These 2 Crown Heights Spots Are James Beard Semifinalists

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Two new Crown Heights eateries are in the running for the "Oscars of the food world."

Ras Plant Based and Ursula — both opened in 2020 — are among the restaurants, bars, chefs and restaurateurs named as semifinalists in this year's James Beard Awards, which were revealed Wednesday.

The semifinalists include more than 30 nominations in New York City, including eight eateries in Brooklyn.

In Crown Heights, Ursula is in the running for the "Best New Restaurant" category and Ras Plant Based's chef and co-owner Romeo Regalli will vie for a "Best Chef: New York State" title.

Regalli opened the Ethiopian restaurant on Franklin Avenue with his wife, Milka, in early March 2020. The eatery — whose refers to a word for prince in Ethiopia — is the second restaurant for the pair, who also own Awash in Cobble Hill.

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 initial success, ends at 724 Sterling Pl.

The James Beard Foundation will announce its finalists in March and celebrate winners with a ceremony in June, according to the organization.

The 2022 slate of nominees is likely one of the most diverse in the foundation's three-decade history given new categories meant to address biases, according to Eater. The new categories include an "emerging chef" award and newly-configured regional best chef categories aimed at expanding the geographic diversity of winners, according to the outlet.

Find a full list of the semifinalists here.