Roughly the dining out equivalent of The Academy Awards, The James Beard Foundation annual awards ceremony takes place Monday, May 7, at the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. Washington, D.C.’s talented R.J. Cooper III of Vidalia, Frank Ruta of Palena, and Cathal Armstrong of Old Town Alexandria, Va.’s Restaurant Eve are among the five nominees for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. Go to www.jamesbeard.org for the complete list, but here’s a partial list of national nominees:

– Outstanding Restaurant: Boulevard, San Francisco; Frontera Grill, Chicago; Magnolia Grill, Durham, N.C., Picholine, New York; Spiaggia, Chicago.
– Best New Restaurant: A Voce, New York City; Chochon, New Orleans; Cut, Beverly Hill, Calif; L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, New York City; Momofuku Ssam Bar, New York City; Restaurant Guy Savoy, Las Vegas.
– Outstanding Restaurateur: Thomas Keller, The French Laundry, Yountville, Calif; Keith McNally, Balthazar, New York City; Richard Melman, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (R.J. Grunts, Wildfire, Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!), Chicago; Drew Nieporent, Myriad Restaurant Group (Tribeca Grill, Nobu, Rubicon), New York City; Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Jean Georges restaurant, New York City.
– Outstanding Chef: Tom Colicchio, Craft, New York City; Lee Hefter, Spago, Beverly Hills, Calif.; Jean Joho, Everest, Chicago; Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Chicago; Michel Richard, Michel Richard Citronelle, Washington, D.C.
– Rising Star Chef: Nate Appleman, A16, San Francisco; Graham Elliot Bowles, Avenues at The Peninsula Hotel, Philadelphia; David Chang, Momofuku Noodle Bar, New York; Patrick Connelly, Radius, Boston; Daniel Humm, Eleven Madison Park, New York City.

Restaurant magazine just released its list of the world’s top 100 restaurants. (http://www.theworlds50best.com/2007_list.html) Here are the U.S. entries:

The French Laundry, Yountville, Ca. (No. 4)
Per Se, New York City (No. 9)
Jean Georges, New York City (No. 18)
Le Bernardin, New York City (No. 26)
Charlie Trotter’s, Chicago (No. 30)
Daniel, New York City (No. 32)
Alinea, Chicago (No. 36)
Chez Panisse, Berkeley, Ca. (No. 40)
Masa, New York City (No. 56)
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the Four Seasons, New York City (No. 64)
Peter Lugar, Brooklyn, NY (No. 69)
Nobu New York, New York City (No. 89)
Gramercy Tavern, New York City (No. 90)
WD-50, New York City (No. 91)
Zuni Café, San Francisco (No. 98)
Alex at Wynn, Las Vegas (No. 100)

IN THE NEWS: Post critic Tom Sietsema gives two stars to Curry Club, 1734 Wisconsin Ave. (www.curryclub.net) and Matchbox, 713 H St. NW. (www.matchboxdc.com). And from his weekly Ask Tom column, reports that famed pastry chef Ann Amernick is stepping down from “day-to-day involvement” at Palena, the Cleveland Park dining room she co-owns with Frank Ruta. … The Post’s Worth the Trip features looks at Peking Cheers (www.pekingcheers.com), 519 Quince Orchard Road, Gaithersburg, Md. www.washingtonpost.com … The Washington Times‘ Scott Haring reviews Scossa, 8 N. Washington St., Easton, Md. www.washtimes.com … From Ann Limpert’s blog from The Washingtonian (www.washingtonian.com): “K Street’s Brasserie Beck, Georgetown’s Hook, Adams Morgan’s Cafe Oaxaca (from the owners of Guajillo), and Ballston’s Vapiano all kicked off this past week. Next up, the new Majestic, which starts taking reservations this Tuesday (May 1), and Mio, which will officially open on Wednesday (May 2). … Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, OnTapOnline.com looks at Mexican eateries. … Nexus Technologies founders Curt and Cindy Anderson plan to open more than 60 D.C.-area locations of the Florida-based Dagwood’s Sandwich Shoppe chain, the Washington Business Journal reports. washington.bizjournals.com. … Lauded French chef Antoine Westermann has created and nurtured the menu at the new Cafe du Parc in the Willard InterContinental Washington, The James Beard Foundation website reports … The Counter Intelligence blog (melissamccart.wordpress.com) raves about The Brooklyn Inn in Boerum Hill. … The informative metrocurean.com blog looks at al fresco dining at Indigo Landing on Daingerfield Island.

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