Raglan Road is the winner of the 2017 Best Irish Pub Foodster Award. Read about it here.

Nagoya Sushi is the winner of the 2017 Foodster Award for Best Sushi.

Second place goes to Dragonfly Robata Grill & Sushi on Restaurant Row and third place to Baldwin Park’s Seito Sushi.

The restaurants listed here have been nominated for Best Sushi restaurants in our Foodster Awards for Independent Restaurants.

To vote for your favorite, check the box next to the name and then click the VOTE button at the bottom of the list of nominees. You may vote for only one nominee and you may vote only once. After you have voted, the VOTE button will no longer appear on the page.

You may write in the name of a restaurant that you’d like to nominate. But remember: The Foodster Awards are exclusively for independent businesses, defined as having three or fewer locations — no chains. Any write-in nominees that don’t meet that definition will be removed from the list. Also, do not write in the name of a restaurant or lounge that is already named in the list — by doing so you may actually reduce the number of votes that restaurant might receive because only the votes on the first listing will be counted.

To learn about some of the candidates and to get a coupon, click on a Campaign Button on the right side of the page. 

After voting, leave a comment below telling us who you voted for and why. We may use your comment if your favorite is the winner.

Voting Ends Feb 22. The winner will be announced in the Feb. 23 e-letter.

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Shakers American Cafe is the winner of the 2017 Best Breakfast Foodster Award. Read about it here.

The restaurants listed here have been nominated for Best Breakfast in our Foodster Awards for Independent Restaurants.

Note: This category is for everyday breakfast only — not Brunch. Brunch will be introduced in a separate category at a later date.

To vote for your favorite, check the box next to the name and then click the VOTE button at the bottom of the list of nominees. You may vote for only one nominee and you may vote only once. After you have voted, the VOTE button will no longer appear on the page.

You may write in the name of a restaurant that you’d like to nominate. But remember: The Foodster Awards are exclusively for independent businesses, defined as having three or fewer locations — no chains. Any write-in nominees that don’t meet that definition will be removed from the list. Also, do not write in the name of a restaurant or lounge that is already named in the list — by doing so you may actually reduce the number of votes that restaurant might receive because only the votes on the first listing will be counted.

To learn about some of the candidates and to get a coupon, click on a Campaign Button on the right side of the page.

After voting, leave a comment below telling us who you voted for and why. We may use your comment if your favorite is the winner.

Voting ends March 15. Winner announced in the March 16 edition of the e-letter.

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MOOR, the seafood restaurant at Gaylord Palms with a sailboat setting, is the readers’ choice for the 2017 Best Hotel Restaurant Foodster Award.

Second place goes to MOOR’s cross-atrium neighbor Old Hickory Steakhouse. Close behind, Eleven at Reunion took third.

MOOR is the excellent restaurant under the culinary direction of its ironically named chef, Phillip Fisher. I reviewed it in 2015. And last year, we hosted a progressive Supper Club that began at the Everglades inspired Old Hickory for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres from chef George Yiu and his team then proceeded to MOOR for the multi-coursed main event. Food, staff and ambience were terrific at both, so I can’t argue a bit with your choice.

I also liked Eleven when I reviewed it in November. And I hope to return soon to see what changes newly installed chef de cuisine Jake Brenchley has initiated. (Early word sounds great.)

The restaurants listed here are nominated in the Best Hotel Restaurant category. They represent the best of independent restaurants found in hotels and resorts around Central Florida. 

Please note that while many of the hotels are indeed chain brands, the restaurants that are nominated fit the Foodster Awards’ definition of independent with three or fewer locations. Indeed, most are unique to Central Florida.

To vote, click the box next to your favorite and then click the VOTE button. You may vote for only one candidate. If you have already voted, the VOTE button will no longer appear.

You are welcome to write in the name of a hotel restaurant you’d like to vote for by clicking the Write In button. But double check to verify that your candidate’s name doesn’t already appear in the list — duplicates, and businesses that don’t fit the definition of independent, will be deleted.

Voting in this category will continue through midnight on April 5, 2017. The winner will be announced in the April 6 edition of Scott’s e-letter.

Leave a comment telling us why you voted for your selection — Scott might quote you when the winner is announced (be sure to say which restaurant you voted for in your comment or we won’t know who you’re talking about).

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Voting for Most Romantic Restaurant begins Jan. 11.

The Bistro on Park Avenue has been voted Most Romantic in our Foodster Awards for Independent Restaurants. Second place went to Cress in DeLand and Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is third.

The restaurants listed here have been nominated for Most Romantic restaurants in our Foodster Awards for Independent Restaurants.

To vote for your favorite, check the box next to the name and then click the VOTE button at the bottom of the list of nominees. You may vote for only one nominee and you may vote only once. After you have voted, the VOTE button will no longer appear on the page.

You may write in the name of a restaurant that you’d like to nominate. But remember: The Foodster Awards are exclusively for independent businesses, defined as having three or fewer locations — no chains. Any write-in nominees that don’t meet that definition will be removed from the list. Also, do not write in the name of a restaurant or lounge that is already named in the list — by doing so you may actually reduce the number of votes that restaurant might receive because only the votes on the first listing will be counted.

To learn about some of the candidates and to get a coupon, click on a Campaign Button on the right side of the page. 

After voting, leave a comment below telling us who you voted for and why. We may use your comment if your favorite is the winner.

Voting ends Feb. 8. Winner announced in the Feb. 9 issue of the e-letter.

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Pizza Paradiso is the winner of the 2017 Foodster Award for Independent Restaurants Best Pizza. 

Voting is now closed for Best Pizza in Scott Joseph’s Foodster Awards for Independent Restaurants.

The restaurants listed here have been nominated for their excellence in pizza making. You can vote for your favorite by checking the box next to its name and then clicking the VOTE button at the bottom of the list. You may vote for only one pizzeria, and only one time — if you’ve already voted, the vote button will no longer appear at the bottom of the list.

If your favorite pizzeria is not listed, you may write its name in by selecting Other. But remember: The Foodster Awards are for independent restaurants with three or fewer locations only — no chains allowed. Before typing in the name of a restaurant, make sure it isn’t already in the list. Duplicate names will be removed and their votes deleted. Click here to go to the polls!

Voting will continue through Feb. 15. The winner will be announced in the Feb. 16 issue of Scott’s eletter. Click here to subscribe and to be the first to know.

And after you vote, leave a comment below to tell us why your choice is the best.

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Voting for Best Cocktails has ended. The winner will be announce in the Thursday, Jan. 26 e-letter. Click here to subscribe.

 The 2017 Best Cocktails Foodster Award goes to Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming at Disney Springs. The “Southern Shine” restaurant has a quenchingly tantalizing list of creative craft cocktails, including Apple Pie a la Mode, Muleshine, and Moonshine Mash. Watch the video below to get the recipe for Homecoming’s Bootlegger cocktail.

Second place is awarded to the Imperial at Washburn Imports in Sanford. Downtown Orlando’s Stubborn Mule is third.

These restaurants and lounges have been nominated in the Best Cocktails category of the Scott Joseph’s Foodster Awards for Independent Restaurants.  Voting will continue through January 25, 2017, and the winner will be announced in the Jan. 26 issue of the SJO e-letter.

To vote for your favorite, check the box next to the name and then click the VOTE button at the bottom of the list of nominees. You may vote for only one nominee and you may vote only once. After you have voted, the VOTE button will no longer appear on the page.

You may write in the name of a business that you’d like to nominate. But remember: The Foodster Awards are exclusively for independent businesses, defined as having three or fewer locations — no chains. Any businesses that don’t meet that definition will be removed from the list. Also, do not write in the name of a restaurant or lounge that is already named in the list — by doing do you may actually reduce the number of votes that business might receive because only the votes on the first listing will be counted.

To learn about some of the candidates and get a coupon, click on a campaign button on the right side of the page. The nominees are recognized for their overall Cocktail program, but if you’d like to single out a specific drink, leave a note in the comment section below.

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Watch for upcoming categories, including:

• Best Pizza
• Best Brunch
• Most Romantic Restaurant

To be among the first to hear about new categories and learn about the winners, sign up for Scott’s e-letter here.

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Please note: One vote per person; if you’ve already voted, the VOTE button will not appear. 

Watch for upcoming categories and the announcement of the winners, every week in Scott’s e-letter.

Coming soon:

• Best Cocktails
• Best Pizza
• Best Brunch
• Best Barbecue
• And many more

To be among the first to hear about new categories and learn about the winners, sign up for Scott’s e-letter here.