New Southern Hot Plates

Baltimore, MD

The first Baltimore chef to win a James Beard Award, Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen is continuing his total renovation of the Charm City’s dining scene by partnering with the beloved Ivy Bookshop to open a literary café in Charles Village in October. The concept: sandwiches and pastries with sides of poetry readings and book signings.

Raleigh, NC

Scott Crawford ran kitchens at the luxe Sea Island and Umstead resorts before striking out on his own to critical acclaim, opening Standard Foods—a combination restaurant, grocery store, and butcher shop—in Raleigh in 2015. Now, after splitting with his business partner, he is applying his trademark rustic plates to a new space this October. —crawfordandsonrestaurant.com

New Orleans, LA

Once, Emeril Lagasse had only Emeril’s, his flagship New Orleans restaurant that opened in 1990 and made him a star. Now the oft-imitated elder statesman operates a dozen dining establishments across the country. This fall, he’s coming back home with Meril, which promises to summarize a colorful career with everything from wood-fired pizzas to ember-grilled meats. —emerilsrestaurants.com/meril

Washington, D.C.

Raised in the Bronx and Nigeria, chef Kwame Onwuachi has one wide-ranging résumé: At only twenty-six years old, he’s already a former Top Chef contestant and has cooked both for BP cleanup crews in the Gulf and at such temples of haute cuisine as Per Se and Eleven Madison Park in New York. He’s bringing his impressive background to a tasting menu at this eight-table restaurant in trendy Shaw, set to open in October. —theshawbijou.com