Since 1998, the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...

has awarded the title of America's Classics to multiple restaurants. The award focuses on family-owned restaurants across the country that have been operating for at least a decade. According to the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' the awards are given to restaurants “with timeless appeal, each beloved in its region for quality food that reflects the character of its community.” The

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

s have been likened to the

Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...

of the food world due to its prestige and recognition.

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

described this award category "sneakily subversive". In the early years of the award, the focus was primarily on restaurants that served cuisines familiar to most Americans. However, in the late 2010s, the award began to include restaurants representing cuisines that were not traditionally considered part of the typical American diet. No restaurants were awarded in 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. There were certain limitations for awardees, such as having menu items below a certain price cap. However, these restrictions were eventually relaxed. The award was initially known as the Regional Classics before being renamed as America's Classics.

Recipients

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James Beard America's Classics American cuisine-related lists