MARC BONA Features writer, cleveland.com - restaurants, food, beer, wine spoke to Bill about 4 Northeast Ohio chefs named James Beard Foundation Award semifinalists - Angels on the Avenue’s 17th annual charity brewery tour set - 2025 Cleveland Brewery Passport program launches
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4 Northeast Ohio chefs named James Beard Foundation Award semifinalists
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Four Northeast Ohio restaurateurs have been named semifinalists for James Beard Foundation Awards.
Doug Katz was named in the Outstanding Restaurateur category, which encompasses those who use their business as a vehicle for building community while demonstrating creativity in entrepreneurship and integrity. Katz is chef-partner at Amba, Zhug and his most recent restaurant, Kiln in the Van Aken District in Shaker Heights.
In the Best Chef: Great Lakes region category - which covers Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan - a pair of Cleveland restaurateurs garnered nods: Vinnie Cimino of Cordelia and Jeremy Umansky of Larder Delicatessen & Bakery.
And Allie La Valle, Umansky’s wife and partner in Larder, is up for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.
All four have been nominated before.
In 2014, Katz was nominated for Best Chef of the Great Lakes Region. Cimino was a finalist in the same category a year ago. In 2023 and 2020, the Larder team - Allie La Valle-Umansky, Jeremy Umansky and Kenny Scott - were semifinalists in Best Chef: Great Lakes as well. In 2019, Larder was considered for honors in Best New Restaurant.
The non-profit James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards were established in 1990, with the first awards given in 1991. They note excellence across all types of dining experiences while lauding achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media and broader food system, as well as commitment to equity, community and sustainability.
Here’s the full list of nominees.
Paris Wolfe and Alex Darus of cleveland.com contributed to this story.
Angels on the Avenue’s 17th annual charity brewery tour set
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Angels on the Avenue has scheduled its 17th annual winter charity brewery tour.
The tour – which will travel to five breweries – is 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22. Beneficiary is St. Augustine Health Ministries.
This year’s tour focuses on the Akron-Canton area:
Breweries
• Royal Docks Brewing Co., Canton
• Thirsty Dog Brewing Co., Akron
• Hoppin Frog Brewery, Akron
• Lock 15 Brewing Co., Akron
• Mad Cap Brew Co., Kent
Attendees can bring snacks, though complimentary Romeo’s Pizza and water will be available on the bus all day. Most stops will sell food.
The trek includes 50-50 raffles, a poker run for $10 and a grand basket raffle with $5 tickets (five for $20).
The tour starts and ends at Crown Plaza Cleveland Airport. Check-in is between 8 and 8:45 a.m. with departure at 9 a.m. Discounted breakfast and drinks will be available 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., and overnight accommodations are encouraged at ihg.com or by calling 440-753-6971. Use code BRW for discounted rate of $105.
The tour is $100 via Venmo, cash or check and includes transportation, taxes, tips and samples at all breweries. Call 216-701-3143.
The hotel is at 7230 Engle Road, Middleburg Heights.
2025 Cleveland Brewery Passport program launches
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Brewery Passport is launching its annual run with its largest number of breweries.
Destination Cleveland’s digital program, designed to draw folks out to experience craft breweries, includes a customizable format to allow users to collect points to trade for prizes of their choosing.
All 46 breweries – six more than last year - on the passport are within 30 miles of downtown Cleveland. The 46 represents about 10% of the breweries in the state.
Lorain Brewing Co. and Royal Docks Brewing Tied House – both of which recently opened – are on the list, as is the upcoming Black Frog Brewery. BrewDog Cleveland and Franklin Brewing Co. are also part of the passport for the first time.
Hannah Belsito, chief experience officer at Destination Cleveland, said in a press release the 2024 program attracted more than 4,900 active users, which included 12% from out of state.
2025 breweries
• 8th Day Brewing Co., Chagrin Falls
• Bascule Brewery and Public House, Lorain
• Black Frog Brewery, Cleveland
• Blue Monkey Brewing Co., North Royalton
• Bookhouse Brewing, Cleveland
• Boss Dog Brewing Co., Cleveland Heights
• BottleHouse Brewery & Meadery,* Cleveland Heights
• BrewDog, Cleveland
• Brick and Barrel, Cleveland
• Broadview Brewing Co., Broadview Heights
• Bummin’ Beaver Brewery, Chagrin Falls
• Butcher and the Brewer, Cleveland
• Collision Bend Brewing Co.,* Cleveland
• Cornerstone Brewing Co., Berea
• Crooked Pecker Brewing Co., Chagrin Falls
• ESP Brewing Co., Amherst
• Fat Heads Brewery,* Middleburg Heights
• Forest City Brewery, Cleveland
• Four Paws Brewing Co. at Red Wagon Farm, Columbia Station
• Franklin Brewing Co., Elyria
• Ghost Tree Brewing Co., Amherst
• Goldhorn Brewery, Cleveland
• Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland
• Hansa Brewery and Restaurant, Cleveland
• Hofbräuhaus Cleveland, Cleveland
• Hop Brothers Brewing, North Ridgeville
• Immigrant Son Brewery, Lakewood
• Lorain Brewing Co., Lorain
• Market Garden Brewery,* Cleveland
• Masthead Brewing Co., Cleveland
• Mentor Brewing Co., Mentor
• Midnight Owl Brewing Co., Shaker Heights
• Noble Beast Brewing Co., Cleveland
• Pompatus Brewing Co., Chagrin Falls
• Railroad Brewing Co., Avon
• Rocky River Brewing Co., Rocky River
• Royal Docks Brewing Tied House, Cleveland
• Saucy Brew Works,*Cleveland
• Schnitz Ale Brewery,* Parma
• Sibling Revelry Brewing, Westlake
• Southern Tier Brewing Co., Cleveland
• Terrestrial Brewing Co., Cleveland
• The Brew Kettle,* Middleburg Heights
• The Jolly Scholar, Cleveland
• Tricky Tortoise Brewing Co., Willoughby
• Working Class Brewery, Cleveland
* indicates breweries that may offer multiple locations for check-in; review passport descriptions for eligible locations.
The passport is virtual and available at ThisisCleveland.com/beerpassport. Users earn points when they buy a drink, food or merchandise at a participating brewery. Upon purchase, brewery staff will provide users with a four-digit code to complete their check-in.
Prize format
Participants will earn a prize after their first and final check-ins. Users can collect points on their first visit to each brewery, which can be traded in for additional prizes.
• Upon sign-up, users will receive 100 points. Users also will receive a sticker at the first brewery they check in to.
• After making a purchase and checking in at all 46 breweries, users will be mailed a pin. New this year, users who complete the passport will receive an invitation to a passport-completion party in January 2026. Users who complete the passport also are entered in a drawing to win one of five grand-prize packages.
• Users will earn points for their first check-in at each brewery. Each new brewery visit earns 100 points (one check-in per brewery). Select breweries also offer discounts for users; redeeming those deals will earn 25 bonus points. Prizes start at 200 points.
• All passport check-ins must be completed by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31, to be eligible for prizes, which will be available for pickup at Cleveland Visitors Center, 334 Euclid Ave. If a brewery closes during the year, a check-in at that location will not be required.