Culinarily speaking, St. Paul is absolutely white-hot right now.

It seems like every chef in the Twin Cities is seeking restaurant space in the Saintly City, and many have already made their plans public.

We thought we’d run a little scorecard of the progress of the restaurants under construction — new restaurants and those undergoing major remodels — in St. Paul right now. Here, in as chronological of an order as we could muster, are 17 places we’re excited to eat at, most of which are on the verge of opening or will likely open in the next few months.

SEPTEMBER

Herbie’s on the Park: This new tribute restaurant to the late Herb Brooks opened Sept. 24 in the historic Minnesota Club building downtown. Two fireplaces, a marble bar and a very classic upscale tavern menu should please Minnesota Wild fans and food-lovers alike. 317 Washington St., St. Paul; 651-726-1700; herbiesonthepark.com

Stewart’s (formerly 128 Cafe): Chef/owner Max Thompson wasn’t intending to change the name when he closed the 128 for renovations this summer, but the more plans he and his staff made, the more it didn’t feel like the same restaurant anymore. Instead, Stewart’s is a throwback to a former incarnation of the garden-level space on Cleveland, a more casual neighborhood cafe. With good cocktails. Thompson quietly opened the revamped spot last week, but the restaurant won’t be serving its full lunch and dinner menus for probably another week. 128 Cleveland Ave., St. Paul; 651-645-4128; facebook.com/stewartsminnesota

OCTOBER

Fitzgerald’s: Recently departed steak house Salt Cellar is being remade into Fitzgerald’s on Cathedral Hill. The atmosphere will be much more casual, as will the typical pub fare — the ownership promises “fun, classic bar food” like nachos, wings, burgers and pizza. The bar will be bigger, too. The kitchen will be run by Graham Messenger, and the restaurant manager will be Joe Paton, both of whom worked most recently at Ox Cart Ale House, also owned and operated by Eagle Street’s Joe Kasel and Kevin Geisen. The opening is slated for mid-October. 173 N. Western Ave., St. Paul; 651-219-4013

Augustine’s Bar and Bakery: The folks behind the Happy Gnome are turning a former laundromat into a quirky new concept: a bar and bakery. The 70-seat restaurant will serve Mediterranean food for lunch and dinner, and coffee and pastries in the morning. There will be a full bar, including 40 craft beers, which is what the Happy Gnome folks are known for. They’re shooting for an October opening. 1668 Selby Ave., St. Paul; 651-447-3729; augustinesmn.com

Tori Ramen: This spot on Victoria Street and Selby Avenue will be serving the hottest trend in soup, but without the usual pork broth. Tori Ramen, owned by Jason Dorweiler and Asiya Persaud, will focus on fowl-based broths and produce. Their Facebook page said they’re shooting for an Oct. 15 opening. 161 N. Victoria St., St. Paul; toriramen.com

El Burrito Cafe expansion: An additional room at El Burrito Mercado that will seat 30 people will be open before the end of October. La Placita Room will feature a lunch buffet on weekdays and a Mexican brunch with Michelada specials on the weekend. The room will also be available for private events and classes. The patio will be open this fall for drinks and standing-only tables, but it won’t be ready for full-service dining until Cinco de Mayo 2017. 175 Cesar Chavez St., St. Paul; 651-227-2192; elburritomercado.com

NOVEMBER

Pajarito: The former Glockenspiel space on West Seventh is being turned into a cheffed-up Mexican restaurant by Stephan Hesse, most recently of Libertine, and Tyge Nelson, most recently of Chino Latino. They promise affordable, scratch-made Mexican food (including the tortillas, natch), sometime in November. 605 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; pajaritostp.com

J. Selby’s: This “plant-based” (read: vegan) restaurant shares a building with Tori Ramen. The menu will be full of familiar favorites, just without the meat. Owner and retired physician Matt Clayton promises you won’t miss it. Construction is underway, and the website says they’re hoping to open sometime in November. 169 N. Victoria St., St. Paul; 651-519-5831; jselbys.com

Bottle Rocket: The former Scusi is being rebranded and reconcepted to something that should seem familiar to patrons of other Blue Plate restaurants like Highland Grill, Longfellow Grill and many others in the Twin Cities. The Blue Plate folks have a lot on their plates (pun intended), though, and are hoping to open Mercury Dining Room and Rail in the former Brasserie Zentral spot in downtown Minneapolis first. Thanksgiving-ish was their best guess. 1806 St. Clair Ave., St. Paul; 651-690-2102

LATE FALL

Brunson’s: This gastro-pub-type spot in the former Schwietz Saloon on Payne Avenue was just beginning construction when we last spoke to excited new owners Tom LaFleche and his wife, Molly Murphy LaFleche. Tom LaFleche is the former bar manager at Shamrock’s in St. Paul. The couple is hoping to open by late fall. 956 Payne Ave., St. Paul; facebook.com/BrunsonsPub

Babani’s 2: The beloved downtown Kurdish restaurant is opening a second outpost in the former Wabasha Street Deli. Owner Rodwan Nakshabandi said renovations are taking longer than he expected, but they will still be open sometime this fall. 32 E. Fillmore Ave., St. Paul; babanis.com

Revival St. Paul: What with an expansion of the original Southern-food mecca in Minneapolis and a new concession stand at U.S. Bank Stadium, one can hardly be upset that the former Cheeky Monkey space isn’t quite ready yet. Still, we’re impatient. Owner Nick Rancone said they’re “cruising along” — the building is almost done. Late fall was the best answer he could give us. 525 Selby Ave., St. Paul; revivalmpls.com

Lulu’s project: After Lulu’s on Selby closed in the spring, owner Rouzbeh Toliati signed a lease for the former Acme Deli spot on St. Clair. Plans are for a 35- to 40-seat Mediterranean-American restaurant. The name is TBD. Toliati said renovations are taking longer than expected, but they’re still hoping to open before the end of the year. 1552 St. Clair Ave., no website or phone number yet

DECEMBER

Mac’s Fish and Chips: This little fish and chips favorite is quickly turning into a local chain, with an eatery in South Minneapolis, the original on Larpenteur and Hamline in St. Paul, and the newest expected to open in December on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul. The Flanagan family also has a Mac’s concession stand at Target Field in Minneapolis. 300 Snelling Ave., St. Paul; macsfishchipsstrips.com

2017

Keg and Case market: Though this development is months away, we are very excited about the prospect of a locally based food market and several restaurants that will be taking shape in an outbuilding of the landmark Schmidt brewery on West Seventh Street. Revival and Corner Table owners Nick Rancone and Thomas Boemer are opening a new concept there, in which Rancone says the duo will cook mostly out of a “beautiful centerpiece hearth.” Rancone promises it will be their “most dramatic concept yet.” Hola Arepa will also open a second location in the market, and Five Watt coffee has signed on, too.

DATE UNKNOWN

The Lexington: We’ve heard November bandied about for the much-anticipated reopening of this St. Paul institution, but we’re definitely not holding our breath. Delay after delay, due to the age and condition of the building, have plagued owners and St. Paul boys Josh Thoma, Jack Riebel and Kevin Fitzgerald, but we’ve also heard repeatedly that they are committed to the project. 1096 Grand Ave., St Paul

The Glensman: We’ve deduced that the folks who were planning to open in the former Cat Man Do space near Macalester College have moved the project to West Seventh Street, but we haven’t been able to reach them for confirmation. Your guess is as good as ours on an opening date, but signs in the window say it’s “coming soon.” 271 W. Seventh St., St. Paul; no website or phone number yet