This Week in Park City's First Ever "Best of Dining Awards"
in Park City, Heber, Midway, Kamas.

Some people thought we were crazy to try this and maybe we are, but after months of trying to figure how to do this and over a month of balloting, the results follow. We received more than 1,500 votes which is a lot more than most local city and county elections and while a lot were certainly partisan, there's nothing red or blue about the results. Votes came from both locals and visitors. In some cases, just one or two votes were the difference between first and fourth so there were quite a few ties. They are indicated as such. It's all about personal taste and while you might consider some winners surprising, we did not alter any votes except where noted. We also threw out votes we knew were "stacked" by certain restaurants (We could tell by the e-mail addresses-duh!) In some cases there were votes for restaurants that of this date (June 23) aren't even open yet so we knew. Otherwise, here they are, in alphabetical order (mostly). Note: All quoted comments are from the voters.

Best Restaurant to be Seen At
River Horse Cafe (Park City) "If you can afford it you must be doing alright."
2. (Tie) Shabu and Fin " Best place to see and be seen at." (Park City)
Best Restaurant Not to be Seen At
Ok, this was a long shot and the results were as varied as the comments. "I wouldn't be caught dead in that place" to " I don't understand what the hell you're talking about" to "What are you nuts?" Let's just say the results pretty much centered around certain fast food places, one in particular and so we can all just get along, we decided to leave this one alone.

Best Biscuits & Gravy
No Worries Cafe & Grill (Summit Park) Depending on how much you can eat, this will fill a fairly large man. Comes with sausage, eggs, two huge biscuits and gravy and in certain cases is enough for two people. A staff favorite.
2. (tie) Morning Ray Cafe & Bakery (Park City) and Chick's Cafe (Heber)
Best of The Best:
Another tie: Chez Betty (Park City) The Mariposa (Deer Valley)
3. Fin

Best Breakfast
The Eating Establishment (Park City) "The Santa Fe omelet rocks!" "Service is sometimes spotty but the food hits the spot after a heavy Saturday night."
2. No Worries Cafe & Grill "Awesome Dutch oven breakfast." (Summit Park)
3. Morning Ray Cafe

Best Cheap Breakfast
No Worries Cafe (Summit Park) "Always good food and great prices."
2. (tie) Silver Summit Cafe (out there by Home Depot) and Main Street Deli (Park City)

Best Brunch
Stein Eriksen Lodge-The Glitretind (Deer Valley) "A little pricey but great ambiance, food and people watching."
2. Simon's (The Homestead, Midway)
3. Matty's Bistro (Zermatt Resort, Midway)

Best Burger
No Name Saloon (Park City)
2. Grubsteak Restaurant
3. (tie) Hapa Grill (Redstone Center, Kimall Junction) & Zoom Roadhouse Grill (Park City)

Best Chinese
Szechwan Chinese Kitchen (Kimball Junction) The hands down favorite. Always good, always quick and prices are very reasonable.
2. Cafe Trang (Park City)
3. China Panda (Park City)

Best Coffee
Starbucks (no particular location)
2. Java Cow Cafe & Bakery (Park City)
3. Ralph's Espresso (Kimball Junction)

Best Coffee Hangout
Starbucks (Kimball Junction)
2. Alpine Internet Cafe (Park City)
3. Bumps & Grinds (Heber)

Best Customer Service
This was a category we forgot to put on the ballot so the results were by write-in and it was a tie for Oishi Sushi Bar & Grill and Bangkok Thai (both Park City)

Best Dessert
Cafe Terigo (Park City) " I think their bread pudding is the best."
2.(tie) Grubsteak Restaurant "Bread Pudding is incredible." "All homemade, need I say more?" (Park City) & Snake Creek Grill (Heber)

Best Donuts
Chevron Station in Kamas (this was a write in and we had to go with this one)

Best Overall Ethnic
Bangkok Thai (Park City)
2. Reef's Kitchen (Kimball Junction)
3. Shabu (Park City)

Best Family Dining
Red Rock Junction (Redstone Center, Kimball Junction "Very family friendly and reasonably priced. Don't forget the beer." "This is easy. Kids like it. They serve adult beverages and yummy salads."
2. (tie) Grubsteak Restaurant "Consistently great food, nice casual atmosphere." (Park City), Wasatch Brew Pub "Great staff, location, price and variety." (Park City) and Good Thymes Bistro "Very child friendly and good food. A bit pricey for families but very good. "(Kimball Junction)

Best French
Jean Louis (Park City)
2. Chenez (Park City)
3. Chez Betty (Park City)
Best Italian (tie)
Grappa & Cisero's (both Park City) "Cisero's has great, affordable food, hearty portions and a kids's menu." "Grappa is expensive but has great food and ambiance."
3. (tie) Fuego Bistro & Pizzeria (Park City) & Ghidotti's (Redstone Center, Kimball Junction

Best Japanese
Oishi Sushi Bar & Grill (Park City)
2. Hapa Grill (Redstone Center, Kimball Junction
3. (tie) Shabu and Sushi Maru (both Park City)

Best Mexican
El Chubasco (Park City) "Cheap eats and the best salsa bar ever." This was also another hands down favorite. Get's really crowded at lunch time but the service is fast and there's rarely a wait for a table.
2. Loco Lizard (Kimball Junction)
3. Don Pedro's (Heber)

Best Non-Franchise Fast Food
El Chubasco (Park City)
2. (tie) Souperman (Park City) & Dick's Drive In "Best place to hang out with your friends, get a milk shake and a burger." (Kamas)

Best Restaurant with no particular influence
350 Main New American Brasserie "A wonderful place." "Best in the West." Chef Michael LeClerk has created one of the most imaginative menus in Park City and while pricey, always worth the treat.
2. Chez Betty
3. (tie) Snake Creek Grill "Worth the $25 in gas to drive to Heber." (Heber) & River Horse Cafe

Best Odd Menu
This category seemed to confuse the voters as to what we meant by "Odd". What we were getting at was the strangest variety of menu items that didn't seem to fit any particular category such as ethnic, southwestern, etc. There was no clear winner so we tossed the dice and they are The Spicy Lady (Heber), Irie (Park City) & The Spin Cafe (Heber) If you haven't eaten at any of these, check out their menus online and you'll get an idea of what we're talkin' about. www.spicylady.net, www. www.spincafe.net, www.irieparkcity.com.

Best Outside Views
The Glitretind, Stein Eriksen Lodge, Deer Valley " Great outside views of the mountains."
2. (tie) River Horse Cafe (Park City), The Stew Pot (Deer Valley) & Royal Street Cafe (Deer Valley)
The River Horse outside view comments were all regarding people watching on Main Street and especially during Arts Festival.

Best Pizza
Atlantic Pizza & Deli (Park City)
2. Davanza's (Park City)
3. Fuego Bistro & Pizzeria "Tastes most like the stuff we got in Venice." (Park City)

Best Ribs
Grubsteak Restaurant (Park City) "The Pork ribs are divine."
2.(tie) Spin Cafe "Some of the best I've ever had." (Heber), Bandits (Park City), & Spencer's Smokin' Grill (Park City)

Best Salad Bar
Grubsteak Restaurant (Park City) "One of the last great salad bars." Over 35 items along with soup and sandwich stuff during lunch. Hard to beat!
2. Ruby Tuesday (Kimball Junction)
3. Simon's (The Homestead, Midway)

Best Sandwich
Leger's (Park City and Kimball Junction) The sandwiches are cheap but HUGE!
2. Clockwork Cafe (Park City and Silver Creek)
3. Back Door Deli (Park City) "The #4 tuna on wheat is fantastic."

Best Seafood (tie)
350 Main New American Brasserie (Park City) & Deer Valley Seafood Buffet.
3. Blind Dog Sushi

Best Soup
Souperman (Park City) "Not only are all the items healthy-all natural ingredients, no thickeners, additives or salt, the containers are "green" made of corn and sugar. Even the spoons are made from corn." "Hands down this is a neat place to get home-made soups that are tasty and so filling. I love this place! It's a great value too!"
2. Windy Ridge Cafe (Park City)
3. The Stew Pot (Deer Valley)

Best Southwestern
Chimayo (Park City)
2. Loco Lizard (Kimball Junction)
3. Bajio Mexican Grill (Kimball Junction)

Best Sports Bar
Doolan's Sports Bar & Grill (Park City) Has more TV's than Circuit City, good menu and with a private club attached you can get real drinks!" "They show everything mostly in High Def."
2. O'Shucks Bar & Grill (Park City)
3. Red Rock Junction (Redstone Center, Kimball Junction)

Best Steak
Prime Steakhouse (Park City)
2. Ruth's Chris (Park City) "If you don't mind taking out a second mortgage on your house!"
3. Grub Steak Restaurant (Park City)

Best Stew
The Stew Pot (Deer Valley) "Who else but Danny can cook up such good stew."
2. Souperman (Park City)
3. Snake Creek Grill (Heber)

Best Sushi
Oishi Sushi Bar & Grill (Park City) Always fresh and delicious. Eddie is the best!" "I've travelled the world eating sushi and Oishi is without a doubt the best sushi restaurant in the United States." "Eddie and his staff at Oishi are first class in customer service from the time you walk in the door until you walk out. The never say no when a person asks for something NOT on the menu."
2. Sushi Maru (Park City)
3. Hapa Grill (Redstone Center, Kimball Junction)

Best Vegetarian
Souperman (Park City)
2. Good Karma " Great menu. Can always please the vegetarian or vegan requests-Great." (Park City)
3. Fairweather Natural Foods (Park City)

Best Vietnamese
Cafe Trang (Park City)
2. Taste of Saigon (Park City)
Best Wine List
Blind Dog Sushi
2. (tie) Fin (Park City) & Chez Betty (Park City)

This Week In Park City staff comments
We had a category called "Best Forgotten" which was a bit vague. The best comment on this was the following "Did you forget any??? Best cuisine prepared by aliens? Best Food without MSG? Best Alpaca Burgers? Prettiest table cloths!" We also forgot "Bakeries" and enough votes and comments came in for Easy Street Bakery, Park City-"Best Bakery, best selection."

Final Note: There are approximately 130 restaurants in the area from which to choose, some expensive, some moderate and the surprise was that only a handful received no votes and most of those were fast food places which weren't on our ballot to begin with. In addition a few that received votes have been out of business for a few years or recently closed their doors:Wabo House, The Spotted Frog, Mikado, Fiore, Bad Ass Coffee, and for those of you who have been around a while-Waterbed's also known as Texas Red's.