupphl.com

Semifinalist: Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, overseen by wine and service director Frank Kinyon and general manager Harry Jamison.

Craig’s take: a.kitchen, both brilliant and invisible (2017)

Rittenhouse Square’s a.kitchen somehow remains one of Philly’s best — and perhaps most undervalued — destinations for a great meal with world-class wine in a sleek, modern setting.

135 S. 18th St., 215-825-7030; akitchenandbar.com

Semifinalist: Outstanding Chef for Dionicio Jiménez

Craig’s take: Cantina La Martina delivers the most thrilling Mexican flavors in Philly (2022)

A refreshing aguachile of raw shrimp comes submerged in a citrusy chile broth turned vivid green with hoja santa. An aguachile de coco of tuna fanned over creamy coconut milk infused with habanero spice takes on a hint of smoke from a torched swirl of avocado. Sublimely tender shreds of barbacoa-style cabrito, goat marinated in pulque then braised for 15 hours with beer and avocado leaves, tumble with meaty ayocote beans over a handmade plate from Jimenez’s native Puebla.

And then there is El Machete, an 18-inch-long quesadilla variation made here only for lunch from fresh masa shaped like the iconic blade. It comes with three fantastic salsas — earthy salsa macha; habanero-lemongrass; electric green salsa cruda — and the protein of your choice. There isn’t a wrong move, but the Pastor Negro, a beguilingly dark riff on pork al pastor marinated with the charred chile paste of Jimenez’s Oaxacan mole negro, is extraordinary.

2800 D St., 267-519-2142; cantinalamartinaphilly.com

Semifinalist: Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic for Randy Rucker

Craig says: River Twice review: A Texas star chef relocates magic to South Philly (2020)

There is gastronomic preciousness and there is genuine rustic oomph, two traits that don’t often coexist. But they’re both served in graceful harmony at this intriguing newcomer, strikingly plated on locally made ceramics, and with such well-wrought clarity of flavors, I couldn’t help but wonder: Where did this come from?!

1601 E. Passyunk Ave., 267-457-3698; rivertwicerestaurant.com

Semifinalist: Emerging Chef for Yun Fuentes

Craig’s take: Bolo updates viejo classics with bold Puerto Rican energy (2023)

I cannot resist the syncopated spell of this Cubop classic soundtrack of Latin jazz, swiping my malanga chip with a little extra swagger through the sweet fufu of mashed ripe plantains scattered with a confetti of citrus fruit mojo that marks a festive start to a Bolo meal. I can hardly blame our server, who seemed to shimmy as he delivered his tableside spiel, lightly practicing salsa steps while previewing details of the ceviches, pincho skewers, and cuchifritos to come.

2025 Sansom St., 267-639-2741; bolophl.com

Semifinalist: Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic for Carlos Aparicio

Craig says: El Chingón is the heart of Philly’s Mexican sandwich scene (2023)

Aparicio’s obsession is the cemita, a swirl-topped round roll speckled with sesame from his native state of Puebla piled high with all manner of meaty stuffings. El Chingón’s clásica, however, is already a towering masterpiece of contrasts on a bun: freshly breaded chicken milanesa layered atop creamy green wedges of avocado, citrusy pápalo leaves (and pápalo aioli), topped with spice bursts of smoky whole chipotles, and a fistful of cool, shredded quesillo that cascades over those warm cutlets in milky white threads of tangy cheese.

1524 S. 10th St., 267-239-2131; elchingonphilly.com

Semifinalist: Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic for Dane DeMarco

Craig says: At Gass & Main, chef Dane DeMarco mines nostalgia for its power of reinvention (2023)

Dane DeMarco at Gass & Main is here to remind us that peering backward into the maw of mid-20th century cafeteria kitsch can sometimes be fulfilling, especially when seeking inspiration to spring forward with wit and contemporary swagger.

DeMarco’s cheeseball in March, for example, was a wicked riff on the dirty martini that blended Birchrun blue into cream cheese with vermouth, ringing it with a belt of Castelvetrano olives. The Salisbury steak shattered my bland TV dinner memories with a meatloaf-like patty made of ground bison from Salem County that was glossed, alongside its rainbow carrots, with a mahogany demiglacé enriched with mushrooms. Neither are still on the menu, of course. Because cheeseballs and revamped TV dinners in DeMarco’s hands are fleetingly seasonal, too.

7 Kings Court, Haddonfield, 973-721-3179; gassandmain.com

Semifinalist: Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic for Jesse Ito

Craig says: Philly has many omakase options. Here’s what’s worth the sushi tasting menu splurge (2022)

Ito is simply in an omakase league of his own. He touches every one of the 17 pieces of hand-molded rice and rare imported fish that 16 lucky diners each night eagerly pay $175 to devour, and then open their wallets to buy more for add-ons. (Come to Papa, tuna sandwich!) Ito has honed a style all his own over the past couple years that draws stunning complexity from subtly hidden layers. Paired with the more accessible à la carte izakaya in front, it remains our best destination for traditional Japanese cooking.

780 S. Second St., 267-909-9002; royalizakaya.com

Semifinalists: Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic for Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate

Craig says: Honeysuckle Provisions’ ‘Dolla’ hoagies are some of the city’s best sandwiches (2023)

Honeysuckle is most focused on serving high-quality, handcrafted food to their neighborhood with a focus on Black producers and foodways. And they’re doing exactly that in the charming little retail space on South 48th Street, with scratch ingredients on every level, from fantastic hot sauce and miso made from black-eyed peas grown on their urban farm beneath the Market-Frankford El, to the local produce case and sandwiches that represent the initial core of the cafe’s menu. It all begins with the excellent baking.

310 S. 48th St., 215-307-3316; honeysuckleprovisions.com

Semifinalist: Outstanding Bakery

Craig’s take: Craig has been covering this 120-year-old bakery for years. In 2000, he wrote “Spoon-filled with sweetened “rigotta” cheese to order, this [cannoli] is pastry persuasion, every bite a blissful explosion of crust and cream.”

More recently, Inquirer food reporter Jenn Ladd covered the bakery in our 2022 Christmas cookie package. Here’s what she said:

In this panoply of cookies, is there one that is the most Philadelphian? My editor wanted to know.

It’s an almost impossible question to answer, but one thought did come to mind: the feathery ricotta cookies from Isgro Pastries. Slicked with a powdered-sugar glaze flavored with vanilla or lemon (and flecked with chocolate chips if the former), a pound of these puppies could easily disappear in minutes.

1009 Christian St., 215-923-3092; isgropastries.com

(Disclosure: Some current Inquirer staff members have served on or are part of the James Beard Awards voting body.)