Several San Antonio area restaurants advance to the James Beard Award semi-finals

SAN ANTONIO - Several restaurants and chefs from across Texas have made it to the James Beard Award semi-finals!

In the Outstanding Chef category, David Kirkland and Ernest Servantes from Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin have been nominated for their competition BBQ and their love of cooking. Burnt Bean was opened in 2020 to much fanfare, being recognized by several food publications.

For the Outstanding Restaurant category, San Antonio’s Mixtli is a progressive, diverse take on Mexican cuisine. Their current menu crosses Japanese and Mexican food and explores their uniquely connected culinary development for an incredibly unique experience.

In the Best New Restaurant category, Barbs-B-Q in Lockhart is a women-run BBQ restaurant serving quality BBQ and new energy to the Lockhart food scene. Owners Chuck Charnichart, Haley Conlin, and Alexis Tovias were up to starting a restaurant and putting their unique twist on Texas BBQ with influence from their respective culinary experiences.

Lastly, the Best Chef - Texas category aims to highlight Texas’ best. San Antonio hosts some major contenders. Andrew Ho, Andrew Samia, and Sean Wen from Curry Boys BBQ, Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin from Best Quality Daughter, and Christopher Cullum of Cullum’s Attaboy are all in contention for the title of best chef in Texas.