ALAMOSA — Restaurants in New York, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, and Alamosa and a dozen other locations have been nominated by the James Beard Foundation as one of the country’s Best New Restaurant.

Alamosa’s Friar’s Fork, located on Fourth Street in Alamosa, is now in the running with big city restaurants as best in the U.S. The James Beard foundation is a non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a food writer and pioneer foodie.

Friar’s Fork is the creation of San Luis Valley native Denise Vigil who with her business partner and husband Nealson Vialpando opened the restaurant, located in the former St. Thomas Episcopal Church last year.

Vigil, a graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, brings her decades of restaurant experience, including Coyote Café in Santa Fe, The Little Nell in Aspen, and Trinchera Ranch in Costilla County to the table.

Regarding the James Beard Foundation nomination Vigil said it was, “Wild, shocking, hugely humbling… I feel like I have the best team in the Valley, they’re amazing and this is to their credit.”

For more information, call 719-206-3331 and or visit www.friarsfork.com.