arbiters of taste

San Antonio chef will not be city's latest James Beard Award winner

San Antonio came up a little short in this year’s James Beard Awards. Christopher Cullum, chef-owner of Cullum’s Attaboy, did not win Best Chef: Texas at the ceremony held on Monday, June 10.

Instead, the prize went to Ana Liz Pulido of Ana Liz Taqueria in Mission, Texas. Located in the Rio Grande Valley, Pulido has earned wide acclaim for her tacos and other dishes made with nixtamalized corn, her precisely made salsas, and carefully prepared meats and other fillings. In a 2022 review, Texas Monthly taco editor José Ralat hailed the restaurant as “worth the pilgrimage for taco lovers.”

Considered the Oscars of the food world, the James Beard awards recognize chefs and other culinary professionals in a wide range of categories ranging from Outstanding Chef to Best New Restaurant. Winners are selected by the foundation’s Awards Committee that is made up of media members, former winners, and others. See the full list of winners here.

The finalist position is still an achievement for chef Christopher Cullum, who serves a French-influenced breakfast and lunch menu. The restaurant’s fast casual format belies the fine dining aspects of its food, which include a burger topped with demi-glace, classic escargot, and rolled omelets topped with freshly shaved truffles. Cullum, who famously began his career by washing dishes at his father’s River Walk jazz club, earned a nomination for Chef of the Year in the 2024 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.

Overall, it was a tough night for Texas chefs and restaurants, as Pulido was the state’s only winner. None of the nominees in the national categories took home prizes. They were:

Best New Restaurant: Barbs-B-Q, Lockhart
Outstanding Bar: Las Ramblas (Brownsville)
Outstanding Hospitality: Gemma (Dallas)
Outstanding Restaurant: Mixtli (San Antonio)
Outstanding Restaurant: Convenience West (Marfa)
Outstanding Chef: David Uygur, Lucia (Dallas)

In addition to Chavez and Pulido, three other chefs were nominated for Best Chef: Texas:

Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel, Birdie’s
Emmanuel Chavez, Tatemó (Houston)
Misti Norris, Petra & the Beast (Dallas)

Here's a closer look at the other nominated Texas chefs:

$\u200bChristopher Cullum of Cullum's Attaboy in San Antonio James Beard Awards$

Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation

Christopher Cullum of Cullum's Attaboy.

At Birdie’s in Austin, chef Malechek-Ezekiel serves a constantly-changing menu based around seasonal proteins and produce. The restaurant blends a fast casual business model with a fine dining level of attention to detail and an extensive wine list. It has drawn lots of national attention, including being named a Best New Restaurant by both Esquire and Bon Appétit as well as 2023 Restaurant of the Year by Food & Wine and one of Austin’s 25 best restaurants by the New York Times. She won Chef of the Year in the 2024 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.

At Tatemó in Houston, chef Emmanuel Chavez still has the status of being a two-times Beard Award finalist, having been nominated in the Emerging Chef category in 2023. He’s earned considerable national attention for his restaurant, which serves a tasting menu built around dishes that use nixtamalized heirloom corn. In 2022, Esquire named it one of America’s Best New Restaurants, and last year Food & Wine selected Chavez as one of its Best New Chefs — the first time a Houston chef had earned that recognition since 2014. Tatemó won Restaurant of the Year in the 2024 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.

At Petra & the Beast in Dallas, chef Norris serves a menu built around locally-sourced ingredients, including meats that are butchered in-house, an extensive charcuterie program, and lots of fermented items. It has earned widespread national recognition, including Best New Restaurant recognition from both Food & Wine and Texas Monthly and a Food & Wine Best New Chef award in 2019. Norris won Chef of the Year in the 2019 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, and Petra & the Beast won Restaurant of the Year in the 2024 Tastemaker Awards.

The awards were presented at the Lyric Opera in Chicago. The foundation also presented media awards on Saturday, June 8.

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Full disclosure:CultureMap Houston editor Eric Sandler is a voter in the James Beard Awards. Brandon Watson, Teresa Gubbins, and Amber Heckler contributed to this story.

chefs awards

Better Days, Same Burgers

Shuttered San Antonio burger joint stages surprising comeback

Teddy B's/Facebook

Teddy B's has made a surprise comeback.

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of Teddy B's life. In October, the popular burger joint shuttered its decade-old location on Babcock Road, grieving a loss of foot traffic and rising costs. On November 20, the spot revealed a plot twist. The owners are now slinging patties at 9903 Fredericksburg Rd.

"Dear Teddy B's customers, we have good news," the restaurant posted on social media. "We are back in business...We are waiting for our new sign, but we are up and running."

The unexpected comeback is the culmination of a tumultuous year for the business. As the restaurant marked its 10-year milestone this summer, the outlook was much darker. On August 4, the restaurant took to social media to warn that closure could be imminent. A traffic decline affected Teddy B's ability to maintain its affordable price point.

The messaging worked, at least in the short term. Days later, the restaurant reported an increase in business. The marketing language was hopeful until October 13, when the restaurant abruptly announced it was closing for good.

The news of Teddy B's rebirth came just as suddenly. After a month-long social media silence, the restaurant announced it had taken over the former home of Burger Haven. The latter restaurant was little known, appearing to operate mainly as a ghost kitchen.

Assumably, burgers will be back on the menu, but it is unclear whether other favorites will be eliminated to streamline the operation. The business has not posted any revisions, and its website is down at press time.

The burger joint's comeback manifests as other shuttered legacy restaurants like The Lion and Rose and Fratello's have staged their own returns. While Teddy B's has offered no reasoning for getting back into the game, it is a testament to the resiliency of San Antonio's culinary community.

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