Since 1990, the not-for-profit James Beard Foundation named after "the father of American cuisine," has been honoring the outstanding names in the food and beverage industry.

There is no cash reward, but a win – or even a nomination – can substantially increase the buzz for business, according to foundation President Susan Ungaro.

The nominations for the 2012 James Beard Foundation Awards were announced Monday night at the Awards Ceremony and Gala Reception by James Beard Award–winning author and television personality Alton Brown.

See all the winners below, or explore our Twitter feed for pictures and color from the star-studded night.

AMERICA'S CLASSICS AWARDS (pictured above)
Locally owned restaurants "beloved in their regions for quality food that reflects the character of their community," according to the Foundation.
The Fry Bread House (Phoenix, Arizona)
Nora's Fish Creek Inn (Wilson, Wyoming)
St Elmo Steak House (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Jones Bar-B-Q Diner (Marianna, Arkansas)
Shady Glen (Manchester, Connecticut)
FULL POST

Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray.

The sun is out, the gentle breezes are blowing, the gardens and the fields are burgeoning with new green leaves, and so now is the time to eat them. As a fairly carnivorous person, I tend to feel that if I’m going to be eating a salad, I might as well have some wine with it, just to give the whole enterprise some sort of point. To that end, here are a few thoughts about pairing wines with salads.
FULL POST

Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• "Plastic is fantastic" for online food delivery. - Gizmodo

• The American invasion: How US brand name snacks gain international flavor and favor. - Herald Sun

• Nothing could be finer (or more fitting) than to celebrate "Eat What You Want Day" in Sin City. - Forbes

• A collection of the good, bad and downright ugly tales of the restaurant world. - Slate

• More craft breweries mean moo-re beer by-products for cows to feast on. - Denver Post

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

Today's food holiday is a bit of shear luck - May 7 is National Roast Leg of Lamb Day!

Even though Easter has passed, a hankering for a well-roasted leg of lamb can happen at any time.

You can usually pick up a leg of lamb at your local grocery or butcher shop. The tender cut is from the hindquarter of the animal. The portion is probably a little bit bigger than any roast you've ever put in the oven, but don't let that intimidate you.
FULL POST

Pssst! Got a sec to chat?

We are utterly thrilled when readers want to hang out and talk – whether it's amongst themselves or in response to pieces we've posted. We want Eatocracy to be a cozy, spirited online home for those who find their way here.

Consider the daily Coffee Klatsch post as your VIP lounge – the primary comments thread for readers who'd like to chat about topics not related to the articles we're running. That way, everyone knows where to find each other, and each post's comments section remains on topic.