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Once again, Philadelphia is all over the list of nominees for the 2009 James Beard Awards, the most prestigious award a chef or restaurant could ever wish to receive, like some sort of food topping that’s all over another sort of food thing. We covered Philly’s place in the awards last year, and this year, there are an overwhelming amount of Phoodie regulars being considered. So sit back while we, your well-fed hosts, take you through the tastiest list the Internet has to offer.

Stephen Starr, Starr Restaurant Organization (Outstanding Restaurateur):So maybe our open relationship with Stephen Starr has led to some lonely nights spent spreading fake-tanner on our pillow and holding it close until we fall asleep, but the truth is, the boy is ours and he’s repping Philly pretty hard with his nomination for Outstanding Restaurateur. Among the newest restaurants under the Starr umbrella are guilty pleasure French bistro Parc and the superfluous and fledgling but ultimately pretty (at least) steakhouse Butcher & Singer. Outstanding.

Marc Vetri, Vetri (Outstanding Chef); Vetri (Outstanding Service) : Marc Vetri is no stranger to the Beard Awards, winning Best Mid-Atlantic Chef in 2005 and holding a nomination in the two years prior, and neither is his self-titled restaurant, which was first nominated for Outstanding Service in 2008. Loved by the Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Times, and Bon Appétit alike, Vetri’s down-home-yet-upscale-Italian dining experience has made a delicious impact on the food world and given Philadelphian phoodies another non-Starr related reason to boast.

Distrito (Best New Restaurant); Jose Garces, Amada (Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic): It’s been a good year for Jose Garces. After opening two new restaurants, winning Esquire’s Best New Restaurant, LaBan’s Restaurant of the Year, and, ahem, Phoodie’s Person of the Year, Garces is now up for both Best New Restaurant for his newest venture Distrito and Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic for his first, wildly successful, Amada. We’ve been crazy in love with Garces for a while now — check out our heavily-pictorialed review of Distrito and our video Q&A with the man himself.

Zahav (Best New Restaurant); Michael Solomonov, Zahav (Rising Star Chef of the Year); Michael Solomonov, Zahav (Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic): Zahav, second of Bon Appétit’s Hot Ten Summer Blockbusters, Phoodie’s Restaurant of the Year, and whose Fried Cauliflower was one of Food and Wine’s Best Dishes of 2008, is continuing to rake in the accolades with its three Beard nominations. Our lust for modern-Israeli masterpiece Zahav is apparent and very well-deserved.

Jonathan McDonald, Pub & Kitchen (Rising Star Chef of the Year): Jonathan McDonald, who sat down to talk with us about molecular gastronomy last year, is no spring chicken in the Philadelphia food scene. With a resume including Gilt, Marigold Kitchen, Brasserie Perrier, and Snackbar, McDonald was very well prepared to take on his role at Dan Clark’s Pub & Kitchen.

Charles “Chip” Roman, Blackfish (Rising Star Chef of the Year) (Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic) : We’ve already proclaimed our thoughts on the bad-assness that is Blackfish, and now they are echoed by not one but two Beard nominations. And that’s only because they don’t have an award for cutest chef in town. Because then they would be nominated for three. Because he’s cute.

Jim Burke, James (Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic): We’ve been coo-ing over Jim Buke even before he was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs of 2008 and we don’t intend to stop any time soon. James puts the “nail it” in Italian. Totally.

Elsewhere: Steve Cameron (Blue, Noble American Cookery), Michael DiBianca (Moro), and Marci Turney (Bindi) are all up for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. Kate Honeyman (Buddakan) and Frederick Ortega (Lacroix) are both up for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Lacroix is also nominated for its Wine Service, which we totally called in giving them a Best Classic Drinks honorable Phoodie mention. Good luck to all of the Beard Noms this year! We nom nom you all.