DC Metro Area's Top Culinary Winners Announced at RAMW RAMMY Gala

Fiola named Best New Restaurant, Rasika’s Vikram Sunderam wins coveted Chef of the Year award, and Mitsitam Native Foods Café wins first-ever Casual Restaurant RAMMY

(Washington, DC – June 24, 2012)  More than 1,500 guests gathered tonight at the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington’s (RAMW) highly anticipated annual RAMMY Awards gala to celebrate the outstanding achievements and excellence in the Metropolitan Washington restaurant industry. Host venue, the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, saw chefs, restaurateurs and key restaurant industry players awarded prestigious honors including “Fine Dining Restaurant,” “Upscale Casual Restaurant” and “Restaurant Employee of the Year.”

One of the most coveted awards of the evening was taken home by Vikram Sunderam, Executive Chef at Rasika, who was named Chef of the Year. Fiola was named Best New Restaurant while Bourbon Steak took home Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year. This year offered a new category, Casual Restaurant of the Year, which was awarded to Mitsitam Native Foods Café located within the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

Jeff and Barbara Black, owners of the ever-expanding Black Restaurant Group, were named Restaurateurs of the Year, while two of their restaurants took home top honors – BlackSalt Fish Market & Restaurant was named Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year and Black Jack, the popular bar atop their newest venture earned the title of Hottest Restaurant Bar Scene.

The Honorary Milestone RAMMY was awarded to the Tune Inn this year in recognition of 65 years in business and three generations of the same family as owners. Opened in 1947 by Joe Nardelli, the Tune Inn is going strong on Capitol Hill with Joe’s granddaughter, Lisa, at the helm.

Announced in April, RAMW awarded the Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award to former District of Columbia Mayor, Anthony A. Williams. 2011 Duke Zeibert winner, José Andrés, presented the RAMMY to Mayor Williams citing Williams’ huge, positive impact on the citizens and business community, particularly the restaurant industry, of Washington, DC.

The prestigious RAMMY Awards were presented during a theatre-style seated ceremony which preceded an evening of dinner, dancing and celebration. Food and beverage pavilions served gourmet delicacies provided by Australia, Cuisine Solutions, Spain, Virginia along with the reception sponsored by Chile.

The 2012 RAMMY Award Winners:

FINE DINING RESTAURANT
Bourbon Steak

UPSCALE CASUAL RESTAURANT
BlackSalt Fish Market & Restaurant

NEW RESTAURANT
Fiola

CASUAL RESTAURANT
Mitsitam Native Foods Café

CHEF
Vikram Sunderam - Rasika

RESTAURATEUR
Jeff & Barbara Black – Black Restaurant Group

PASTRY CHEF
Fabrice Bendano – Adour

RISING CULINARY STAR
Ed Witt – 701 Restaurant

RESTAURANT MANAGER
Reagan Corbett – Jackson 20

RESTAURANT EMPLOYEE
José Alex Medrano – B. Smith’s

WINE PROGRAM
Cork Wine Bar

BEVERAGE/MIXOLOGY PROGRAM
Estadio

JOAN HISAOKA ASSOCIATE MEMBER
Adams-Burch

DUKE ZEIBERT CAPITAL
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Anthony A. Williams

HONORARY MILESTONE
The Tune Inn

NEIGHBORHOOD GATHERING PLACE
Café Saint-Ex

HOTTEST RESTAURANT BAR SCENE
Black Jack

POWER SPOT
Founding Farmers – DC

WHERE MAGAZINE VISITORS’ CHOICE AWARD
McCormick & Schmick’s

The Honorary Milestone RAMMY was awarded to the Tune Inn this year in recognition of 65 years in business and three generations of the same family as owners. Opened in 1947 by Joe Nardelli, the Tune Inn is going strong on Capitol Hill with Joe’s granddaughter, Lisa, at the helm.

Announced in April, RAMW awarded the Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award to former District of Columbia Mayor, Anthony A. Williams. 2011 Duke Zeibert winner, José Andrés, presented the RAMMY to Mayor Williams citing Williams’ huge, positive impact on the citizens and business community, particularly the restaurant industry, of Washington, DC.

The prestigious RAMMY Awards were presented during a theatre-style seated ceremony which preceded an evening of dinner, dancing and celebration. Food and beverage pavilions served gourmet delicacies provided by Australia, Cuisine Solutions, Spain, Virginia along with the reception sponsored by Chile.

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About the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington
Established in 1920, the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington’s vision was to unite restaurateurs and food service industry professionals of the Washington area. Today, RAMW, a trade association, has more than 700 members in Washington, DC, Northern Virginia and Maryland and serves as the voice of establishments ranging from casual eateries to internationally acclaimed fine dining restaurants. For over 90 years RAMW has been "fighting for the right to eat, drink and be merry, hospitably, responsibly and profitably®.”