AN Indian street-food eatery in North Carolina called ‘Chai Pani’ has been picked as America’s Most Outstanding Restaurant at the James Beard Foundation Awards in Chicago on Monday (13), Bloomberg reported.
The restaurant, located in Asheville, bagged the accolades at an event which was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 – two years when the Covid-19 lockdown saw temporary closure of many restaurants in the US, one of the worst affected countries in the world.
According to the Bloomberg report, the recipients of the 2022 award were more diverse which well reflected America’s makeup. It was also more geographically diverse, unlike the past years when many of the winners came from either New York or Chicago.
The menu at ‘Chai Pani’, which literally means ‘tea and water’, features Indian snacks called “chaat” which is known for a mixed flavour.
Other winners included the native American restaurant 'Owamni' in Minneapolis, where the staff is 75 per cent indigenous, as Best New Restaurant.
Don Guerra at Barrio Bread in Tucson, Arizona, was chosen as the Outstanding Baker. He is known for using ancient grains that have seeds that can grow in the desert.
Mashama Bailey of The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, was named the Outstanding Chef while Chris Bianco of Tratto, Pane Bianco and Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix was named as the Outstanding Restaurateur.
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images