Tanzore

The AIA (American Institute of Architects) announce the Los Angeles 2007 Restaurant Design Award winners tonight, and while there aren't many shockers---the design at Tanzore is loverly---one judges' pick for nightclub, Omega, is now a restaurant called Las Papas N Beer, a Mexican joint that opened two weeks ago (a bit of Dish in there for ya). Anyhoo, the winners for restaurant, cafe/bar and lounge/nightclub, coming right up.

Restaurant Category
Tanzore (AkarStudios)
Red Seven (Project Designs NYC)

Craft, Edison

Okay, so we're cursed when it comes to our Top Chef picks but we did predict a few contenders for AIA/LA's Restaurant Design Awards, including front-runners Craft, The Edison, and yes, even Pinkberry. The winners will be picked from 14 finalists, and once again this year, you can voice your opinion and vote for the People's Choice Award. Voting ends October 22; winners are announced October 24.

The call for submissions is officially wide open for this year's Restaurant Design Awards, sponsored by the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects. You'll remember last year's top honors went to the Richard Meier-designed Cut and Houston's Santa Monica (Houston's? Really?), with Sprinkles, the Westfield Century City Dining Terrace and (Wide) Band Nomadic Cafe as winners in the cafe/bar/lounge categories. Katsuya, Lucky Devil's, Opaline and Stack were all named finalists. It's a diverse list, and we got to ruminating about the eateries who might make up this year's contenders.