On Friday, a reader seemingly unfamiliar with Prairie Dog’s Best-Of reader polls e-mailed us a bunch of questions about the recent Best Of Food & Drink issue. I thought some Dog Blog readers might have similar questions so I’m sharing his letter, along with my attempt to address his concerns. Here it is!
The best of Regina issue has to be one of the best hoots of the year. Do you actually expect anyone to take this nonsense seriously. Why don’t you state how many people voted for each of the so called best. I’m guessing no way since you don’t want anyone to know for example the best Beer Menu, whatever the hell that is and who cares, was named the best based on 2 votes. Both from people who work there.
The best server selected by chickens in the parking lot. How the hell could anyone know the best server in the whole frickin city unless they went to each place. I know and you nobody did this.
How are votes tabulated? Vote online as many times as you want?
C’mon Prairie Dog. Show us the numbers voted on for each best of category Or have you something to hide. Why not, most know it’s a farce already.
Unsigned Reader
Hey Unsigned, thanks for writing! I’m glad you enjoyed Best of Food & Drink 2015! That’s a lot of questions but I’ll try to answer them. Let me know if I miss anything!
1.) “Do you actually expect anyone to take this nonsense seriously.”
Readers can take Best Of Food & Drink any way they want. If they don’t want to take it seriously, that’s fine — it’s a public popularity contest narrated by an obnoxious fictional character. It is a little silly. But a lot of people enjoy it and that’s good enough for us. Besides, the results are useful — they give a valuable, if imperfect, snapshot of Regina’s dining scene. For example, Best Restaurant winner Flip is a great place to eat, but the odds are many Reginans still don’t know about it. Best Of Regina gives Flip, and the entire restaurant scene, more exposure. As a supporter of local businesses, I think that’s worthwhile!
2.) “Why don’t you state how many people voted for each of the so called best. I’m guessing no way since you don’t want anyone to know for example the best Beer Menu, whatever the hell that is and who cares, was based on 2 votes.”
We don’t currently release the number of votes though we might in the future. We have this probably unfounded suspicion that haters might cherry-pick specific results in a mean-spirited attempt to ruin everyone’s fun. I know, I know — we should be more trusting.
Best Beer Menu refers to the pub/restaurant that (more than two!) voters picked as the place with the best selection of beer. Beer Bros. is a worthy winner — it has a fantastic selection that’s always changing. You should definitely check it out — there’s a lot of great brewskies out there besides Coors Lite.
Actually, a lot of places have really adventurous beer selections in town. I like Knotted Thistle, which has Rogue 7 Hops IPA on tap; O’Hanlon’s, which has Red Racer, Li’l Scrapper and a couple of Rogue beers, among many (many!) others; and Bushwakker, which has a ton of beer including my favourite, Chico IPA (which Bushwakker makes).
And yes, I should probably drink less. It’s just that thoughtful reader feedback like yours makes me so thirsty.
3.) “The best server selected by chickens in the parking lot. How the hell could anyone know the best server in the whole frickin’ city unless they went to each place.”
Bushwakker’s Cheryl Tovey is Regina’s Best Server because she got the most votes. Chickens were not involved as far as we know. Also, we don’t currently require Best Of Food voters to meet every single server in the city but will take your suggestion under consideration.
4.) “How are votes tabulated? Vote online as many times as you want?”
Votes are automatically tabulated by the service we work with. Readers must register to vote, which you probably didn’t know because this contest is so new to you. Registration greatly limits cheating. Also, if you’re aware of any dirty, rotten cheaters, please let me know and I will get them.
In conclusion, Unsigned, thanks for reading Prairie Dog’s Best Of Food & Drink! We’ll be back with more reader poll madness this fall with the 2015 Best Of Regina. Nominations will open in September and details, including categories, rules and how votes are tabulated, will be printed in the paper.
All the best!
Stephen Whitworth, Editor
Prairie Dog
Regina’s Only Alternative since 1993
