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Let's get the bad news out of the way first: though three out of five of the Best Chef: Northeast Beard Award nominees were from the Boston area, the winner was Rob Evans of Portland's Hugo's. Despite this disappointment (and despite the anticlimactic nature of the last 45 minutes of the ceremony after the New York Times leaked the winners early), the awards were still, as always, pretty fun. We spent most of the night in the press room, where we caught up with Todd English and a jovial Ming Tsai, who spent some time discussing squash with Serious Eats' Ed Levine. Rialto's Jody Adams was one of the post-ceremony gala chefs: her bulger crackers topped with Fiore Di Nonno burrata, artichokes, and green olives were a hit, as were her Island Creek oysters with sunchokes and harissa. Adams, a 1997 Beard winner herself, told us she still recalls the "exhilaration" she felt when she won after multiple nominations.

Boston chefs weren't the only luminaries at the ceremony, however. Not only did we make eye contact with Richard Gere and bump into a Crocs and tux wearing Mario Batali, but in what might be the highlight of our life, we briefly chatted with Martha Stewart (!!!!) and managed not to go completely fangirl, confining ourself to a quick "I love your Twitter!"

Speaking of the micro-blogging service, everyone from MenuPages' own Adam, Carolina, and Helen to Top Chef's Gail Simmons was live-tweeting the event. Outstanding Restaurateur winner Drew Nieporent got the night's biggest laugh when, upon taking the mic, he immediately said "Hold on: I have to Twitter this." He then proceeded to swear. A lot.

Use our network to get even more Beard recap action from Grub Street and MP: Chicago. A full list of the night's winners is after the jump.

Restaurant and Chefs Awards Winners:

Best New Restaurant: Momofuku Ko, owner David Chang

Outstanding Service: Daniel, owner Daniel Boloud

Outstanding Restaurateur: Drew Nieporent, Myriad Restaurant Group

Outstanding Restaurant: Jean Georges, owner Jean Georges Vongerichten

Outstanding Chef: Dan Barber, Blue Hill

Outstanding Wine Service: Le Bernardin

Wine & Spirits Pro: Dale DeGroff

The Best Chef (Northwest): Maria Hines, Tilth

The Best Chef (Pacific): Douglas Keane, Cyrus

The Best Chef (Southwest): Paul Bartolotta, Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare

The Best Chef (South): John Currence, City Grocery

The Best Chef (Southeast): Mike Lata, Fig

The Best Chef (Mid-Atlantic): Jose Garces, Armada

The Best Chef (New York City): Gabriel Kreuther, The Modern

The Best Chef (Northeast): Rob Evans, Hugo's

Best Chef (Midwest): Tim McKee, La Belle Vie

Best Chef (Great Lakes): Michael Symon, Lola

Rising Star: Nate Appleman, A16 and SPQR

Restaurant Graphics: Denise Korn/Javier Cortés/Bryant Ross (Corner Office)

Restaurant Design: Thomas Schlesser (Publican)

Cookbook Awards Winners:

Book Awards

For cookbooks published in English in 2008.

American Cooking

"Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook"
by Martha Hall Foose
(Clarkson Potter)

Baking

"Bakewise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking"
by Shirley O. Corriher
(Scribner)

Beverage

"WineWise: Your Complete Guide to Understanding, Selecting and Enjoying Wine"
by Steven Kolpan, Brian H. Smith and Michael A. Weiss, The Culinary Institute of America
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

Cooking From a Professional Point of View

"Alinea"
by Grant Achatz
(Achatz LLC/Ten Speed Press)

General Cooking

"How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised Tenth Anniversary Edition)"
by Mark Bittman
(John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

Healthy Focus

"The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life"
by Ellie Krieger
(The Taunton Press, Inc.)

International

"Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China"
by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
(Artisan)

Photography

"The Big Fat Duck Cookbook"
Photographer: Dominic Davies
Artist: Dave McKean
(Bloomsbury USA)

Reference and Scholarship

"The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs"
by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
(Little, Brown and Company)

Single Subject

"Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes"
by Jennifer McLagan
(Ten Speed Press)

Writing and Literature

"In Defense of Food"
by Michael Pollan
(The Penguin Press)

Humanitarian of the Year: Feeding America (formerly America's Second Harvest).

Lifetime Achievement: Ella Brennan of the Brennan Family of Restaurants, including Commander's Palace.

2009 America's Classics: Arnold's Country Kitchen, Breitbach's Country Dining, Mustache Bill's Diner, Totonno's and Yank Sing

[Photo: Helen Rosner]