Six New Mexico restaurants, chefs named 2026 James Beard semifinalists

It’s been 10 years since Shyla Sheppard co-founded Bow & Arrow Brewing Co. with her wife, Missy Begay, and she still likes to sit inside the company’s Albuquerque taproom and take it all in.

“I can immediately recognize first-timers because they walk in and I can see the sense of awe when they look around,” Sheppard said. “It’s not only the quality of the product — it’s the experience, the look and feel of the space, the music and the visuals.”

That attention to detail is part of the reason Bow & Arrow is among this year’s James Beard semifinalists, which the James Beard Foundation announced Wednesday.

Every year, the foundation recognizes the nation’s top restaurants and chefs “who collectively embody the breadth of American culinary excellence,” the website says.

The foundation will announce the Restaurant and Chef finalists, or "nominees" as the Foundation calls them, on March 31 and will celebrate the winners at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony on June 15 in Chicago.

This year’s semifinalists included six restaurants and chefs from New Mexico.

All of the New Mexico restaurants named are based in Albuquerque, including Daydream Rum Bar in the “Best New Bar” category; The Burque Bakehouse in the “Outstanding Bakery” category; and Bow & Arrow Brewing Co. in the “Outstanding Bar” category.

It’s Daydream Rum Bar’s first year on the list, while The Burque Bakehouse and Bow & Arrow are returning semifinalists from the 2024 list. The Burque Bakehouse was also a 2024 James Beard nominee.

Sheppard was shocked to learn Bow & Arrow made the cut again.

“I am deeply honored,” Sheppard said. “We really strive to highlight the special place we live in here in the Southwest. We love what we do, and to receive this recognition at this level — it’s kind of unbelievable.”

Bow & Arrow is an Indigenous and female-owned brewery with taprooms in Albuquerque and Farmington. The brewery specializes in Southwest-inspired beers, including some sour options.

The chefs included in this year’s group of James Beard semifinalists include Steve Riley of Mesa Provisions in Albuquerque; Graham Dodds of NOSA Restaurant & Inn in Ojo Caliente; and Danny Calleros of Ardovino’s Desert Crossing in Sunland Park. The chefs were recognized within the “Best Chef: Southwest” category.

“It means the world,” said Riley, who started the upscale New American restaurant Mesa Provisions in 2021.

Riley is a repeat semifinalist, as well as a nominee, for 2024, while both Dodds and Calleros are new to the list.

In Sunland Park, Ardovino’s Desert Crossing restaurant and banquet facility sits on a hillside near Mount Cristo Rey overlooking the city. Calleros can see his house from the back of the restaurant where he began his culinary career as a banquet server at age 17.

Calleros said he was surprised and delighted by the James Beard recognition; but he took little time to bask as he prepared a meal for a private event at the restaurant, which siblings Robert and Marina Ardovina have operated for three decades. The business has been in the family for three generations, dating back to 1949.

“Danny’s deserved this for a long time,” Marina Ardovino said. “We get overlooked a lot because we’re in Sunland Park and nobody knows we’re here. What we accomplish just being a family-run business with amazing talent, I think, is really impressive.”

Many New Mexico chefs have been nominated but only a couple from Santa Fe have made it all the way, according to Riley.

He’d love to be the first Albuquerque chef to win the award, but at the end of the day, “it’s not really so much about winning as it is about just continuing to make good food,” Riley said.

Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com. 

Algernon D'Ammassa is the Journal's southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.