best of...

today the coast's best of food 2012 reader's survey came out. now i don't want to seem desperate & pathetic, but the little red kitsch'n seems to qualify for a number of categories:

chowder

fish cakes

cupcakes

salads

use of local ingredients

locally-produced packaged product

stall at the market

...

i'm very thankful for all of my loyal customers and regular readers but attracting new customers would really help me grow & realize the goals i have for this business. i think there is no more effective marketing than the unbiased opinions of customers and therefore think the results of this poll have great influence on halifax spending patterns.

it's also a great time to spread the love to the other vendors at the seaport market. last year schoolhouse gluten-free, and getaway farm meat mongers won the best stalls at the market, which was great. people who invest money into the market to make well-organized, 'put-together' stalls and shops, benefit the market as a whole and make it a more welcoming place and should be rewarded for it.

places like the fish shop, norbert's good food, foxhill, the kind cookie, java blend, bramoso, fanari's and the seaport bread company... will also be making up my list of responses.

and it's not just the market, i'm all about small, local businesses. when i first moved back and was trying to get a handle on the best restaurants around - this poll was the first place i consulted. i was really alarmed by the number of chains that made the list. i hate chains! every once in awhile, i'm convinced to head to one and every time i am categorically disappointed and shocked that these marvels in mediocrity are successful.

it's places like obladee wine bar, two if by sea, the bicycle thief, the coastal cafe, chez tess, the wooden monkey, brooklyn warehouse, 308 south, chives, fid & jane's (to name a few) that deserve local support and local $'s. the restaurant industry is a pretty brutal one, with an 80% failure rate within the first two years. i always prefer to keep my bucks local so these little places can thrive instead of being shut down by the sprawling, behemoths of bayer's lake.

ok time to quit ranting and fill out my survey. hope the little red kitsch'n makes your list of responses...