Time Out New York Announces 2012 Food & Drink Awards Nominations: Alex Stupak, Damon Wise, Ignacio Mattos and Seamus Mullen Compete for Chef of the Year

NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Time Out New York announces the nominations for the 2012 Food & Drink Awards, highlighting the best restaurants, bars, chefs and dining trends of the year. A winner will be selected by reader vote in each of the ten categories, including Best New Restaurant, Chef of the Year, Best New Cocktails, Best New Pizza, Best Out-of-Town Import, Best New Neighborhood Joint, Best New Bakery, Best Spin-off, Best New Beer Bar and Best International Eats.

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Chefs Alex Stupak, Damon Wise, Ignacio Mattos and Seamus Mullen go head-to-head this year to claim the honor of Chef of the Year, a title currently held by ABC Kitchen's Dan Kluger, while hit eateries Boulud Sud, the Dutch, Isa and the Monkey Bar defied steep competition to score nominations for 2012's Best New Restaurant. 

"I'm particularly excited to celebrate the influx of out-of-town imports making waves in the New York food scene," says Jordana Rothman, Time Out's Food & Drink editor. "Offshoots of renowned food landmarks across the country or overseas -- places like Pok Pok Wing, Fleisher's Grass-Fed & Organic Meats, and Hospoda -- retained their signature styles and caught fire in New York. We created a new category this year to honor that trend." Other new categories include Best New Bakery and Best International Eats.

The winning Readers' Choice chefs, restaurants and bars will be announced along with ten additional Critics' Picks winners at the Time Out New York 2012 Food & Drink Awards live event on Monday, April 2, and featured on timeoutnewyork.com and in the magazine on Tuesday, April 3. Users can vote for their favorites by visiting timeoutnewyork.com/vote and discuss online with #TONYfoodawards. The full list of nominees is below:

Best new restaurant
Boulud Sud
The Dutch
Isa
The Monkey Bar

Best new cocktails
The Beagle
Booker and Dax
The Bourgeois Pig Brooklyn
Maison Premiere

Best out-of-town import
Acme (Copenhagen)
Fleisher's Grass-Fed & Organic Meats (Kingston, NY)
Hospoda (Prague)
Pok Pok Wing (Portland, OR)

Chef of the year
Alex Stupak (Empellon)
Damon Wise (The Monkey Bar)
Ignacio Mattos (Isa)
Seamus Mullen (Tertulia)

Best new pizza
Basil Brick Oven Pizza
Forcella
PeteZaaz
Wild Rise

Best new neighborhood joint
Earl's Beer and Cheese (Upper East Side)
Masten Lake (Williamsburg)
Porsena (East Village)
Red Rooster Harlem (Harlem)

Best spin-off
Fatty 'Cue (West Village)
Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria
Parm
Zabb Elee

Best new bakery
Bien Cuit
Dominique Ansel Bakery
Dough
Zucker Bakery

Best new beer bar
Alewife Queens
La Birreria
The Cannibal
Taproom No. 307

Best international eats
Maharlika Filipino Moderno (Philippines)
Miss Lily's (Jamaica)
Junoon (India)
RedFarm (China)

About Time Out New York:
Time Out New York is a comprehensive arts and entertainment multiplatform media business, delivering engaging features, local listings and critical reviews to active and informed residents and visitors of New York City. Sometimes irreverent but always intelligent, Time Out New York provides passionate coverage of music, film, theater, dance, shopping, dining and more. Time Out New York is part of Time Out Group, the global media business delivering local information and cultural guidance in 35 cities across 24 countries and encompassing a worldwide audience of more than 17 million.

CONTACT: Meg Rushton
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SOURCE Time Out New York