Unfortunately, the third time was not the charm for Milwaukee chef Justin Carlisle.
For the third straight year, Carlisle was a finalist for the James Beard Award for “Best Chef Midwest” – but did not win. The awards were presented tonight in Chicago.
Carlisle is the chef and owner of Ardent and Red Light Ramen on North Farwell.
The winner: Kevin Nashan of Sidney Street Cafe in St. Louis.
Other nominees for Best Chef Midwest were Steven Brown of Tilia in Minneapolis, Jorge Guzman of Brewer's Table at Surly Brewing Co. in Minneapolis, and Kevin Willmann of Farmhaus in St. Louis.
The “Best Chef Midwest” category is open to chefs in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Ardent, 1751 N. Farwell, was a semi-finalist for “Best New Restaurant in the United States” in 2014.