Best Pizza
Gold -- Memphis Pizza Café
Silver -- Old Venice
Bronze -- (tie) Boscos , Fire-n-Stone Pizzeria , and Pete & Sam's
*No contest with the foodies, either. Memphis Pizza Cafe wins easily, though we got several votes for Garibaldi's from our gourmand group. A first for the locally owned gang.
Best Mexican/Tex-Mex
Gold -- El Mezcal
Silver -- (tie) El Porton , Salsa
Bronze -- Taqueria la Guadalapana
*The buzz is great about Las Tortugas Deli Mexicana. Those who've been say the ingredients are the freshest in town, and that the Mexico City Pork Shoulder is not-to-be-missed.
Best Italian
Gold -- Ronnie Grisanti & Sons
Silver -- Ciao Bella
Bronze -- (tie) Bari , Café Toscana
*Ronnie Grisanti wins gold from both sets of voters.
Best Chinese
Gold -- P. F. Chang's
Silver -- (tie) Asian Palace Express , Formosa
Bronze -- A-Tan
*Lobster King easily took this category. The Cleveland Avenue restaurant has won the hearts of our panel, but not yet those of the readers.
Best Japanese
Gold -- Sekisui
Silver -- Benihana
Bronze -- Pacific Rim
*Votes scattered to the four winds for this category. Top mentions are Pacific Rim, Osaka, Sekisui, and Edo.
Best Indian
Gold -- India Palace
Silver -- Mayuri Indian Cuisine
Bronze -- Bombay House
*Everyone agrees: India Palace is the best.
Best Vietnamese
Gold -- Saigon Le
Silver -- Lotus
Bronze -- Pho Saigon
*What takes bronze from the readers gets gold from the panel, as Pho Saigon runs away with this one.
Best Thai
Gold -- (tie) Bangkok Alley , Sawaddii
Silver -- Bhan Thai
Bronze -- Jasmine
*Again, bronze with readers, gold with the panel, as Jasmine wins easily.
Best Home cooking
Gold -- (tie) Blue Plate , Cupboard
Silver -- Patrick's
Bronze -- Dixie Café
*Must be those fried green tomatoes. The Cupboard is a favorite with everyone.
Best French/Continental
Gold -- Paulette's
Silver -- La Tourelle
Bronze -- Café Society
*Erling Jensen The Restaurant was the clear choice from our panel, with River Oaks bringing in a good many votes as well.
Best Burger
Gold -- Huey's
Silver -- Belmont
Bronze -- Earnestine and Hazel's
*The people have spoken. You can't beat Huey's, an easy win in both polls.
Best Steak
Gold -- Folk's Folly
Silver -- Buckley's
Bronze -- Ruth's Chris
*Our panel was torn between Flemings, Ruth's Chris, and Folk's Folly, while readers had no problem ranking our local steakhouses.
Best Seafood
Gold -- The Half Shell
Silver -- Tsunami
Bronze -- Blue Fish
*The Blue Fish reeled in our panel, though Tsunami has a loyal following as well. Guess Cooper-Young's the real winner here.
Best Barbecue Sandwich
Gold -- Corky's
Silver -- The Bar-B-Q Shop
Bronze -- Central BBQ
*Head on over to Central BBQ for the panel's favorite Bluff City staple.
Best BBQ Ribs
Gold -- Corky's
Silver -- Rendezvous
Bronze -- Central BBQ
*The Rendezvous wins this one with a scant few dissenters.
Best Service
Gold -- Corky's
Silver -- Houston's
Bronze -- Rendezvous
*Erling Jensen scores an easy victory in this critical category. What's great food without great service?
Best People-Watching
Gold -- Houston's
Silver -- (tie) The Flying Saucer , Peabody Hotel & Lobby
Bronze -- Grove Grill
*The historic charm of the Peabody Lobby (along with a chance to spot a celebrity or even your mayor in boxing shorts) proves too formidable a foe for the other spots in town.
Best Salads
Gold -- Houston's
Silver -- Café 1912
Bronze -- (tie) Amerigo , Boscos
*Must be those house-made dressings and the accompanying cheese toast -- Houston's is an all-around fave.
Best Latenight (after 10 p.m.)
Gold -- Belmont Grill
Silver -- Huey's
Bronze -- Swig
*Boscos is the panel's latenight spot of choice. Must be the Flaming Stone beer and pizza combination. Perfection.
Best Fries (non-chain)
Gold -- (tie) Huey's , Young Avenue Deli
Silver -- Houston's
Bronze -- Belmont Grill
*A different vote from almost everyone, with favorites ranging from Encore to the Young Avenue Deli. Fries are a deeply personal choice, we know.
Best Outdoor Dining
Gold -- Boscos
Silver -- Café Ole
Bronze -- Stella
*The stately Inn at Hunt Phelan garnered an impressive number of votes. The grounds and historic home-turned-restaurant and B&B are a magnificent setting, we agree.
Best Brunch
Gold -- Owen Brennan's
Silver -- The Peabody
Bronze -- Paulette's
*La Tourelle is the go-to eatery for mimosas and other fancy brunch fare.
Best Breakfast
Gold -- (tie) Blue Plate , Brother Juniper's
Silver -- Perkins
Bronze -- Barksdale
*Brother Juniper ekes out a win by a handful of votes over the Blue Plate.
Best Deli
Gold -- (tie) Bogie's , Fino's
Silver -- Lenny's
Bronze -- Young Avenue Deli
*Bogie's is a clear fave, with no other deli getting more than one vote.
Best Place to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
Gold -- La Baguette
Silver -- Paulette's
Bronze -- Dinstuhl's
*Where don't they like to have dessert? Votes all over the map, from downtown's Cheesecake Corner to East Memphis' Lulu Grille. Can you really go wrong with sweets anywhere?
Most Underrated
Gold -- (tie) Half Shell , Mortimer's
Silver -- Jarrett's
Bronze -- (tie) Café Society , Café Toscana
*Jarrett's took the easy lead for our panel.
Best Place to Close the Deal
Gold -- Folk's Folly
Silver -- Houston's
Bronze -- Stella
*Erling Jensen seems to be the favorite handshake and contract spot, with River Oaks a close second.
Worth the Drive
Gold -- Timbeaux's -- Hernando, MS
Silver -- (tie) City Grocery -- Oxford, MS, Madidi -- Clarksdale, MS
Bronze -- (tie) Bonne Terre -- Nesbit, MS, KC's -- Cleveland, MS
*An almost identical restaurant selection from both sets of voters, with the exception of a few votes for Bozo's Barbecue in Mason, Tennessee. One voter suggested Ground Zero in Clarksdale, Mississippi, with the instructions "drive real fast," which we do not recommend. Ever met a Mississippi state trooper?
Restaurant We Miss the Most
Gold -- Justine's
Silver -- Anderton's
Bronze -- Café Samovar
*Justine's will forever be the lost darling of the Memphis restaurant scene, as both groups agreed on the first-place winner. We got one vote for Wally Joe -- so someone had the inside scoop on that in November.
Best Category We Left Out
Gold -- Best Sushi
Silver -- Best Fried Chicken
Bronze -- Best Hot Wings
*No surprise, our food and wine groups want a best Bring Your Own Bottle category, highlighting restaurants that allow outside wine to be brought in for a small corkage fee. We doubt that it's a concern for too many others, though. However, the number of readers clamoring for Best Fried Chicken has been high for the last two years. Look for that category in next year's poll.
Best Upscale Chain Dining
Gold -- Bonefish
Silver -- Ruth's Chris
Bronze -- P.F. Chang's
*We love our red meat around here (heck, any meat, for that matter), and Ruth's Chris took the gold from our panel.
Best Memphis Chef
Gold -- Rick Farmer -- Jarrett's
Silver -- Erling Jensen -- Erling Jensen The Restaurant
Bronze -- José Gutierrez -- Encore
*Erling Jensen nabs the gold , with Wally Joe and Ben Vaughn (River Oaks) getting an equal number of votes for silver.
Best New Restaurant
Gold -- Meditrina
Silver -- Encore
Bronze -- River Oaks
*No contest, as River Oaks wins easily, with no other restaurant getting more than a vote or two.
Best Restaurant
Gold -- Jarrett's
Silver -- Jim's Place East
Bronze -- Paulette's
*And finally, the one we've all been waiting for. And our experts say the winner is . . . River Oaks. They must be doing something right there, as this newly opened fine dining establishment has won the hearts of foodies across the city. Congratulations.
