Jenner Tomaska of Esmé, Sujan Sarkar of Indienne, Anna Posey of Elske and Lula Cafe were announced as official James Beard Award Restaurant and Chef Award nominees in a ceremony in Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning. The four Chicago nominees compete in three categories and were selected from a longer list of semifinalists announced earlier this year. The awards are considered by many the .
You might be tempted to describe the soon-to-open Esmé (2220 N. Clark St.) from the husband-and-wife team of Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo as simply a restaurant. After all, Tomaska is one of the most acclaimed young chefs in the city, and technically, he will be cooking. But talk to the couple, and you’ll find they have lots of other ideas about what they want to do, with the food being .