Allison Leonard illustration

#BESTOFWR 2016 Winners

Thousands of you nominated, thousands of you voted and a handful of you argued (yes, we saw the reddit comments). Here are your favourite things about Waterloo Region. Congratulations to all the winners. See you around the region.

(Hot tip, for those looking for a particular category: press CTRL-F (⌘-F for those using Macintosh computers, and then type said category. Yes, it’s that easy.)

Best sandwich: Vincenzo’s

Best grilled cheese: Cheeses Murphy

Best ice cream: R’ychees

Best bakery: City café

Best café: Dvlb

Best pizza: Famoso

Best Chinese: Cameron’s

Best Thai: Northern Thai

Best Shawarma: Shawerma Plus

Best beer selection: The Bent Elbow

Best cheap drink: Ethel’s

Best wine list: MPC Public

Best sweet treat: Ambrosia

Best Central/South American: Taco Farm

Best vegetarian: Jane Bond

Best pulled pork: The Lancaster Smokehouse

Best Indian: Masala Bay

Best family restaurant: Arabesque

Best burger: The Works

Best breakfast: The Yeti Cafe

Best patio: Boathouse

Best cheap eats: Queen Street Commons

Best cocktail: Jane Bond

Best food truck: West of Seoul

Best local beer: Block 3 King Street Saison

Best local brewery: Block 3

Best new café: Smile Tiger

Best party: All the porch parties

Best arts event: Night\Shift

Best place for a second date: Apollo Cinema

Best place to meet people: Kitchener Market

Best LGBTQ+ bar: Jane Bond

Best community event: All the porch parties

Best place to dance: Starlight

Best live music: Starlight

Best gallery or museum: THEMUSEUM

Best theatre company: Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre

Best open mic: The Boathouse

Best theatre venue: Centre in the Square

Best karaoke: Chainsaw

Best trivia night: Princess Café

Best yoga: Queen Street Yoga

Best bike trail: Iron Horse

Best place to read: KPL

Best public space: Victoria Park

Best building: KPL

Best place to work with others: KPL

Best view: Grand River, downtown Galt

Best place to walk a dog: Along the Grand River

Best ION detour: EVERYTHING around Duke Street

Best local author/writer: Carrie Snyder

Best local musician/band: Alysha Brilla

Best new musican/band: Bjorn Borg Collective

Best local visual artist: Jon Johnson

Best artist (performance): Janice Jo Lee

Best mover and shaker: Fauzia Mazhar

Best activist group: TriTAG

Best local blog/blogger: The Waterloser

Best city councillor: Diane Freeman

Best local politician: Catherine Fife

Best social profit: The Working Centre

Best local reporter: Terry Pender

Best non-TCE publication: WR Record

Best local designer: Jon Johnson / BRFC

Best server: Caroline Wesley

Best street performer: Shamarie, the bucket drummer

Best local radio: CBC KW

Best craftsperson/maker: The Descendants brewers

Best social media account: Catherine Fife

Best person over 75: Mary Johnston (unanimous)

Best person under 25: Carly Pettinger

Best photographer: Matt Smith

Best music instructor: The School of Rock team

Best filmmaker: Taylor Jackson

Best butcher: Vincenzo’s

Best art store: Open Sesame

Best place to buy a sexy gift: Envie Intimates

Best bike shop: Berlin bicycle café

Best outdoor store: Adventure Guide (unanimous)

Best consignment store: StylFrugal (unanimous)

Best record/CD/music shop: Orange Monkey

Best tattoo parlour: Berlin Tattoo

Best boutique: Open Sesame

Best hair salon: Brown Salon

Best book store: Words Worth Books

Best splurge: Bhima’s Wharung

Best local product: Miller Bookbinding

Best startup: Miller Bookbinding

Best eyecare: Insight eyecare (unanimous)

Best doctor: Kitchener Downtown Community Health Centre

Best dentist: Dr. Karen J. Lee  (unanimous)

 

 

 

Jesse is editor in chief of the Community Edition.