Gourmet selection of new restaurants

When the late-summer bounty begins to roll in from the fields, restaurateurs will roll out a crop of new eateries (Related Item: Hold the comfort food: Fine dining returns  Some opened over the summer and are getting up to speed, while others will test their wings between now and the holidays. Among the notable players: Food Network star Bobby Flay, bringing Southwestern cuisine to Las Vegas, and New York's Danny Meyer, bringing fine dining to an art museum. To whet your appetite, USA TODAY's Jerry Shriver offers some places worth checking out (opening dates are estimates):

Atlanta

Chef Kevin Rathbun (Buckhead Diner) has opened his own signature modern American restaurant, Rathbun's, in Inman Park. (404-524-8280; rathbunsrestaurant.com

Atlantic City

The Tropicana Casino and Resort will open a $275 million Havana-themed complex called The Quarter in late October, featuring 10 restaurants, including The Palm steakhouse; the first branch of the New York Italian restaurant Carmine's; and The Sound of Philadelphia, a dining/entertainment venture from famed R&B songwriters/producers Gamble & Huff. (800-843-8767;

Boston

Washington, D.C.-based Robert Kinkead (Kinkead's) will open the contemporary American-themed Sibling Rivalry with his brother David (Boston's Kingfish Hall), in the South End area in October. (No phone yet.)

Chef Marissa Iocco (Bricco) will open Umbria, a five-level Italian restaurant featuring Umbrian cuisine, in October in the Financial District. (No phone yet.)

Chicago

Chefs Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris, formerly of The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton, will open the casual Prairie Grass Caféin suburban Northbrook in early October. (847-205-4433)

Roland Liccioni (Les Nomades) and Arun Sampanthavivat (Arun's) have opened the French-Vietnamese-themed Le Lan in the River North area. (312-280-9100)

Chef Gabriel Viti (Gabriel's) has opened Miramar Bistro, offering French-Cuban fare, in suburban Highwood, Ill. (847-433-1078)

Trio, famous for its cutting-edge cooking under Grant Achatz, has changed chefs and just reopened as Trio Atelier, with Dale Levitski serving "alternative French" fare in suburban Evanston. (847-733-8746; trio-restaurant.com

Detroit

Seldom Blues, a 300-seat supper club offering French fare and jazz/big-band music, has opened in the GM Renaissance Center, overlooking the Detroit River. (313-567-7301; seldomblues.com

Houston

Strip House, a branch of the popular New York steakhouse, is scheduled to open by October near the Toyota Center. (713-659-6000)

Las Vegas

Branches of three well-known restaurants will open in Caesars Palace by October: Mesa Grill, a version of Bobby Flay's New York-based contemporary Southwestern restaurant (702-731-7731; bobbyflay.com; Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, an outpost of Joe's Stone Crab in Miami, opening in the Forum Shops (no phone yet; caesars.com and Sushi Roku, a version of the Los Angeles contemporary Japanese restaurant, also opening in the Forum Shops (702-733-7373; caesars.com

Three more elite eateries have just joined the roster of the MGM Grand Hotel: Shibuya offers "traditional modern" Japanese cuisine and a beverage list with 60 sakes (702-891-3001; mgmgrand.com  Diego offers traditional Mexican cuisine and 75 tequilas (702-891-3200; mgmgrand.com  and Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill offers his trademark pizzas and bistro fare (702-891-3000; mgmgrand.com

Todd English's Olives at the Bellagio has just reopened after undergoing extensive renovations. (702-693-8181; toddenglish.com

Los Angeles

Husband-and-wife team Alex and Madeline Maghsuidi have opened Asian fusion eatery Blue Bamboo in West Hollywood. (310-854-0622)

Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone has designed the interior for The Central, opening in September in West Hollywood and serving contemporary California cuisine. (310-659-0092)

New York

When the Museum of Modern Art reopens Nov. 20 after a 30-month rebuilding project, it will include a fine-dining space called The Modern and two cafés, all created and run by restaurateur Danny Meyer (Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe). The Modern will be fully open to the public in January. (No phone yet.)

Laurent Tourondel (BLT Steak) goes aquatic in November with BLT Fish, a three-floor fish shack/fine dining combo in Chelsea. (No phone yet.)

The Esca team of Mario Batali/Joe Bastianich/David Pasternack will explore the fare of southern France with Bistro Duvent, opening in the theater district in November. (No phone yet.)

Restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow (China Grill) will open the high-end Japanese eatery Ono in October in the new Gansevoort Hotel in the red-hot Meatpacking District. (Not yet taking reservations.)

Gray Kunz's (Lespinasse) Cafe Gray in the new Time Warner Center is scheduled to open later this month and will offer French dishes with Eastern European accents. (212-823-6338)

Philadelphia

Restaurateur Stephen Starr has just opened two more places in his dozen-strong empire: Washington Square, offering global street food, with Marcus Samuelsson (New York's Aquavit) as executive chef (215-592-7787; washingtonsquare-restaurant.com and Continental Midtown, a branch of his popular jet-set lounge/tapas bar/diner in Old City (215-567-1800). Another Starr project, Barclay Prime steakhouse, will open in October and will serve a $100 cheese steak made with Kobe beef (215-732-7560).

Seattle

Chef/restaurateur Tom Douglas (Dahlia Lounge) has just opened Greek/Mediterranean-themed Lola in the newly refurbished Hotel Andra. (206-441-1430; tomdouglas.com

Washington, D.C.

Eric Ziebold, a veteran of Thomas Keller's French Laundry, will head the kitchen at CityZen, a contemporary American restaurant with $70-$90 fixed-price menus opening in mid-September in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. (202-787-6868; mandarinoriental.com

Woodland Hills, Calif.

Hawaii-based Roy Yamaguchi will add the 32nd restaurant to his growing empire of Hawaiian-fusion eateries with the opening of Roy's Restaurant in November. (No phone yet; roysrestaurant.com