Shenanigans

The Husband and I had a blast at last night's Best of Nashville Scene's Readers Poll 2011 Party. We celebrated the wins with our friends and I was so proud of so many of them and for the businesses/people for whom I voted for being picked as one of the city's best blogs, restaurants, media etc.

The Scene's Writers' Picks are spot-on, I'm definitely not saying anything negative about the publication this is one of the most fun reader-interaction features and they throw a hell of a party! Cheers guys.

There were, however, a few.... questionable results Readers' Picks wise. Questionable to me anyway and like I always say on here, this is my opinion because oh look! It's my blog. These are the ones that stood out to me the most, the ones that had me scratching my head and raising one eyebrow.

Now, I get it - this "Best of" thing isn't truly the best of the best here in Nashville. It's really a popularity contest, it's all about who got the most votes and whose friends had the most time to sit there and type and click and type and click at least 20 times once a day everyday for the span of the voting period. I'm not going to even mention what I think the voter demographics are because truthfully I'm not a statistician, I'd just be speculating and we all know I can be bitchy when I think there's some sort of social media/online injustice. If you really want to know you can ask me when you see me, I might tell you what I think. No promises though.

Anyway here we go, my two cents. Asterisks for the ones I'm all "wha?" on.



Best Music Blog (my votes: Brite was the only one I voted for)

• Nashville Cream*


• The Music Gardener


• Brite Revolution

Should you even be allowed to win if you're part of the Nashville Scene? I know Pith In The Wind won too and that same question applies. Although it's not like you win money or something, just the acknowledgement that the public likes you so I suppose normal contest rules don't count.

Best Food Blog: (my votes: see any of the food blogs on my blogroll)

• Ambrosia*


• Sweets and Desserts


• Eat. Drink. Smile.

So you'd think that to qualify for "best anything blog" the first thing you would need is to have a blog right? Well, I can't for the life of me find a blog for Ambrosia. All I've found is a Facebook page (that's not a blog) and links to Urbanspoon reviews (also not a blog). A for effort. Not a blog. I call shenanigans.

Best Local Blog (my votes: Nashvillest, ModFruGal, Stella Shops)

• Fun Happenings*


• Style Blueprint


• Nashvillest

Let me reiterate that a Facebook page is not a blog. They did win Best Facebook Page and that's valid, I think the concept's quite fun, user submitted happenings and all.

Best Chinese Restaurant (my votes: Golden Coast Weekend Buffet, Chinatown)

• PM*


• Chinatown


• Fulin's*

I had to include this one because it's just funny. I laughed when I saw it last night and I'm still laughing now. I love PM - good sushi, fun drinks, great apps but last I checked, it's not a Chinese restaurant in spite of the few Chinese inspired offerings but hahahaaaaa! Not Chinese. And Fulin's? Come ON people. Golden Coast was robbed.

Best Cupcake (my votes: Cupcake Collection, Whole Foods Bakery)

• Gigi's*


• Cupcake Collection


• Fiddlecakes

Y'know what? Good for them. They're in a prime location (right by Vandy) and their cupcakes are entertaining to see - neon colored with disproportionate amounts of sugary icing and they're now a national chain. Their cupcakes are accessible and that's ultimately what the Nashville wants right? Nothing weird, just things that are safe and generally approved. Kudos on the success. I personally prefer a cupcake that tastes good and isn't dry or loaded with what tastes like crisco.

It's a shame Cupcake Collection didn't come in first, I would have loved to have eaten a few of their cupcakes last night. Giggity.

Best Ice Cream/Gelato (my votes: Bravo Gelato, Jeni's)

• Jeni's


• Pied Piper


• Sweet Cece's*

I'm all about the first two. Jeni's is great. I wish Bravo Gelato made the cut but clearly the masses have spoken and Sweet Cece's it is. I'm not saying it doesn't count as ice cream because, let's be honest, they tread a fine line between yogurt and ice cream over there. But really? That's what people voted in as Best Ice Cream/Gelato? People need to get out more.

Best (Most Original) Menu (my votes: Tavern, Cha Chah, Tayst)

• YOLOS*


• Silly Goose


• Morton's*

You're joking right?

So I call shenanigans. Clearly this post is going to piss some people off because they may not agree, they may love Gigi's and YOLOS. They may think sushi is Chinese food. But in my opinion these aren't the "Best of Nashville," they're just favorites. They're the result of multiple votes with little discernment over whether or not they even qualify.

Here's what I propose: Keep this voting "system" but instead of using it for the final results, make the poll results nominations. Then the results should be whittled down to top 5 per category. THEN people vote on those to find the top 3 and people can only vote once. Just a thought. But that may be too much work although I'm sure there's a savvy developer who can come up with code to tally everything.

But I don't run the publication, I'm just a reader and someone who entered her votes, someone who reads local blogs and patronizes local businesses so what do I know.

I'd really like to know what YOU think of the results? You can see them all here.