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Here Are Portland’s 2020 James Beard Awards Semifinalists

Eem, Gado Gado, and Ha VL all got nods, as well as many others

A picture of a bowl of curry with a piece of white fish in it
A halibut curry at Eem, a semifinalist for the James Beard Awards’ Best New Restaurant
Dina Avila/EPDX
Brooke Jackson-Glidden is the editor of Eater Portland.

The James Beard Foundation released its list of semifinalists for its celebrated culinary awards this morning, with a healthy dose of Portland talent in national categories. Notably, the prestigious culinary organization named for a former Oregon resident included Eem and Gado Gado in the Best New Restaurant category, the multi-James Beard winner Gabriel Rucker in the Outstanding Chef category, and Vietnamese restaurant Ha VL in the Outstanding Restaurant category.

Many semifinalists from last year’s list have returned to the pool in 2020: Kim Boyce of Bakeshop nabbed another semifinalist spot in the Outstanding Baker category, and Earl Ninsom was again listed as a semifinalist for the Best Restaurateur category. However, a few new additions made the list this year: Naoko Tamura of Shizuku and Chef Naoko is a semifinalist in the newly redistricted Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific category. Plus, Ha VL has jumped from the local categories into the national category, as the only Portland restaurant on the Outstanding Restaurant list.

Below, you’ll find a full breakdown of the Oregon semifinalists:

Best New Restaurant

Eem
Gado Gado

Outstanding Baker

Kim Boyce, Bakeshop

Outstanding Bar Program

Expatriate

Outstanding Chef

Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon

Outstanding Restaurant

Ha VL

Outstanding Restaurateur

Akkapong Earl Ninsom (Eem, Hat Yai, Langbaan, etc.)

Outstanding Wine Program

Canard

Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Producer

Brianne Day, Day Wines, Dundee
André Hueston Mack, Maison Noir Wines, McMinnville

Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific

Peter Cho, Han Oak
Gregory Gourdet, Departure
Katy Millard, Coquine
Sarah Minnick, Lovely’s Fifty Fifty
Kristen Murray, MÅURICE
Ryan Roadhouse, Nodoguro
Naoko Tamura, Shizuku

The organization will release the list of nominees on March 25.

2020 James Beard Award Semifinalists [Official]
Here Are Portland’s 2019 James Beard Awards Semifinalists [EPDX]

Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards.

Ha Vl

2738 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97266 503-772-0103

Expatriate

5424 Northeast 30th Avenue, , OR 97211 (503) 867-5309 Visit Website

Coquine

6839 Southeast Belmont Street, , OR 97215 (503) 384-2483 Visit Website

Gado Gado

1801 Northeast Cesar E Chavez Boulevard, , OR 97212 (503) 206-8778 Visit Website

Bakeshop

5351 Northeast Sandy Boulevard, , OR 97213 (503) 946-8884 Visit Website

Paadee

6 Southeast 28th Avenue, , OR 97214 (503) 360-1453 Visit Website

Le Pigeon

738 East Burnside Street, , OR 97214 (503) 546-8796 Visit Website

Shizuku by Chef Naoko

1237 SW Jefferson St, Portland, OR 97201 Visit Website

Canard

734 East Burnside Street, , OR 97214 (971) 279-2356 Visit Website

Departure

525 SE Morrison Street, Portland, Oregon 97214 Visit Website

Lovely's Fifty Fifty

4039 North Mississippi Avenue, , OR 97217 (503) 281-4060 Visit Website

Han Oak

511 NE 24TH AVE, Portalnd, OR 97232 Visit Website

Hat Yai

1605 Northeast Killingsworth Street, , OR 97211 (503) 764-9701 Visit Website

eem

3808 North Williams Avenue, , OR 97227 (971) 295-1645 Visit Website

Maurice

921 Southwest Oak Street, , OR 97205 (503) 224-9921 Visit Website

Nodoguro

2832 Southeast Belmont Street, , OR 97214 Visit Website

Langbaan

1818 Northwest 23rd Place, , OR 97210 (971) 344-2564 Visit Website