Everything I ate at the James Beard Awards in Chicago

From giardiniera-flavored chips to peppercorn Eton Mess.

Earlier this week, I attended the James Beard Awards in Chicago. (You can watch a little recap of my red carpet experience here.) The event, known as the Oscars of food, celebrated the best of the culinary world—and yes, there was a lot of eating to be had, as well as crunching and dunking and slurping and savoring—straight from some of the most exciting chefs around the country. Here’s everything I ate that night:

OMG Cookie (Sherry Yard)

Imagine my delight when Sherry Yard—the legendary pastry chef, baker, and cookbook author who spent two decades working with Wolfgang Puck and went on to win three James Beard Awards—offered me a cookie on the red carpet. She called them “OMG Cookies,” and as soon as I took my first bite, I literally said, “Oh my god.” They were small, about the size of a silver dollar, with crunchy sugar on the outside. I thought the cookie was going to be crumbly but no, it was chewy, fudgy, more brownie-like than cookie-like, and if Sherry hadn’t walked over to the next spot on the carpet, I would’ve asked for another.

Giardiniera and hot dog-flavored potato chips (Local Style Potato Chips)

Laura Gardner, founder of Local Style Potato Chips, was far and away one of the best dressed guests of the evening. She partnered with a graduate student in fashion design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Tukii Tucker, to create the most fabulous outfit (with a detachable skirt!) out of—get this—POTATO CHIP BAGS. It was the coolest thing ever. There were two flavors of Local Style Potato Chips inside of the ceremony: Hot Dog and Hot Giard. I tried both, and now I want to taste the other ones. From Deep Dish to Italian Beef, each is its own little love letter to Chicago.

English pea wonton with tom kha broth and coconut chili crisp (James Beard Award Winner Christina Nguyen of Hai Hai in Minneapolis, MN)

I ate this one-bite dish in two because I wanted to see the bright green pea filling inside. I loved the wonton, but the broth was my favorite part—so good that I brought the little bamboo bowl up to my mouth and drank it.

Vampiro de fajita: beef fajita with guacamole and pico de gallo (James Beard Award Winner Ana Pulido of Ana Liz Taqueria in Mission, TX)

As far as I could tell, the longest line was for Ana Pulido's fajita, and when I finally got mine, I understood why. From the crispy blue corn tortilla to the mountain of steak, the flavors and textures in this dish hit every note: creamy, crunchy, zesty, bright. So, so good, and well worth the wait.

Eton Mess with strawberries, rhubarb, Chantilly, and peppercorn meringue (James Beard Semifinalist Ed Symanski of Crevette, Dame, and Lord’s in New York, NY)