Black-owned Baldwin Hills restaurant earns prestigious culinary award
LOS ANGELES - Post and Beam, a beloved Black-owned restaurant in Baldwin Hills became a recipient of the most prestigious culinary honors.
The eatery becomes the first Black-owned restaurant to win the LA Times Gold award, named after the late Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold.
The Los Angeles Times Gold Award is awarded each year with the "purpose of honoring excellence and expanding the notion of what Southern California cooking might be."
Los Angeles City Councilmember Herb Wesson was on hand to present the award Friday morning.
The fine-dining restaurant opened in 2011 and has established itself as a South Los Angeles cultural institution, located adjacent to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Mall.
Chef and owner John Cleveland grew up in a culinary family.
"It really is an honor. Being able to represent LA and specifically South Los Angeles...training under Chef Govind Armstrong, getting the leadership from Chef Brad Johnson, it’s just been a dream come true," Chef Cleveland said.
Raised in North Carolina, he draws his influences from Southern soul food, Carolina BBQ, and coastal seafood.
Post and Beam specializes in elevated California comfort food.
Some of Post and Beam's most popular menu items include the hand-made pizza, smoked BBQ baby back ribs and red cabbage slaw, fried jerked catfish, and buttermilk fried chicken.