By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN —The prestigious James Beard Foundation dished up awards for several upscale Manhattan chefs and eateries Monday night at a Lincoln Center ceremony.
Angela Pinkerton of Eleven Madison Park, a swanky restaurant owned by Danny Meyer, took home the Outsanding Pastry Chef Award, while Gabrielle Hamilton, of the East Village's Prune, won Best Chef of New York City.
Eleven Madison Park received a double helping of prestige when it won both Outstanding Restaurant and the Outstanding Pastry Chef awards.
Located in Murray Hill on the edge of Madison Square Park, at East 24th Street, Eleven Madison Park is known for its surprise tasting menus. Customers are given limited control over their meal by choosing main dishes like fois gras, black truffle, skate, lobster and hamachi.
The rest of the meal is designed around the customer's preference of main ingredients and specific flavoring likes or dislikes, according to the restaurant's website.
Flatiron restaurant ABC Kitchen also received recognition with the Best New Restaurant Award.
Located in the same space as ABC Carpet & Home Department store on Broadway and West 18th Street, the restaurant is the project of owner and chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who has made his name by fusing Asian and American foods for restaurants including Mercer Kitchen and Matsugen.
ABC Kitchen is known for its commitment to sustainability due to its unique location and use of fresh and local ingredients.
On its website, the restaurant boasts its use of locally grown seasonal fresh produce from organic small farms, livestock from cruelty-free suppliers and vegetables that are free of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, insecticides and GMOs.
Honorable New York mentions include Outstanding Service for Thomas Keller's Per Se.
Although Tom Colicchio won the James Beard Award for "Outstanding Chef" nationwide last year, the organization skipped Manhattan when nominating the best chefs of 2011.
