James Beard Awards: See How Maryland Chefs Stack Up

BALTIMORE, MD — Maryland foodies make your to-do list: You have some new restaurants to explore. The semifinalists for this year’s James Beard Foundation Awards — dubbed the Oscars for restaurants — have been released and two restaurants from Maryland made the list.

The awards across 21 categories for national and regional chef and restaurant awards were released on Thursday. Categories include best new restaurant, best chef, outstanding baker and outstanding service, among others.

Out of more than 20,000 entrants, two chefs from Baltimore and Darnestown made the list.

In the Best Chef category the two Maryland nominees are:

• Tony Conte, Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana, in Darnestown
• Cindy Wolf, Charleston, in Baltimore

The Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana website notes that Conte was a past executive chef at Washington's Oval Room, and a former executive sous chef at Jean Georges in New York. Says the website, "Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana, his unexpected pizza restaurant, remains very close to his artisanal approach. Conte, who lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, now brings his community its own source for authentic Naples pizza.

Conte's father and grandparents had emigrated from a small town near Naples, and family life revolved around Old World cooking traditions. "Bringing fine-dining standards to his casual 44-seat pizzeria, Conte keeps the menu strictly seasonal and based on the local agriculture of Montgomery County and surrounds," the restaurant says.

Inferno Pizzeria Napoletana

• Address: 12207 Darnestown RoadDarnestown, Maryland 20878
• Hours: Wednesday-Sunday: 5 p.m. until the Dough Runs Out; Monday and Tuesday: closed
• Phone: (301) 963-0115

A best-of restaurant roundup in December by The Daily Meal tagged Charleston as the most expensive restaurant in town, but worth the price. "Open since 1997, restaurateur Tony Foreman and chef Cindy Wolf's Charleston has been the go-to destination for well-to-do Baltimoreans. The tasting-menu-only restaurant's prices start at $79 for three courses ($135 with wine pairings), and stretch up to $124 for six ($212 with wine pairings)."

Charleston

• Address: 1000 Lancaster Street, Baltimore
• Hours: Dining Room open Monday - Saturday: 5:30 - 10 p.m.; bar open Monday - Saturday: 5 p.m. to midnight
• Phone: 410.332.7373

The Beard foundation holds an online open call for entries every year. A committee reviews thousands of entries to come up with a nominating ballot of semifinalists in each category.

An independent volunteer panel of more than 600 judges — comprised of top regional restaurant critics, food and wine editors, culinary educators, and past winners — then votes on specific award categories to determine the final five nominees in each category.

They then vote on these five nominees to select the winners.

The foundation will announce the final nominees on the morning of March 14 at Parc in Philadelphia. The event will be live-streamed.

The winners will be announced at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers in New York City on April 27. They’ll receive a certificate and a medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia. There are no cash prizes.

Click here to see the full list of awards.

Photo credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for #Culinary Kickoff