Auburn restaurant Josephine stands out among award nominees

Being a semifinalist for a prestigious James Beard Award as Best Chef California is impressive already, but one word especially stands out to Eric Alexander and Courtney McDonald, co-owners of Restaurant Josephine, when they scan the list of nominees: "Auburn." Most of the 19 nominees on the list are in the Bay Area and Southern California. "And we're one of them. It's an incredible honor," Alexander says, reading the list. "San Francisco, Santa Monica, Carlsbad …" "And then there's Auburn," McDonald says. The couple envisioned Auburn all along when they left Carpe Vino after 13 years as chefs at the Old Town Auburn restaurant to "do our own thing," McDonald says. The finalists should be announced in March, followed by an awards ceremony in Chicago in June to honor the winners. "It's like the Oscars," Alexander says. "You wear a tuxedo." Yet to this point, the couple still doesn't know who nominated them for the award. It could have been someone who traveled to Auburn specifically to dine at the French bistro, located across Lincoln Way from City Hall, or someone who pulled off Interstate 80 to eat. It could have been anyone. "We're not sure, though," Alexander says. "We don't know, it's anonymous." Restaurant Josephine turns 5 this June. Alexander and McDonald were set to open earlier before the pandemic pushed it back. Fortunately, they hadn't hired a full staff yet and weren't faced with "huge bills," Alexander said, and they offered takeout and to-go. Thursday evening, almost five years later, the restaurant was bustling with all tables occupied. The bar was also lined with people. "This restaurant was conceived and built on being a place for Auburn, that people in Auburn could come and eat at – if they want to, several times a week," Alexander says. "Being a part of something special in Auburn was always our intention from the very beginning." Alexander and McDonald met at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He's from upstate New York. She graduated from Placer High School in 1998. They graduate from "CIA" in 2001 and soon decided to return to the area. "It was an easy sell for me," Alexander said of Auburn, with its proximity to ski resorts, the American River and, of course, the weather, over 300 days of clouds each year in upstate New York. Their training is French, but they've incorporated Eastern European flavors and ingredients from the Baltics to "accent the French foundation," McDonald says. "It's how we make our French dishes a little bit different than maybe another classic French bistro." Josephine is named after their daughter, a Placer High School student. The name also is an homage to Alexander's great-grandmother, who immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. Their restaurant logo is taken from her signature on her papers at Ellis Island. "Her signature was just so perfect and beautiful and feminine that this would be perfect in the beautiful cursive," he said. Restaurant Josephine is open from 5-9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 4-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.