The First Ever Charleston Food Blogger Restaurant Awards

            The Charleston Food Blogger Awards is the brain child of one of Charleston's most prolific bloggers, Scott of Charleston Food Bloggers (http://www.charlestonfoodbloggers.com/). The idea is to give an alternate take on the top restaurants in town. Bringing together several of Charleston's best food bloggers to vote on their favorites in various categories and regions. The regions are divided into Downtown (Peninsular Charleston), West of the Ashley (James and John's Island, Folly Beach, West Ashley), East of the Cooper (Mt Pleasant, Daniel Island, IOP, Sullivan's Island) and the North Area (North Charleston, Goose Creek, Summerville).
            In addition to Foodmancing the Girl and Charleston Food Bloggers, the voters are Foodie Fix(http://www.foodbuzz.com/foodies/us/south_carolina/charleston/profile/foodiefix) Hungry Meets Healthy (http://www.hungrymeetshealthy.com/) and Red Head Recipes (http://redheadrecipes.com/?p=13476). This assembled brain trust of foodie fanaticism settled down to the arduous task of deciding on the best of the best in Charleston dining.
           Before I get into the awards themselves, I would like to give a special thanks to Cork Bistro in North Charleston. In addition to providing a great location for the event, they also put together a beautiful three course menu for us. Your hospitality and wonderful food were greatly appreciated! I would also like to thank our special guests, singer-songwriter Jeremy Currant (http://www.jeremycurrent.com/), and Chasity and her husband from the great style blog Look, Linger, Love (http://looklingerlove.blogspot.com/)

For the first set of awards, we start off with some individual picks of the contributing Bloggers:

Best wine bar and small plates: (From Foodie Fix)
Bin 152 is a great intimate spot for a glass of wine and a little charcuterie. A fun place to experiment with new wines and interesting pairings.

Best place to get "pre" engaged: (From Foodmancing the Girl)
 Il Cortile Del Re has long been the most romantic restaurant in Charleston, and the type of place a girl might jump to the conclusion you are about to ask her to marry you.

Best Brunch Spots: (From Red Head Recipes)
Downtown- Hominy Grill
West of the Ashley- There Little Birds Cafe
East of the Cooper- Crave
The North Area- Alex's Restaurant

Best way to order frozen yogurt: (From Hungry Meets Healthy)
Go to Menchies in Mount Pleasant and serve cake batter yogurt and peanut butter yogurt in a one-to-one ratio. Then add an equal portion of Heath toppings

Best things to happen in Charleston food scene over the past 5 years: (From Charleston Food Bloggers)
1)The Rise of Sean Brock
2)The Food Truck Federation

Best Burger: (From Foodie Fix)
The Chorizo Burger at Fuel is amazing and spicy. The burger taken to a new level of flavor

Most worn out concept: (From Foodmancing the Girl)
Sports Bars. Really. You want to open another sports bar? Really?

Best Dessert: (From Red Head Recipes)
Bread Pudding at Poogan's Porch

Now.....on to the awards as voted upon by us, your bloggers:

Best Local Farm:
Ambrose (http://www.stonofarmmarket.com/)

Best Bar:
Downtown- Closed for Business (http://www.closed4business.com/)
West of the Ashley- Smoky Oak Taproom (http://smokyoak.com/)
East of the Cooper- Red's Ice House (http://www.redsicehouse.com/)
The North Area- Madra Rua (http://madraruapub.com/)

Best Atmosphere:
Downtown- Cypress (http://cypressrestaurant.com/)
West of the Ashley- Fat Hen (http://www.thefathen.com/)
East of the Cooper: Poe's Tavern (http://www.poestavern.com/)
The North Area: Cork Bistro (http://www.corkbistro.com/)

Best Hole in the Wall Food:
Downtown- Moe's Crosstown (http://moestaverns.com/)
West of the Ashley- Bowen's Island (http://www.bowensislandrestaurant.com/)
East of the Cooper- La Pizzeria (http://www.lapizzeriamtp.com/)
The North Area- Havana Cafe (http://www.havanacafe.comcastbiz.net/)

Best Cheap Eats:
Downtown- Taco Boy (http://www.tacoboy.net/)
West of the Ashley- Three Little Birds Cafe (http://threelittlebirdscafe.com/)
East of the Cooper- Jack's Cosmic Dogs (http://www.jackscosmicdogs.com/)
The North Area- EVO Pizza (http://evopizza.com/)

Best Local Chain:
The Mustard Seed (http://www.dinewithsal.com/mustard)

Best New Restaurant:
Downtown- Husk (http://huskrestaurant.com/)
West of the Ashley- Roadside Kitchen (http://roadsidekitchens.com/)
East of the Cooper- Eurasia (http://eurasiasc.com/)
The North Area- Zocalo

Best Food, Non-Restaurant:
Downtown- Paolo's Gelato (http://www.paolosgelato.com/)
West of the Ashley- Hello, My Name is BBQ (https://www.facebook.com/pages/HELLO-my-name-is-BBQ/129130557123680)
East of the Cooper- Whole Foods
The North Area- Pho #1 (http://www.hnlasianmarket.com/)

Best Food, International:
Downtown- Basil (http://eatatbasil.com/)
West of the Ashley- Taste of India (http://www.tasteofindiacharleston.com/)
East of the Cooper: Ali Baba's (http://www.alibabacharleston.com/)
The North Area- Zocalo

Best Food, American:
Downtown- McCrady's (http://www.mccradysrestaurant.com/)
West of the Ashley- The Glass Onion (http://www.ilovetheglassonion.com/)
East of the Cooper- Eurasia
The North Area- Cork Bistro

       There you have it folks. These are the 2011 Charleston Food Bloggers Restaurant Award winners. Again, I would like to thank Scott from Charleston Food Bloggers for organizing this event. I would also like to thank Foodie Fix, Hungry Meets Healthy, and Read Head Recipes as fellow voters. Cork Bistro, winner of two awards, thank you for the wonderful job hosting us.