It’s that time of year again, and the nominees for the prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards (often referred to as the Oscars of U.S. cuisine) have just been announced! It’s a lengthy list, with categories ranging from health-focused cookbooks to restaurant graphics, food blogs to outstanding pastry chef. You can see the entire list here, but I thought I’d highlight a few of the categories I’m most excited about.

OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT DESIGN

• Design Firm: Design Bureaux, Inc.  Designer: Thomas Schlesser  Project: DBGB Kitchen and Bar, New York City (below)

• Design Firm: Bentel & Bentel Architects  Project: Le Bernardin, New York City

• Design Firm: Glen & Company  Designer: Glen Coben  Project: Romera, New York City

BEST NEW RESTAURANT

• AQ, San Francisco

• Fiola, Washington, D.C.

• Isa, NYC

• Next, Chicago

• Tertulia, NYC (below)

OUTSTANDING CHEF

• David Chang, Momofuku Ssam Bar, NYC

• Gary Danko, Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco

• Daniel Humm, Eleven Madison Park, NYC

• Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Chicago (below)

• Donald Link, Herbsaint, New Orleans

• Nancy Silverton, Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles

COOKBOOKS ON AMERICAN COOKING

• A New Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen by Hugh Acheson (Clarkson Potter)

• American Flavor by Andrew Carmellini and Gwen Hyman (Ecco)

• Masala Farm: Stories and Recipes from an Uncommon Life in the Country by Suvir Saran with Raquel Pelzel and Charlie Burd (Chronicle Books)