Seattle Metropolitan’s “Best Restaurants” list is heavy on tradition this year, with few surprises - the only one I see is that Serious Pie made the grade, rather than a more formal Tom Douglas restaurant. It’s still an issue worth sending any out-of-towner asking “Where should I eat on my trip to Seattle?”  Canlis made the 10 Best list, though it’s had a few subpar reviews elsewhere this year. Kathryn Robinson writes that Canlis is “the best it’s been in years.” (Nancy Leson also tweeted earlier this year that she’d just had the best meal she’d ever been served there. It isn’t often you get such stark disagreements among critics; I’d like to get them all in a room and hash it out.) Robinson also said Jerry Traunfeld is currently “the best chef in Seattle,” and also gave props to his Poppy pastry chef, Dana Cree. Boat Street Cafe sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of hot new restaurants, but Robinson is a longtime fan, and I was glad to see it still, deservingly, is on her 10-best radar. Check out the whole Seattle Met list here.

Those of us who keep calling Jonathan Kauffman of Seattle Weekly the best restaurant critic in the country were feeling good over the weekend when the national Association of Food Journalists agreed, awarding him first prize in that category in its 2009 contest. (Among his competitors was the also excellent Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post, who took second place.) I was also feeling good myself when AFJ awarded me the first and second place prizes in the category of Best Online Food Writing. (I call it a real victory for Kate McDermott, who taught me to make an apple pie, the subject of the first-prize post.) 

Want to do some voting yourself? You have a chance over at Foodbuzz, where the finalists for the 2009 best food blogs are up, and some super writers from Seattle are among them. Anticiplate is there under “Which Blogger(s) Would You Most Like To See Open Their Own Restaurant,” Cakespy is a finalist in both “Most Humorous Blog” and “Best Baking Blog,” Gluten-Free Girl for “Best Healthy Living Blog,” Lorna Yee (The Cookbook Chronicles) for “What Blogger(s) Should Have Their ‘Foodie Life’ Made Into A Movie” and “Best New Blog,” Orangette for “Best Visual Blog” and “Best Writing Voice,” Tea and Cookies for “Best Writing Voice”.  I’m glad to see so many talented local favorites on the list; you can vote for your choices here, through Oct. 29. If you have a favorite blogger who wasn’t among this year’s finalists, feel free to share your picks below.

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