CLEVELAND, Ohio — Laurie Torres didn’t even know that her longstanding restaurant Mallorca was in the running for a James Beard Award nomination until her phone started exploding with text messages on Wednesday morning.

From a festive Carnival block party to fires blazing up and down their street — and inside their delivery van — to news of national recognition, it's been a wild

Two County chefs and a Convoy Street cocktail bar are among the coveted James Beard Foundation Award semifinalists.

The chef, who helped raise $200,000 for local charities and is preparing to open his second restaurant, maintains excellence at Cordelia.