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It’s no secret that New York City is one of the world’s culinary capitals–there’s a reason it was just named one of the best foodie cities in the world–so it’s only natural that we dominated the James Beard Awards once again!

For 30+ years the James Beard Foundation–established in 1990 with the first Awards given in 1991–has been considered among the nation’s most prestigious honors, recognizing exceptional talent in the culinary and food media industries. The foundation has played a significant role in celebrating and promoting culinary excellence through fundraising initiatives and events.

2025 marks an incredible milestone: the 35th anniversary of the James Beard Awards, and the 2025 James Beard Awards semifinalists have just been unveiled. From fine dining to casual establishments, here’s now NYC shapes up:

Here are the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards semifinalists representing NYC:

Outstanding Restaurateur:

• Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr (Frenchette, Le Veau d’ Or, and Le Rock)
• Simon Kim, of Gracious Hospitality Management (COTE, Undercote, and COQODAQ)

Outstanding Chef:

• Gabriel Kreuther (Gabriel Kreuther)
• Jungsik Yim (Jungsik)

Outstanding Restaurant:

• Don Angie
• The Four Horsemen

Emerging Chef:

• Danny Garcia (Time and Tide)
• Daniel Garwood (Acru)

Best New Restaurant:

• Café Carmellini
• Corima
• Kisa
• Penny

Outstanding Bakery:

• Fan Fan Doughnuts

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker:

• Camari Mick (Raf’s)

Outstanding Hospitality:

• Atomix
• Melba’s

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages:

• Hawksmoor

Outstanding Bar:

• Leyenda

Best Chef:

• Fariyal Abdullahi (Hav & Mar)
• Nasim Alikhani (Sofreh)
• Ayo Balogun (Dept of Culture)
• Giovanni Cervantes (Carnitas Ramirez)
• Chris Cipollone (Francie)
• Suzanne Cupps (Lola’s)
• Aretah Ettarh (Gramercy Tavern)
• Markus Glocker (Koloman)
• Eiji Ichimura (Ichimura)
• Brian Kim (Oiji Mi)
• Hooni Kim (Meju)
• Atsushi Kono (Kono)
• Vijay Kumar (Semma)
• Kwame Onwuachi (Tatiana)
• Hillary Sterling (Ci Siamo)
• Emily Yuen (Lingo)

In celebration of the Awards’ anniversary, the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards have introduced three new categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.

Best New Bar:

• Bar Contra
• Sip & Guzzle

Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service:

• Cassandra Felix (Daniel)

Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service:

• Ignacio Jimenez (Superbueno)
• Takuma Watanabe (Martiny’s)

The list of semifinalists will be narrowed down later this spring, with the list of finalists to be unveiled on Wednesday, April 2nd. Final winners will be revealed on Monday, June 16th at the ceremony held at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago.

The post NYC’s 2025 James Beard Restaurant & Chef Awards Semifinalists Have Been Revealed appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here

ARTECHOUSE, the immersive art experience in Chelsea, typically features the work of a single artist exploring a single topic, such as Afrofuturism, AI·magination and outer space. But for their new installation, ARTECHOUSE has turned over the venue to dozens of emerging artists for a wide-ranging, year-long art extravaganza.

Titled “Submerge,” the show will feature more than 100 artists over the course of 2025. The work of artists from across the globe will rotate every four months amid an open call for submissions. Expect to see everything from 3D animation to AI innovation to multimedia storytelling—anything that takes creativity out of confines of computer screens and onto an IRL canvas. Submerge is open to all ages through December 31 with tickets starting at $23.85. 

RECOMMENDED: Incredible immersive experiences to do in NYC right now

Think of Submerge like a living laboratory and launchpad for a new generation of creatives. Visitors are asked to “submerge” themselves in a continuously changing world of digital art that expands the boundaries of what art can be. The project offers resources, collaboration, mentorship, and exposure to help emerging digital artists thrive. 

“Submerge Project does for digital art what MTV did for music videos and Hollywood did for movies: it redefines how we experience immersive art today, and helps shape the democratization of its future,” ARTECHOUSE leaders say. 

The first group of Submerge artists includes: Team WAI, which is a collective led by Woosung, senior motion designer at Apple. Team WAI also includes Gryun, an Emmy Award-winning CG artist and art director, and Taehoon, an award-winning artist and director celebrated for his work in broadcast, commercials, and film. In the first cohort, you’ll see motion-captured performances, AI hallucinations, 3D-animated dreamscapes, and more. 

After four months, another group will present their works. By year’s end, ARTECHOUSE will select winners to receive full support in developing solo exhibitions, establishing a talent pipeline, and creating future opportunities beyond 2025.

“Submerge is more than an exhibition; it’s a cultural movement,” Sandro Kereselidze, founder and chief creative officer of ARTECHOUSE, said in a press release. “It addresses the unique challenges of the genre by offering talent the infrastructure, mentorship, and visibility needed to move their creativity beyond digital screens and into immersive, physical realms. We are inviting creators worldwide to experiment and innovate in a dynamic environment–and, together with our Studio team, ensure the platform remains a space for bold imagination, technical prowess, and compelling narratives that will shape the future of art and technology.”

If you’ve never been to ARTECHOUSE, the venue itself is a very cool, subterranean spot with its own XR Bar. It’s located at 439 West 15th Street inside the 100-year-old boiler room of Chelsea Market where you can grab a bite to eat after you see the art.

* This article was originally published here

It is official: the James Beard Awards season is upon us. Established in 1990, the James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards come together to “recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system.” The announcement of the semifinalist list ladders up to the awards ceremony culminating in June. 

Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr of Frenchette, Le Rock and the recently reopened and revamped Le Veau d’ Or received a semifinalist nod for Outstanding Restaurateur, as did Simon Kim of Gracious Hospitality Management for his various restaurants including Korean steakhouse COTE, subterranean cocktail lounge and bar, Undercote, and the ode to fried chicken and caviar, COQODAQ. Two New York chefs were recognized for Outstanding Chef, including Gabriel Kreuther of Gabriel Kreuther and Jungsik Yim of Jungsik, which was awarded three stars from the Michelin Guide for the very first time.

Under Outstanding Restaurant, two perpetually booked restaurants made the list: Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli’s Don Angie and the Williamsburg restaurant and natural wine bar, The Four Horsemen in Brooklyn. Both opening restaurants in 2024, Danny Garcia of Time & Tide and Daniel Garwood of Australian tasting menu Acru received a nomination for Emerging Chef.   

Four New York restaurants made it to the Best New Restaurant category including Andrew Carmellini’s fine dining revue, Café Carmellini; the Michelin-starred Mexican tasting menu Corima; the Lower East Side’s Korean diner Kisa; and sibling restaurant to Claud (and one of our favorite new restaurants of 2024), Penny. 

Camari Mick of Raf’s represented New York for the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category, while Fan Fan Doughnuts was nominated under Outstanding Bakery. As for Outstanding Hospitality, Atomix and Melba’s received the honor, noting that Melba’s is the only restaurant in Harlem to be included in the list. As for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages, one of the city’s top steakhouses was recognized: the Hawksmoor. 

And while New York didn’t receive any recognition in the Outstanding Bar Category, two New York locations received the honor for Best New Bar: Bar Contra and Sip & Guzzle. Cassandra Felix of Daniel received recognition for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, while Superbueno’s Ignacio Jimenez and Takuma Watanabe of Martiny’s were listed under Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.  

And because of our stellar food scene, the state of New York gets its very own category from the Foundation, namely Best Chef: New York State. Semifinalists for the category this year include Fariyal Abdullahi of Hav & Mar; Nasim Alikhani of Sofreh; Ayo Balogun of Dept of Culture; Giovanni Cervantes of Carnitas Ramirez; Chris Cipollone of Francie; Suzanne Cupps of Lola’s; Clare de Boer of Stissing House; Aretah Ettarh of Gramercy Tavern; Ryan Fernandez of Southern Junction; Marcus Glocker of Koloman; Efrén Hernández of Casa Susanna;  Eiji Ichimura of Ichimura; Brian Kim of Oiji Mi; Hooni Kim of Meju; Atsushi Kono of Kono; Vijay Kumar of Semma, Shaina Loew-Banayan of Café Mutton; Kwame Onwuachi of Tatiana; Hillary Sterling of Ci Siamo; and Emily Yuen of Lingo. Dan Richer of Razza in Jersey City and David Viana of Lita in Aberdeen also received a nomination for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. 

Coming this spring, the list of nominees will be announced on April 2. Winners will be revealed at the James Beard Awards ceremony on June 16 at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.

For the full list of semifinalists, you can check them out here.  

* This article was originally published here

With an arctic airmass suspended over NYC this week bringing us the coldest weather in two years, it’s safe to say we’re all deep in the winter blues. And, to add insult to injury, this is also the coldest January in 13 years. But we’re here to bring you some good news: beyond the days slowly but surely getting longer–we just experienced the first 5 pm sunset of the year–we’ve also got spring to look forward to, and this one will be warmer than usual.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac recently released its long-range weather outlook for the spring, and with it comes the news that it’s shaping up to be a warm one! Yes, just a few more weeks of bundling up with your trusty black puffer coat and then we’ll be free from the icy grips of winter!

Here’s what to know:

What is a long-range weather outlook?

Long-range weather means the Almanac is predicting weather conditions over a period of time, such as a seasonal outlook, not for a specific day. They do this by focusing on three forecasting disciplines–solar science, climatology, and meteorology–and comparing temperature and precipitation levels to “normals” based on 30-year rolling averages.

What factors are influencing the 2025 spring weather outlook?

According to the Almanac, there are a number of things influencing the weather outlook for spring 2025, one of them being Solar Cycle 25. Solar Cycle 25 is expected to reach its maximum around July 2025, and with these high solar activity levels comes warmer temperatures, on average, across Earth. “Solar Cycle 25 has steadily increased in intensity and has already exceeded the peak of Solar Cycle 24,” says the Alamanac.

The Almanac also has its eye on a few Oscillations, which are ocean-atmosphere weather patterns that recur over long periods. They’re currently monitoring the following:

• A weak La Nina phase of the ENSO (El Nino/Southern Oscillation)
• A warm Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO)
• A cool Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)

Finally, the Almanac is watching solar activity and equatorial stratospheric winds, known as the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO), all of which can impact spring temperatures and precipitation.

What is the Spring 2025 Weather Prediction for NYC?

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the U.S. spring outlook predicts warmer than normal temperatures for most of the country. But you’ll want to keep your umbrella handy, because it’s also predicting more rainfall than usual for much of the country.

For the Atlantic Corridor, which is the region that includes New York City, the Almanac writes:

From Boston to Richmond, temperatures will be warmer than usual, with the southern region seeing temperatures 5°F above average in April. Rainfall will be above normal in April and slightly below normal in May.

The NOAA is supporting this forecast with a long-range outlook of their own, which shows that from Arizona to Maine, including New York, will see above-average temperatures over the next three months.

As usual, we’ll be awaiting the prediction of our good ‘ol pal Punxsutawney Phil on Sunday, February 2nd to see whether or not he sees his shadow. But at least our waiting will be hopeful–the Farmer’s Almanac predicts that Phil won’t see his shadow, suggesting an early spring!

The post A ‘Warmer Than Usual’ Spring Is Headed Our Way appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here