LA's 2016 James Beard Foundation Award Nominees

It’s announcement day for the James Beard Foundation Awards, as semifinalists have been culled from the longer list of entrants in a number of categories. Here’s where Los Angeles fits into the grand plans for the Foundation.

Books

Cooking From a Professional Point of View
Gjelina: Cooking from Venice, CA
Travis Lett

Food Coverage in  General-Interest Publication

Los Angeles Magazine, Lesley Bargar Suter and Bill Esparza

Design (restaurant under 75 seats)

Jon & Vinny’s (designers: Jon Shook, Vinny Dotolo, Helen Johannesen, Jeff Guga)

Outstanding Chef

Suzanne Goin, Lucques

Outstanding Pastry Chef

Dahlia Narvaez, Osteria Mozza

Best Chef: West

Michael Cimarusti, Providence
Jeremy Fox, Rustic Canyon
Jon Shook / Vinny Dotolo, Animal

And of course, Father Greg Boyle has already been announced as this year’s Humanitarian winner.

So what do you think? Big surprise names like Baroo haven't made this final round of culling, leaving only a handful of the usual suspects (Goin, Jon & Vinny) to vie for supremacy at this year's awards in Chicago on May 2. So is L.A. once again getting screwed? Or, as some have suggested, is it more a question of timing and tourism? Weigh in below.