The restaurant congratulated Aguilar for his James Beard Award nomination on Instagram. The Mexican restaurant has been awarded multiple Michelin stars since its opening and was the only Queens restaurant to get one in 2019. He came to New York in 1998 and got his start in the restaurant industry as a porter at a French restaurant before opening Casa Enrique in 2012. Hundreds of chefs and restaurants across the country were nominated for the awards affectionately called “the Oscars of the food world.”Ĭosme Aguilar from Casa Enrique ( 5-48 49th Ave.) and Helen You of Dumpling Galaxy ( 42-35 Main St.) were nominated for the Outstanding Chef: New York City category alongside 18 other culinary heavy-hitters in Manhattan and Brooklyn.Ĭhef Aguilar from the Michelin-star rated Casa Enrique came from Chiapas, Mexico and learned to cook his mother’s traditional recipes from his sister. 27, the James Beard Foundation announced the nominees for the 2019 Restaurant and Chef Awards which included Adda Indian Canteen and Casa Enrique in Long Island City, SriPraPhai in Woodside, Dumpling Galaxy in Flushing and Xi’an Famous foods (multiple locations).Ĭategories for the 29th annual Restaurant and Chef Awards span 21 categories including Best New Restaurant, Outstanding Chef, Outstanding Resturant and Rising Star Chef of the Year. Thirty-seven restaurants and chefs across New York City have been chosen as semifinalists to win the coveted James Beard Award, and this year, five of them are from Queens.

5-48 49th ave long island city ny 11101