Honey Road restaurant in Burlington is a semifinalist for a  James Beard Award  for best new restaurant,  the James Beard Foundation announced February 15. Its chef-owner Cara Chigazola-Tobin is also in the running for best chef in the Northeast.

Chigaloza-Tobin, a former chef de cuisine at Oleana in Cambridge, Mass., owns Honey Road with Allison Gibson, formerly of Hen of the Wood and the Inn at Shelburne Farms.  Honey Road opened on the corner of Church and Main streets last summer. It specializes in Mediterranean food and features a menu that encourages diners to share plates.

Honey Road is one of 28 restaurants — including two in New England — that are semifinalists for best new restaurant.  Chigazola-Tobin belongs to a group of 20 chefs  in the Northeast who could win best chef in the region.



"It’s a pretty crazy feeling," Chigazola-Tobin wrote in an email to Seven Days.  "I’m stoked to even get this far. "

Vermonter Deirdre Heekin of La Garagista, a farm and winery in Barnard, is a James Beard semifinalist for outstanding wine, beer or spirits professional.

In recent years, several Vermont chefs were semifinalists for the prestigious award, including Eric Warnstedt and Jordan of Ware of  Hen of the Wood in Waterbury and Burlington,  Aaron Josinsky and Nathaniel Wade of Misery Loves Co. in Winooski, and Wesley Genovart of SoLo Farm & Table in South Londonderry.

James Beard finalists for 2018 will be announced on March 14 in Philadelphia, with a black-tie awards ceremony to be held May 7 in Chicago.

According to its website, the James Beard Foundation aims  "to celebrate, nurture, and honor chefs and other leaders making America's food culture more delicious, diverse, and sustainable for everyone."