Woburn Bar Named Semi-Finalist For Prestigous James Beard Award

WOBURN, MA -- The Baldwin Bar in Woburn has been nominated for one of the culinary industry's highest honors. The bar, located on the second floor of the Baldwin mansion, was named a semi-finalist in the Outstanding bar Program category Wednesday by the foundation. Of the 20 finalists, the Baldwin Bar was one of just three not located within the limits of a major U.S. city.

The "long list" of semi-finalists in each category will be pared down to a list of five finalists on March 27. Winners will be announced at the James Beard Awards Gala in Chicago on May 6.

The nominations are the first since the foundation announced in October that it was changing is judging criteria to produce a more diverse list of nominees and winners, including a change calling for the judging panel to be made up of proportions representative of nationwide demographics.

The Baldwin Bard is owned by Ron Duan and is on the second floor of the Baldwin Mansion, which, for nondrinkers, is locally best known as the home of Sichuan Garden, the Chinese restaurant Duan's parents operate on the first floor. The bar has just 45 seats and is only open Thursday through Sunday.

Last year, the drinking Wbesite The Daily Meal named the Baldwin one of the 150 best bars in America. In 2017, Esquire magazine named it to its list of best bars in America.

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).