PDD Awards: The Next Six
We’re going to accelerate the process of the PDD Awards IndexPDD Awards and conclude the Food & Drink category before the end of the month, then take a break so you can focus on political voting.
The next six categories to be voted on will be:
- Best Pizza Restaurant
- Best Burger Restaurant
- Best Asian Restaurant
- Best Italian Restaurant
- Best Mexican Restaurant
- Best Vegetarian Restaurant
So spout out your nominees for all six categories in the comments here, and we’ll start the voting when it seems like you’re about done.
As far as pizza goes, the obvious ones are probably Sammy’s, Lucé, Thirsty Pagan, Vitta, Gannucci’s, V.I.P. and Shamrock, but there’s probably a couple more good options.
Gannucci’s for best Italian and Pizza. Nom nom nom. And Guadalajara for Mexican.
Pirate Pizza
I think each vote should include the NONE option. Would give a sense of some need in the scene.
Any appearance by Lindo should be broken down by Duluth or Cloquet location.
Thirsty Pagan for best pizza with Luce in at close second. Famous Dave’s makes some mean burgers with the Pickwick’s legendary pepper burger in at close second. There are no Mexican restaurants that deserve the “best” title but if I had to pick I’d say Lindo. Paks for asian. Va Bene or Green Mill for Italian??? Lake Ave for Veggies.
Bulldog should be on the ballot for pizzas. Also 5 Guys and Big Daddy’s for burgers.
Hugo’s II and Lee’s should be included for best pizza.
Pizza- Thirsty Pagan
Burger- Big Daddy’s
Asian- Sala Thai
Italian- Gannucci’s
Mexican- London
Veg- what’s that?
Best Pizza – Thirsty Pagan, Burger – Clyde, Asian – Sala Thai, Italian – Ganucci’s or Valentini’s, Mexican – Mexico Lindo, Vegetarian – Duluth Grill, New Scenic Cafe, Pak’s
Will Paul find a way to exclude Ganucci’s this time, too?
Hanabi for Asian.
Vegetarian-Pizza Luce, Duluth Grill, Chester Creek Cafe, Fitger’s Brewhouse, Burrito Union, New Scenic Cafe.
And almost every Asian restaurant in the area has lots of vegetarian options.
Burgers: Brewpub at fitgers
The Anchor Bar and Gronk’s Grill & Bar in Superior have to be included in any burger poll, and I’m also going to add T-Bonz and the Buffalo House to the list with Big Daddy’s Burgers, Clyde Iron Works, Famous Dave’s, Fitger’s Brewhouse, Five Guys Burgers and Fries and the Pickwick. Any other solid burger-joint contenders?
7 west taphouse
Pizza- Thirsty Pagan
Burger- Fitgers Brewhouse, simply for the vegetarian burger there
Asian- Pak’s
Italian- Va Bene, the ambiance adds to the food’s deliciousness
Mexican- Lindo (Duluth)
Vegetarian-Chester Creek Cafe
Pizza- Thirsty Pagan, Shamrock, Vitta
Burger- Brewhouse, Gronks
Asian- Lan Chi’s
Vegetarian: Zeitgeist. Delicious vegan rice bowls. The BU does okay for vegetarians, too.
I don’t think Duluth has a good Asian restaurant, don’t get the excitement about Pak’s. But I like Taste of Saigon for the people and the pho.
If you were to gather together all the 2-3 vegetarian dishes that each restaurant has, you might have enough for one vegetarian restaurant.
After avoiding it for years, I tried Zuong Hou on 46th Ave W. and Grand Ave. last week. The sesame chicken was really fantastic. The General Tso chicken receives high praise as well.
Asian: Pak’s, no question
Burger: do you mean burger joint, or restaurant that has burgers on its menu? For burger joint, 7 West Taphouse and Anchor Bar. But my favorite burger in town is from Dubh Linn
Italian: Va Bene, no question.
Vegetarian: Are there any actual vegetarian restaurants in Duluth? Or do you mean restaurants that have vegetarian dishes? If the latter, Sarah’s Table and Duluth Grill.
And in my opinion, we don’t have any pizza or mexican restaurants worth giving awards to.
Although, in another poll, I nominated Lindo (Duluth) as the best place to get drunk cheap. I stand by that.
Azteca for best Mexican.
I’m pretty impressed with the pizza at Shorty’s… It’s the only place in town where I’ve received a pizza with crispy crust in the middle. Ever.
Pizza: Pagan, hands down
Burger: Anchor Bar
Asian: Hanabi
Italian: Bellisio’s, despite the price point
Mexican: no vote
Vegetarian: Duluth Grill
Pizza: Luce and T-Bonz
Burger: Duluth Grill (not a “burger restaurant” but has my favorite bison burgers); GB Schneider
Asian: Oriental House II
Italian: Green Mill
Mexican: Guadalajara
I had Shorty’s for the first time tonight. The pizza had soooo much yummy cheese!
Best Pizza Restaurant: Thirty Pagan
Best Burger Restaurant: Anchor or Brewhouse.
Best Asian Restaurant: Sala Thai or Osaka
Best Italian Restaurant: Valentini’s
Best Mexican Restaurant: Azteca
Best Vegetarian Restaurant: Vegetables are for rabbits.
The burger and pizza polls are up and running.
Last call for nominees for Asian restaurants. So far we have Hanabi Japanese Cuisine, Lan Chi’s Restaurant, Oriental House II, Osaka Japanese Restaurant, Pak’s Green Corner, Sala Thai Restaurant, Taste of Saigon, and Zhong Hua Restaurant.
One opinion expressed above is that a “none” option should be added to these polls. The notion seems a little snobby, but since there seems to be a lot of complaining in Duluth about Mexican restaurants specifically, it seems appropriate to gauge whether a majority truly feels there is a worthy recipient in that category. So we’ll grant a “none” option there and see what happens.
And we might rephrase the vegetarian category to something like “Best Vegetarian Option” or something, since there isn’t an exclusively vegetarian restaurant.
Asian – Hanabi, Italian – VaBenne, Mexican – Guadalahara, Vegetarian – Brewhouse
In the Italian category, we seem to have just five nominees: Bellisio’s Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar, Gannucci’s Italian Market, Green Mill, Valentini’s Vicino Lago and Va Bene Caffe. Therefore, we can probably do that poll in just one round.
In the Mexican category, we have Azteca’s Mexican Grill, Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant and Duluth Mexico Lindo mentioned so far. (Cloquet Lindo is outside the defined territory.) I’ll add Maya Family Mexican Restaurant and Little Angie’s Cantina and Grill to the list, just because they are the only other Mexican places in Duluth that I can think of. That brings us to five, plus a “none are worthy” option … still a short enough list to get away with one round of voting on.
Last call for Best Vegetarian Menu nominees. So far we have At Sara’s Table / Chester Creek Cafe, Burrito Union, Duluth Grill, Fitger’s Brewhouse, Lake Avenue Restaurant and Bar, New Scenic Cafe, Pak’s Green Corner and Zeitgeist Arts Cafe.