Billy Allin, Cakes & Ale

His Decatur restaurant is in its fifth year, and Allin’s menus are ever more poetic love letters to vegetables, with fresh combinations that make you notice the way, say, smoked potatoes, green beans, and extra-zingy horseradish cream bring fresh dimensions to a husky ribeye. Allin may be a South Carolina native, but he also possesses a rebel curiosity for global flavors—he uses a dash of saffron to heighten shrimp, or adds herby North African chermoula sauce to intensify an artful plate of cucumbers and avocado.