2020 Journalism Nom LinksTK

Food media has never felt more relevant. Political tensions across the globe may be rising, issues of culture, identity, and ethnicity are ever-more fraught, but asking questions about the food we cook and eat has proven increasingly valuable as a way to connect and understand the world around us. Whether you're looking for the latest restaurant review from a trusted source, or are simply curious about how Chinese food became the Christmas day meal de rigeur for Jews, this year's Journalism Award nominees offer indispensable insights into the ingredients that make up our food system.

Read all the exciting pieces from our nominees below*, and be sure to follow us on Friday, April 26, when we announce the winners at the Media Awards in New York City.

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Columns
What She’s Having: “Popeyes’ Fried Chicken Sandwich: A Delicious Distraction, a Cultural Lesson”; “Every Season Is Soup Season”; “Why a Somali Nook in East Boston Is One of the Country’s Best New Restaurants”
Devra First
The Boston Globe

Power Rankings: “The Official Fast Food French Fry Power Rankings”; “The Official Spicy Snack Power Rankings”; “The Official Domestic Beer Power Rankings”
Lucas Kwan Peterson
Los Angeles Times

Rooted in Place: “In Service”; “Hair, Food, and Hustle”; “The Best That We've Got”
Rosalind Bentley
Gravy

Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Review Award
“Le Colonial Is an Orientalist Specter”; “The Ultimate Chaat Truck Crawl”; “The Fantasy — and Reality — of Dining at Chez Panisse”
Soleil Ho
San Francisco Chronicle

“NYC’s Buzziest New Sushi Parlors Are Transcendent, If You Can Handle the Bros”; “Wall Street’s Underground Russian Spa Is a Dining Destination for the Soul”; “Estiatorio Milos Is One of the Last Big Restaurant Scams in New York”
Ryan Sutton
Eater New York

“Peter Luger Used to Sizzle. Now It Sputters.”; “The 20 Most Delicious Things at Mercado Little Spain”; “Benno, Proudly Out of Step With the Age”
Pete Wells
The New York Times

Dining and Travel
“In Pursuit of the Perfect Pizza”
Matt Goulding
Airbnb Magazine

“Interview With the Vampiro”
Dylan James Ho
Taste

"World's Best Restaurants 2019"
Besha Rodell
Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine

Feature Reporting
America's farmers in crisis during Trump's trade wars: “Left Behind: Farmers Fight to Save Their Land in Rural Minnesota as Trade War Intensifies”; "’I'm Gonna Lose Everything’: A Farm Family Struggles to Recover after Rising Debt Pushes a Husband to Suicide"; “In Trump Country, a Season of Need on Family Farms”
Annie Gowen
The Washington Post

“The Great Land Robbery”
Vann R. Newkirk II
The Atlantic

“Value Meal”
Tad Friend
The New Yorker

Foodways
“An Indigenous Community in Mexico Finds Its Voice — and Strength — in Wild Mushrooms”
Michael Snyder
Los Angeles Times

“On Hawaii, the Fight for Taro’s Revival”
Ligaya Mishan
T: The New York Times Style Magazine

“A Real Hot Mess: How Grits Got Weaponized Against Cheating Men”
Cynthia R. Greenlee
MUNCHIES | Food by VICE

Health and Wellness
“The AGEs Puzzle: How We Cook Food Is Killing Us. Scientists in SC Know Why.”; “9 Easy Ways to Eat Fewer AGEs: A Stress-Free Guide”
Tony Bartelme
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)

“How Washington Keeps America Sick and Fat”; “Meet the Silicon Valley Investor Who Wants Washington to Figure Out What You Should Eat”
Catherine Boudreau and Helena Bottemiller Evich
Politico

“Protein Nation”
Shaun Dreisbach
EatingWell

Home Cooking
“6 Holiday Cookies That Will Win You the Cookie Swap”
Hilary Cadigan and Rick Martinez
Bon Appétit

“Fry Time”
Nancy Singleton Hachisu
Saveur

“In Praise of Schmaltz”
Rachel Handler
Grub Street

Innovative Storytelling
“Best New Restaurants 2019”
Kevin Alexander, Nicole A. Taylor, and Adriana Velez
Thrillist

“Food and Loathing on the Campaign Trail”
Gary He, Matt Buchanan, and Meghan McCarron
Eater

“Made in America”
Tim Carman and Shelly Tan
The Washington Post

Investigative Reporting
“How USDA Distorted Data to Conceal Decades of Discrimination Against Black Farmers”
Nathan Rosenberg and Bryce Wilson Stucki
The Counter

“‘The Man Who Attacked Me Works in Your Kitchen’: Victim of Serial Groper Took Justice into Her Own Hands”
Amy Brittain and Maura Judkis
The Washington Post

“The Young Hands That Feed Us”
Karen Coates and Valeria Fernández
Pacific Standard

Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award
“Forget Democratic Votes. Which Presidential Hopeful Will Eat 16 Iconic SC Foods First?”; “A James Island Meat-and-Two Secretly Switched to Carolina Gold Rice. Here’s What Happened.”; “In Prisons Across South Carolina, It’s Not a Birthday Without Cake Made by a Fellow Inmate”
Hanna Raskin
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)

“In Search of Hot Beef”; “Chef Jack Riebel Is in the Fight of His Life”; “Harry Singh on the Perfect Roti, Trinidad, and Life in the Kitchen”
Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine

“In a Wheelchair and Hungry”; “Where to Eat Regionally Inspired Mexican Food in New York City”; “How Sichuan Became NYC’s Dominant Chinese Cuisine”
Robert Sietsema
Eater New York

M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award
“A Mind to Stay Here”
Rosalind Bentley
Gravy

“My Mother's Catfish Stew”
John T. Edge
Oxford American

“An Undeserved Gift”
Shane Mitchell
The Bitter Southerner

Personal Essay, Long Form
“The Dysfunction of Food”
Kim Foster
Kim-Foster.com

“Love, Peace, and Taco Grease: How I Left My Abusive Husband and Found Guy Fieri”
Rax King
Catapult

“Seeking Jewish Identity at the Sabra Hummus Factory”
Orr Shtuhl
The Forward

Personal Essay, Short Form
“For 20 Years, happy hour has seen us through work — and life”
M. Carrie Allan
The Washington Post

“How the Starbucks Macchiato Ruined My Indie Coffee Shop Experiences”
Nicole A. Taylor
Thrillist

“In Memoriam of Hominy Grill, the Restaurant That Defined Charleston”
Ali Rosen
Plate

Profile
“First Course”
Zoe Tennant
Granta

“The Fruit Saver”
Tejal Rao
Women on Food
(Abrams Press)

“The Provocations of Chef Tunde Wey”
Brett Martin
GQ Magazine

Wine, Spirits, and Other Beverages
“How Climate Change Impacts Wine”
Eric Asimov
The New York Times

“May I Help You With That Wine List?”
Ray Isle
Food & Wine

“Seltzer Is Over. Mineral Water Is Forever.”
Jordan Michelman
PUNCH

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