![\"Grant](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/0d3b83d\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1600x2000+0+0\/resize\/840x1050!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F88%2F67%2Fc84903af4ba7b38c66681d088a47%2Fgrant-achatz-headshot-v1.png\")
<\/p>\nThe finalists for Chicago\u2019s top local food honor, the Jean Banchet Awards, were announced Thursday morning. This year\u2019s list includes everything from Chicago steakhouses to a South Side barbecue spot, plus Middle Eastern food in Lincoln Park and Vietnamese fare in Pilsen.<\/p>\n
The annual awards recognize excellence across 12 categories, including Best New Restaurant, Best Neighborhood Restaurant and Rising Chef of the Year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that it\u2019s a great thing that once a year, our industry takes a deep breath and looks back upon the previous year and pays respect and homage to those that honed their craft so hardcore that they really kind of become a reason as to why the city is such a great food city,\u201d said Michael Muser, the Banchet\u2019s executive director.
\nThe awards will also recognize a couple of Chicago restaurant icons. Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea will receive the Culinary Excellence Award. Plus, Gene & Georgetti, the well-known River North steakhouse, will be recognized with the first-ever Iconic Restaurant of the Year Award, reserved for establishments that have been open at least 25 years.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Grant Achatz will receive the Culinary Excellence Award at the 2026 Jean Banchet Awards.
\n\u201cThat category is meant to just pay respect to a restaurant that really has been around and become a part of the story of Chicago,\u201d Muser said. \u201cThat you almost can\u2019t even tell the story of Chicago restaurants without naming such a space, like Gene & Georgetti. It\u2019s kind of woven itself into the fabric of the tale of our city.\u201d
\nThe finalists are selected by a group of anonymous \u201cfood nerds,\u201d as Muser puts it, who dine out throughout the year and convene monthly to discuss what they\u2019ve eaten.
\nThe awards are named in honor of the legendary chef who ran Wheeling\u2019s Le Francais restaurant in the 1970s and \u201980s. Muser said Banchet helped put Chicago\u2019s dining scene on the map.
\nAwardees will be announced at a downtown ceremony on Jan. 25.<\/p>\n
Cellar Door Provisions
\nHaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen
\nIndienne
\nProxi<\/p>\n
Andrew Lim (Perilla, Perilla Steakhouse, Noriko)
\nJennifer Kim (Proxi)
\nJohn Manion (El Che, Brasero)
\nZubair Mohajir (Lilac Tiger, The Coach House, Mirra, Sarima)<\/p>\n
Cafe Yaya
\nFeld
\nIl Carciofo
\nVoid<\/p>\n
Alex Cochran (Cellar Door Provisions)
\nBailey Sullivan (Monteverde)
\nC\u00e9sar Murillo (North Pond)
\nJavauneeka Jacobs (Frontera Grill)<\/p>\n
<img class="Image" alt="Exterior of Bungalow by Middle Brow at 2840 W. Armitage Ave" srcset="https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/19906bc\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/2500×1667+0+0\/resize\/840×560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F68%2Fb7%2F5bb5f6684dfab3427d9596a2de48%2Fpizza-07xx24-4.jpg<\/a> 1x,https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/012aaf0\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/2500×1667+0+0\/resize\/1680×1120!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F68%2Fb7%2F5bb5f6684dfab3427d9596a2de48%2Fpizza-07xx24-4.jpg<\/a> 2x" width="840" height="560" src="https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/19906bc\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/2500×1667+0+0\/resize\/840×560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F68%2Fb7%2F5bb5f6684dfab3427d9596a2de48%2Fpizza-07xx24-4.jpg<\/a>" data-lazy-load="true" bad-src="data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Introduction to the Jean Banchet Awards The finalists for Chicago\u2019s top local food honor, the Jean Banchet Awards, were announced Thursday morning. This year\u2019s list includes everything from Chicago steakhouses to a South Side barbecue spot, plus Middle Eastern food in Lincoln Park and Vietnamese fare in Pilsen. About the Awards The annual awards recognize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-30329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dining"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/f9c8978\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/6000x3425+0+287\/resize\/1461x834!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F1e%2F6a%2F8f4ece1847b3b27450a08b88e9be%2Fdishinvoid-091124-18.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30329"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30329"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30331,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30329\/revisions\/30331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}