The James Beard Foundation just released the list of chef and restaurant semifinalists [PDF] for the nicknamed "Oscars of the food world." The nominees won't be announced until March. To give you a taste, we've listed the Outstanding Restaurant semifinalists after the jump; the PDF at the Beard site lists the rest—Outstanding Chef, Best New Restaurant, Rising Star Chef, etc.

Outstanding Restaurant

Alan Wong’s Restaurant, Honolulu
Babbo, NYC
Bacchanalia, Atlanta
Bern’s Steak House, Tampa, FL
Blackbird, Chicago
Boulevard, San Francisco
Brigtsen’s, New Orleans
Delfina, San Francisco
Everest, Chicago
Fore Street, Portland, ME
Greens, San Francisco
Hamersley's Bistro, Boston
Higgins Restaurant and Bar, Portland, OR
Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, AL
Jean Georges, NYC
Kinkead’s, Washington, D.C.
Lucia’s Restaurant, Minneapolis
Magnolia Grill, Durham, NC
Sanford, Milwaukee
Vidalia, Washington, D.C.