The holiday season is now upon us, even though we had to wait until almost Halloween this year for summer to release us from its steamy grip. Ironically, November also brings a merciful ending to another miserable season that went on too long: our endless presidential election campaign.
Earlier this year, some of you may recall that I suggested in this space that this country needed some kind of legislation/regulation that would forbid a presidential election from beginning until the year of the actual election. Nothing has happened lately to make me change my mind. And regardless of what you think about the November 8th result, I believe just about everybody would agree 18 excruciating months is far too long. Enough already!
That’s why I’ve got a bit of trepidation about the favor I’m about to ask you. Yes, we want your vote. Not in anything remotely political, of course — after this election, I’m taking a sabbatical myself from politics — but a vote delivered in much more pleasurable circumstances.
I’d be thrilled if you would take the time to participate in our annual Memphis magazine Readers Restaurant Poll, the results of which will be published in our February 2017 issue.
Here at Memphis, we’ve been doing our Restaurant Poll for what seems like an eternity. Actually, that’s an exaggeration, but not by much; our first such mini-survey appeared in the July 1983 issue. Indeed, we re-ran our first-ever “Dinner at Eight” feature from that issue this past February (you can check it out at memphismagazine.com), in which long-time dining critic Tom Martin made his very first picks of the best eight restaurants in town.
To say that the Memphis culinary scene was different 33 years ago is a considerable understatement; that scene bore no resemblance to what today’s Memphis chefs have to offer, in every part of the community. Quality restaurants were so few and far between during the 1980s that there were years when Tom Martin could only muster five or six decent establishments for his list, making the “Dinner at Eight” title a numerical non-sequitur.
Only one of those eight 1983 best restaurants is still in business today: Chez Philippe in The Peabody. The other seven — Swiss Manor, Justine’s, Bradford House, Vieux Chalet, Palm Court, René’s, and River Terrace — are all long gone. But they’re not forgotten by those of us lucky enough to have dined there. More importantly, they helped build the foundation upon which today’s amazingly diverse and highly professional food community is based. Today, Tom Martin (now a business professor at The College of Charleston, btw) would have little trouble titling his favorite list as “Dinner at Forty.”
The readers of this magazine are among this city’s most knowledgeable and discriminating gourmets. That’s why, for decades now, local restaurateurs have viewed being a winner or finalist in one of the survey’s 44 categories — check them out on page 94 — as something very special. That’s because the Memphis magazine Readers Restaurant Poll has been something of a gold standard among such opinion surveys in this marketplace.
No similar survey, in fact, better reflects what the “foodies” of Memphis think of the people and places that shape our culinary scene. Participation is on-line only — again, at memphismagazine.com — and the polls open at midnight on November 1st, closing at 11:59 pm on November 30th. Voting is strictly monitored to avoid ballot stuffing — for example, one must fill out at least 50 percent of the ballot in order to be counted — and as always, no advertising considerations are involved in the determination of category winners. There are drop-box listings for all categories; our staff meticulously includes the top ten winners from every category in the previous year’s poll, as well as newcomers who have arrived on the scene in 2016. And of course, you’re always free to write in any candidate you think we’ve missed.
That’s about it. Now cure your national election blues and vote for something that will actually make you feel good about casting your ballot. And while you’re at it, don’t forget that Memphis magazine gift subscriptions make ideal holiday gifts; they are gifts that keep on giving, twelve times a year, for just $15, along with famous Dinstuhl’s chocolate. Check all this out on line as well, or check out the promotional offer on page 81 of this issue.
Here’s to a Happy Thanksgiving for all! And while food is front and center, don’t forget to vote!
