Kathy Tran
Audio By Carbonatix
It’s an interesting time to be a restaurant award in Dallas. We have our list of Michelin-recommended restaurants, which have zero overlap (well, a tiny bit … keep reading) with the James Beard Semifinalist selections. Tatsu and Mamani are good enough for a star, but not for a James Beard Semifinalist nomination.
Lucia is the only restaurant occupying a tiny sliver of a Venn diagram: the Bishop Arts restaurant is a Bib Gourmand selection in the Texas Michelin Guide, and its baker, Maggie Huff, is a Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Bakery.
It’s wonderful to see Far-Out, the quonset hut near Fair Park, get a nod for Best New Restaurant. Five-time James Beard nominee chef Misti Norris is the culinary director there.
There are a couple of duplicates from last year. In 2025, Mabo, an eight-seat yakitori omakase, was a finalist for Best New Restaurant, and this year, its chef, Masayuki Otaka, is a semifinalist for Best Chef Texas.
Also, Starship Bagel was a finalist for Outstanding Bakery in 2025 and is a semifinalist again this year. Patrick Hicks of Smoke’N Ash BBQ in Arlington was a semifinalist last year and has been nominated again.
Here are all the other restaurants, bars, bakers and shakers on the list:
Best New Restaurant
Far-Out
Outstanding Bakery
Starship Bagel
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Maggie Huff, Lucia
Outstanding Bar
Ayahuasca Cantina
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service
Gabe Sanchez, Midnight Rambler
Best Chef: Texas
Masayuki Otaka, Mabo
Patrick Hicks, Smoke’N Ash BBQ, Arlington
Scott Girling, Osteria II Muro, Denton
Another notable selection is longtime Dallas chef Graham Dodds for Best Chef Southwest (AZ, NM, NV and OK) for his restaurant in the New Mexico desert, NOSA Restaurant and Inn.
