Crown Heights Restaurant Named James Beard Award Finalist

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Neighbors in Crown Heights could have the best new restaurant in the country in their midst.

Ursula, the New Mexican eatery that opened in 2020, has been named a finalist in the prestigious James Beard Award's "Best New Restaurant" category.

The Sterling Place spot is up against 10 eateries from around the country for the title.

The 2022 finalist ranking comes after the culinary prize winnowed their previously announced semifinalists, which included a wider swath of Big Apple eateries and cooks, to this list of nominees. Winners will be announced in June.

The James Beard nod for Ursula comes as the New Mexican eatery, found on Sterling Place, searches for a new home. Chef Eric See opened Ursula in 2020 on a one-year sublet given the uncertainty of the coronavirus crisis.

The eatery has raised $22,000 in a GoFundMe to move into a new storefront at the end of the year, when the sublet, which was extended a year after Ursula's initial success, ends at 724 Sterling Pl.

Ursula is one of four Brooklyn restaurants and chefs that grabbed a spot on the finalist list.

Another Crown Heights eatery, Ras Plant Based, was knocked out of the running in the semifinalist round. The eatery's chef and co-owner Romeo Regalli had been in the running for the "Best Chef: New York State" title.

Here's a look at the Brooklyn outposts that made the cut:

Emerging Chef

• Calvin Eng, Bonnie's in Williamsburg

Best New Restaurant

• Ursula

Outstanding Pastry Chef

• Caroline Schiff, Gage & Tollner, Downtown Brooklyn

Outstanding Wine Program

• The Four Horsemen, Williamsburg