From the category archives:

Urban Diner Restaurant Awards

The UD Awards Party

by admin 02.13.2008

A quick note to let you know that there are just a handful of tables left for the 6pm dinner at the UD Awards party on Monday night and to remind members to RSVP to me for the attendance draw.
Because of the small size of the venue there is a hard number cap for [...]

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See The “Live” Results!

by admin 02.11.2008

We have opened the forum up to non-members today to let them see how the vote is progressing. To view the “live” results, simply click the image above or hit the UDFORUM button at the top of the center column. In the first 12 hours, every category has already met and passed the requisite number [...]

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And So It Begins…

by admin 02.11.2008

UPDATE: I forgot to include one very important category last night, the Service All Stars. It’s up now, so those early bird voters are invited back for a last cast. Thanks for the heads-up, CK.
UPDATE: A number of members who’ve forgotten their usernames or passwords have contacted me this morning asking for me to retrieve [...]

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Dinner And A Show

by admin 02.06.2008

In a previous post I mentioned that there would be tables set aside at Nu during the course of the Urban Diner Awards, right in front of the presentation stage. These amount to 50 seats sitting at 6pm sharp, an hour before the doors open for the winners and invited guests. Nu is now ready [...]

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Coleen Christie To Host The UD Awards

by admin 02.04.2008

I’m very pleased to report that CTV News Anchor and food lover Coleen Christie will be hosting the Urban Diner Awards. She will be joined on stage at points during the evening by Chef’s Table Society directors Sid Cross, Jamie Maw, Karri Schuermans, Vikram Vij, John Bishop, and myself – among others.

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Best Restaurant Nominations Complete

by admin 02.04.2008

The next and FINAL batch of nominations, those for the “Best New” categories, is now live in the forum. Here are those that have made it to the final vote in the “Best Restaurant” categories (see after the jump):

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UD Awards To Be Held At Nu Restaurant

by admin 01.31.2008

Andrew and I are excited to announce that NU restaurant has generously offered to host the 1st Annual Urban Diner Awards on February 18th. While we are still working out the finer details (there is a lot more news to come!), here is [...]

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The Industry Nominees Announced!

by admin 01.28.2008

The nominations in the Best of the Industry categories for this year’s Urban Diner Awards are now complete. Here are the names of those people and restaurants that have made it on to the relevant category ballots:

Chef of the Year
Andrey Durbach | Parkside, La Buca, Pied-a-Terre
Robert Belcham | Fuel
Jeff Van Geest | Aurora Bistro
Brian Fowke [...]

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“Best Regional” Ballot

by admin 01.23.2008

Oops, I posted this in the forum but not out here. The nominating process for the Best Regional categories in the Urban Diner Awards has finished and we are now nominating the best industry personnel. The following restaurants have made it onto the final ballot. Congratulations!

Best Suburban*

The Pear Tree
La Regalade
Le Bella Auberge
The Beach House
Moustache Cafe
Gusto [...]

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Extra Super Double Plus Goodage

by admin 01.22.2008

We’re now in the nominations process for the Industry section of the awards and I am reminded of how cool it is that this is happening.

Peer-driven awards can suck if the choices are bad and the peers are wankers. But what we are witnessing in this first crack is impressive, especially considering the collected knowledge [...]

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The UDRAs Round 1 Nominees Are…

by admin 01.07.2008

Some housekeeping news on the

Urban Diner Restaurant Awards
The first results are in. Based on a “Top Five” model in each nominations category, the first nominees that will make it on the February ballot are as follows:
Food Writer of the Year
Alexandra Gill
Jamie Maw
Mia Stainsby
Tim Pawsey
Angela Murrills
Food Website of the Year
CityFood
Egullet
Chowhounds
Joe Mallozzi
Chef Fowke
Food Publication of the [...]