An example of the omakase style cuisine found in the restaurant Nodoguro.
Portlanders took some of the culinary world’s highest honors Monday night at the 36th annual James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards in Chicago.
Nodoguro’s Ryan Roadhouse won Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific, a category he was first nominated for in 2015, shortly after the pop-up-turned-restaurant started. Roadhouse is no stranger to the James Beard Awards garnering a staggering nine semifinalist nominations in the category over the last decade.
Roadhouse started his acceptance speech recounting his first restaurant job working as a bus boy at 17 and ended by thanking the mentors “that came before” including Vitaly Paley and Toshi Kizaki saying, “This medal belongs to you — without you, I would be nowhere [near where] I am today.”
Chef Ryan Roadhouse works in his restaurant, Nodoguro.
OPB
Roadhouse was one of two Portland chefs, along with Thomas Pisha-Duffly of Gado Gado, who made it as a finalist in this year’s category which includes chefs in Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.
Portland’s “cocktail bar for whiskey lovers,” Scotch Lodge, also brought home a win for Outstanding Bar, a category that has nominees from around the country. This is the second year in a row the bar has been nominated.
