On Sunday, June 30th, Paul was honored to attend and present at the 2019 RMW Rammy Awards for the DMV’s leading restaurants and restaurateurs. The award reception, ceremony, and after party was held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The atmosphere of the event was electrifying! Every nominee, finalist, presenter, and attendee were in high hopes for their favorite restaurants and owners.
Not only did Paul present a group of awards on stage with Holly Morris, but he also welcomed the crowd with a hilarious skit and his known fabulous antics that lit up the stage.
Kathy Hollinger hosted the show and made sure to pay tribute to their sponsor’s including Events DC, Design Foundry, The MGM Hotel at the National Harbor, Coastal Sunbelt Produce and many more.
*DRUM ROLL PLEASE*
And the winners of the 37th Annual RAMMY’s are:
Joan Hisaoka Allied Member of the Year: The Veritas Law Firm
Upscale Brunch of the Year: Unconventional Diner
Casual Brunch of the Year: Compass Rose Bar & Kitchen
Favorite Gathering Place of the Year: Open Road
Favorite Fast Bites of the Year: Taco Bamba Taqueria
Service Program of the Year: Ambar – Clarendon
Beer Program of the Year: Republic
Cocktail Program of the Year: barmini by José Andrés
Wine Program of the Year: Maxwell Park
Casual Restaurant of the Year: RoYAL
Employee of the Year: Valentine King, Hummingbird Bar and Kitchen
Manager of the Year: Donna Seal, The Oceanaire Seafood Room
Regional Food and Beverage Producer of the Year: Ivy City Smokehouse
Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year: The Source by Wolfgang Puck
New Restaurant of the Year: Spoken English
Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year: Iron Gate
Pastry Chef of the Year: Ana Deshaies, Unconventional Diner
Rising Culinary Star of the Year: Kwame Onwuachi, Kith and Kin
Restaurateur of the Year: Michael Friedman, Mike O’Malley, Colin McDonough & Gareth Croke, Redstone Restaurant Group (All Purpose, Boundary Stone, The Red Hen)
Chef of the Year: Kyle Bailey, The Salt Line
Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award: Virginia Ali, Ben’s Chili Bowl/Ben’s Chili Bowl Foundation
Honorary Milestone Award: The Bombay Club, Ristorante iRicchi, Moby Dick House of Kabob, Silver Diner, and Taberna del Alabardero for all serving the DC area for 30 years, and Lebanese Taverna for 40 years.
John G. Laytham Exceptional Leadership & Impact Award: Claude Andersen, Clyde’s Restaurant Group
After all of the awards were presented, everyone was invited to the after party on the upper level of the Convention Center where DJ Neekola kept the party going for the remainder of the night.
There was music, dancing, alcohol circling the dance floor, but most importantly, after watching the best of the best in the DMV receive the recognition they deserve, attendees were also rewarded with an amazing dinner.
Paul surely enjoyed meeting the winners, finalists, and party-goers while and spending time with Mayor Muriel Bowser and friends throughout the night. Consider buying a ticket next year. The Rammy Awards was truly the party of the year.
Cheers!
