James Beard award finalists

Et tu, Hugh? Edward Lee, a contestant on the last Top Chef series, is in the final five chefs up for Best Chef Southeast for his work at 610 Magnolia in Louisville, while Hugh Acheson, a judge on the last Top Chef series, is one of the other four. Acheson cooks at Five and Ten in Athens.

And while we're on the subject, no: No N.C. chef made it, and the only S.C. one is Craig Deihl of Cypress in Charleston.

He joins Linton Hopkins of Atlanta's Restaurant Eugene and Joseph Lenn of The Barn at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tenn., as the final five.

Up for Best New Restaurant is a festival of one-word-namers: AQ in San Francisco, Fiola in Washington, D.C., Isa and Tertulia in New York and Next in Chicago.

Rising Star Chef finalists are Dave Beran of Next; Daniel Bowien of Mission Chinese Food in
San Francisco; Thomas McNaughton of flour + water in San Francisco; Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar in New York; and Sue Zemanick of Gautreau’s in New Orleans.