9 dishes Boston’s James Beard Award-nominated chefs are eating this spring

Another James Beard Awards—aka, the Oscars of the food world—have come and gone. And now that the heat has finally arrived in Boston, you can bet our city’s restaurants are serving their finest spring dishes.With so many excellent restaurants and bars from which to choose, it can be difficult to decide where to dine or which meals will be the crowd favorites. Who better to ask than the professionals themselves? We spoke to three of the Boston-based James Beard Award-nominated chefs about their favorite dishes in Boston at the moment.

Margherita pizza at Tapestry in Boston.

Tapestry’s wood-fired pizzas: “Tapestry is an amazing restaurant that just opened last year in Fenway, and they have these amazing wood-fired pizzas,” said Ken Oringer, chef and owner of Uni, and chef and partner of Coppa, Toro, and Little Donkey. “I’ve been devouring those lately. I had three of them…the other day at the opening of the Red Sox.”

Bar Mezzana’s polenta bread with lardo and caviar.

Bar Mezzana’s polenta bread, caviar, and lardo crostini: Karen Akunowicz, executive chef and partner of the South End’s Myers + Chang, said this dish, from the South End’s coastal Italian restaurant Bar Mezzana, is “one of my favorite things right now.”

Sarma’s za’atar fried chicken.

Sarma’s za’atar fried chicken: Akunowicz said she also craves this special menu item from Sarma, helmed by another James Beard Award nominee, Cassie Piuma (who gave her picks below).

Sweet Cheeks bucket ‘o biscuits and honey butter.

Sweet Cheeks’s biscuits: “I will always love the biscuits at Sweet Cheeks,” Akunowicz said.

Coppa’s margherita pizza.

Coppa’s margherita pizza: In another shout-out for a James Beard-nominated chef, Akunowicz spoke of her fondness for the margherita pizza at Oringer’s Coppa.

The B.L.T. with lobster at B&G Oysters.

B&G Oysters’s B.L.T. with lobster: This recommendation from Akunowicz just sounds like something you eat on a patio.

Myers + Chang’s Nasi Goreng (Indonesian fried rice).

Myers + Chang’s Nasi Goreng (Indonesian fried rice): Cassie Piuma, chef and co-owner of Somerville’s Sarma, said for her, it’s a toss-up between this rice dish and the two dishes below. “They all have one thing in common,” Piuma said. “I wake up in the morning with a craving.”

Spicy miso ramen at Sapporo Ramen.

Sapporo Ramen’s spicy miso ramen: To wake up thinking about hot and spicy ramen—as Piuma said she does when it comes to this dish—is high praise.

Mamaleh’s fish platter with a variety of cured and smoked fish, as well as a bialy and bagels.

Mamaleh’s grand fish platter: Piuma’s other pick was a “smoked fish platter” from this modern Jewish-style deli and restaurant, which opened last year.