In the history of the Artvoice Best of Buffalo poll—now nearly a decade old—there are certain winners that have held steady throughout. While our readers have been fairly changeable in their top restaurant picks, when asked about the Best Reason to Live in Buffalo a top answer has invariably been “the food.” Year after year the Food & Drink section has been the one that gets the biggest response out of all the categories. It is also the largest in number, and counting the ballots is no small task. It is particularly daunting due to the sheer amount of different places that are offered as potential “bests.” With a few notable exceptions—the bus station for Best Breakfast?—all the candidates are worthy.

In terms of national image, Buffalo is hardly known for “foodiness,” a questionable word that smacks of pretension, a quality the majority of Buffalonians seem to detest. The term “foodiness” implies a certain amount of frivolity that neither the people nor the restaurants in this city have embraced—despite one of the Best New Restaurant nominees being named La Tee Da. (Don’t let the name fool you, the food is carefully prepared, ambitious and quite delicious.) Nowhere in Buffalo can you find bacon-and-egg ice cream, or spinach-date fritters fried in beer batter and dusted with confectioner’s sugar, both of which were dishes described in last Sunday’s New York Times food column. What one can find is an abundance of gimmick-free fare served in all manner of styles and settings. Restaurants with an ethnic bent are terrifically popular, perhaps because the city’s “melting pot” population lends authenticity to many culinary ventures and dislodges Buffalo’s blue-collar, meat-and-potatoes reputation. Still, steakhouses and traditional bar food are just as popular, and diners’ loyalties to their choices for Best Steak and Best Burger have remained pretty consistent through the years.

Illustrating this point, notable nominees this year in Best Steak include Fiamma and Prime 490, both brand new and both nominated for Best New Restaurant as well. The other three nominees in Best Steak are long-standing Buffalo establishments that seem to pop up on the list just about every time. (Much like the previously glorious but now defunct steakhouse Lord Chumley’s, R.I.P.)

Not surprisingly, Best Sushi got loads of votes for the bygone Kuni’s Sushi Bar. We kept it as a nominee partly out of respect for Kuni’s tremendous 10-year run, but also due to the whispers of a Kuni’s take-out joint happening on Lexington—as well as the now confirmed sale of his former business on Elmwood. If this means there will be two good places to get sushi within the city limits, it might make up for the suffering undergone by sushi-deprived city-dwellers. (Had enough of the guilt trip yet, Kuni?)

Some categories necessitated an expansion of our five-nominee limit. You may notice that Best Bakery is a huge list with eight possible winners. Best Deli has nine nominees, and Best Italian and Best Patio both have seven. While this may seem extreme, having so many nominees in the food categories is bound to benefit those who attend Monday’s free Best of Buffalo Party, since all the nominees have been asked to donate “tastes” of their specialties.

Now that ought to get people there, considering just how many of you voted for the food as the best thing about our city.

Best Bagel

Wegmans Food Markets

Spot Coffee

Elmwood Bagel and Sandwich

Bagel Jay’s

Best Bakery

Romeo & Juliet Bakery Cafe

Pumpernick ’n’ Pastry Shoppe Eileen’s Centerview Bakery

Dolci

DiCamillo Bakery

Delish!

Costanzo’s Bakery

Butterwood Desserts

Best Barbecue

One-Eyed Jack’s Smokehouse Grill

Kentucky Greg’s Hickory Pit

Fat Bob’s Smokehouse

BW’s Barbecue

Al-E-Oops

Best Beef on Weck

Swiston’s Beef & Keg

Schwabl’s Restaurant

Laughlin’s Beef & Barrel

Charlie the Butcher

Bar Bill Tavern

Best Brunch

Pano’s Restaurant

Left Bank

Deco at Adam’s Mark Hotel

Cole’s Restaurant

Betty’s

Best Chinese

Ying’s Pizza and Subs

Taste Good Chinese Restaurant

Ming Teh Chinese Restaurant

May Jen Chinese Restaurant

Chang’s Garden

Steve: Owner of Steve's Clam Bar

Best Clams

Steve’s Clam Bar

Root Five

Marrotto’s

Cozumel

Boston Hotel

Best Deli

X-Cel Produce

Wegmans Food and Markets

Niagara County Produce

Marco’s Italian Deli

Lexington Real Foods Community Co-op

Guercio & Sons

Globe Market

Chris’s New York Deli

Bidwell Farmers Market

Best Dessert

Sweet Tooth

Frosty’s

Dolci

Dessert Deli

Delish!

Butterwood Desserts

Best Diner

Woodlawn Diner

The Towne

Lake Effect Diner

Bertha’s Diner

Amy’s Place

Best Fish Fry

Meister’s Pub

McPartlan’s

Jade’s

Hoak’s

Hamlin House

Best French Fries

Ted’s Jumbo Red Hots

Papa Jake’s

Louie’s Original

Jim’s Steakout

Anderson’s

Best Greek

Towne Restaurant

Pano’s Restaurant

Mythos

Kostas Family Restaurant

Ambrosia

Best Hamburger

Zebb’s Deluxe Bar & Grill

Ted’s Jumbo Red Hots

Jimmy Mac’s

Grover’s Bar and Grill

Cole’s Restaurant

Best Hot Dog

Ted’s Jumbo Red Hots

Taffy’s

Louie’s Original

George’s Hot Dogs (Boston, NY)

Dunn Tire Park

Best Ice Cream/Frozen Custard

Sweet Tooth

Hanna’s Frosty Treats

Fran-celle (Blasdell)

Anderson’s

Best Indian

Taste of India

Tandoori’s

Star of India

Kabob & Curry

India Gate

Best Italian

Sinatra’s Trilogy

Santasiero’s

Salvatore’s Italian Garden

Ristorante Lombardo

Frank’s Sunny Italy

Chef’s Restaurant

Carmine’s

Best Japanese/Sushi

Tsunami

Shogun

O Restaurant and Lounge

Kuni’s

Fuji Grill

Best Kept Secret Restaurant

Mother’s Restaurant

Left Bank

Café in the Square

Betty’s

Amy’s Place

Best Mexican

Mighty Taco

Lone Star Fajita Grill

Gramma Mora’s Mexican Restaurant

El Canelo

Cozumel Grill & Tequila Bar

Cinco de Mayo

Best Middle Eastern

Teta’s Middle Eastern Cuisine

Sahara Grill

Falafel Bar

Byblos Restaurant

Amy’s Place

Best New Restaurant

Vado Pazzo

Prime 490

La Tee Da

Fiamma Steak House

Amaryllis

Best Patio

Cozumel Grill & Tequila Bar

Mother’s Restaurant

Pano’s Restaurant

The Rendezvous

Dock at the Bay

Cecelia’s Ristorante & Martini Bar

Astoria

Best Pizza

NY Pizza (Allen St)

Mister Pizza

La Nova

Just Pizza

Bocce’s

Best Polish

Wiechec’s

R&L

Polish Villa

Polish Nook

Broadway Market

Most Romantic Restaurant

Salvatore’s Italian Garden

Rue Franklin

Oliver’s Restaurant

Mother’s Restaurant

Left Bank

Best Salad

Poppyseed

Le Metro Bakery & Cafe

Globe Market

Café Allegro

Brodo

Best Sausage

Spar’s European Sausage

Scime’s Sausage

Peter’s @ Broadway Market

Mineo & Sapio

Hanzillan’s

Best Seafood

Tsunami

La Marina Seafood Market & Grille

Hayes Fish Company

Harry’s Harbour Place

Brownstone Seafood House & Oyster Bar

Best Service (Restaurant)

Tsunami

Oliver’s Restaurant

India Gate

Hutch’s

Carmine’s

E.B. Green's

Best Steak

Prime 490

Kennedy’s Cove

Fiamma Steak

E.B. Green’s

Buffalo Chophouse

Best Sub

Wegmans

Mike’s Subs

John and Mary’s

Jim’s Steakout

DiBella’s Old Fashioned Submarines

Super-cheap Breakfast

The Towne

Perison’s

Pano’s Restauant

JJ’s

Amy’s Place

Acropolis

Best Takeout/Delivery

Mister Pizza

La Nova

Just Pizza

Jim’s Steakout

Great Wall

Best Thai

The King & I

Taste of Thai

Saigon Café

Saigon Bangkok

Rice Paddy

Jasmine

Best Vegetarian

Off the Wall

Lexington Real Foods Co-op

Falafel Bar

Betty’s

Amy’s Place

Best Waterfront Restaurant

The Hatch

Shanghai Red’s

Root Five

Hoak’s

Harry’s Harbour Place

Dock at the Bay

Best Wings

Nonna’s

La Nova

Gabriel’s Gate

Duff’s

Anchor Bar

Best Wine Selection

Oliver’s Restaurant

Mother’s Restaurant

Left Bank

Brodo

Bacchus Wine Bar & Restaurant

Allen Street Hardware