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James Beard award finalists include African restaurant in Detroit, pho shops in Seattle

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James Beard award finalists include African restaurant in Detroit, pho shops in Seattle


  • The James Beard Foundation has bestowed awards since 1991, except in 2020 and 2021 when the organization scrapped them as the restaurant industry was reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The most-anticipated categories include awards for outstanding restaurateur, chef and restaurant. This year’s winners will be announced at a ceremony in Chicago set for June 10.
  • The James Beard Foundation has revamped their awards after receiving criticism for a lack of racial diversity and allegations about some nominees’ behavior.

An East African eatery in Detroit, longtime family owned Seattle pho shops and a Palestinian chef using ancient cooking techniques in Washington, D.C., are among the dozens of finalists for this year’s prestigious James Beard Awards.

The culinary world’s equivalent of the Oscars will recognize restaurants and chefs in 22 categories at a ceremony set for Monday in Chicago.

The nominees cover a diverse range of cuisine and chef experience, a recent shift following turbulent, pandemic-era years for the James Beard Foundation. The most-anticipated categories include awards for outstanding restaurateur, chef and restaurant.

PITMASTERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD SWAP TIPS AND TECHNIQUES AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BARBECUE COOKING CONTEST

Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere, who fled Burundi about a decade ago and now own Baobab Fare in Detroit, are among five finalists in the outstanding restaurateur category. The couple faced a difficult road as refugees opening a business in the U.S.

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Their restaurant’s menu features kuku, pan-fried chicken in a tangy mustard-onion sauce that’s served with fried plantains, stewed yellow beans and coconut rice.

“We inspire a lot of refugees — refugees who are coming to this country without hope and one day thinking that they can win this kind of title,” Mamba said. “It’s a big deal for us, because we want to show people that this world can be equal.”

(Hamissi Mamba talks with customers at his restaurant, Baobab Fare, on May 24, 2024, in Detroit.)

The James Beard Foundation has bestowed awards since 1991, except in 2020 and 2021 when the organization scrapped them as the restaurant industry was reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing criticism over a lack of racial diversity and allegations about some nominees’ behavior. Foundation officials vowed to improve ethical standards and be more “reflective of the industry.”

Restaurants apply for the awards. Judges, who mostly remain anonymous, try the cuisine before voting. Nominees are reviewed for the food as well as for a behavioral “code of ethics,” including how employees are treated.

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“We are looking at the whole plate,” said Tanya Holland, chair of the awards committee.

For restaurants, just being a finalist can bring wide recognition and boost business. Restaurant awards have become less common in recent years, giving the James Beard Awards even more weight, said Paul Freedman, a Yale University professor whose expertise includes food history.

“It really calls attention to restaurants that might not be all that well known outside their region,” he said.

A Seattle family credited with bringing the first pho shop to the city in the 1980s is also a finalist for outstanding restaurateur with a trio of pho restaurants and their chicken and rice shop called The Boat.

Yenvy Pham, whose parents opened their first restaurant after immigrating from Vietnam, calls a bowl of their pho, with its beefy bone broth and anise and clove aromatics, a “sure thing.” They make the soup fresh every day over 24 hours.

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“It’s wild,” she said. “It’s a great honor.”

The other restaurateur finalists are Chris Viaud with three restaurants in New Hampshire, Hollis Wells Silverman with the Eastern Point Collective that runs several Washington, D.C., restaurants, and Erika and Kelly Whitaker for restaurants in Boulder, Colorado.

Some finalists are already lauded, including Michael Rafidi, whose Washington, D.C., restaurant Albi was awarded a coveted Michelin Star in 2022. He is among five finalists for outstanding chef.

Albi, which is Arabic for “my heart,” pays homage to Rafidi’s Palestinian roots by using Old World food preparation techniques. Everything is cooked over charcoal, including grape leaves stuffed with lamb and sfeeha, a meat pie.

“There’s a mission for me to continue to spread light and cook Palestinian food,” he said.

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Another finalist for outstanding chief is David Uygur, who runs a tiny Italian restaurant in Dallas. Lucia features fresh pasta made in house and a popular cured meat board. The menu changes seasonally.

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Uygur, whose father is Turkish, became interested in Italian food because of love. His high school sweetheart, now wife, loved Italian cuisine. He sought a feeling of intimacy in his restaurant with just nine tables.

“I wanted the restaurant to feel like someone was coming to eat our house,” he said. “I wanted our guests in our home.”

Other outstanding chef finalists include Sarah Minnick for Lovely’s Fifty Fifty in Portland, Oregon, Dean Neff of Seabird in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Renee Touponce for The Port of Call in Mystic, Connecticut.

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Seattle, WA

Joey Daccord makes 35 saves as Seattle Kraken earn 2-1 win over Hurricanes

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Joey Daccord makes 35 saves as Seattle Kraken earn 2-1 win over Hurricanes


SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – MARCH 02: Andrei Svechnikov #37 of the Carolina Hurricanes shoots the puck during the second period of a game against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on March 02, 2026 in Seattle, Washington.  (Christopher Mast / NHLI / Getty Images)

Joey Daccord made 35 saves and the Seattle Kraken survived a 6-on-4 penalty kill for the final 90 seconds for a 2-1 victory over the East’s top team in the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.

Kaapo Kakko and Ben Meyers each scored in the second period for the Kraken as they managed to beat a Hurricanes team that has the second-best record in the NHL, trailing only the Colorado Avalanche. The Kraken are now in a playoff spot by five points as they hold the No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division with 22 games to play.

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Nikolaj Ehlers scored the only goal of the night for the Hurricanes late in the second period, but Seattle was able to withstand Carolina’s offensive push in the final period to secure a second straight victory.

The Hurricanes are always a high-volume shooting team and Daccord faced plenty of chances. Carolina had 83 shot attempts to just 31 for the Kraken. Shots on goal were 36-15 in favor of the Hurricanes as well, but scoring chances were just 20-13 in Carolina’s favor as Seattle did a good job limiting the danger of the shots sent at Daccord.

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It was an eventful but scoreless first period between the two teams, with Carolina owning a 13-7 edge in shots. All three goals would come in the second.

Adam Larsson – who assisted on both goals for Seattle – deflected an Alexander Nikishin into the neutral zone to start a two-on-one rush chance for Kakko with Berkly Catton in support as Kakko ripped a shot through the armpit of Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen for a 1-0 lead.

Kakko said he wanted to make the pass to Catton, but the lane was covered by Shane Ghostisbehere, so he elected to shoot.

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The Kraken earned a power play chance three minutes later on a tripping call against Eric Robinson. Carolina completely neutered the man-advantage for the first 90 seconds before the Kraken appeared to extend the lead.

With 15 seconds left on the power play, the Kraken rushed into the Hurricanes’ zone with Kakko finding a streaking Jaden Schwartz open on the back door for an easy finish behind Andersen. However, Carolina successfully challenged the goal for a missed offsides on Shane Wright that wiped out the goal.

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But the Kraken still managed to extend the lead soon after.

Jacob Melanson continues to be a spark plug for Seattle and helped restore the momentum immediately after the disallowed goal. On the shift coming out of the power play, Melanson delivered a big hit and connected with Adam Larsson on a breakout pass that sparked a rush. Ben Meyers crashed toward the net and was able to finish off his own rebound on a pass from Freddy Gaudreau to officially make it a 2-0 lead.

Melanson didn’t even get an assist out of the sequence, but was a big part of creating a goal for Seattle.

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After being extremely sharp defensively all night, Carolina finally pounced on an opportunity the Kraken were unable to turn away. Vince Dunn was just unable to control a loose puck in front of Seattle’s net as it landed on the stick of Nikolaj Ehlers instead, who snapped a shot past Daccord to make it a 2-1 game with 90 seconds left in the second period.

The Hurricanes took 32 shots in the third period as they attempted to find a tying goal, but only nine made it to Daccord, and he stopped them all. 

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Eeli Tolvanen was called for Seattle’s first and only penalty of the night – a holding call after breaking his stick – with 90 seconds left to play. With Andersen on the bench for a six-on-four chance for Carolina, Daccord stopped all three shots he faced to close out the win for Seattle.

The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.

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MLB Mock Trade: Seattle Mariners Deal Luis Castillo to Atlanta Braves

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MLB Mock Trade: Seattle Mariners Deal Luis Castillo to Atlanta Braves


The Seattle Mariners have had a busy offseason as they try to improve their roster and break through to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Seattle has been active in free agency and on the trade market. One of their final roster questions is who will serve as the backup catcher behind Cal Raleigh. The Mariners could make one more move before the start of the season to address this need, potentially through a trade with the Atlanta Braves.

The Atlanta Braves are dealing with some serious injuries to their starting rotation this offseason. After an impressive 2025 campaign, Spencer Schwellenbach has been shut down because of bone spurs. Breakout candidate Hurston Waldrep was also shut down during Spring Training with elbow inflammation. Both pitchers underwent surgery in February, leaving two open spots in Atlanta’s rotation. Let’s break down a mock trade centered on Luis Castillo that could help fill those holes for the Braves.

Atlanta Braves – Seattle Mariners Mock Trade

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Atlanta Braves receive SP Luis Castillo 

Seattle Mariners receive C Sean Murphy, SP Owen Murphy 

In this mock trade, the Braves acquire All-Star starter Luis Castillo. In exchange, the Mariners receive former All-Star catcher Sean Murphy and a young pitching prospect in Owen Murphy.

Fantasy Baseball Outlook

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Luis Castillo would slot into the Atlanta Braves’ starting rotation behind Chris Sale and Spencer Strider. He has been very effective for the Mariners since they acquired him from the Reds at the trade deadline four seasons ago. In 2025, Castillo went 11–8 in 32 games with a 3.54 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 162 strikeouts. His fantasy value would likely dip if he left Seattle’s pitcher-friendly ballpark. Still, he has proven himself as a reliable, effective starter through consistent performance, and he would play a key role for Atlanta.

With the Mariners, Sean Murphy would serve as the backup catcher behind Cal Raleigh. He would likely see a drop in playing time in Seattle, but this move could also give the Mariners more opportunities to use Raleigh at DH. With the fifth spot open in the Seattle rotation, Emerson Hancock and Cooper Criswell would be viable, experienced options. Alternatively, Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan are elite prospects who have had strong Spring Trainings and could break camp on Opening Day. The young pitching prospect Owen Murphy would also join a talented farm system and provide a future option for the rotation.

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VIDEO: Scream Club Seattle keeps growing, midway through first year

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VIDEO: Scream Club Seattle keeps growing, midway through first year


(Story originally posted 8:22 pm, updated 12:32 am)

By Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

From a distance, they looked like a regular crowd of people enjoying a nice evening walk on the shores of Lincoln Park. But they were gathered here for a singular purpose: to scream. Since September 2025, the Scream Club Seattle has met at Lincoln Park on every third Sunday to scream, led by head organizer Amber Walcker. No explanation, justification, or invitation to scream is needed – come as you are. “There are some harder emotions people come here to deal with, sure, but some people also just come to scream.” head organizer Amber explained.

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Tonight’s crowd showed the club is rapidly growing. From around a dozen or so participants in the first gathering in September, tonight seemed to attract around 40 people gathering to let it all out.

As the sun started to set, and everyone was finally gathered together, the Scream Club was ready to begin.

There are only three screams, organizer Amber explained. The first, she said, is a scream to get used to doing it in public. The second scream is there to ground you. And the final – and longest scream – is there to let you have an emotional catharsis.

She also wanted to make sure people were taking care of their vocal health beforehand. As she told everyone to walk a little bit from the meeting place and start to gather near the shore, she instructed the crowd to hum for a few minutes on the way, to warm up the vocal cords.

With that, the crowd walked towards the shore.

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“On the count of one – two – three – scream!” said organizer Amber.

You can see our video of the proceedings here. After the screaming, we talked to a few participants about why they came out.

“There’s not one thing that’s really making me want to scream. There’s a lot of stuff going on for me, a lot of emotional ups and downs. Screaming into the ocean together gives you a sense of community.” said Jessie.

“This is my third or fourth time coming to scream. With the political climate, with everything that’s happening, getting together with local community to scream feels more productive than screaming into the internet on social media.” said Ursula.

“This is my first time coming out.” said Liz. “I screamed after the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, and I really felt something. I realized I’ve been feeling a lot of frustration recently, and it felt like coming here was a healthy way to get it out rather than screaming at your neighbors.”

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Organizer Amber recognizes much of what they were saying. “Meeting like this can be an important element to have in your mental health toolbox. It’s rare to have scream therapy.” She shared an anecdote about the therapeutic origins of the group, which originally started with a chapter in Chicago. “The founder was a life coach. Their girlfriend was having a bad day, and they encouraged them to go to the Chicago Pier and just let it out. He walked her through the process, and that was that. Eventually they invited more people to come do it.” She hopes to bring that same therapeutic energy to the practice here. “It’s a moment of emotional release more than anything else. Depending on what’s going on in people’s minds, everyone will come here with a different mindset and purpose. We’re providing a safe space to do that.”

Scream Club Seattle meets at Lincoln Park on the first Sunday of every month, and they are also starting to meet on the third Sunday of every month at Golden Gardens in Ballard. Tentatively, the next events will be in Lincoln Park on April 5th around 6 PM, and Golden Gardens on March 15th around 5 PM. If you’d like to know more, you can find them on Instagram here or look at their future events on their Eventbrite page here.





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