The Hamilton Live played host to the 2016 RAMMYs nomination event on Monday night, with awards up for grabs in 20 categories. Right here, you’ll find a complete collection of the nominees, along with details on the categories which are open for public voting and how to make your voice heard.
The winners for this year’s RAMMY Awards will be unveiled at the 34th annual RAMMY Awards gala on Sunday, June 12th, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Before we get to the awards, what interested me most were the cocktails being served at the event. All of the cocktail program nominees were serving up a specialty cocktail and made strong cases. The aesthetic showstopper of the bunch though was from Barmini. Their Floral Cloud cocktail (also photo top) can be seen being poured up here:
Of course, there were plenty of other drinks being served. That included from Kappa Pisco, the Chilean pisco which was serving up drinks in conjunction with sponsor ProChile:
While the official drink being offered was made with passionfruit juice, the smarter choice was perhaps the simpler, easy-sipping piscola, a pisco and cola. It’s so universally loved in Chile that it’s also known as the Combinado Nacional, or “the national mix”.
Moving on from what I was drinking, to the actual RAMMYs nominees for 2016, let’s take a look…
Public Voting Categories
You get to decide four of the awards by voting online at WashingtonCityPaper.com:
- Favorite Gathering Place of the Year: 1905, ChurchKey, Martin’s Tavern, Northside Social Coffee & Wine, Room 11
- Upscale Brunch: Blue Duck Tavern, Fiola Mare, Kapnos, Osteria Morini, The Source
- Everyday Casual: DGS Delicatessen, Duke’s Grocery, Republic, Tico, Vinoteca
- Favorite Fast Bites: Bub and Pop’s, Cava Grill, G, Red Apron Butcher, Taco Bamba
Public voting is open through Thursday, April 14th, so be sure to keep yourself fresh through the debacles which are our Presidential primaries by voting for something a bit more lighthearted — and with perhaps more personal meaning, depending on how seriously you treat your brunch. (I’m guessing it’s pretty seriously.)
All Other 2016 RAMMY Award Finalists
Boozy Awards
- Cocktail Program of the Year: 2 birds 1 stone, Barmini, Del Campo, Kapnos, Tico
- Beer Program of the Year: The Arsenal, Granville Moore’s, Jack Rose, Republic, Right Proper Brewing Company
- Wine Program of the Year: 2941 Restaurant, Bourbon Steak, Charlie Palmer Steak, Le Diplomate, The Red Hen
Personnel & Service Awards
- Employee of the Year: Jorge Martinez (The Source), Jim Mayo (PassionFish Reston), Aniko Olah (Martin’s Tavern), Yovani Peralta (B Too), Andrea Raiello (Water & Wall)
- Manager of the Year: Carlos Fernandez (Best Buns Bread Company), Margarita Krivchikova (Belga Cafe), Sudhir Kumar (Indique), Jennifer Lucy (Estadio), Atul Narain (Rasika)
- Service Program of the Year: Bourbon Steak, Fiola, Iron Gate, Rasika, The Source
Chef Awards
- Pastry Chef of the Year: Jemil Gadea (Masseria), Eva Kronenburg (Convivial), Alex Levin (Osteria Morini), Bridie McCulla (Northside Social, The Liberty Tavern, Lyon Hall), Tressa Wiles (Bayou Bakery)
- Rising Culinary Star of the Year: Erin Clarke (Casa Luca), Brad Deboy (Blue Duck Tavern), Jonah Kim (Yona), Piter and Handry Tjan (Sushiko), James Wozniuk (Maketto)
- Chef of the Year: Amy Brandwein (Centrolina), Erik Bruner-Yang (Toki Underground, Maketto), Scott Drewno (The Source), Tarver King (The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm), Cedric Maupillier (Mintwood Place, Convivial)
Restaurant Awards
- Everyday Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year: Bar Pilar, Daikaya, The Fainting Goat, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, Pizzeria Orso
- Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year: Le Diplomate, Osteria Morini, Sushiko, The Red Hen, Zaytinya
- New Restaurant of the Year: Centrolina, Clarity, Convivial, Maketto, Masseria
- Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year: Iron Gate, Marcel’s, Rasika, Restaurant Eve, Trummer’s on Main
Plus, two more…
- Regional Food and Beverage Producer of the Year: DC Brau Brewing Company, Port City Brewing Company, Don Ciccio & Figli, Green Hat/New Columbia Distillers, One Eight Distilling
- Restaurateur of the Year: Cava Group (Cava Grill, Cava Mezze, Cava Foods, Sugo), Gruppo FT Restaurants (Fiola, Fiola Mare, Casa Luca), JL Restaurant Group (Hank’s Oyster Bar, Hank’s Pasta Bar, The Twisted Horn), Mike Isabella Concepts (Graffiato, Kapnos, G, Kapnos Taverna, Pepita, Yona, etc), Paul Ruppert, Warehouse Industries (Room 11, Crane & Turtle, Petworth Citizen, Slim’s Diner)
For more information on The RAMMYs, visit the website of the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, RAMW.
