My Contributions to The Improper Bostonian’s 2015 Boston’s Best Issue

Cover image courtesy of The Improper Bostonian

The Improper Bostonian just published its annual awards issue, recognizing local standouts in categories including Arts & Entertainment, Bars & Clubs, Beauty & Health, Fashion, People & Places, and the one I helped shape for the second year running, Boston's Best Food & Drink. I’m glad to see my work expanding the range of award categories in 2014 survived into this year. While I helped select this year’s winners, they are not all my first choices (though I agree with the vast majority of them). My other contribution was doing the write-ups for the following winners:

STANDOUT INDIVIDUALS, DISHES AND RESTAURANTS
Banh Mi: Pho Viet’s
Bartender: Ran Duan of the Baldwin Bar at Sichuan Garden II
Bread: Clear Flour Bread
Breakfast: South End Buttery
Chinese: Best Little Restaurant
Deli: Moody’s Delicatessen & Provisions
Dim Sum: Winsor Dim Sum Cafe
Gluten-Free: Myers + Chang
Gyros: Zo
Ice Cream: Christina’s Homemade Ice Cream
Indian: Dosa-n-Curry
Italian: Erbaluce
Japanese: O Ya
Mexican: Angela’s
Patio: River Bar
Pie: Petsi Pies
Ramen: Yume Wo Katare
Restaurant of the Year: Sarma
Soup Dumplings: Dumpling Café
Spanish: Toro
Steakhouse: Grill 23 & Bar
Tacos: Dorado Tacos y Cemitas
Thai: Cha Yen Thai Cookery
West African: Teranga

NEIGHORHOOD STANDOUTS
Allston: The Glenville Stops
Back Bay: Deuxave
Brighton: MDM Noodles
Brookline: Fairsted Kitchen
Central Square: Viale
Dorchester: Anh Hong
East Boston: Rincon Limeño
East Cambridge: Loyal 9
Harvard Square: Alden & Harlow
Newton: Sycamore
North End: Neptune Oyster
Porter Square: Giulia
Roxbury: Merengue
South Boston: Moonshine 152
South End: Coppa
Union Square: Casa B

Congratulations, everybody, and thanks for all the great eating, drinking and hospitality!

My Contributions to The Improper Bostonian's Boston's Best Food & Drink 2014

Photo courtesy of The Improper Bostonian

The Improper Bostonian's 2014 Boston's Best Awards issue just came out. I encouraged the editors to create a bunch of new award categories in the Food & Drink section, helped select the winners, and did the write-ups for half of them, including many places I've reviewed in recent years. The following were my contributions:

Barbecue: Sweet Cheeks Q
Bartender: Katie Emmerson at The Hawthorne
Burger: Craigie on Main
Butcher Shop: M.F. Dulock Pasture-Raised Meats
Cheese: Formaggio Kitchen
Coffee Shop: Thinking Cup
Comeback: Delux Cafe
Deli: Moody's Delicatessen & Provisions
Dessert: Clio
Diner: My Diner
Dinner with a View: Sam's at Louis Boston
Food Truck: Fugu Truck
Greek: Esperia Grill
Hidden Gem: Gene's Chinese Flatbread
Hot Dog: Que Padre Taqueria y Mas
Indian: India Quality
Italian: Prezza
Lobster Roll: Belle Isle Seafood
Mexican: El Centro
Neighborhoods -- Back Bay: The Salty Pig
Neighborhoods -- Brookline: Fairsted Kitchen
Neighborhoods -- Cambridge, Porter Square: Giulia
Neighborhoods -- Davis Square: Posto
Neighborhoods -- Downtown Crossing / Fi-Di: Marliave
Neighborhoods -- East Boston: Rino's Place
Neighborhoods -- Fenway / Kenmore: Audubon Boston
Neighborhoods -- Fort Point: Pastoral
Neighborhoods -- North End: Neptune Oyster
Neighborhoods -- South Boston: Cafe Porto Bello
Neighborhoods -- South End: Merrill & Co.
Neighborhoods -- Union Square: Bronwyn
New Restaurant: Alden & Harlow
Pho: Pho Le Vietnamese Cuisine, Dorchester
Pop-Up: The Future of Junk Food
Salads: Stephi's in Southie
Sandwich: Cutty's
Sommelier: Theresa Paopao at Ribelle
Spanish: Toro
Thai: Thai North
Torta: Tenoch Mexican
Unwelcome Trend: Earsplitting Noise in Dining Rooms
Vegetarian/Vegan: Root
Welcome Trend: Shareable Plates