Steph and Deehan here. We wanted to know what made our Boston-area James Beard finalists stand out. So we stopped by before these spots started getting lines out the door. First up is Merai, the small Thai-inspired bar in Brookline Village that's in the running for best new bar.

California nominations included Jon Yao, of Kato Los Angeles and Daniel Castillo of Heritage Barbecue in San Juan Capistrano.

Though Naples chef Kayla Pfeiffer was not included as a James Beard finalist this year, she has a different goal to crush this year.