Lower Manhattan Chef Named Best In New York: James Beard Award

LOWER MANHATTAN, NY — A Lower Manhattan chef just took home the James Beard Award for the best chef in New York State.

Chintan Pandya, who runs the kitchen at the hit Indian restaurant Dhamaka, took home the prize at Monday's ceremony in Chicago.

Officially known as the James Beard Foundation's 2022 Restaurant and Chef Awards, the ceremony often regarded as the Oscars of the culinary industry returned to in-person for the first time since 2019.

Dhamaka, located at 119 Delancey St. in Essex Market, had an incredible 2021 — getting named the best new restaurant of the year by the New York Times, one of the 11 best new restaurants in the United States by Eater NY, and the No. 1 restaurant in the country by Esquire.

Pandya oversees a menu that is "unapologetically Indian," and includes Murgh Kofta, Goat Neck Dum Biryani, Lasooni Prawn, and much more.

Here's a photo of its Paplet Fry.

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A post shared by DhaMaKa (@dhamakanyc)

Dhamaka took to Instagram to repost multiple stories congratulating Pandya on his victory.

"So thrilled to see an Indian restaurant finally win the Oscars of food," one person wrote on Instagram. "So long overdue, Indian cuisine deserves its place."

The only other New York City-based restaurant to win a James Beard 2022 award was The Four Horsemen in Brooklyn for its wine program.

You can check out the full list of winners here.