Critics’ choice WINERS
Second annual blatant-suckingup-
so-we-can-score-a-table award
Momofuku Ko
163 First Ave at 10th St
(no phone, momofuku.com)
Best reason to abandon the tapas bar
Gottino
52 Greenwich Ave between Charles and
Perry Sts (212-633-2590)
Best meal in a tourist district
Omido
1695 Broadway at 53rd St
(212-247-8110)
Best down-market offshoot
from an upmarket chef
Back Forty
190 Ave B at 12th St (212-388-1990)
Best melting-pot cuisine
Korhogo 126
126 Union St between Columbia
and Hicks Sts, Carroll Gardens,
Brooklyn (718-855-4405)
Most exciting Asian restaurant that has
nothing to do with David Chang
Soto
357 Sixth Ave between Washington Pl and
W 4th St (212-414-3088)
Best transition from sidekick to spotlight
Anne Burrell of Centro Vinoteca
74 Seventh Ave South at Barrow St
(212-367-7470)
Best restaurant you were
sick of before it opened
Tailor
525 Broome St between Sullivan
and Thompson Sts (212-334-5182)
Best food-to-elbow-room ratio
El Quinto Pino
401 W 24th St between Ninth
and Tenth Aves (212-206-6900)
Best argument for a Belgian revival
Resto
111 E 29th St between Park Ave South
and Lexington Ave (212-685-5585)
Most likely to prevail over
an annoying gimmick
Park Avenue Spring
100 E 63rd St between Park and
Lexington Aves (212-644-1900)
Best little restaurant that could
Shorty’s.32
199 Prince St between MacDougal
and Sullivan Sts (212-375-8275)
Best brothel with a heart of gold
The Bourgeois Pig
111 E 7th St between First Ave
and Ave A (212-475-2246)
Best alternative to joining a CSA
Community Food & Juice
2893 Broadway between 112th
and 113th Sts (212-665-2800)
Best new authentic beer hall
Radegast
113 North 3rd St between Berry St
and Wythe Ave, Williamsburg,
Brooklyn (718-963-3973)
Best paean to a single animal body part
Hakata Tonton
61 Grove St between Seventh Ave South
and Bleecker St (212-242-3699)
Most welcome addition of an
underrepresented cuisine
Ilili
236 Fifth Ave between 27th
and 28th Sts (212-683-2929)
Best new “Bar” that’s really a
restaurant
Bar Blanc
142 W 10th St between Greenwich Ave
and Waverly Pl (212-255-2330)
Best gastropub with the most
unfortunate name
Spitzer’s Corner
101 Rivington St at Ludlow St
(212-228-0027)
Best crotchety institution
Shopsin’s
120 Essex St between Delancey
and Rivington Sts (no phone)
Strongest link in the chain
BLT Market
Ritz Carlton New York, 1430 Sixth Ave at
Central Park South (212-521-6125)
Cockiest chef with the goods
to back it up
Didier Pawlicki of La Sirène
558 Broome St between Sixth Ave
and Varick St (212-925-3061)
Best justification for ingredients-worship
eighty one
45 W 81st St between Central Park West
and Columbus Ave (212-873-8181)
Best highway to gout
Fette Sau
354 Metropolitan Ave between
Havemeyer and Roebling Sts,
Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718-963-3404)
Lifetime Achievement Award
Florent
69 Gansevoort St between
Greenwich and Washington Sts
Readers’ choice winners
Best neighborhood bistro
Bar Tabac
128 Smith St at Dean St, Boerum
Hill, Brooklyn (718-923-0918)
Best vegetarian restaurant
Blossom
187 Ninth Ave between 21st
and 22nd Sts (212-627-1144)
Best celeb chef who actually cooks
Marc Meyer (Cookshop, Provence,
Five Points)
Cookshop, 156 Tenth Ave at
20th St (212-924-4440); Five
Points, 31 Great Jones St between
Bowery and Lafayette St (212-253-
5700); Provence, 38 MacDougal St
between W Houston and Prince Sts
(212-475-7500)
Best return of a New York institution
2nd Ave Deli
162 E 33rd St between Lexington
and Third Aves (212-689-9000)
Best wine bar
Blue Ribbon Downing Street Bar
34 Downing St between Bedford
and Varick Sts (212-691-0404)
Best new Brooklyn restaurant
Alchemy
56 Fifth Ave between Bergen St
and St. Marks Pl, Park Slope,
Brooklyn (718-636-4385)
Best new bar
Huckleberry Bar
588 Grand St at Lorimer St,
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
(718-218-8555)
Best new teahouse
Amai Tea & Bake House
171 Third Ave between 16th and
17th Sts (212-863-9630)
Best beer bar
Blind Tiger Ale House
281 Bleecker St at Jones St (212-
462-4682)
Best new Queens restaurant
Bistro 33
19-33 Ditmars Blvd at 21st St, Astoria,
Queens (718-721-1933)
Best new farm-forward endeavor
Market Table
54 Carmine St at Bedford St (212-
255-2100)
Best new coffeehouse
Irving Farm Coffee Company
56 Seventh Ave South between 13th
and 14th Sts (212-475-5200)
Best pastry-chef-run restaurant
Graffiti Food & Wine Bar
244 E 10th St between First and
Second Aves (212-464-7743)
Best Manhattan diner
Skylight Diner
402 W 34th St at Ninth Ave
(212-244-0395)
Best candy shop
Economy Candy
108 Rivington St between Essex
and Ludlow Sts (212-254-1531)
Best new UWS restaurant
The Mermaid Inn
568 Amsterdam Ave between 87th
and 88th Sts (212-799-7400)
Best new Spanish restaurant
Mercat
45 Bond St between Bowery and
Lafayette St (212-529-8600)
Best place to be seen
The Waverly Inn
16 Bank St at Waverly Pl (212-243-
7900—don’t bother, it’s busy)
Best reality-TV spin-off
Perilla (Harold Dieterle, Top Chef)
9 Jones St between Bleecker and
W 4th Sts (212-929-6868)
Best new out-of-town import
Alain Ducasse (Adour Alain Ducasse
at the St. Regis New York)
St. Regis New York, 2 E 55th St at
Fifth Ave (212-710-2277)
Best barbecue
Hill Country
30 W 26th St between Broadway
and Sixth Ave (212-255-4544)
Best new fast food
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Multiple locations; go to fiveguys.
com for more info.
Best new restaurant
Allen & Delancey
115 Allen St at Delancey St
(212-253-5400)
Best mobile food
DessertTruck
Based at E 8th St at University Pl
(www.desserttruck.com)
Best new frozen yogurt
Pinkberry
Multiple locations; go to pinkberry.
com for more info
WATCH THE AWARDS!
Set your DVR: This year’s ceremony, held at Webster Hall and
starring Top Chef contestants (among other fancy cooks),
will be televised! Check out NYC TV Presents: Time Out New York
2008 Eat Out Awards, May 17 at 9pm on Channel 25.
